I can’t believe it is already September, but I am happy to say that we have over a month left of CSA.  Thank goodness because the garden is really getting good.  I find it funny that kids go to school and Labor Day passes and everyone thinks summer is over.  Let me tell you, NOT SO.  Isn’t that the best news you’ve had all week?  Get ready for some great veggies and get in the “putting food by” mood so you can eat Rainshadow year round!!


Our turkeys are growing like crazy!  We have several varieties of heritage birds including the Bourbon Red, Holland White, Spanish Black, Naragansit, Chocolate, and more.  Put your $30 deposit on one at the farmers market.  We will be harvesting them just before Thanksgiving and delivering them fresh for $7 per pound.

 

 

 

 

I planted this stuff called Shiso.  Its a very interesting herb.  Grows like basil.  Tastes like… shiso.  Everyone is going to get a great big bunch of it this week (if it doesn’t freeze) and I am going to include several recipes here so that you know what to do with all of it.

Shiso Pesto Pasta with Uni

2 ounces green shiso leaves (japanese perilla)
1 ounces grated pecorino romano
1 teaspoon kosher salt (halve if using regular salt)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice (from 1/2 a lime)
8 ounces linguine, cooked according to package directions
small handful of pine nuts or coco nibs, toasted

Put the shiso, cheese, salt, olive oil, and lime juice, in a blender or the work-bowl of a food processor and whirl it around until it’s a fine green puree.

Boil the pasta according to the package directions in generously salted water. When the pasta is done, strain it well and toss it in a bowl adding the pesto a bit at a time until it reaches your desired level of flavor.

Plate the pasta and top with toasted pine nuts or coco nibs. You can also add some uni or ikura on top for some extra color and brine.

I found this website which covers 43 things to do with Shiso!!!  They are all great ideas and you probably have enough to do all of them 🙂  This stuff is crazy for sure.  Good luck to you.

https://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2011/07/things_to_do_with_fresh_shiso.php

Garnishes and condiments

~ Sprout the seeds and eat the sprouts.
~ When the plant blossoms, snip and eat the buds.
~ Dry the leaves and grind with salt (and optionally, sesame) to make a shiso salt that may be used as a furikake.
~ Fry the leaves in a tempura batter.
~ Make shiso oil to drizzle over gazpacho.
Pickle it with cucumbers.
Preserve the leaves in salt.

Meatless dishes

Soba salad with shiso, with bonus information on the Qi boosting properties of shiso.
~ Sprinkle if over tofu, as in Chika’s tofu à la mode.
~ Use it with rice: in onigiri, or over a bowl of steamed rice, or in fried rice.
~ Use it in this avocado and grapefruit salad.
~ Sprinkle it over a carrot and ginger soup.
~ Add it to a cucumber salad with rice vinegar.
~ Add it to pasta with olive oil, nori, soy sauce, butter, salt, and pepper.
~ Make shiso pesto for pasta.
~ Make pan-fried shiso & tofu “sandwiches”.
~ Make spring rolls with shiso and mushrooms.

Fish and shellfish

~ Slip a piece of leaf between the rice and the fish in nigirisushi, or inside maki.
~ Serve it with sashimi or chirashi sushi.
~ Use it in a tartare of mackerel marinated in fresh ginger and soy sauce.
~ Make a mignonette of shiso and mango to eat with raw oysters.

Meat

~ Put it inside a rolled pork fillet that you will poach and slice.
~ Make a pan-fried roulade of chicken stuffed with chopped umeboshi and shiso.
~ Make a Vietnamese-inspired shiso wrap: shiso + rice vermicelli + bbq vietnamese pork, rolled in soft rice paper. You can fry these rolls, or eat them as is.
Wrap it around some meat or veggies and pan fry them, then add a little soy sauce, mirin, and sesame seeds.

Beverages

~ Make an infusion with the leaves, to drink hot or cold.
~ Make shiso juice with purple shiso.
~ Try infusing it for cockails, such as Alchemology’s shiso vodka, or just use in place of mint to make a shiso mojito.

Desserts

~ Use it on fruit, fruit salads and fruit soups: think strawberries, peaches, oranges, pineapple
~ Mix it with sugar (and optionally lime zest) to make shiso sugar or shiso lime sugar to sprinkle on crêpes and other desserts.
~ Use it to flavor macarons, such as the ones François Payard made for a fundraiser for Japan.

HOPS for sale!!!  Let me know if you are interested.  Seems like home brewing season to me.

I would also like to include some pictures of my favorite volunteers.  They have moved on now… back to school, etc… but they really made our summer fabulous.  They worked hard every day.  Laughed much.  And enjoyed our food more than anything.  Having the garden at your disposal can be daunting, but can also be the greatest adventure and these girls made the very most of it.  Huge thanks to Bridget and Heather.