Hey Folks,
Happy Olympics. I know the Olympics were going on at this time last week, too, but somehow that escaped my radar. Every four years around summertime I have a sudden urge to drop everything I’m doing, hire a coach, and start training as a professional athlete. It will happen again two years from now during the World Cup, when I will once again regret not playing soccer past 8th grade, and every spring during March Madness, when I inevitably find a basketball to bounce around in the vernal slush. Alas, my days as an athlete are over. I do, however, like to think of myself and Mimi as excellent farmers, outstanding in our field, if you will. If one were to dissect our work day into different “events” and set us against the international competition, I’m sure we’d bring home some medals. “Wagon Pull” or “Wheel Barrel Push” might be my specialty, while Mimi would be a favorite in “Tomato Picking” and “Wheel Hoeing” . Other events we’d be quite competitive in include basil picking, manual carrot fork digging, and 50 ft crawl dash (our rows are 50 ft long, and when we have to hand weed them we generally crawl on our hands and knees), and livestock food haul. Doubles events would include salad greens preparation (for speed, wash, spin, and bag 30 lbs of greens in half pound bags) and garden bed measuring (fastest team to set up a rectangle into 10 beds 2 ½ ft. wide with 1 ft. walkways in between wins). You could make quite the event out of farm labor, and I’m sure to the outsider it might look quite odd. We have specialized these skills that don’t mean much outside of the field, but with practice make our work days much faster. It’s fun to think about racing others in these mundane and repetitive tasks, to celebrate our niche. It might be more fun to score a game winning goal in the final seconds of a gold medal soccer match, but I’ll take what I can get. Hope you’re all enjoying the games.
Ben and Mimi
In your share:
spicy mustard mix
chard
kale
green beans
basil
tomatoes
onions
carrots
beets
summer squash
cucumber
cilantro
Recipes:
Gazpacho
Ingredients:
Juice of 1 lemon
1 small cucumber, diced
3 large tomatoes, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoon salt
Parsley, cilantro, or basil to garnish
Cooking instructions:
Blend all ingredients, leaving the soup a bit chunky. Serve immediately or chill in fridge to make for an extra special chilled treat in hot weather.
Garden Patch Cake (A Swimm family favorite)
Ingredients
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely shredded carrots
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
1/2 cup finely shredded beets
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
FROSTING:
2 packages (3 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Directions
In a large bowl, beat oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; add to egg mixture and mix well. Stir in vegetables. Add chips and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
For frosting, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Spread over cake. Store in refrigerator.
