Update From the Field: New intern and field activities

We would like to welcome Mr. Kevin Hebert to our farm this season as Turtle Bend's first Intern! Kevin is from New Hampshire and came all the way down to Rockmart, Georgia to learn about sustainable agriculture and see a new part of the country. Sofar, Kevin has enjoyed being outdoors and working hard on our farm, as well as the new sights, sounds and most importantly, tastes of the beautiful Southeast! Kevin is interested in pursuing a masters degree in Sustainable Agriculture and also joining the Peace Corps. We look forward to working with Kevin this season and hope that most of you will get a chance to meet him at some point. Here is a picture of Kevin and also a video of him helping lay drip lines on our farm with narration by Adam... enjoy!

Fried Green Tomatoes

While waiting for the tomatoes to ripen, it's hard not to pull a few off the vine and fry them up. Of course, green tomatoes are good in other ways (throw them in a stir-fry, make green tomato pie), but we couldn't resist frying them. Here's my recipe.

Fried Green Tomatoes with Basil Lemon Mayonnaise

3-4 Green tomatoes
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup oil (vegetable oil)
8 inch iron skillet, (another type will do, but a larger skillet will require more oil)
2-3 sprigs fresh basil
1/2 lemon
2/3 cup mayonnaise (may cut mayo with some yogurt if desired)

Slice Green Tomatoes 1/4 inch thick. Break and beat eggs in a small bowl. Place flour in a bowl. Salt and pepper green tomatoes on both sides. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat until a pinch of flour thrown in the skillet sizzles upon contact with hot oil. Dredge green tomatoes in egg mixture and then in flour and place in hot oil. Fill up the pan with one layer of tomatoes. Tomatoes will fry quickly. Flip over, giving each side 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a plate with a paper towel on it.

For the mayonnaise- Chop basil as small as you can and mix with mayonnaise. Squeeze about half of the lemon juice in and taste, adding more if needed. Squeeze remaining lemon juice on fried tomatoes.

Serve Warm!

Below is a green tomato sandwich I made for the boys (Adam & Kevin) for lunch. It was delicious!! Basil Mayo on bread, some crunchy lettuce and the tomatoes- yum!

Summertime...

We are officially into the summer months and we can feel it out on the field! All of our spring crops are done and we are focusing on summer production. Below are some shots of the field this time of year as we begin harvesting the first crops of summer: green beans, squash, cucumbers and basil. Our tomatoes will be in very soon, along with the bell peppers and eggplant. We're watching the okra shoot up and the cowpeas start to flower. Our winter squash and melons are taking off as well and our sweet potatoes are growing like weeds (and that's something because we have some killer weeds!!). Enjoy the pictures and we will post more soon- as you can imagine we are very busy on the farm this time of year. Also, notice the shot of the new Rockmart Farmers Market, which is being held every Thursday from 4-7pm in historic downtown Rockmart (100 church street). We have had a great response and we are full of vendors selling homemade and homegrown products!