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By deepening our connection to the food system, we  can further connect with each other and the world around us.

Roasted Tomato Coulis

9/21/2020

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I know some of you have been patiently waiting for our Roasted Tomato Coulis. Well, you’re in luck—I made some yesterday! I roast our tomatoes, thyme, onions, and garlic for nice deep flavor, then blend it, creating a smooth, versatile sauce. The French word “coulis” (pronounced “koo-LEE”) simply refers to a smooth sauce made from pureed vegetables or fruits.

We use the coulis everywhere—over pasta, mixed into our morning grits (or savory oatmeal!), or in any dish that could benefit from the addition of tomato, onion, and garlic. Add some chiles, smoked paprika, and cumin for a chili base, or add curry powder or garam masala for the start of an Indian-inspired dish. We even have customers who use it in Bloody Marys!

Have fun experimenting!
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Honoring Paul Robeson in the Tomato Garden

5/18/2020

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Image from the BBC.
One of our favorite tomato varieties is the Paul Robeson. It is an exceptionally juicy beefsteak type variety with purple shoulders. I knew it was a Russian variety named after the African American actor, singer, and activist, but am embarrassed to say that I didn’t know much of anything about the man other than the fact that he had a delicious tomato named after him. We recently watched a PBS American Masters documentary about Robeson, and I am astounded that his name and life story aren’t better known.

Robeson was born in 1898. His father, a former slave, taught him early in life that he was just as capable and worthy as his white peers, and he took that message of equality to heart throughout his life. Robeson won a scholarship to Rutgers College, where he was the only black student. He gained a national reputation as a college football star and was valedictorian of his class. He graduated from Columbia Law School, but refused to accept a law career subject to racist barriers, and instead followed his passion for singing and acting.

Robeson’s incredible bass baritone voice is best known today from his performance of “Ol’ Man River” in the musical and film Show Boat, but his musical range was vast, crossing many styles and languages. Between concerts all over the world, Broadway performances, music recordings, and early films, Robeson became the most famous black man in the world. His performances of Othello in London and on Broadway were renowned (at this time, the role was typically played by a white actor in blackface) and he played to some of the first racially integrated audiences. While he struggled to land film roles that met his goal of uplifting the black experience, he continually used his platform to stand up for, and stand with, the downtrodden.

His activism ranged from black civil rights to anti-colonialism, labor rights to anti-fascism to the peace movement. He became enamored with the Soviet Union, where, when touring, he found himself treated as “a human being for the first time in my life,” he said. “I walk in full human dignity.”[1] His unbridled affection for the USSR got him in trouble with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Intense anti-communist pressure from Senator McCarthy and others caused many civil rights leaders to denounce Robeson out of fear. Robeson stood firm on principle, refusing to play the game. During his testimony to the HUAC, Robeson was asked why he didn’t leave the US and move to Russia. His reply: “Because my father was a slave, and my people died to build this country, and I am going to stay here, and have a part of it just like you. And no Fascist-minded people will drive me from it. Is that clear?”[2] His defiance did not help his case, and Robeson was entirely blacklisted in the US. His records and video footage were destroyed. His passport was even seized by the government so he could not tour abroad.

In 1958, a Supreme Court ruling restored Robeson’s passport and his career started a gradual recovery, but a mental and physical breakdown in 1961 forced him to retire from public life. He died in 1976 following a stroke.
Truly, Robeson had problematic blind spots when it came to his stalwart defense of Stalin’s Soviet Union. Yet his unflinching activism, dedication to his beliefs, brilliance, and sheer talent in arenas from music to sports to linguistics should make him an honored household name. With my new knowledge of Paul Robeson’s life and work, I now think of tending his legacy when tending his tomatoes.
 
Sources:
 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-paul-robeson-said-77742433/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUki-v-NvoE
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6440/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Robeson
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/paul-robeson-tomato

[1] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-paul-robeson-said-77742433/
[2] http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6440/
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Photo from Tomato Growers Supply Company
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A Burst of Summer and the Art of Seeds

1/20/2020

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The Franklin County Farmers’ Market is putting on another Pop-Up Winter Market this Saturday, January 25, where we’ll be unveiling a couple of new products that we think will bring some sunshine to your winter: Roasted Tomato Juice and Pomodoro Tomato Jelly!

Over the summer, during peak tomato season, we slow-roasted our heirloom plum tomatoes to coax out as much flavor as possible, and canned the intense juice for a burst of tomato goodness any time of year. We think of the juice as a secret ingredient to add multi-layered tomato flavor—sweetness, tartness, and complexity—to all kinds of cooking. We use it like an intense stock: as the base of a soup, in a marinade, to cook grains, or to add an extra splash of flavor when roasting vegetables. Its high acid content makes it perfect for deglazing, as well. (Be aware that the acid in the tomato juice can affect the cooking of some beans and grains, so when in doubt, add the juice to already-cooked beans and grains). We like to experiment with the Roasted Tomato Juice and play in the kitchen and hope you do, too. Try it in this savory oatmeal recipe!

We also made some of the magical tomato juice into a really neat golden jelly that somehow has an almost honey-like or apple-like quality. It’s hard to describe the nuanced flavors that come through the Pomodoro Tomato Jelly—you’ll just have to try some!

You may have read about Dandelion Ridge Farm’s jar return program on the back of your canned good labels; for each jar returned to us, we will make a donation to a relevant cause. Roasted Tomato Juice jars prompt a donation to the Edible Schoolyard Program, which fosters a network of thousands of school gardens around the world, and creates edible education curricula. When you return a Pomodoro Jelly jar, we donate to the World Vegetable Center. This global non-profit develops nutrient-dense vegetable varieties and promotes efficient production methods to combat poverty and improve nutrition around the world. It also maintains an enormous bank of seeds and other plant genetic material, including about 12,000 specimens from indigenous vegetables around the world.

Seed saving, selecting, and sharing over the generations have developed an enormous diversity of vegetable varieties suited to the different situations, environments, needs, and priorities of the growers and their communities. Seed banks and libraries are invaluable repositories and caregivers of plant biodiversity that might otherwise be lost for reasons ranging from disuse and improper storage to natural disasters and climate change. This week, I learned about a beautiful art project celebrating and exploring the biodiversity within seed banks: Dornith Doherty’s Archiving Eden. Currently on display in Toronto, this interactive exhibition encourages visitors to exchange X-ray images of seeds with actual seeds of Canadian crops and wild plants. I was fascinated to learn of Doherty’s work here and hope you’ll find it inspiring, too!
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GleanKY to the Rescue!

8/1/2019

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Can you believe it’s August already? We’re still swimming in tomatoes at Dandelion Ridge Farm, and have been struggling to keep up with harvesting and processing them all, so we called in GleanKY for help. GleanKY is a non-profit based in Lexington, KY that tackles hunger and food waste by gleaning excess fruit and vegetables from farms, grocery stores, and farmers’ markets and redistributing this produce to more than 100 local feeding programs. In addition to their grocery store and farmers’ market gleanings, they send volunteer crews to harvest produce from local farms and deliver it to soup kitchens, food banks, and other organizations to help the hungry. We’re enthusiastic supporters of the important work they do! A couple of folks from Glean came out to the farm one morning this week and harvested about 350 pounds of tomatoes and delivered them to recipients in need. It felt good to know that those beautiful tomatoes are going to make a lot of people happy! If you want to know more about GleanKY, including volunteer and donation opportunities, go to gleanky.org.
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Ginger, Edible Flowers, Tomatillos, and Okra

7/25/2019

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Hope you’re enjoying this break from the heat—we are, and so are our plants at Dandelion Ridge Farm. We hilled up the soil around our ginger this week to give the rhizomes more room to grow, and the plants are looking beautiful (as you can see in this picture)! We plan to harvest the ginger in the fall. We harvested our small garlic crop and have it drying in the greenhouse  for use in our canned sauces. Our kale and collard plants are feeling the heat and reaching the end of their lives, so we took them down for the season.

Our edible flowers—marigolds, nasturtiums, and bachelor’s buttons at the moment—are starting to bloom and we’ll bring a few to market this weekend. They add a touch of elegance and a pop of color to any special dish!

We’re still harvesting tomatoes and tomatillos every day, and canning them every chance we get! We’re unveiling our Roasted Tomatillo Salsa this week. We make this Southwestern salsa verde using Dandelion Ridge Farm tomatillos, jalapeños, and parsley. We roast the tomatillos until slightly charred to deepen their bright, tart flavor. Related to the tomato, tomatillos grow inside elegant paper husks and have a tangy, slightly fruity flavor. You’re most likely to find tomatillos in Mexican and Central American cuisines, but you can also stir-fry them, use them in curries, or even try them in a Bloody Mary! Try a sample of our salsa at the market this weekend, and take home a jar or some tomatillos to make salsa yourself!

Our okra is now in full swing, and we’re harvesting a pound every day or two. If you’ve never seen okra growing, the plants are beautiful and tropical-looking, with stunning pale yellow flowers with burgundy centers . Okra, a relative of the hibiscus plant, was brought to the Americas by enslaved Africans. It is popular in Indian, African, Caribbean, and Creole cuisine. While I know some people object to okra’s texture, try roasting or grilling it to avoid any sliminess, or use it in soups and stews, where it can add a silky texture.
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Tomatoes and Tomatillos Galore!

7/17/2019

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We’re in the thick of tomato and tomatillo season here at Dandelion Ridge Farm, and the delicious fruits have taken over our lives! When we’re not harvesting, we’re canning or drying our harvests to last throughout the year. There isn’t much time for other garden work right now! Here are our towering tomato plants reaching for the sky!

But we’re excited to start unveiling some new canned goods this week, starting with Sweet Abundance Green Tomato Jelly. Kevin developed this recipe years ago when we were living in Asheville, NC, and a bad tomato blight left us with dead tomato plants and tons of green tomatoes. Our tomato plants are thriving this year, but we harvested some green tomatoes so that we could share this unique and delicious jelly with you! It has a beguiling sweet and subtly tart flavor that is excellent on cornbread—our favorite use! Try some at the Franklin County Farmers’ Market this weekend!

Check out this recipe for Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce--it's a delicious pizza sauce recipe Kevin developed  using our Principe Borghese sun-dried tomatoes—little power packs of intense tomato flavor so sweet and tasty that some of our customers eat them like candy!— and fresh paste tomatoes, as well as fresh herbs. Top your pizza with summer veggies like zucchini, eggplant, basil, or even more tomatoes!
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It sure feels like summer is in full swing!

5/29/2019

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It sure feels like spring is behind us and summer is in full swing—and our garden looks that way, too! Our plants are so much bigger each day that I feel like I’m watching a time-lapse video of growth. And of course, the weeds grow twice as fast as anything else! We’ve been busy trellising a jungle of tomatoes in our high tunnel—later than we should have, but they managed to get away from us! Our tomatillos are forming husks, okra plants have their first flowers, and we harvested our first zucchini. Yikes!

I’ve also been in the kitchen working on some new recipes, canning our last batch of Sage & Thyme Butternut Pickles for the season, and perfecting a new Sunny Zucchini Relish that we’ll be unveiling soon, seasoned with mustard seeds, celery seed, turmeric, and ginger. Take a sneak peek!

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