Week 9
When I think about the past week I am incredibly thankful for our crew. The hot weather can be exhausting and they all worked hard without any moping or complaining. Staying on top of the irrigation was a full time job and we are looking forward to a break in the weather pattern this week. Ian, who has worked for the past few years, worked his last day on Friday. He was only working Fridays and Wednesday mornings this year, but we will really miss him. He is off to LSU for grad school. It is great to see crew members head off on new adventures, but it also feels a little bit like an end of an era. Ian made our farm a better place to work, both for us and for the crew. I am hoping he might want to come back and work next summer, but I also get sometimes it can just be time to move on.
I assume it was the hot weather that had a lot of people asking about melons on Saturday at the farm stand. I love having people inquire about specific varieties. A melon so good that people remember it from last summer - that makes me smile. I haven't looked at the melon patch this week. The tell tale sign is the Korean melon that we always give the CSA. It is our first melon and it turns bright yellow when it is ripe. We always plant it at the the front of the first bed. When it starts to blush yellow we know melon season is about to kick off.
We started picking Japanese style cucumbers this week and they should be in your boxes next week. They are my favorite and although they are fussy and labor intensive, they are worth it.
Lettuce
Carrot
Cabbage
Zucchini
Celery
Cherry Tomato/Slicing Tomato - Large shares will have both. Small shares will have one or the other.
Beet Greens - Large Share Only - In order to get nice round beets that size up quickly we thin the plants to a three to four fingers between each one. In the spring we will take the time to bunch the thinnings, but in the summer we usually just pull them and drop them in the path as we hand weed because it is much faster. We didn't bunch many this spring because we didn't have fantastic germination and a lot of the greens never looked that good. This is our first planting of beets this year over on Southbay and they look so good we decided to try bunching some. Because they are young, they are incredibly tender and delicious.
I made this this delicious burst cherry tomatoes with pancetta on grilled bread last week. It was so good we are having it again tonight with some grilled vegetables. I love summer food.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Week 8
I hope everyone knows of a good swimming hole! Hot. Hot. Hot. Melon and tomato weather are predicted this week.
Once again the trade table will be kind of minimal because of the heat, but we will have a walk-in full of veggies so please feel free to ask for stuff, if you don't see something you want. Keeping this short because we need to do a little harvest before it gets too hot. This warm weather will continue to require lots of irrigation and early harvests, but hopefully will bring on the slicing tomatoes like gang busters!
Carrots - Purple Haze
Cherry Tomatoes
Tropea Onions
Potatoes
Cucumber
Green Bell Pepper
Green Beans - Small Only
Salad - Large Only
Broccoli - Large Only
I hope everyone knows of a good swimming hole! Hot. Hot. Hot. Melon and tomato weather are predicted this week.
Once again the trade table will be kind of minimal because of the heat, but we will have a walk-in full of veggies so please feel free to ask for stuff, if you don't see something you want. Keeping this short because we need to do a little harvest before it gets too hot. This warm weather will continue to require lots of irrigation and early harvests, but hopefully will bring on the slicing tomatoes like gang busters!
Carrots - Purple Haze
Cherry Tomatoes
Tropea Onions
Potatoes
Cucumber
Green Bell Pepper
Green Beans - Small Only
Salad - Large Only
Broccoli - Large Only
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Week 7
I try to post the veggie list before I leave on Sunday morning to meet the crew, but often I only get started and then I finish it after harvest and and after getting Derek and Talia off to market. I just came home and read what I wrote and then deleted it because mostly it was me just whining!
The second half of July rages into August and it is the season to push hard and embrace chaos, but apparently this morning that wasn't really suiting me! Lucky for me, most of the time I like it. I also like sleep and I guess I need a bit more of it.
There were lots of things to be grateful for this week on the farm. We got the last of our garlic out of the ground and hung on Friday and it is the nicest garlic we have maybe ever grown. Of course, we aren't in the clear yet. It has to dry down and not rot, but so far so good. Having it all out of the ground and in the barn is such a relief.
Kelly direct seeded our last big round of carrots and I seeded our last round of kale, broccoli and cabbage into plug trays. Getting those done on time is also a relief.
And perhaps what I am most excited about is that we hired an additional person. One of our crew quit a couple weeks ago and keeping up has been difficult. It can be hard to catch up and honestly we let a couple things slip by that we will just have to let go of, but our new hire arrived just in time to keep us moving forward and avoid a nose dive.
I hope you enjoy your veggies this week. Cheers to a week of good meals, productive days and restful nights!
And being grateful of course.
Carrots
Beets - No tops - which for most of you is probably just fine. Beets are susceptible to something called leaf spot and we have it pretty bad this year. Fortunately the beets sized up okay. Some of you will have small beets and some larger ones. If you have a preference let me know.
Cauliflower - yippee
Snap Peas - Last call
Garlic - Inchelium Red
Lettuce
Arugula - Large Only
Additional Item - Large Only I have been waiting on Kelly to text me on his thoughts on this but I think he forgot and his ringer is broken or so he says :).
Carrot and Beet Soba Noodles with Pickled Greens
I enjoy this recipe enough to type it out! Usually I can find what I am looking for on the Internet but no such luck today.
This is an Anna Jones recipe that can be on the table in 30 minutes. She claims 20 minutes, but the recipe only serves two which I need to double. I actually find the dish to be a little sweet so I usually lessen the maple syrup, but that might just be me.
Serves 2
1 large carrot
1 large beet
thumb size piece of ginger
salt
7 ounces soba noodles
3.5 ounces chard or kale (or I would add any green. If using something tender like lettuce don't massage it)
4 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 lime
1 Tbsp sesame seeds (she calls for black ones)
cilantro
Cut carrot into matchsticks or thin rounds then peel and cut beet in same shape as well. Saute chopped ginger in oil and cook for a minute. Add veggies, pinch of salt and 7 Tbsp of water and cook 5-7 minutes until veggies are tender.
Cook noodles.
Shred greens and mix with vinegar, salt and tsp of maple syrup. Scrunch with hands to soften.
Add sesame oil, other tsp of maple syrup, juice of the lime and sesame seeds to the carrots and beets. Toss in noodles and mix to combine.
Serve with greens and garnish with cilantro.
I try to post the veggie list before I leave on Sunday morning to meet the crew, but often I only get started and then I finish it after harvest and and after getting Derek and Talia off to market. I just came home and read what I wrote and then deleted it because mostly it was me just whining!
The second half of July rages into August and it is the season to push hard and embrace chaos, but apparently this morning that wasn't really suiting me! Lucky for me, most of the time I like it. I also like sleep and I guess I need a bit more of it.
There were lots of things to be grateful for this week on the farm. We got the last of our garlic out of the ground and hung on Friday and it is the nicest garlic we have maybe ever grown. Of course, we aren't in the clear yet. It has to dry down and not rot, but so far so good. Having it all out of the ground and in the barn is such a relief.
Kelly direct seeded our last big round of carrots and I seeded our last round of kale, broccoli and cabbage into plug trays. Getting those done on time is also a relief.
And perhaps what I am most excited about is that we hired an additional person. One of our crew quit a couple weeks ago and keeping up has been difficult. It can be hard to catch up and honestly we let a couple things slip by that we will just have to let go of, but our new hire arrived just in time to keep us moving forward and avoid a nose dive.
I hope you enjoy your veggies this week. Cheers to a week of good meals, productive days and restful nights!
And being grateful of course.
Carrots
Beets - No tops - which for most of you is probably just fine. Beets are susceptible to something called leaf spot and we have it pretty bad this year. Fortunately the beets sized up okay. Some of you will have small beets and some larger ones. If you have a preference let me know.
Cauliflower - yippee
Snap Peas - Last call
Garlic - Inchelium Red
Lettuce
Arugula - Large Only
Additional Item - Large Only I have been waiting on Kelly to text me on his thoughts on this but I think he forgot and his ringer is broken or so he says :).
Carrot and Beet Soba Noodles with Pickled Greens
I enjoy this recipe enough to type it out! Usually I can find what I am looking for on the Internet but no such luck today.
This is an Anna Jones recipe that can be on the table in 30 minutes. She claims 20 minutes, but the recipe only serves two which I need to double. I actually find the dish to be a little sweet so I usually lessen the maple syrup, but that might just be me.
Serves 2
1 large carrot
1 large beet
thumb size piece of ginger
salt
7 ounces soba noodles
3.5 ounces chard or kale (or I would add any green. If using something tender like lettuce don't massage it)
4 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 lime
1 Tbsp sesame seeds (she calls for black ones)
cilantro
Cut carrot into matchsticks or thin rounds then peel and cut beet in same shape as well. Saute chopped ginger in oil and cook for a minute. Add veggies, pinch of salt and 7 Tbsp of water and cook 5-7 minutes until veggies are tender.
Cook noodles.
Shred greens and mix with vinegar, salt and tsp of maple syrup. Scrunch with hands to soften.
Add sesame oil, other tsp of maple syrup, juice of the lime and sesame seeds to the carrots and beets. Toss in noodles and mix to combine.
Serve with greens and garnish with cilantro.
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Week 6
Week 6
Each year we trial new vegetables. Often they are just different varieties of stuff we already grow. For example we always grow a couple new tomatoes. This year we are growing one called Cherokee Chocolate. We currently grow Cherokee Purple and and Cherokee Green. I think both the green and the chocolate where found as mutations in plantings of Cherokee Purple. The Cherokee Chocolate is a dark tomato like the purple but with a distinct reddish brown color. I have high hopes for it, like I always do, but rarely do new varieties make the cut. The highlight of my week was our red napa trials. Napa cabbage is one of the most difficult things we grow. It attracts bugs in a way no other veggie does. We cover it from start to finish and we still have a high cull rate. So, I don't know that the red napa will actually make the cut but it is stunning!
It shows no consistency in maturity which is another down side. We also are trialing some new green napa varieties and that is what will be in the large share's box. Not as flashy, but growing and heading up much better than the reds.
I think we might be pushing the limits of our cherry tomato supply by putting them in your boxes, but they are so good and the first ones are always exciting. Peas, which at this point have become less exciting, but still delicious, will hopefully make one final showing in your box next week. We are rolling the dice just a little, but I am fairly certain they will be around next week.
Lettuce - Dealers choice - holler at me when I am grabbing your box if you have a preference.
Carrots
Broccoli
Zucchini
Cherry Tomatoes
Collards/Kale/Chard - Your Choice When the collards get big we refer to them as elephant ears. Some of them can be comical. They are from a new planting and while big, they are also tender. If you find the assertive flavor of kale and collards to be a bit much try simmering them in coconut milk. A little sauteed onion, garlic and/or ginger all make welcome addition as would a splash of tamari or soy and a fresh squeeze of lemon or lime. Similarly, the fat of heavy cream and a generous grating of a hard cheese are delicious with them as well. If you enjoy the flavor of kale and collards then these collards would be great for rolling tight and cutting into ribbons for a salad or just lightly sauteed.
Napa Cabbage - Large Only
Herb Choice - Large Only - Basil, Mint or Parsley
Each year we trial new vegetables. Often they are just different varieties of stuff we already grow. For example we always grow a couple new tomatoes. This year we are growing one called Cherokee Chocolate. We currently grow Cherokee Purple and and Cherokee Green. I think both the green and the chocolate where found as mutations in plantings of Cherokee Purple. The Cherokee Chocolate is a dark tomato like the purple but with a distinct reddish brown color. I have high hopes for it, like I always do, but rarely do new varieties make the cut. The highlight of my week was our red napa trials. Napa cabbage is one of the most difficult things we grow. It attracts bugs in a way no other veggie does. We cover it from start to finish and we still have a high cull rate. So, I don't know that the red napa will actually make the cut but it is stunning!
It shows no consistency in maturity which is another down side. We also are trialing some new green napa varieties and that is what will be in the large share's box. Not as flashy, but growing and heading up much better than the reds.
I think we might be pushing the limits of our cherry tomato supply by putting them in your boxes, but they are so good and the first ones are always exciting. Peas, which at this point have become less exciting, but still delicious, will hopefully make one final showing in your box next week. We are rolling the dice just a little, but I am fairly certain they will be around next week.
Lettuce - Dealers choice - holler at me when I am grabbing your box if you have a preference.
Carrots
Broccoli
Zucchini
Cherry Tomatoes
Collards/Kale/Chard - Your Choice When the collards get big we refer to them as elephant ears. Some of them can be comical. They are from a new planting and while big, they are also tender. If you find the assertive flavor of kale and collards to be a bit much try simmering them in coconut milk. A little sauteed onion, garlic and/or ginger all make welcome addition as would a splash of tamari or soy and a fresh squeeze of lemon or lime. Similarly, the fat of heavy cream and a generous grating of a hard cheese are delicious with them as well. If you enjoy the flavor of kale and collards then these collards would be great for rolling tight and cutting into ribbons for a salad or just lightly sauteed.
Napa Cabbage - Large Only
Herb Choice - Large Only - Basil, Mint or Parsley
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Week 5
Kelly is off to Shelton to bring home the bacon (his joke and he thinks it is really funny). He is picking up four piglets today. We skipped raising them last year and are looking forward to having the again. We had hoped to pick them up a bit earlier, but the first ones we reserved stopped eating when they were weaned. The farmer wanted to hang on to them a bit longer to make sure they were in good shape. We still aren't really sure what the situation was, but after a month of back and forth we decided it was time to move on. If we hadn't already ordered a ton of feed we might have just decided to skip raising pigs this year. I hated the idea of scrambling to buy pigs from someone I didn't know. Fortunately some friends of ours who also raise pigs directed us to a farmer they have had a relationship with for a few years. They were really happy with the quality/health of the piglets they bought. Pigs of all breeds and markings make delicious pork, but just like I enjoy pretty vegetables I also enjoy pretty pigs. Who doesn't love spots? I suspect, based on the breed, that the pigs we are getting today are going to be pink but at this point I am just happy that things seem to be working out.
On the veggie front we started picking field cukes this week and sold a few pints of Sungolds. We bunched the last of the spring radishes and are a week out from saying goodbye to turnips until the fall. We uncovered the peppers and weeded them and I am really happy with how they look. It is time to burn through all the frozen peppers we have in our freezer!
Lettuce - If you had Little Gems (mini romaines) a couple weeks ago you will have Lovelock, an awesome summer lettuce with a crunchy rib. If you haven't received Little Gems yet you will have those. In addition to a crunchy rib and great flavor they are cute.
Carrots
Turnips
Snap Peas
Cucumber
Scallions
Chard - Large Only
Kelly is off to Shelton to bring home the bacon (his joke and he thinks it is really funny). He is picking up four piglets today. We skipped raising them last year and are looking forward to having the again. We had hoped to pick them up a bit earlier, but the first ones we reserved stopped eating when they were weaned. The farmer wanted to hang on to them a bit longer to make sure they were in good shape. We still aren't really sure what the situation was, but after a month of back and forth we decided it was time to move on. If we hadn't already ordered a ton of feed we might have just decided to skip raising pigs this year. I hated the idea of scrambling to buy pigs from someone I didn't know. Fortunately some friends of ours who also raise pigs directed us to a farmer they have had a relationship with for a few years. They were really happy with the quality/health of the piglets they bought. Pigs of all breeds and markings make delicious pork, but just like I enjoy pretty vegetables I also enjoy pretty pigs. Who doesn't love spots? I suspect, based on the breed, that the pigs we are getting today are going to be pink but at this point I am just happy that things seem to be working out.
On the veggie front we started picking field cukes this week and sold a few pints of Sungolds. We bunched the last of the spring radishes and are a week out from saying goodbye to turnips until the fall. We uncovered the peppers and weeded them and I am really happy with how they look. It is time to burn through all the frozen peppers we have in our freezer!
Lettuce - If you had Little Gems (mini romaines) a couple weeks ago you will have Lovelock, an awesome summer lettuce with a crunchy rib. If you haven't received Little Gems yet you will have those. In addition to a crunchy rib and great flavor they are cute.
Carrots
Turnips
Snap Peas
Cucumber
Scallions
Chard - Large Only
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