5/15/24 Spring into Summer, Flexibility & Summer Squash Tango
The heat wave of last week had us feeling like summer. Now this week, it’s back to spring weather but we’re very focused on summer crops at the moment.
We’re exceptionally excited to have our first Cucumbers coming in. We have two beautiful successions coming along with the next one just germinating in the nursery! Our hoop houses are stacked with all our Peppers and Eggplant PLUS a more full Summer Squash planting than last year. They’re beautiful.
It seems that maybe 🤞🏽we’re done with frosts. Then again, we know it might happen, we’ve had one as late as June 6th. And we’re treating our Tomatoes as such. We’ve spent a lot of time trellising, weeding and mulching the tomatoes the last week. So there’s a lot of excitement in the Tomato world too!
As of yesterday, we did the last big planting of summer flowers so all the Zinnia, Dahlias, plus Marigolds, Rudbeckia and more are in the ground and growing with wild abandon. We even harvested our first handful of Sunflowers today!
Flexibility and Farming
So we had a change in this week’s Anticipated Harvest. When we emailed Friday it included Summer Squash for everyone and not Cauliflower. But as our amazing harvest manager Lola looked around the fields early this week she realized that some of the cauliflower needed to get harvested this week for CSA or we would lose it.
One of the things this farm really prides itself in, is flexibility. It is at the core of what we do. It is how we transitioned from tractor tillage to hand-labor, intensive no-till. In this case, the heat wave of last week hastened the growth of the Cauliflower. In farming we are intimately tied to Mother Nature and we never know what she will bring. When there is a heat wave, a rainy year, a deer on the property, an abundance of slugs, a cloudy week, we have to make adjustments and you, our CSA Members will get to enjoy this dance with Mother Nature more than any of our other customers because you’re such a large part of what we do.
We try to be as consistent as we can and have as good a longer term planning but sometimes going with the flow and bending works better than being firm and potentially breaking.
So the box for West County is exceptionally heavy this week (especially for Families) with several new items. Next week Santa Rosa will have this flux for sure. Thanks for flexing with us.
Summer Squash Tango
Since you’ve all had a taste of our Summer Squash let’s chat about the varieties. If you look at the leading photo, I’ll discuss from left to right.
The squash you’v seen the most is our Costata Romanesco, known as Pantheon. An heirloom from Rome, many people consider this to be the best flavored and textured zucchini. Although we usually cut small, if it gets big it’s texture stays firm, seeds small. As such, it’s a great squash for grilling.
Zephyr is an old favorite. They are soft skinned light yellow with a green tip, they have a nutty flavor and firm texture.
Then of course we have to have a Green Zucchini, this year the variety is Noche. We tried it end of last summer and liked it as a basic, good zucchini.
Next is Magda, which is a Cousa, Mid-East style squash that has a similar flavor profile to Zephyr. They are great for stuffing, grilling but also stir-fries.
Last late summer we also tried a yellow zucchini called Golden Glory. This is a favorite already with it’s meaty creamy-white flesh, that holds marinades well.
We love giving a mix of squash. Although they have slight differences, we find that they cook similarly enough as long as you cut into similar sized pieces.
On size: We generally try to harvest our Summer Squash at 6-8” in length. That said, sometimes some will get away from us. Later in the spring we’ll start offering on add-ons very large squash for very cheep which are amazing for grilling and baking. We know they’re less appreciated in the boxes.
Produce Notes & Recipes!
This Week’s Box
Panisse Lettuce
Rainbow Kale
Pea Shoots
Hakurei Turnips (Santa Rosa) OR Mixed Beets (West County)
Summer Squash (Santa Rosa) OR Cauliflower (West County)
White Alba Mushrooms (Myopia)
Family: Red Butter Lettuce & Cucumbers
For those of you who are new, you might not have had our Pea Shoots yet. We do these primarily in winter when there is less diversity in the field but we’ll have a couple rounds into early June. Use these guys fresh chopped a salad, on a sandwich, or add to a smoothie for an extra nutrition punch. They are also amazing as a topper to stir-fries, soups and lentil dishes. We hope you enjoy!
Just like we like giving you a mix of Summer Squash, we love doing Mixed Beets as well. The beets we grow are Red, Gold and Chioggia. They all cook at the same rate but have different flavor profile, red earthy, gold rich and fruity and chioggia light and fruity. Our favorite way to eat is roasted with coconut oil as it brings out the sweetness. We’ll use cooled on salads in the spring.
This is the first harvest off of this spring Rainbow Kale! It is an open pollinated cross between Toscano Kale (aka Dino) and a curly Redbor Kale. We love how it holds it’s texture similar to a Toscano in Kale salads, we love it’s diversity of color and we love the flavor.
Here’s a fun Kale Salad plus protein and heft that my daughter and I made and then made more and more of over the last week (ie we like it). First we did with Sweet Potatoes as directed. We doubled the Lentils and Quinoa. Next we did with raw Hakurei Turnips on a bed of lettuce instead of Kale which was also great but I would absolutely do with Roasted Beets also. We really loved the tangy citrus dressing together with the Lentils and Quinoa.
Lentil Quinoa Kale Salad (Glueandglitter)
For the lentils and quinoa
1 cup dry green or brown lentils rinsed
1 cup dry quinoa rinsed
1 ½ - 2 cups water You'll need the lower amount of water, if you are using the Instant Pot.
2 cups vegetable broth or more water
For the roasted sweet potato
2 medium sweet potatoes chopped into ½" pieces, about 2 cups
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
Citrus dressing ingredients
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 small cloves garlic or 1 large clove
½ teaspoon salt
For the salad
8 cups kale stemmed and torn into bite-sized pieces
Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the lentils and quinoa
• Instant Pot Directions: Add the lentils, quinoa, 1 ½ cups water, and broth. Cook at high pressure for 6 minutes, then do a 10-minute natural release. You may have some water left in the bottom of the pot, and that is fine. Just use a slotted spoon to dish up your lentils and quinoa, leaving any excess water in the pot.
• Stovetop Directions: Combine the rinsed lentils, quinoa, 2 cups water and vegetable broth in a large stovetop pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat a bit to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the lentils and quinoa have absorbed all of the water, uncovered, about 20 min. When the lentils and quinoa are tender, remove the pot from heat, cover, and let them steam for 10 min. Remove lid and fluff with a fork.
Roast the sweet potato
In a large bowl, toss together the sweet potato with the olive oil and salt. Transfer to the baking sheets in a single layer, and roast for 50-55 minutes, until the sweet potatoes start to brown.
Make the citrus dressing: add all of the dressing ingredients to your blender, and puree until smooth.
In a large bowl, add 2 tablespoons of the citrus dressing to the kale, and massage until it turns bright green.
Add the cooked lentils and quinoa, the remaining citrus dressing, the roasted sweet potato. Serve warm or chilled.
We have another round of Mushrooms from our friends at Myopia. We ordered these before we knew we’d have the Cauliflower, maybe it wasn’t quite needed but plans were in motion there. This week we have Alba Clamshell Mushrooms aka Hon- or Buna-Shimeji. They are distinguished by their mild shellfish flavor. They retain a crunch texture even after sautéing. They recommend a hot saute. It like olive oil, garlic, tomato, citrus juices and thyme and pairs well with Sauvignon Blanc.