Blue Moon Farm needs energetic early riser Thursdays and Fridays (maybe other days too periodically) August until the crops run out (we hope that will be mid-November but you never know in central Illinois). Email us at bluemoonfarmurbana@gmail.com. Include your name, phone#, hours you can work and anything else you think pertenant.
Can you see yourself hanging with this group?
I tend to 
look to the veggies for guidance on what to cook instead of to cookbooks but this one is an exception. I can’t turn the pages of Totam Ottolengghi’s book without going crazy waiting for items to come into season so I can cook them up as shown in the book. The recipes, which are vegetarian and draw on numerous culinary cultures including Arab and Jewish traditions, are produce inspired. I am so happy that onions are in (the stuffed onion recipe is on tonight’s list), and am counting the days for fennel and eggplant to come in so I can make the paella and croquettes.
The gang survived a killer week to bring you arugula, basis (genovese, purple and thai), beets, broccoli, cabbage, chard, cilantro, cucumbers (pickling and salad), garlic, kale, kohlrabi, green onions, yellow and white onions, parsley, green and purple peppers, salad mix, yellow squash, tomatoes of all sorts, zucchini. What else?
Arugula, Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Chard, Cilantro, Collard Greens, Cucumbers, Green Onions, Kale – multiple varieties including Baby Red Russian Kale, Kohlrabi, Parsley, Tatsoi, Tomatoes (cherry and slicers), Turnips, Salad Mix, Perpetual Spinach and who knows
Make Pickeled Scapes
First trim flower bud off scapes, cut into 3-4 inch pieces. Pack scapes lengthwise into clean jars, leaving 1/4” headspace. Add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 clove garlic, and 1 head dill to each jar.
Next prepare the juice. I used the Dilly Beans recipe (found that suggestion on the internet). One can take liberties.
2 pounds scapes (hand fulls)
1/4 cup canning salt
2-1/2 cups vinegar
2-1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, divided
4 cloves garlic, divided
4 heads dill, divided
Combine salt, vinegar and water in a large saucepot. Bring juice to a boil or heat in the microwave. Use microwave safe glass- heat about 4 minutes.
Then pour hot liquid over beans, leaving ¼” headspace Remove air bubbles. You could can these the usual way- 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner or, be lazy like me, and use a microwave. If using the microwave, use a piece of plastic wrap to loosely cover the jar then microwave for 3 minutes. Place the cap on the jar, leave the plastic wrap on. Cool to room temperature and place in refrigerator. Eat them when they are cool.