Farmer Mary's Field Notes - Week 35 2025

Farmer Mary's Field Notes - Week 35 2025

The trees across the field have that August vibe, the dusty green that proclaims change is coming: cooler mornings, the school routine, and the promise of pumpkins and wood smoke. The kids are still in the final days of summer break, although band camp and teacher reveals have us running back and forth to campus most days. I managed to sneak in a bit of garden time between setting temporary fences and moving animals, and there were lovely surprises to be found!

The Gardening Struggle

I will be the first to confess that I’m not a great gardener. Don’t get me wrong, I want to be better, but peak garden season coincides with peak animal season on the farm, and the plants can fend for themselves better than the critters, so my poor plants always end up at the bottom of the to-do list. Thus, when I finally get out to harvest things (usually in the throes of making dinner–do we have tomatoes? Basil?), it’s a jungle. The green beans are still thriving, the cucumbers have given up (thank goodness), and Fiona found four (!) luscious watermelons from a vine that I didn’t expect to survive. Even my Mexican Sour Gherkins are producing! Each trip to the garden brings some inner conflict–delight at the bounty to be found, shame over the towering weeds that are crowding my lovely veggies, and determination: next year will be better. And it will. This year is already an improvement over last year’s torn ACL. Not much harvesting happened with a locked-out knee brace. At any rate, last week I was hoping the okra would be ready, and lo and behold, yellow flowers and bright-green pods!

Okra Excitement

I know, who gets excited about okra, right? I do! It gets such a bad rap: dull green and slimy doesn’t exactly sound like a veggie you want on your plate, let alone to try to sell to your kids. Years ago, I ended up with some frozen, sliced okra in the freezer (maybe an emergency ice pack or something?). I was making a vegetable soup with Italian sausage in it (yum, btw), and was low on veggies, so I threw in the bag of okra figuring we could pick around it if it was terrible. Spoiler alert: not terrible. Actually, really fun. Okra grows as a long pod, and when sliced, the interior is star-shaped and has soft seeds that are chewy and kind of pop. It only gets slimy if overcooked, so it was perfect in a soup. After that, I always kept a bag or two stocked in the freezer. 

Fast forward to farm life, and with more garden space than I knew what to do with, okra moved to the top of my “I wonder if I can grow this” list, and the answer is a resounding yes. Apparently some varieties have spines; skip those. The spineless variety still have sort of a fuzzy feel, and could potentially make you itch if you’re prone to that kind of thing; garden gloves are a good idea no matter what you’re growing (ask me about spiny caterpillars sometime). Harvest the pods when they’re small, perhaps the length of your palm, otherwise they get too fibrous to eat. Not interested in actually growing the plant? You can have all the tastiness without all the work: here’s one of our favorite recipes. (Note: I know okra should go in gumbo, but I like it in this, too).

Brad's Campsite Jambalaya

Full disclosure: Over many years (decades?!) I have adapted this recipe a bit. It was originally found in Bon Appetit magazine and on the Epicurious website, but is now behind a paywall. Feel free to make it as written, or try our tweaks. 


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Brad’s Campsite Jambalaya is a hearty, flavorful one-pot dish inspired by Cajun and Creole cuisine, designed for cooking over a campfire or grill, making it ideal for outdoor adventures. It features a rich blend of chicken, andouille sausage, shrimp, and vegetables simmered in a savory broth with rice and Creole seasoning.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40–50 minutes
  • Servings: 8
  • Temperature: High heat for searing, then reduced heat for simmering

Ingredients:

  • Skinless, boneless chicken thighs: 1.5 pounds (680 g), cut into 1-inch pieces
  • Andouille sausage: 1 pound (454 g), sliced
  • Medium shrimp: 0.75 pound (340 g), peeled and deveined
  • Bay leaves: 2
  • Celery stalks: 4, chopped
  • Cherry tomatoes: 1 pint (473 ml), halved
  • Fresh flat-leaf parsley: 1 handful (about 1/4 cup), leaves and tender stems
  • Garlic cloves: 4, minced
  • Large onion: 1, chopped
  • Red bell pepper: 1, chopped
  • Chicken broth, low-sodium: 6 cups (1.4 liters)
  • Tomato paste: 2 tablespoons (30 ml)
  • Long-grain white rice: 2 cups (400 g)
  • Creole seasoning: 2 tablespoons (20 g)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper: to taste
  • Vegetable oil: 2 tablespoons (30 ml)

Equipment needed:

  • Large wok or heavy-duty skillet
  • Campfire grill or outdoor grill
  • Aluminum foil (for covering)
  • Tongs or spatula
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Knife and cutting board

Instructions:

  • Prepare the grill for high heat. Heat vegetable oil in a large wok or skillet placed directly on the grill grate.
  • If cooking indoors, use a stovetop over high heat.
  • Add the chicken and sausage to the hot pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, turning often, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the chopped onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
  • Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, until it begins to darken and develop a deeper flavor.
  • Mix in the cherry tomatoes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Then add the rice, Creole seasoning, and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
  • Pour in the chicken broth and season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil.
  • Move the wok to a cooler spot on the grill (or reduce heat to medium-low). Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
  • Simmer for 20–30 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is nearly tender.
  • Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add them to the rice mixture and stir gently to distribute evenly. Cover again and cook for 5–8 minutes, or until the rice is fully tender and the shrimp are pink and opaque.
  • Remove from heat. Discard the bay leaves. Top with fresh parsley before serving.

Our tweaks:

  • Protein: Andouille gives a nice heat, but because we raise our own meat, I typically use that–smoked sausage and boneless, skinless chicken breast. 
  • Rice: Since the kids were smaller and didn’t like all their food touching, I cooked the rice separately, but left the amount of liquid in the recipe alone. It makes for a more stew-like final product, but I could slurp the liquid with a straw, so I don’t care. (Bonus: You can get aggressive and shorten the cooking time if you’re not waiting for the rice to cook in the main dish.)
  • Creole seasoning: I typically go a little light on this to start and add to taste. It’s easy to find in the grocery store and there is a low-salt variety if that is on your radar. 
  • Chicken broth: I use our bone broth! Woo!
  • Veggies: I add a bag of frozen okra when I add the cherry tomatoes, just for an extra veggie and to thicken the sauce slightly. Zucchini would probably also work well in this space. I’m always looking for ways to hide extra veggies in recipes. 

Goodness, apparently there were more tweaks and additions than I realized. Isn’t that the funny part of cooking as we grow older? We figure out what suits our tastes, and the more we practice, the more flexible and creative we can be. I have a handful of blogs and websites that I check on a weekly basis, and mostly I beg, borrow, and steal recipes and tweak them to my satisfaction. 

Faithfully,

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