Preserving & Teaching Heritage Skills
Hello Folks, Aunt Eunice here. Well, in my last message I said August would be as busy as July and so far I am right on the money! Besides the historic tour last week, we have had bake oven highlights, a pottery highlight, a visit from the beekeeper with some of his bees and Saturday was Heritage Craft Day. Heritage Craft Day is a summer event that offers a close up look at a number of the traditional craft and trade skills of the 19th century. As part of our farm museum’s mission, we are tasked with preserving this kind of knowledge. There were rye straw basket and hat makers here, spinning and weaving was demonstrated, and the bobbin lace and tatting ladies shared their versions of lace making. The potter was at her wheel, there was quilling which is a paper craft and quilting as well. There was puppet making for the children, the men folk were making rope and the bake oven was busy turning out loaves of whole wheat bread. Aunt Eunice even had a chance to sit a spell and do some whittling. All in all a lovely day both entertainment and weather-wise.
Tomatoes in Abundance
Our tomato plants seem to be loving the hot, humid weather and we are harvesting many different varieties. One of my favorites is the Juliet, a small, plum shaped one that is firm and has a sweet flavor. According to Bonnieplants.com – Juliet tomatoes are slightly larger than the well-known Santa grape tomato, it bears delicious, sweet fruit on indeterminate vines. Some gardeners refer to it as a mini Roma because of the shape. The wonderfully sweet fruit are crack resistant and remain in good condition on the vine longer than most cherry tomatoes. The fruit are as soft and juicy as cherry tomatoes, they hold up well in salads, and they have a longer shelf life so you can keep them on hand without picking every day. Here is an old time recipe using squash and tomatoes from Quiet Valley’s bake oven cookbook. It may help you use up some of the many you will be harvesting in the month of August!
Scalloped Tomatoes and Squash
- Dice 3 cups of summer squash
- Brown squash in 3 tbsp. of butter
- Cube 2 cups of tomatoes
- Add salt & pepper
- Layer squash & tomatoes in casserole
- Pour on 1 ½ cup of white sauce (recipe below)
- Sprinkle with ⅔ cup of buttered crumbs
- Sprinkle with ½ cup of grated cheese
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
White Sauce Ingredients & Directions
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups half and half creamer (or whole milk)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the flour and whisk until combined.
- Slowly stir in 1 cup of cream (or milk) and whisk until smooth.
- Stir in the remaining cream, salt and pepper. Whisk constantly until the mixture starts to thicken. This will take 3-5 minutes.
- Remove the white sauce from the stove.
Cucumbers, squash, carrots, beets, bell peppers, and kohlrabi are just some of the other vegetables that we have been harvesting. Last Thursday, we picked the sweet corn. It was immediately blanched, cut off the cob and frozen. All the staff received one ear each for lunch. It was delicious and certainly couldn’t have been fresher! I hope your gardens are producing as well as our Quiet Valley kitchen garden. Otherwise, remember to check out your CSA or farmer’s markets. Your local farmers will appreciate the support.
That’s all for now folks. Hopefully, we will see you on the farm before summer ends. Remember to check our Calendar of Events as we are planning several moderately-sized fall events to supplement our non-profit organization’s income. Take care. Aunt Eunice