It's
funny that last week I started the newsletter out with 'it would be
nice to have a crystal ball'. Our Thursday CSA folks already got a
little note in their box that a few things in their box had
pock-marks on them from hail. We had to make a substitution in the
shares for the lettuce mix; which looked like someone had tap danced
on it. It's true, we got 7 minutes of marble sized hail last Tuesday
night and it did damage to our mid-sized tender leaved crops: two
weeks worth of lettuce mix, the chard, and Toscano and Russian kale.
It's nothing we won't recover from. And for a variety of reasons, it
was a really good learning opportunity.
Last
Monday I was riding a wonderful euphoric farming high as we came
around the bend of the half way point of the harvest season. We had
withstood multiple spring wind storms, unseasonably warm early
weather, an unseasonable cool July, more than average rain, and
everything was looking SO GOOD! We started getting the garlic in and
out of 1200 heads there was maybe a pound of garlic that wasn't
premium, and I'm estimating the average head size at 6 oz.
(AMAZING!) It seems the fertility management and crop rotations
we've been practicing the past four years are working! And we are
selling out at market, could be taking way more, and our CSA has a
waiting list! (YEAR FOUR! WAHOO!) We saw a bit of a gnarly storm
coming on the Doppler and rushed to get things covered. As soon as
the hail started I set the timer and prayed for it to blow over
quickly. I learned a lot from the storm about being ready next time,
and I was also reminded that things are going to happen and we won't
be ready for them, and that is part of the deal. It leaves us with
just that much more wonder and respect that in 8 weeks a seed not
much larger than a grain of sand can grow into an 8 pound cabbage.
And in the blink of an eye, it can be returned to the earth. And
more seeds can be planted to takes its place.
We're
finally getting some seasonal weather stuff on the farm this week,
and plants are just going crazy! Get ready for summer-time veggies
in your box.
Tomatoes
(DO NOT REFRIDGERATE YOUR TOMATOES) will be in a separate bag at
pickup. There will be a Partial and Full sized paper bag of tomatoes
this week!
CSA
WEEK 10
Partial
Share Full Share
Carrots -Partial
Bundle
Cucumber -1
'pickling'
Snow
Peas (hail dinged) -Partial Bag
Lolla
de Rosa Onions -Partial Bundle
Cilantro -Partial
Bundle
Cauliflower -Medium
Zuchini
or Patty Pan Squash -2
Super
Greens -Partial Bag
Full Share
Carrots - Bundle
Cucumber - 1 'slicer'
Snow Peas (hail dinged) - Bag
Lolla de Rosa Onions - Bundle
Cilantro - Bundle
Cauliflower - Large!
Zuchini or Patty Pan Squash - 3
Super Greens - Bag
Recipe
Ideas for the week
Let's
talk about this cauliflower. We are trialing a bunch of
varieties this year and we have purple, orange, and white. They all
taste pretty much the same despite the awesome differences in color.
I love roasting cauliflower in butter in the oven, but now that it's
hot out we will most likely be brushing it with avocado oil (my
favorite for high heat grilling) and grilling it in our grill basket.
Super
Greens this is a new idea for
us. These are a mixture of mustard, kale, arugula, and Asian
greens harvested at baby size and good either raw in salads, or
oh-so-slightly
sauteed
for a braising green. I really like them raw, especially pared with
a nice creamy homemade dressing. Too busy to make dressing? Too hot
to turn on the oven? Try a bed of super greens with a shredded
carrot and diced cucumbers on top, some Annie's Green Goddess
Dressing, and a drained can of sardines. Talk about a nutrient dense
power lunch. The energy to dig carrots for days :) (Don't
like sardines? This would
also work great with
leftover cold chicken or
lentils.)
Lolla
de Rosa or “red long” is an
heirloom sweet red onion. They are great raw or cooked in any dish.
Cucumbers
some of the cucumbers we are
growing will look very familiar to you and some are going to look
super unfamiliar. They are all wonderful and you just peel them,
slice them, eat them. We will be putting a visual guide to our
cucumbers on our facebook/instagram page later this week to help you
identify what kind you are getting in your box.
Tomatoes
the small very regularly shaped
tomatoes are a mini slicer 'saladette' variety called Glacier. After
trialling DOZENS of tomato varieties the last three years I'm really
happy with the big tomato flavor in those little tomatoes. Glacier
will be happy to sit on your counter until you get around to eating
them. The irregularly shaped thinner skinned tomates are heirlooms.
These are packed with flavor
but don't have much shelf life; if fully red they
should be eaten in 1-2 days.
If still a bit orange in the 'shoulder,' it
can sit on the counter a few days.
ALL
OF OUR TOMATOES (as
well as EVERYTHING ON OUR FARM)
are non-GMO!
I'm
looking forward to making a carrot/cauliflower/snow pea stir fry with
peanut sauce and cilantro this week. Next
week: Basil,
Carrots, Eggplant?
Peppers, shallots,
Salad Mix, and MORE TOMATOES (tomato
dance!)
