Things are starting to wind down at Rumar Farm with only a few more weeks left of harvest. We still have lots of greens and fall veggies that will be sold through our on-line store until the frost and beyond, so we hope everyone will still continue to visit and enjoy our local grown, certified organic and biodynamic produce.
This week we harvested all our dry beans and you will find that in your basket. Many people don’t know what to do with dry beans and prefer to used canned. I did the same until we started growing them a few years back and learned how much better dried beans taste. Here is a mixed bean soup recipe I love and want to share, you will have most items provided in your basket to make it yourself. First you will have to shell all your beans and rinse. Place them in a Dutch oven or soup kettle and add water to cover by 2 in. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 2-4 hours until the beans are softened. Drain and rinse, discarding the liquid. Add water (8 cups) to the beans, bring to a boil and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add 1/2 pound of ground beef (cooked and drained), cup of diced tomatoes, 1 cup chopped celery, 1 tsp chopped parsley, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp dried thyme, 2 bay leaves and generous amount of salt and pepper to taste. Bring everything to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours until the beans are tender. Discard the bay leaves and serve with crusty bread. Its a really hearty soup that yields 10 servings.
Here is what you can expect this week:
Mixed Dry Beans Bag of mixed beans red kidney, black turtle, borlotti, cassoulet and calypso. Ready to be shelled for the recipe above or can be stored for ages.
Lobo Apples Medium size tangy and crisp apple with a bright red skin. This is a good all purpose apple, similar to a McIntosh.
Butternut Squash Sweet nutty taste with an orange fleshy pulp. Toss cut up squash in olive oil and garlic in a large bowl. Season with salt and black pepper and roast on a baking sheet for 25-30 minutes.
Sweet Frying Peppers Long sweet peppers with a thin flesh and few seeds, perfect for slicing and frying. They have a delicate smoky flavour and are easy to prepare, simply fry the peppers in a hot pan season with salt and finish with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.
Tat Tsoi Buttery texture and slightly sweet flavour, great for salads and sauté. Treat it as you would spinach.
Baby Celery stalks Enough for your recipe above and more to dry for your spice collection
Parsley Bunch of curly leaf parsley.
Enjoy
