6/26/24 CSA Member Event & Summer Anticipation
We did want to remind you that we have a CSA Member Open Farm Day this SUNDAY, June 30th.
CSA Member Summer Farm Day
Sunday, June 30th 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
It’ll be a Pick-Nic Party…
Light Pick-Your-Own Berries! Including some Blueberries, Mulberries, Strawberries;;
Pick-Your-Own Flowers (just a few varieties)
Bring a Picnic brunch, lunch or snack
Explore our farm from small bugs, to crops to hidden spots
Adult and Kid Farm Tours
RSVPs desired. Please email Charlie and let Elizabeth know.
Summer Produce Anticipation
The end of June is a hard time because there is so much anticipation for summer produce including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and fruit. We need patience. There are a lot of green and small fruits on all varieties. Our tomatoes and peppers especially look really good and are starting to be loaded with lots of small and green fruit but it will take a couple to few weeks at very minimum for them to be harvestable. This cool and cloudy weather does NOT help unfortunately.
Our Tomatoes have had more love, pruning and early trellising that most years. You will have weeks and weeks of Cherry and Heirloom tomatoes plus the ability to purchase bulk tomatoes, it’s really August and September as their season, get ready! We hope you can come and see Sunday. The Peppers likewise have had more pruning that prior and we’re excited to bring back Jimmy Nardello plus Shishito and Bell peppers. Last year we had a huge pepper tragedy as deer kept eating our peppers over and over again (we barely had any). This was part of the impetus for investing in a gate. Our Eggplant looks a little behind, it is usually the first of the summer produce to hit CSA boxes. Two of the hoop houses are getting less sun than they would like and we made the decision that starting this Thursday we’ll be taking out two very large poplar trees that are shading them, this really should help. Our strawberries are finally starting to look good. We had bad plant starts and they were hit hard by the mama deer that did get on our property this spring for a month. Soon.
Our Summer Squash, however is still in stride. We have a bed of Magda outdoors and it is coming on heavy. Look for a recipe below.
Produce Notes & Recipes!
This Week’s Box
Escarole
Toscano Kale
Pea Shoots
Mixed Beets
Kohlrabi
Rotation: Cucumber (Russell&Glass) Or Summer Squash (all others)
Basil (WC) Mint SR
Families: Broccoli
We don’t have a Lettuce this week! That doesn’t happen often but we thought we’ve been over lettucing you and we have two great greens that make non-lettuce salads. Here are some ideas…
Hmmmm, newsletter is finished but the Pea shoot harvest was light… but I have this fun recipe. It serves 4 so maybe cut in half for two. Sorry about that, it’s still fun.
Pea Shoot Salad with Pine Nuts & Manchego (UnamiGirl)
Salad
4 big, unruly handfuls pea shoots
2 small cooked beets, peeled and diced
⅛ small red onion, very thinly sliced
1 ½ ounces (45 grams) Manchego cheese
½ cup (60 grams) pine nuts
Dressing
2 tsp grainy mustard
1 Tbs (15 ml) red wine vinegar
2 tsp (10 ml) balsamic vinegar
½ tsp fine sea salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
Place pine nuts into a small, dry pan and set over medium heat. Toast, tossing or stirring frequently, until light brown in spots and very fragrant. See note 6 below if you’d like to roast your own beets, and note 7 for an alternative method of toasting the pine nuts in the oven.
Place pea shoots into a wide salad bowl.
Arrange roasted beets, thinly sliced red onion, and toasted pine nuts overtop. (See below to learn how to roast beets and toast pine nuts.)
Use a vegetable peeler to shave some Manchego onto the salad.
In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients and drizzle over the salad. Toss lightly if you like. Serve right away.
We have two lovely crops of Toscano (aka Dino) Kale we're harvesting for you. Enjoy a good Kale Salad or Sauté.
The Kohlrabi is sweet and crisp. Many people think of it as a winter veggie (traditionally it was harvested late summer and stored into winter and used in soups and stews). I just love it fresh. We grate onto salad, here is a shaved salad recipe, or I just chop into sticks and either serve with a little salt or dipped in humus.
Shaved Kohlrabi and Kale Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing (HungrybyNature)
For the dressing:
2 Tbs tahini
2 Tbs water
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste
For the salad:
3 small kohlrabi
6 c torn kale
Top with: slivered almonds, sunflower seeds, etc.
Trim and peel kohlrabi. Thinly slice the kohlrabi and set aside. Use a mandolin if you have one. I didn’t so I just sliced it as thin as I could.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the dressing and whisk until combined.
Add torn kale to the dressing and massage.
Add kohlrabi and toss to combine.
Top with slivered almonds and sunflower seeds.
Beet & Escarole Salad w Avocato & Walnuts (Bon Appétit)
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbs walnut oil
2 Tbs olive oil
4 Tbs Sherry vinegar
2 lbs roasted beets, cut into 1’ wedges
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
½ head escarole, torn into bite-size pieces
1 ripe avocado, cut into 1” pieces
¼ cup toasted walnuts
Fill a small bowl with cool water and immerse the sliced onion in it. Stir, drain well, then squeeze firmly in a clean kitchen towel or paper towels to remove excess water.
Mix together walnut oil, olive oil, and vinegar in a large bowl. Add onion and beets and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate 30 minutes.
Just before serving, arrange escarole on a platter and top with beet mixture. Scatter avocado and walnuts on top. Season with salt and pepper.
CSA Boxes with Squash all got at least one Magda today, they are the light green oval squash. Magda is a mid-east style, they have a firm texture that makes them ideal for holding a marinade and grilling. We have a full write up on all varieties in our 5/15 Newsletter.
Grilled Summer Squash With Capers, Basil and Lemon Recipe (Serious Eats.com)
1 Tbs juice and 1 tsp zest from one lemon
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing zucchini
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs capers, rinsed, dried, and roughly chopped
4 medium zucchini and yellow squash, sliced into 1/2" thick disks or quartered, lengthwise
Combine lemon juice, olive oil, basil, and capers. Whisk to combine, season to taste with salt and pepper, then set aside.
Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over the coal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, preheat a gas grill to high, covered, for at least 10 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate.
Using a pastry brush, brush zucchini with olive oil on both sides, and season to taste with salt and pepper. When grill is hot, add zucchini slices and cook, covered, until zucchini is well-browned on one side, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip slices and cook, covered, until zucchini is well-browned and tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer zucchini to a serving platter, spoon vinaigrette over the top, and serve.