Maple syrup

Chef Rob and his staff prepared our first small batch of maple sap over the weekend into Maple Syrup and it tastes yummy.  Chef came up with the idea of boiling it down in his steam cooker.  It can only handle about 15 gallons of sap at a time.  As it boils down, you add more material to the cooker.  Our sap production this year is very disappointing but at least we have enough material for the 40 Mile Wine Dinner held later this year.  I expect we will have some additional sap drawn this week with cooler weather on the way so our members can enjoy some french toast or pancakes.

You can see the remnants of the foam from the sap on the inside of the steamer.   We only have a little over 1/2 gallon but the the taste is really good!

Valentine's Day Dinner/Dance and Club Reopening

The 2011 Valentine's Party will be a fun event this year with great food being prepared by Chef Rob and his staff.  Rob Stewart will have the clubhouse decked out for the party and has lined up one of St. Louis's best entertainers in Ralph Butler and his band.  Beth and I have seen Ralph on many occasions.  First year in a couple that we will miss this event due to being out of town but I hope many of you can attend this great evening of food, fun, and entertainment.  Call the clubhouse or go to the club website for reservations.

Chef Rob and some Glen Echo raised products

We've purchased some heirloom tomatoes and peppers for Chef Rob to do some magic with. We are probably looking at August or so before they will be ready. The varieties listed below are what we have growing in the green house right now.

Tomato

Riesentraube 80 days -Indeterminate. This old German heirloom was offered in Philadelphia by the mid-1800's. The sweet grape-shaped fruit grow to one ounce in large clusters on the plant. The name means "Giant Bunch of Grapes" in German. It is probably the most popular small tomato with seed collectors, as many enjoy the rich, full tomato flavor that is missing in today's cherry types. Large plants produce massive yields.

Anna Maria's Heart New $3.00 70-85 days -- --Indeterminate 6-10 ounce fruits of very good flavor. Some growers consider this variety superior to “Pink Oxheart.” (seed courtesy of Carolyn Male)

Costoluto Genovese $3.0078 days - Indeterminate. Deeply ribbed Italian heirloom with a rich, full flavor. Hearty plants that do well in hot weather, but will produce even when the weather cools down. Delicious flavor.

Ludmilla's Red Plum NEW $3.0070-85 days - Indeterminate. Outstanding producer. Very flavorful, 3 to 5 inch, plum-shaped fruits, weighing 6 to 10 ounces. The variety had been grown for over 50 years by one Ludmilla, a “Kazakstan German,” who gave seeds to Reinhard Kraft. (Seed courtesy of Carolyn Male)

Ingegnoli Gigante Liscio (Large Smooth Tomato) $3.0075 days - Indeterminate.Giant fruit are smooth and very tasty, having more vibrant tomato flavor than many huge tomatoes; perfect for home gardeners. This historic Italian heirloom was developed around 1900 from varieties 'Ponderosa' and 'Saint Louis'. It is nearly extinct in the United States. Few seeds. Mid season. Said to be of American origin. Perhaps brought back to Italy by emigrants who returned home.

Riesentraube $3.0080 days -Indeterminate. This old German heirloom was offered in Philadelphia by the mid-1800's. The sweet grape-shaped fruit grow to one ounce in large clusters on the plant. The name means "Giant Bunch of Grapes" in German. It is probably the most popular small tomato with seed collectors, as many enjoy the rich, full tomato flavor that is missing in today's cherry types. Large plants produce massive yields.

Golden Jubilee This large, round, smooth yellow tomato has a mild flavor and is less acidic than many other varieties. Its vines are uniform and upright, making Golden Jubilee one of the easier varieties to manage. Matures in 80 days.

Peppers

Purple Beauty 3.0075 days. Purple peppers are always a favorite, as they are so colorful. This variety produces loads of beautiful bells on compact, bushy plants. Crisp texture and mild, sweet flavor makes this one popular with everyone. Purple ripening to red.

Quadrato d' Asti Rosso 3.0080 days. Very thick brilliant red flesh. The fruit are huge. Delicious rich-sweet taste. Excellent for frying, salads, or stuffing. One of the largest red bells. Beautiful and blocky. A really choice variety. Produces large yields. Very popular with many fine markets in Italy. Superb!

Sweet Yellow Stuffer This amazing little pepper comes to us from Amish grower Ester Smucker of Indiana. The seed was passed down to her from her Grandmother, whom she fondly remembers growing these peppers in the 1950s in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The very productive plants produce the cutest little mini bell-shaped peppers, only 1"-2" across! Ester uses these to make wonderful stuff ed and pickled peppers!")

Pictures of our fresh lettuce and arugula and two flats of product that have been used at least twice are two flats on the right. We've been growing these outside since it is cooler outside than in our greenhouse.

The picture below are the tomatoes and pepper starting in the greenhouse. We wanted to get them started quickly and protect them from some cooler nights and the heavy rains. They will be moved outside the greenhouse once summer has officially arrived.
Also, a flat of broccoli sprouts which Chef likes to use in topping his salads.

Guest Appearance on the blog

As the greenhouse was being built, I asked Chef Rob if there was anything that we might be able to grow for him that he might regularly use or would like to try. He uses a wide variety of fresh herbs which he has grown in pots outside the kitchen compound area for years. We will start some herbs in the greenhouse which will be ready for his use in a few weeks for him to use in his magical dishes. He also stated that he would like to start some broccoli sprouts and some baby lettuce which he can use as garnishes.

Below are packets of broccoli and baby lettuce which were sown last Friday. By Monday morning we had germination.














I brought the tray up to Chef Rob and Terry today to see what they thought. He was so excited that he decided to use the broccoli spouts which are on the left to garnish the salads for the Ladies Opening Luncheon which was today.














Chef Rob placing 3 or 4 broccoli sprouts on top of the salad.














The finished product below on top of a baby beet.

We've had some additional discussions regarding other products which we might grow for your enjoyment. Throughout this season, I'm sure Chef Rob and the staff will let you know when you are partaking in something that was grown at Glen Echo. Chef Rob will be making a full post one of these days so if you love food as I do, I'm sure you will want to keep checking the blog for the return of our chef!