Not Your Grandmother's Green Bean!

Haricot vert (sometimes known as filet beans or French beans) are not the same as skinny green beans. These special beans are bred to have a full bean flavor when extremely small, tender, thin and young.
We are growing non-GMO Maxibel Haricot Vert from High Mowing Organic Seeds. The seed catalog promises that these beans are "unsurpassed as a gourmet market specialty."

Here's a recipe that takes advantage of several vegetables now available from our farm.

Haricot Vert With Shallots and Tomatoes

1/2 lb. haricot vert

2 tsp. butter

1 small shallot, sliced

1 diced tomato

salt & pepper to taste

fresh lemon juice to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add haricot vert and set the timer for 3.5 minutes. Drain beans and plunge them into an ice bath to cool quickly.  In the same pot you've used to cook the beans, melt the butter. Add shallots and saute lightly for about 2 minutes. Add the drained and cooled beans and reheat in the butter and shallots just until warmed. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, place on platter, top with the diced tomato and squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over the mixture. Serve immediately. (If holding this dish, omit the lemon juice until the last minute for it may discolor the beans if left too long.)

We have a bumper crop of Haricots Vert begging to be picked every day here on the farm. They're competing for attention with the other green beans we've begun harvesting in hues of yellow, green and purple.

All will be available this week at the Potter County Farmers' Market Friday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. in downtown Coudersport.

Onion's Sweeter Sister

I recently read that shallots are the onion's sweeter sister. While often considered smaller, milder onions, shallots are their own species within the allium family (onions, leeks, garlic). With the flavor of a mild onion with a hint of garlic, shallots have long been mainstays in French and Asian cooking. In my experience, shallots seem to become a part of the overall flavor of a recipe without the overpowering more subtle flavors.I've been growing shallots in the garden for several years and offered them for sale at the Farmers' Market last summer. Today I ordered seeds for my 2013 crop. Shall I grow some for you?

Gray Skies and Rain - Again!

Even I have to acknowledge that summer is long gone! Having been away for most of September, I was kind of pretending that time had stood still while I was gone and I would come back to tomatoes still growing on the vine, sweet corn on the stalk and fresh basil in the garden. Alas, it was just a daydream. We're working furiously to get all the potatoes harvested. Our new (old) one-row potato picker, purchased at auction from the Amish community here in Potter County, has met with limited success and the persistent rain (where were you last summer when we needed you?) hasn't helped much.
I still have carrots (planted late in the season) and shallots in the ground and will hold off on harvesting them until a real freeze is imminent. I should have quantities available for sale.
We made a small batch of apple cider on Sunday using our Northern Spy apples combined with Yellow Delicious. It is superb! More about apples and cider in future posts.

Shallots In The Kitchen

Okay, I'll admit it. For years, when I read shallots as an ingredient in a recipe, I'd substitute onions or green onions. How many of you do the same?
I was first introduced to shallots by my daughter Kate who is an accomplished cook. When I confessed my little shallot/onion secret, she only had to use shallots as they were intended in a recipe for me to know what I had been missing all those years.
Shallots are not readily available in our local supermarkets and when you venture out to Tops or Wegman's, you find them but you'll pay dearly.
That's why I decided to grow them three years ago. We've grown them for three seasons, each year experimenting with timing - both planting and harvesting, placement in the garden, and varieties.
I've refined my techniques and look forward to having more to market in 2011.
If you would be interested in purchasing shallots this fall, please let me know as soon as possible so I can plan adequately. I took the picture above yesterday so you can see that they keep beautifully.
I'll post a recipe which features shallots next time!
Update: I've joined Farm Friend Friday on www.verdefarm.com. If you like to read blogs, you'll find lots of farm-related ones here.