True Baby Carrots!

Botanical Interests' Daucus carota var sativas!  :~)

Here are a few of the first of my 'Little Finger' carrots, started from seed back in late April.  My first ever homegrown carrots!  Their seeds are miniscule and like to be soaked in water for 12 hours before planting.  Sowing the seeds--which aren't much bigger than one of these dashes--is made easier by the fact that four or so are planted per inch in rows roughly a foot apart.  Thinning occured once their greens were a good inch high.  I pulled a few around day 50, but the ones above were pulled on day 60 (seed packet states 57 days).

From all that I've read on the subject, carrots like deep soil mixed with lots of compost and peat.  So I mixed LOTS of compost and peat deep into the soil (7-8" down), achieving (I think) a 50/50 mix-to-soil ratio overall.  I've read that the small forking as seen on a couple carrots in the picture above could be due to old roots or small stones in the soil.  That is, as the roots of the growing carrots extend down into the soil, they are easily inhibited by the smallest of obstacles.  But the forking could also be due to excess nitrogen (N), which I may have unintentionally contributed to (more about that in a bit).  Regardless, these "true" baby carrots, which average 3-1/2" long, are sweet and tender.  While they are purported to be perfect for pickling/canning, they'll never get that far between our snacking on them, eating them in salads, and treating our dog!  Read on for info on companion planting and nitrogen info!

Late May NH Strawberries!

NOTHING beats fresh, sweet local strawberries.  The sugar content in these babies almost matches that of candy!  Thank you, Barker's Farm, for growing these delicious little morsels....

Fiddleheads!

Friends and fiddleheads, local asparagus and lotsa laughs, peas and the perfect pizza - that's what I call a great thing to blog about!  A spring green special fit for a queen!  Okay, enough with the wordplay.  (Ever tried haiku?  None of this was, but I'm about to explore it as a form of meditative writing.)

First things first: grill your asparagus (toss the spears in olive oil, s&p, and cook carefully--maintain crunch), sauté your fiddleheads (olive oil over a hot pan with a hint of butter and fresh minced garlic--again, maintain crunch), and blanch your peas if  using fresh (I only had frozen on hand, and simply let them thaw at room temp).  Season each veggie independently with kosher salt and ground pepper.

BTW, if you've never had fresh cut asparagus, you must seek some out. Fresh cut asparagus has an entirely different flavor than that rubbery monocrop-style stuff from Peru or California. It's more intense in its compounds (and yes, in your pee!)--earthy, buttery and meaty, rich in numerous vitamins, and really snappy at the base of the stalk.

Grate your cheeses.  I used O.V.'s mozzarella, some freshly rasped parmesan, and a bit of locally produced cheddar.  Next,

Potato Frittata and Birch Syrup

A visit to the Newmarket farmers' market yesterday brought all kinds of new surprises: impeccably fresh, early-April lettuces from Bee Thankful Farm (complete with plump aphids hiding in their creases--a good sign that pesticides are not used, and nothing a salad spinner can't handle!); bundles of garlic greens from Wild Miller Gardens (think giant blades of grass, but garlicky); baskets of fresh shiitake and oyster mushrooms and pots of baby herbs (parsley, dill, sage and others) from Healthy Home Harvest; wine jams (yum!) from Laurel Hill Jams & Jellies; and, last but not least, BIRCH syrup from David Moore and The Crooked Chimney!

Birch syrup made from the sap of Paper, Yellow and Sweet birches.  High in vitamin C, potassium, manganese and calcium, birch syrup is more complex in flavor than maple syrup and not as sweet.  I was told some people have made beer with it!  I made salad dressing.  Recipe can be found at end of post.

This syrup is awesome stuff.  It looks and pours just like blackstrap molasses, even tastes a bit like it, too, but also has a hint of aged balsamic vinegar hiding in its notes.  At $20 for an 8-ounce bottle (well worth it when you know how much more sap is needed for producing it!), it's sure to be used like a fine, aged balsamic vinegar, too.  So how did I experiment?  As an accent flavor to a Spanish frittata made with yesterday's shroomz and garlic greens, and a few other locally grown garden gems, and in a vinaigrette!

To make the frittata, have the following ready:

Fresh Pressed Apple Juice!

The weekend before last I picked up two 1/2-pecks from Hackleboro Orchard while they were attending the Winter Farmers' Market (hosted by the one and only  Seacoast Eat Local, of course!) in Rollinsford, NH.  They have been storing the last of their fall crop in cold storage (32 degrees with a fine mist spray to keep them just from freezing).  I grabbed Cortlands and Northern Spy.  The Northern Spy has the most milk-white center, and is super sweet.  It's the variety I used for pressing my juice.  Yum!

So you see, look in the right places and you can find some of the most treasured foods at this time of year!  Fresh, local apple juice in April!  :~)