As typical Washingtonians, who are undeterred by the elements, we got to experience getting sand blasted while we were playing at the beach. The weather was gorgeous, sunny and mostly warm. There is just something about the ocean—calming, yet powerful.

And because of its great power, you can hardly escape the thought of tsunamis. Tsunami evacuation signs are everywhere. I can only imagine all the tourists on those rural roads trying to escape. The last Tsunami was about 300 years ago and it did some damage to mostly a forested and uninhabited coastline. While we were visiting Moclips, I asked the museum curator, “How high do you have to be for protection from a tsunami?” His answer, “90 feet”—wow, most two-story house are 30 feet tall. Our farm is 14 feet above sea level. When a major earthquake hits off the coast of Washington again, like it did 300 years ago, Ocean Shores, Moclips, Hoquiam, Aberdeen, etc., will look eerily like Japan did in 2010.

We can’t live in fear of what might happen, but we can live in respect of what can happen. Simple things, like having rope ladders in the upstairs bedrooms and using them once in a while, just in case, will go a long ways to mitigating the “stuff” of life we can’t control.

Oh ya, this was supposed to be about tomatoes…

The day we left on our trip the greenhouse was under control, but when we returned those plants had gone rogue. I don’t know about your family, but around here it is more like tyranny of the urgent. And if it can wait, normally it will wait. If laundry is most pressing, it gets done before tomatoes get strung. But when we got back, it was obvious that the tomatoes required center stage. They are all suckered (a.k.a., “pruned”) and climbing twine now! Of course, I could have done that the week before, but the potatoes, sunflowers, and strawberries all had needs as well and were just a little more pressing. Got to go, the orchard is out of control.

PREPARATION
1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and prepare a bowl filled with ice water. Plunge the fava beans into the water and cook for 2-3 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon to the ice bath to cool quickly (save the water for cooking the peas). Once cool, take the beans and remove the tough outer layer, which should slip away easily to reveal the bright green bean inside. Cook the peas for 2-3 minutes in the boiling water and then transfer them to the ice water as well, draining once cool.

2. In a large (12-inch) skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for a minute, then add the corn and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes. Add the peas, zucchini, and cook until most of the moisture has evaporated and absorbed into the vegetables. With a few minutes left of cooking, add the fava beans and butter. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the basil leaves.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/07/dinner-tonight-scallops-with-corn-and-fava-bean-succotash-recipe.html

In preparation for these long, sun-filled days, we started our list of things we hope to accomplish during these next few months. There are books to read, stories to write and games to play. There’s also the return of his lemonade stand and the hope of a booming business. And then there are the activities that without their presence in the coming months, it just wouldn’t feel like summer.

I can’t wait to feel the dirt under my nails and crusted on my knees while tucked in between the tight rows of lush strawberries. When the warm air sweeps between the plants and carries up a sweet scent, that’s when I know it’s summer. Or when the kids are content to play in the frigid water from the hose for hours, pausing for a quick break to snap off a blueberry from our bushes or a crisp sugar snap pea with its tender tendrils wrapping around the pole tucked into the dirt, that’s when I know it’s summer.

In the kitchen, it’s summer when a salad of fresh sliced vegetables shimmies up to a grilled piece of fish or chicken. It’s when a bowl of freshly picked strawberries, blueberries or peaches bathing in cream is just about the best you’ve ever tasted. When pasta tossed simply with a heap of freshly chopped vegetables and a bit of soft goat cheese is about as complicated as dinner gets, that’s summer. Even better yet, is a crusty and craggy piece of bread slathered with butter or mayo with flecks of basil throughout and topped with a thickly sliced ruby red tomato sprinkled with salt and maybe a splash of extra virgin olive oil, if I’m feeling fancy.

These months beg for simplicity—days unplanned and toes wet and cold from having spent the afternoon chasing the waves. The food of this season confirms this ease by being naturally sweet, intensely flavorful and bountiful. It’s as if summer has already cooked for us. So let’s enjoy the long days and return the favor by eating simply and well.

by Ashley Rodriguez    
food blogger
www.notwithoutsalt.com  

1 Cups of Mango, peeled

1 Cup of Peach, peeled

1/2 Cup Orange juice

2 Tbsp Honey

PREPARATION

Combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth.

Spoon equal amount of the popsicle puree into each mold. Freeze until solid, about 4 hours or overnight.

Recipe and image adapted from: http://www.seasaltwithfood.com/2009/04/mango-and-orange-popsicles.html

• Wait for better weather!  
• Repair equipment broken during the sunny stretches.  
• Pray for good weather to farm again.  
• Run the kiddos to and from. 
• Hope the weather prognosticators are wrong or right.  
• Go to end of the year school concerts.  
• Lie awake at night and listen to the rain.
• Sign up for vacation bible schools, track and soccer camps.  
• Make Sourdough bread, as if I needed a new hobby!

Making sourdough bread is fun and with a little planning relatively little work. Last Friday, Joelle asked for dinner rolls. “Hmmm…,” I thought, “I haven’t made dinner rolls before, but all they are is miniature bread loaves—I can do this.” Of course, when the weather breaks in my favor, this hobby will have to go on the back burner ☺ !

PREPARATION
Halve cucumbers lengthwise; remove seeds and slice thinly. In sieve, sprinkle cucumbers with salt ; let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. In bowl, toss cucumbers with onions, mint, lemon juice, oil and vinegar. (Recipe can be prepared ahead and refrigerated for up to 8 hours. Bring to room temperature before continuing.) Taste and adjust seasoning.

Recipe from http://www.cbc.ca/bestrecipes/2011/11/cucumber-salad-with-fresh-mint.html

A PERFECT BURGER RECIPE 

THE RIGHT CHOICE OF MEAT But before you get to cook the burger, you have to choose the right meat. 

If you are grinding the meat yourself with a food processor or a mixer’s grinding attachment. Chuck and brisket is preferred, and put them in the freezer first and chill them to 30 degrees. The fat percentage is a matter of preference but do not be afraid of fat a 25-30% fat content makes it juicier.

A NICE ROUND SHAPE Next, you form the patty.

Handling the raw meat too much means you’re going to end up with a brick of meat. Lightly shape the patty refrigerate for an hour or two before cooking. This will help it hold better. 

Michael Mina, founder of the Mina Group, which includes the recently RN74 in Seattle, rolls each patty into a ball, then presses it flat to get a nice round shape.

Alternatively, jar lids are popular with chefs. Some swear the lid of a mayonnaise jar makes the best possible burger mold.

Dimpling the patty, helps it cook evenly, and you won’t be tempted to smack it down and lose all the juice.

All the chefs agree that salt is crucial. Whether you’re using kosher, table or sea salt, you should be pretty liberal with it. Beef can take more salt than you think. Most chefs recommended seasoning the burger just before cooking it.

HOW HOT DO YOU GO? The beauty of a burger is its seared crust, and the only way to get it is to make sure the grill, skillet or flat top is hot, hot, hot. 

Testing for doneness is always a challenge for the home cook. Seamus Mullen, the chef and an owner of the Boqueria restaurants in the Flatiron district and SoHo, uses a wire cake tester. (Any thin, straight piece of metal will work as well.)

“We stick it in the middle through the side,” he said. “If it’s barely warm to the lips, it’s rare. If it’s like bath water, it’s medium rare. The temperature will never lie. It takes the guesswork out of everything.”

AND THE PERFECT BUN These chefs are focusing their laserlike attention on the bread around the meat, too.

Every chef believes that the buns should be warm and crispy.

SWEET, SOUR BUT FRESH FIXINGS Nothing is taken for granted, not even pickles. 

Cheese receives the same attention. Joey Campanaro, the chef and owner at the Little Owl in the West Village, uses American cheese.

What matters most to him when selecting cheese?

“Meltability,” he said. So if a cheese like Gruyère doesn’t melt easily, he grates it, then presses it into a disk the same size as the burger.

The chefs had some final tips for creating a memorable burger. Choose lettuce that’s crisp and serve it cold. Use only really good, ripe tomatoes; a bad tomato waters down the burger without adding any taste. 

Ultimately, though, it’s not just the ingredients that make a burger great, good company can make all the difference. Happy Memorial Day!
 

Adapted from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/dining/01burg.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

What can an apple tell us about nutrition? Lots. Apples are an amazing source of so many good things that nutritionally benefit us. (We are just using apples as an example. The same could be said for oranges, kale, radishes, etc.) Have a look at this list of goodies in every apple. One medium apple with skin contains:
Protein 0.47 grams, Calories 95, and Dietary Fiber 4.4 grams. 

Minerals: Potassium 195 mg, Calcium 11 mg, Phosphorus 20 mg, Magnesium 9 mg, Manganese 0.064 mg, Iron 0.22 mg, Sodium 2 mg, Copper 0.049 mg, Zinc 0.07 mg, also contains a trace amount of other minerals.
Vitamins: Vitamin A 98 IU, Vitamin B1 (thiamine) 0.031 mg, Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) 0.047 mg, Niacin 0.166 

mg, Folate 5 mcg, Pantothenic Acid 0.111 mg, Vitamin B6 0.075 mg, Vitamin C 8.4 mg, Vitamin E 0.33 mg, Vitamin K 4 mcg, and contains some other vitamins in small amounts.

That reads more like a list from a multivitamin, except the apple didn’t have any added preservatives, food coloring or sugar.

What is even more amazing, is that our bodies are uniquely created to eat, process and put to good use all of the apple’s ingredients. Let’s take a look at the Vitamin C in an apple. Our list says that an apple has 8.4 mg of Vitamin C. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for Vitamin C is 200 mg. Hmmm… The apple appears to have 25 times less Vitamin C than the RDA. Many people would contend that 200 mg is just enough Vitamin C to ward off scurvy and so they push for higher amounts, upwards of 1500 to 2000 mg per day.

It would appear that when we reduce the apple to its core (pun intended), one would have to eat a lot of apples to get to the recommended RDA. However, some research done at Cornell University on apples and Vitamin C discovered that 1) apples did have about 8.4 mg of Vitamin C, but 2) that the apple produced 1500 mg of Vitamin C-like benefits when eaten. This is incredible! Our bodies are able to magnify the 8.4 mg of Vitamin C and deliver 178 times more benefit. And that is only one nutrient. What about potassium or manganese or iron?

The same body that breathes on its own, circulates blood on its own, and heals cuts on its own, is probably more than capable to mix and match any combination of nutrients based on what the body needs at that moment.  

One could start to imagine, that if our food supply was grown on healthy organically managed soils, that weren’t abused by chemical fertilization, herbicides, pesticides and fungicides, how much healthier our food supply would be. If our nation’s soil was rich in nutrients and the foods we eat were grown in that that type of soil, Americans would be among the healthiest people in the world. 

Fortunately, in America, we still have the freedom to choose life-giving foods, rich in nutrients that will nourish us and sustain us. So the next time you think your body needs an immune booster, just reach for two apples and let your body decide how it wants to best use all the nutrients. 

For centuries we have had food primarily raised “organically.” People ate more locally, had more diversity in their diets, raised their own food and got plenty of exercise in the process. (I can only imagine how successful a CrossFit gym would have been during the early 1900s.) Americans also ate a lot less processed foods and consumed a lot less animal proteins.  

Back then, New Jersey was called the Garden State for a reason. When the country was run by true animal power—everything from police to fire to transportation—every sector of society generated animal waste and it all had to be carted out of the city. And guess where NYC’s animal waste went?  New Jersey. Copious amounts of barnyard waste were plowed into those farm fields to grow more fruits and vegetables. A beautiful picture of a symbiotic relationship between cities and farms, where the farms fed the cities and cities, in turn, fed the soil.

After WWII, agriculture moved away from barnyard wastes to chemical solutions. Initially, the chemicals were used more like a supplement and they worked reasonably well, but that was because the farmland was heavily fortified with nutrients from the “organic” farming practices of earlier generations.  But as time marched on, the ease of chemical usage enticed many farmers to leave the time-tested practices of building soil health. And eventually our national treasure, the soil, became depleted and disease and insect pressure on our crops dramatically increased. Of course, the chemical mongers developed stronger killers to wipe out the new problems that their chemicals helped to create.  

As our national health continued its decline, our nation embraced Genetic Engineering (GE) or Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). So, having moved from organic farming to spraying our crops with synthetic herbicides, fungicides and pesticides, we are now actually inserting the pesticide or herbicide into the genes of our food. Now, a farmer can spray his crops with an all-purpose indiscriminate herbicide like RoundupTM and kill everything but the crop or insert a pesticide into the plant itself, so that when a corn borer or Monarch butterfly starts to nibble, it will die, saving the crop, so that you and I can nibble it later. YUCK! 

Klesick Family Farm, along with many other farms across the nation and around the world, has decided to grow real food from soils that are nutrient-rich—working with nature, not against it.  But we can’t do it without “eaters,” so thank you for saying “yes” to real food.  

4 large yellow bell peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
olive oil spray
1 cup sliced mushrooms
¼ c. onions, chopped
2 cups rice, cooked
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
Pepper, freshly ground
½ cup monterey jack cheese, grated

PREPARATION

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large pan with foil. Spray outside of pepper halves with oil. Arrange peppers cut side down on prepared pan; bake on lower rack 15 to 20 minutes. When finished cooking, turn right side up and arrange in 9 x 13 inch dish.
Meanwhile, sauté mushrooms. Add onions and sauté for 3 minutes till soft. Add cooked rice, corn, zucchini, tomato sauce, spices, and beans and heat thoroughly.
Spoon rice mixture into cooked pepper halves. Sprinkle cheese over top. Return to oven for about 10 minutes until cheese is melted. Freezes well.

Adapted from: http://www.salad-in-a-jar.com/skinny-secrets/southwestern-roasted-stuffed-peppers