Hi September! The Latest News from Farm & Larder and Bella Luna Farms
Fall is in the air! Here at Bella Luna Luna Farms we are enjoying the best that September has to offer with dewy mornings, cooler evenings and, yet still, sunny days. We sure hope you and yours are staying safe and well as the official start to fall approaches.
We are enjoying seeing the blue jays and squirrels dashing noisily about, competing for walnuts and hazelnuts which they hide for winter, and the honeybees busily collecting pollen and nectar, and filling their hives with honey for their winter food. In the garden, we continue the everyday ritual of harvesting fresh tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and summer squash from the beds and hoophouse; the rainbow of colorful dahlias and perennials in the cut flower garden are thriving, boding well for next years’ plant sales and flowers for events.
In the next few weeks we will harvest the apples and pears, pumpkins and squash that take us into winter. The early apples will be the first ready with the crisp, tart Honeycrisp and Akane varieties; next up come the Asian pears, along with the continuing Italian plums and last of the grapes. In the gardens, the kale, cabbage and broccoli seedlings are going into the ground to overwinter (under a covering of Reemay fabric to discourage the pesky rabbits), right as the garlic and storage onions are coming out of it. Cover crops have been sown in the fallow plots along with a healthy dose of compost for turning over in the spring, enriching the soil with nutrients for when we begin to once again prepare for next years’ crops.
We’ve been kept busy with summer with weddings and other special events, and the kitchen continues to bustle even on non-event days with pickling, preserving and canning as we put away the summer bounty. September is always spent crafting big batches of Nonna Pat’s tomato sauce to carry us through the winter months. We are also putting our favorite Parisienne Cornichon de Bourbonne cucumbers to delicious use in small-batches of our signature French-style cornichons. Made using a traditional recipe (which we’ve shared with you below!), each jar is packed with a Grapehouse grape leaf during pickling to keep these tiny pickles crunchy and crisp.
French Cornichons
These crisp pickles are incredibly fresh-tasting thanks to the addition of pearl onions, peppercorns and even a fresh grape leaf.
Makes about 4 pints of pickles
Ingredients:
2 pounds garden-fresh Parisienne or other cornichon-style cucumbers
3 tablespoons kosher salt
12 fresh pearl onions, peeled
1 quart of white wine vinegar
Black peppercorns
Fresh tarragon sprigs
Mustard seeds
Fresh grape leaves
Method:
1. Gently wash and rub the spines off the cucumbers. (They should only be 1-2 inches long.) Place cucumbers in a colander and toss with the salt. Leave to drain for about 4 hours, then rinse and drain.
2. Sterilize a potful of pint or half-pint jars and their lids by placing them upside down in a pot of water, covering and boiling for 10 minutes. (Add a splash of vinegar if your water is hard.)
3. Bring the vinegar to a vigorous simmer or low boil in a medium stockpot.
4. Without touching the inside of the jars, remove each jar from the water with a pair of tongs and flip it over on a clean work surface. Place ½-1 teaspoons peppercorns, ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and a large sprig of tarragon in each jar. Add a small fresh washed grape leaf if available. Add 2-3 pearl onions and cucumbers to within ¾-inch of the top of the jar. Cover with hot vinegar.
5. Wipe the rim of each jar and screw on the lid tightly, removing the lids from the water with the tongs. Wipe off any excessive moisture from the outside of the jars, then store in a cool, dark place for at least one month before eating.
