I’m back on the farm after a wonderful trip North. The tundra was in peak foliage, with brilliant yellow birch leaves, red bear berry plants, orange brambles, and lichen-encrusted rock formations. On one of our days of hiking we melted snow to fill our water bottles!
At the Tanana Valley farmers’ market vendors were selling fall crops (including the biggest kohl rabi I’ve ever seen!) and talking about the fast-approaching end of the summer. It sure made me appreciate returning to our longer growing season, where we still have nearly 2 months of harvests to look forward to! Chatting with Fairbanks farmers and filling a basket with produce at the market also made me appreciate how food and farming brings people together and gives us a common language. I had a spirited conversation with one grower about her broccolini plants and with another about her flower arrangements.
I was invited to taste test several varieties of carrots and to visit a new sheep farm and spinnery outside Fairbanks. Whether I shared that I was a fellow farmer or simply expressed my appreciation for the food they had grown from the perspective of a cook, all were warm, welcoming, and excited to connect. It was a great reminder of the importance of good food in our lives; not only to sustain us physically but to create community and enable us to interact with our neighbors over such a universally enjoyed thing as a beautiful head of cauliflower straight from the field!Thanks for all the connections and conversations we’ve had so far this season at Sweetland. I’m looking forward to many more!
Cheers, Norah and the Sweetland Crew
Now, on to this week’s harvest!
Week 17 Harvest, Brimming Basket
- Tomatoes, 2 pounds
- Red onions, 2 pounds
- Peppers, 2
- Fennel, 1
- Kohl rabi, 2
- Sungolds, 1/2 pint
- Apples, 2 pounds
- Rainbow chard or tatsoi, large bunch
Week 17 Harvest, Half Pint
- Tomatoes, 1 pound
- Red onions, 1 pound
- Peppers, 1
- Fennel, 1
- Kohl rabi, 1
- Sungolds, 1/2 pint
- Apples, 1 pound
- Rainbow chard or tatsoi, small bunch
Pick-your-own
The garden is at it’s peak harvest! We are scheming up ways of improving our PYO signage for next season, but for now don’t be shy to wander around and try anything that’s out there, including:
- Hot peppers (various varieties include chile, jalepeno, cherry bomb, habanero, poblano)
- Tomatillos (new crop at the far end by the sunflowers, look for the ones that have filled out inside the paper husk)
- Ground cherries (harvest the ones that have fallen to the ground and have a brown paper husk)
- Cucamelons (cute and tiny, lift the crawling vines to search for them)
- Edamame (pick the ones that have filled out enough to bulge in the pod)
- Basil (the second planting is flowering but still tasty)
- Corn (head across the street to help us clean out the last of the planting next to the greenhouse)
Recipes of the Week
- Garlic basil chicken with tomato butter sauce (we grew everything but the butter! We’ll have fresh chickens available this weekend.)
- Sicilian fennel & orange salad
- Balsamic-glazed red onions