Thursday, June 17, 2010

Red Greens @ High Star Farm

 Pea blossoms are edible ~ they're sweet and crunchy and taste just like the peas. Sweet Pea ornamental flowers are NOT edible. (TIP: Feed those to the dinner guests you don't particularly care for.)

This week's volunteer day at High Star Organic Farm involved a full day's interaction with the so-not-a-people-person supervisor who's tone of voice is enough to make me abandon my mild-mannered ways.

I was planning to crack him over the head with this 3-pound rogue turnip but then another volunteer walked into the greenhouse. Prompting me to postpone this root vegetable crime of passion until there are no witnesses.

It got me thinking about how it's all in the way we say things. If you graciously ask me to jump off a cliff ~ and, if you remember to say pretty please ~ I'd take that death-defying leap without giving it another thought.

If you throw a temper tantrum and say "I can't have you compacting the soil!" What's the first thing I'm gonna do? A fancy tap dance on your soil, of course.

Oh, I do love a good rant.

Okay! Back to the harvest... First thing on the agenda was 6 pounds of turnips. I don't know how to tell if a turnip is ready for harvest (and since I was mad at him, I wasn't about to ask.) If they're popping out of the ground, I'm guessing that's their way of saying 'eat me.' Would you agree?

Plus a whole bunch of red-green lettuce which makes for a pretty tasty summer salad:

Brown Butter Creamy Salad Dressing
  1. Melt 6 tablespoons butter and 2 chopped green onions in a saucepan.
  2. Stir like crazy as the butter foams and browns.
  3. Remove before the butter begins to burn. Cool a bit.
  4. Add 6 tablespoons lite sour cream and a drizzle of honey if you'd like it sweet.
* My salad consisted of greens, hard-boiled eggs and pea pods, garnished with pea blossoms but you can get all wild and crazy with these ingredients. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every Wednesday, I volunteer at this very fun organic farm ~ located in Kamas, Utah. Locals can find their fabulous fresh produce at the Park City, UT Farmer's Market. Just tell 'em Kate sent you. I'm the gal that gives these goodies a bath!

27 comments:

Noelle Johnson said...

I agree, that being around a non-people person can be quite irritating. I think it is so neat that you can work on a organic farm though. You must be learning a lot.

A Garden of Threads said...

Yes, asking nicely will always get a better response then ordering. Veggies are look very tasty.

Iron Needles said...

OMG. It's carrot day!

Also, I can't have you giving me recipes to buttery, sour creamy, honey-y salad dressings like that! It just won't do!

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Noelle;
I am learning a lot. I'm hopeful this will help me grow better veggies in my own gardens. I'm never too successful with such things...

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Thx, Garden of Threads;
It's amazing how testy fresh-picked produce is compared to the stuff at my local supermarket.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Iron!
I was 3 carrots shy of load by the time I got to the stables. Had to nibble a few of them on the drive home. :)

Now I don't know why you're fussin' over this butter recipe. I suggested 'lite' sour cream... that should trim a calorie or two off that decadent mess!

Wendy said...

ooh, that dressing sounds delicious. I'll have to try it! I keep forgetting how lovely brown butter is (brown butter and sage mashed potatoes...).

Yes, it's all about how something is said! I posted a bit back about the uber-energetic guy at the Washington Youth Garden. The way he practically ran over when he saw someone compacting the soil, you could tell he was about to have a heart attack. But the way he said it? awwww, you just want to cuddle him, he's so sweet.

Johnny Nutcase said...

root vegetable crime of passion! Ha! I love it! I also love turnips.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Wendy;
Brown butter and sage potatoes... sounds like a heavenly combination. I had a good chuckle over your frantic fellow at the youth garden. Good to know there's lots of folks who go bonkers over soil! :)

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Johnny;
I'm glad somebody likes turnips. (Just kidding.) That was quite the back country adventure on your blog yesterday. What a fun job you have!

Chloe m said...

I was as the Pacific Ocean Marketplace near Denver and saw pea shoots by the bag! Now I know why the mice always eat them. THey are quite delicious. Thanks for sharing that recipe. Have to snag that for later cooking.

donna said...

vegetable crime of passion...that was just too funny!!!

love turnips and your greens look very tasty!

Gloria Bonde said...

Too funny! I didn't know you could eat the pea flower. It makes sense. I suppose you could eat the pretty scarlet runner bean flowers. One more week until the garden tour. Hope we don't get anymore hail!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Kate girl I so wish I could have seen that SCENE with the turnip truly smacking the head of the oh so RUDE person we shall never speak of again ? unless you do smack him and you need bail to get out of jail ?? LOL
That made me laugh so much ! Thank you ! .. what a wonderful volunteer job to have and the access to perfect food from the earth .. have you been thinking of Halloween ?? at all ?? LOL
Joy

Melanie J Watts said...

Kate it's always good to rant a bit :) The veggies look delicious. Everything in my garden is still way too little to eat. , except those mushrooms, although I've decided not to eat any of them.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Rosey;
They look really pretty in a salad. Way too nice for the mice. :)

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Donna!
I need to learn how to love turnips. They're so popular but I'm not too crazy about 'em....

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Gloria;
I sent an email to some SD master gardener friends who live near you. I thought they might love your garden tour...

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

I'll try to behave myself, Joy, but I make no guarantees! :D

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Melanie;
I'm glad you decided against cooking up those 'shrooms. I don't trust my own mushroom i.d. skills well enough to know, for sure, they're the right ones... And, my crazy theory on the subject is that if they're plentiful and easy to find they're probably the wrong ones out to get me! :)

Rose said...

What's the old saying about catching more flies with honey than vinegar? Some people don't seem to grasp that concept. Glad you restrained yourself before committing a vegetable crime of passion, Kate:)

I grow a similar red/green lettuce mix--delicious!

jan said...

It is at times such as this that we can be grateful for Karma. Because you just know that at some point, he will be on the receiving end of vegetable Karma!

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

You are so hilarious! I do, and did, agree with your method of pulling turnips, only mine looked more beet-shaped than carrot-shaped, but maybe that's what makes yours a rogue. (And mine were growing in a pot.)

I too am pretty compliant with demanding requests but when told NOT to do something, I immediately want to do that very thing even if I never in my life had wanted to before. The human brain is the ultimate mystery!

Carolyn ♥ said...

Catching up on my reading... delightful post! I didn't know the pea flowers are edible. What a beautiful addition to a salad. Now I wish I had planted some. I'll try again in the Fall.

gtyyup said...

Sounds like a delicious dressing...had to jot it down. Thanks for sharing!

happykamas said...

Passive aggressive much? Do you really feel that it was necessary to lambast a busy/ stressed Spring farmer and not ever mention this to him in person? instead you hide behind your blog (and continue to volunteer?)and give a great farm a negative name. It is a business. Its cute that you play gardener every now and then, but this his job. Stick to the educational aspects blogger and keep the pointless judgments aside.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Oh, good grief, Happy Kamas, calm down. And, while you're at it try developing a sense of humor.

I'm not sure how you so completely misunderstood the joking around in this blog entry but rest assured I think very highly of every person associated with this business.

PS: And, I'm pretty sure this fellow read these blog posts, months ago when they were first posted. Everyone working at the farm was aware that I was writing them.