Farm Share Info for July 29

It's a funny time here on the farm. Busy, as always, but a little lean, too. Our first big flush of spring produce is done (no more napa cabbages, peas, chicories, beets) and we get to catch our breath for a little while before the big summer crops come on. Well, we won't be catching our breath so much as we'll be busy weeding and weeding and planting and weeding and building and mowing and weeding some more.

It may not seem like it to you, but it's been a little bit of a challenge for us to put together the past couple of shares -- mostly due to drought, insufficient fertility and just a little bit of inadequate planning. The drought and fertility I can't really do a whole lot about except know that we can irrigate in the future (with our new irrigation setup) and that the soil tilth and fertility will continue to improve as we continue to work the soil and to cover crop it and add minerals and nutrients. As for the planning, I just underestimated how much of each crop we would need. It's exciting to walk through the market gardens and see all of the different crops, but it's frustrating come harvest day when you pick every last fava bean and still don't have enough to give out. Hypothetically speaking, of course. But of course, this is where we can see the power of crop diversification: with so many different crops planted, there's always something ready to fill in for something that didn't do well. Crop diversification is way better than crop insurance. What can I do about this? What any good farmer would do: learn from it and plant more.

But don't worry! This little shortage only affects our successtional plantings and -- being successtional -- we get a chance to plant more. Better yet, all of the crops that only get planted once (onions, leeks, winter squash, tomatoes, potatoes and such) are about to starting coming in by the bushel. We've been eating the first few cherry tomatoes of the season, some of the big slicing tomatoes are done sizing up and are just waiting to ripen, eggplants are setting fruit, winter squashes are -- as usual -- out of control, corn is tasseling, potatoes are about golf ball size, and you're all getting some early hot peppers this week. All that good stuff yet to come and, since we're just now only 1/4 way through the CSA season, we'll have plenty of time to enjoy it all.

All shares contain:

• "Rainbow" Beets
• Swiss Chard
  
• Zucchini and/or Summer Squash
• Cilantro
• Green Onions
• Hot Peppers
  

"Full" shares also contain:

• more onions, zucchinis and peppers
  
• Fennel
• Thyme
  

Veggie Notes

beets - I can't believe I've forgotten to mention this for two weeks -- in fact, I can't believe that I'd forgotten it at all: beets are really really good when eaten with a little goat cheese. It's by far our favorite way of eating beets. Just roast the beets and then serve them with some chevre -- such as the great stuff available from Kennebec Cheesery at the Thursday farmers market. The sweet, earthiness of the beets is set off nicely by the creamy, tangy, earthiness of the cheese. Try it!

green onions - These are just "premature" onions and can be used like onions or scallions. The green tops can be used too. Kendra's family likes to pack the green tops in a bin of salt, which preserves them. Then they use them to flavor soups and stews over the winter.

fennel - The first time we grew fennel, we were hooked. What a unique, versatile, little veggie! If the licorice flavor is a bit much for you, cooking can help to tame that a bit. Raw, it's crunchy texure is great in anything that calls for celery and it's sweetness and flavor really pair well with fruits: with raisins, say, when grated into some sort of new-age cole slaw or with grapes in one of those chicken salads that have grapes in them or just chop it up and toss it in with some fruit salad. In Italy, apparently, it's sometimes eaten for dessert with orange-flavored goat cheese. When cooked, it again can be used anywhere that celery would be used and that would benefit from a little sweetness. We really like to carmalize it like you would onions: slice it thin and cook it in olive oil over a low flame for 30-40 minutes.

Recipe Ideas

Corn Salsa
Sweet corn is starting to show up at roadside stands in the area and this is a great way to use any ears that you might have leftover. It's also a great way to tide you over until fresh tomato salsa season. To cut the corn off the cob, just stand the [already cooked] ear on end on a cutting board and cut downward to slice off the kernels.

2 cups sweet corn, cooked
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
minced fresh hot pepper, to taste
salt

Combine corn, onion, cilantro and hot pepper. Season to taste with salt and serve.


As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.

We hope you enjoy the share!

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Farm Share Info for July 8

The farm is really looking great during these long, hot, muggy days. It's hard weather to work in, but it's great growing weather for the crops: our popcorn was more or less "knee high by the Fourth of July", as they say; we'll likely have zucchini and summer squash next week, as well as shell peas (hopefully for all shares); and the tomatoes are ... well, they're coming.

All shares contain:

• garlic scapes
• napa cabbage
• swiss chard
• cilantro
  

"Full" shares also contain:

• head lettuce
• another kohlrabi
  
• Italian broccoli
  
• snap peas - the pods are edible w/ the peas
• one share also got a small cauliflower to make up for a rather puny kohlrabi

Veggie Notes

garlic scapes - These are the succulent flower stalks of garlic plants. They can be used just like regular garlic (just chop 'em up) but they really shine on their own when pickled (we chop them into 1" pieces and follow a dilly bean recipe, omitting the requisite garlic and substituting the scapes for the beans) or brushed with olive oil and grilled.

napa cabbage - The napas in this weeks share might seem a little bit daunting, large as they are. When I think of napa cabbage, I tend to think of only one thing: kimchi. Essentially Korean sourkraut, kimchi is a delicious, spicy mix of naturally fermented napa, radish, onion, ginger and -- especially -- chilis. Using the book Wild Fermentation, we made some last week and are eagerly awaiting the results (it takes a week to ferment). If the process of making kimchi is a little too much right now, napas are excellent grated into cole slaw (see recipe below), chopped and stir fried, or used as wrappers for asian inspired stuffed cabbage. Based on the size of this weeks cabbage, you should be able to try a few different things. We probably won't see napas again until the fall.

swiss chard - These leafy greens with rainbow colored stems (actually, they're petioles) are an excellent green for summer, when kale and spinach just ain't good eatin'. The leaves are tender and can be used just like spinach. The petioles can be chopped up and sauted with the leaves, or can be tossed into tuna or chicken salad for a colorful crunch. Chard from the supermarket tends to have a very tart flavor and leave a somewhat gritty feeling in the mouth, but I haven't tasted anything like that in the chard we've eaten this year.

Italian broccoli - Italian, calabrese or "sprouting" broccoli tends to produce many small heads, which have looser "beads" (actually, flower buds) than regular broccoli. The loose, "buddy-ness" of this week's broccoli is somewhat accentuated by the drought we had in May, but it's still pretty darn tasty. We sauted some for tacos last week with garlic, cumin and chili peppers.


Recipe Ideas

"Asian" Cole Slaw
This is based on a fairly common recipe which we got from Clayton's mom and the original can be found on RecipeSource here: http://www.recipesource.com/fgv/salads/18/rec1889.html We liked the idea, so we sort of combined it with another recipe by changing a few things and tweaking couple of ingredients to make it seem a little more authentic and whole foody. It's an excellent potluck, party or picnic dish and it also makes a great, healthy snack. Clayton's mom swears, though, that's it's not the same without the crunchiness of the Ramen...

1 lb   napa cabbage, shredded
1/2 C  carrot, shredded
1/4 C  scallion, finely chopped (or shallot)
1/2 C  sliced or slivered almonds
2 T    rice vinegar (cider or wine vinegar will work, too)
4 T    maple syrup (or sugar)
1/2 C  seasame oil (or peanut or olive oil)
2 ts   sesame seeds, toasted
2 ts   soy sauce
      crushed red pepper to taste

Combine vegetables and almonds and set aside.  Combine remaining
ingredients and set aside.  When ready to serve, pour dressing
over slaw and toss to mix.

Sauted Greens
I mentioned last week that it's easy, tasty and versatile to saute greens. Now I'm finally getting around to giving you an honest recipe for them.

1 big bunch of greens (chard, spinach, kale, collard, kohlrabi or brocolli leaves)
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2-3 T olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or more to taste

Chop the greens into pieces no bigger than the size of your palm. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds. Add the greens, stirring and turning them frequently and cook until they've wilted. Depending on your taste, this could be anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes. We prefer them still crunchy so we don't cook them for very long. Splash with some vinegar when serving.


As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.

We hope you enjoy the share!

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