For this Saturday, December 19th we will have, freshly harvested and ready at 10am:
December lettuces are tender and sweet!
Loads of sweet salad mix, baby arugula, teen arugula, baby and teen spicy salad mixes, and royal oak leaf lettuce heads;
These round yellow summer squash are tender and can be roasted, stewed, fried, stuffed…yum!!We love seeing what you do with our produce! Here is a stuffed zucchini with a side salad! Thanks Isabel Cerni & family!
Zucchini, round summer squash, lots of generously sized Ethiopian kale (it’s similar to a mild mustard green, super dark and tender), Tuscan kale and red edged kale, dandelion greens;
Fresh Mediterranean figs are beyond tender and sweet when ripe!
Wild cucumber gherkins, a few half pints of cherry tomatoes, our first slicing tomatoes of the season, and amazing fresh Mediterranean figs.
Open 10am – 12 noon but of course come early for the best selection! We will be open Wednesday, December 23rd, 3-6pm with a similar lineup.
Hot new work from the ARTbarn: Luca recently delivered the original art for the 2016 Taste Of St. Croix poster. The subject this year is one of our fellow farmers, Grantley Samuel, who is known as the Corn Man but is also renowned for his watermelon. Thought you all might enjoy this! Prints will be available at the Taste Of St. Croix in April!
The ARTfarm is back after our ridiculously long “summer break.” (If mangoes are out of season, why not us?) We have some green goodness for you! THANK YOU for waiting…
Early Saturday morning…
We’ve got beautiful sweet green zucchinis and round yellow summer squashes! Big beautiful bunches of tender, dark green Ethiopian kale plus two other kinds of kale. Dandelion greens. We’ve also got wild gherkins – these are pasture cucumbers, spiny but delicious as a quick (or slower) pickle. Quick pickle recipe below.
Salads are back! Come early and dig into the farmstand coolers: we’ll have sweet salad mix, baby spicy mix, baby arugula, and green oak leaf lettuce heads.
Early birds may spot one or two pints of our yellow super sweet cherry tomatoes, passionfruits, and fresh figs. (Late birds will still get Ethiopian kale and zucchini!)
Freshly early-this-morning-harvested herbs: thyme, Thai basil, Italian basil, holy basil, lemongrass, garlic chives, recao. Some green (red hot) chili peppers.
Say hi to Santa at the Christmas Boat Parade tonight, and tell him we’ve been really really good at the ARTfarm and we want a pony. No, make that lots and lots more rain.
Wild pasture cucumbers: salty, crunchy, earthy. A bit spiny to the touch – just rub the little points off with a dishcloth when rinsing!
Farmer Luca’s Wild & Quick Pickle Recipe*
Eating these weedy little cucumbers is a bit like those early childhood experiments where you’d find something outdoors and decide to “make a snack”. Sometimes when we are working in the pastures and run out of water to drink, these juicy little bite-sized cucurbits are just the thing! Nature’s little oasis. This quick pickle is delicious served as a crunchy little side anywhere you’d want a bit of relish.
3 c. tiny wild pasture cucumbers, cut in half 1/2 c. water 1/4 c. vinegar 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon unrefined sugar (muscovado or coconut sugar) 1 teaspoon cumin seed 1/8 c. chopped fresh herbs; tarragon, or whatever is handy, to taste
Briefly dry roast the cumin seed in a saucepan. Add the liquids, sugar and salt and bring to a simmer.
Toss the cucumbers, onion and fresh herbs in a bowl and pack loosely into canning jars.
Pour hot liquid over chopped cucumber mixture to cover. Allow it to sit until just warm, then cover. Eat as soon as cool and/or refrigerate.
Will settle in flavor and taste even better the next day.
*This is a rough, down and dirty farmer recipe, the percentage of all ingredients can be increased or decreased to taste
The squash vines are kickin’ out lots of zukes at ARTfarm!
Ask and you shall receive! Last season Shepherdess Christina told Farmer Luca that, since our family was trying to go gluten-free but loves pasta, that we wanted some beautiful organically grown zucchini to make into gluten-free noodles (“zoodles”) with our spiralizer vegetable cutter.
Shazam! We have lots of zucchini, thanks to our water-preserving new gardening techniques. The squash vines are going crazy.
Tomorrow we will have loads of Ethiopian kale, 2 types regular kale, Italian basil, Thai basil, holy basil, lemon basil, garlic chives, Recao, lemongrass, small and large yellow round squash, green zucchini squash, Green Oak leaf lettuce heads, baby spicy, baby arugula, sweet salad mix, wild cucumbers (gherkins) and a few fresh sweet Mediterranean figs. Maybe 1-2 pints of yellow cherry tomatoes for the early birds, and fresh, lovingly produced eggs from Yellow Door Farm. See you in the morning!
Chef Jamey Hughson stopped by this week to pick up ingredients for a Bon Bagay sunset sail! If you haven’t been out with Captain Jerry and his crew for this farm-to-galley experience, jump on it soon! They’ll be sailing away for a few months this summer.
The ARTfarmers enjoyed a local dinner sunset sail with the Bon Bagay team recently. The boat chefs have been visiting us regularly all season long for their farm-to-galley menus, and we had to go and see what they were doing with all our produce. It was so relaxing to be out on the water in the starlight and we are still marveling at the various, off-the-charts tasty, creative courses Chef Jamey Hughson put together. If you haven’t been out west to enjoy this secret gem of an experience, give them a call (340-277-7660) or make reservations on their website. They are headed down island in late June for a few months to work on the boat, so hurry and get a reservation in now! The boat seats six but singles and couples are welcome to mix from different parties. Treat yourself!!
Today we have MINT for your Kentucky Derby mint juleps, and a few ARTfarm pineapples today for the early birds! Also on today’s list: Sweet salad mix, teen spicy salad mix, arugula, microgreens, macrogreens, a few cucumbers, a few tomatoes, yard long red beans, onions, scallions, beets, carrots, lots of radishes, dandelion greens, bagged kale, mini bell peppers, Serano peppers, Italian basil, sage, rosemary, mint, zinnia flowers, and amazing local fruit flavors of vegan coconut ice cream (from our partner I-Sha).
Eat the whole thing! These crunchy ARTfarm radishes are sold with fresh, delicious green tops. The tops are great rinsed, chopped, and dropped into, sprinkled over, or wilted on just about any savory dish you are making! Slightly peppery (less so when cooked), and oh-so-good for you!
Things are greening up on the South Shore! Come check things out!
ARTfarm on St. Croix, USVI 