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Warba Potato Yield: Summer 2009

Posted by on July 18, 2009 1 Comment

potatoes 2

I have begun to take better garden notes so that I can share my data here for those who might find it helpful.  Normally I let my potatoes remain in their bed and harvest them as I need them but this year I needed to free up my potato bed for some blueberry bushes.  This gave me the opportunity to weigh them all at once.  The potato plants were already dying and so I stopped watering them anyway.

Here are my notes on this year’s potato planting:

Potato variety: Warba (early season)

Number planted: 24 seed potatoes

Bed size: 4′ x 16′ raised bed

Space between seedlings: 10″ between them in their rows, rows were 24″ apart

Planting date: April 17

Harvest Date: First picking July 3, complete harvest July 12

Growing conditions: typical cold wet spring and cold wet early summer with some brief intermittent heat waves.  Barely watered the bed at all.  Though I planted them in trenches 6″ deep, I failed to continue to cover them as the plants grew which generally gives a higher yield.  Didn’t mulch at all which also tends to produce higher yields.  I would call the growing conditions less than ideal, though the soil they were planted in was very good; loose and full of well composted material.

Total yield: 30 lbs 15 oz

Or you can think of it as 1.29 lbs of potatoes per seed potato planted.  Or you can think of it as a fraction over 1 pound per square foot of garden space.

This is a respectable yield but would have been much better if I had followed good potato growing practices.  I also think it’s important to note that some varieties of potatoes can get much larger and grow a lot longer before harvest which translates to a much greater pound per square foot ratio.  I nearly always harvest my potatoes as “new potatoes” because I like young potatoes best.  So that affects the yield as well.

What this information should do, though, is reassure you that even under less than ideal growing conditions, potatoes do produce well and are rewarding to grow.

Filed Under: Gardening | Tagged:

Grilled Polenta Rounds With Fava Beans

Posted by on July 10, 2009 10 Comments

polenta with fava 2

Fresh fava beans come around only once a year for a very short period of time.   They are difficult to find in stores though they are becoming more readily available at farmer’s markets.  I usually grow my own because they are such an easy crop to grow and yield well even in less than ideal conditions.  They require some preparation for cooking, but are well worth the effort!  This is a recipe I make every single year when the fava beans come in.  I usually serve it with grilled onions, potatoes, and mushrooms, and a marinara sauce.  It makes a great early summer meal.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups polenta/corn meal (I generally use corn meal)

6 cups water

2 cups fresh shelled favas

4 Tbsp butter (optional)

2 cloves garlic (pressed)

1 teaspoon salt

many grinds fresh pepper

Method:

Bring the 6 cups of water to a roiling boil in a larg sauce pan.   Whisk the cornmeal into the water in a steady stream.  When it’s all whisked in and as smooth as you can get it, turn the burner down to low.  Put a lid on the pot, and let it cook until almost ready.  If you’re using a medium grind of polenta it could take 45 minutes to cook.  I use either a finely ground polenta or corn meal which is usually completely cooked in about ten or fifteen minutes.

Add the fava beans, butter, garlic, salt, and pepper to the pot and stir well.  Put the lid back on the pot and let cook for an additional five minutes.  Stir really well a couple of times before removing from the heat.

Pour the polenta onto a cookie sheet and spread it out with a spatula until it is evenly covering the whole cookie sheet.  Let it cool until it has stiffened.  This takes about a half an hour.  You can make this polenta a day in advance of using it if you like.  It will keep for several days in the fridge if properly covered.

Using a biscuit cutter (large size) cut the sheet of polenta into rounds.  You should get between 12 and 14 rounds.  Keep the trimmings to eat for lunch with marinara sauce or to fry up the next morning with eggs.

Coat each side of your rounds with a marinade or oil before grilling.

Recipe Notes: The butter in this recipe is optional.  You can either substitute it with olive oil or you can omit it all together.  I like adding it because it makes the polenta creamier and the butter compliments all the other flavors.  I have made it many times without and loved this recipe just as much.  You can add more salt if you like saltier food.  I tend to use less salt than many people.
Rosemary Marinade

Filed Under: Summer Recipes | Tagged:

Homemade Ricotta

Posted by on July 1, 2009 4 Comments

straining

This is the finished batch of ricotta.

thermometer 2

This is the thermometer I use.  You can use any model that allows you to clip it to the side of your pot so that the gauge is in the milk at all times.
 
the set up

Like this.

curds and whey

This is how your milk should look when it has set for ten minutes.

Making your own ricotta is very easy, doesn’t require expensive equipment, tastes better than store bought, and as though that weren’t enough- it’s possible to make it for half the price of store bought ricotta.  The cost is highly dependent on the milk you buy.  I don’t buy organic milk because I can’t afford it but I do buy locally made milk that doesn’t have any hormones or other undesirable additives in it.  I look for deals on gallons which I take advantage of whenever I can.  I can find my milk for $2.00 per gallon quite often.  If I buy a 16oz tub of ricotta it costs between $4.00 and $6.00.  (I actually almost always seem to pay $4.69)  This may not be the case if you can’t find good deals where you are.

The milk you choose is not vital.  You can make ricotta from raw milk, ( if you’re lucky enough to have a source for it), organic, or non-organic.  The one kind of milk you cannot make ricotta from is “ultra pasteurized”.    You can use low fat, whole fat, or non fat but keep in mind that the lower the fat the less yield you will get*.   One gallon of milk produces about 15 to 16 ounces of ricotta.  You can use the resulting whey for other food preparations if you like.

What you need:
 
thermometer

stock pot

gallon of milk

1/2 tsp citric acid

1/4 cup cool water

strainer or collander

cheese cloth or butter muslin

spoon

Method:

Dissolve the citric acid in the water.

Pour the milk in the pot, gently stir in the water/citric acid, put your thermometer in place,  and put the stove on high heat.

You want to bring the milk to a temperature between 185 and 195.  While the milk is heating up be sure to stir it often to keep it from sticking to the bottom of your pot.   If any milk sticks to the bottom and browns it could impart a bitter or off flavor to your ricotta.

Never let the milk boil.  It shouldn’t do so if you remove it just before it reaches 195 degrees.

When it reaches the necessary temperature, immediately remove it from the heat and let it set for 10 minutes.

Lay your cheese cloth (double layer) or butter muslin (single layer) in the collander and ladle the solid curds into it.

Let the liquid drain off for a few minutes.

Your ricotta is now ready to season as you like it and use!

Project notes: The whole process takes about a half an hour.  I always salt my ricotta after it’s made.  If you let it drain too long it will become dry.  If you want your ricotta to have a creamy consistency, you can add a little milk or cream back into it.  Citric acid is not always easy to find but if you have a wine making store near you they will carry it.  There are places you can order it online. 

*I usually make low fat ricotta and I haven’t really noticed a huge difference in the yield but I have read that the yield an be affected by fat content so I just want to make sure you know it may happen.

Filed Under: Preserving Recipes | Tagged: