Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Melon




Here at the Sippel Family Farm we grow Muskmelon ( cantelope) and small watermelons. Not many recipes for these. The CROWS are loving the watermelons, lets hope they dont sample too many!

Sweet Corn

Tomatoes



We ahve so many varieties of Tomatoes, Heirlooms mostly. The difference between and heirloom and a hybrid tomato is that the Heirlooms are seeds from tomatoes that have remain unchanged by human science. Hybrid Tomatoes, typically red-round-boring, have been bred in a lab to be redder, rounder, more disease resistant, etc.

Some Heirloom Varieties we grow are: Cherokee Purple, Prudens Purple, Black Prince, Black Krim, Rose De Burne, Pink Brandywine, Yellow Brandywime, Roman CAndle, Striped German, Aunt Rubys German Green, Valencia, San Marzano Paste, and Great White.

We tend to use HEirlooms more foten than any other tomato. We like to make sauce from these. To make a simple sauce ( not for those that are afraid of seeds ) cut the top of the tomato off, squeese out the juice and seeds, rough chop and place tomatoes in a deep saucepan. Cook them on MED until the juice comes out and they are gently boiling. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the sauce becomes thick. I dont always mill out the seeds and skin, but you certainly could at this point. Add garlic, onion, hot pepper, green pepper, mushrooms- whatever you like in your sauce at this point. Season with salt and pepper, also a little bit of sugar can really brighten up a sauce. Enjoy with your favorite pasta- Add basil when serving, it doesnt cook well.

YOu can also get a more smokey sauce by cuttign the tops off the tomato, squeezing out seed and then placing them on a cookie sheet- with sides of course- and baking them in the oven with a little olive oil until they are very limp and slightly browned- you can cook the onion and garlic in the oven with them. 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, depending on the amount.

Tomatillo

Eggplant

Shallots

Bell Pepper