Week 15

The first box of September!   It is the month that starts with what is often the peek of tomatoes and ends in the harvesting of winter squash.  

The threat of rain last week pushed us to get a lot of onions out of the field and curing.  We grow fewer onions than we use to, so it isn't quite the push it use to be, but still a huge relief to get it done.  We have a nice charge of shallots this year which you should see in your box in the next week or two.  

Corn - yellow

Cucumbers 

Rainbow Chard

Garlic

Carrots

Tomatoes - slicing or cherry and the reverse next week.

Green and Purple Bell - Large Only

Red Daikon - Large Only white flesh, with greens

Have a great week.

Week 14

You may have been surprised by the melon in your box last week.  I wasn't sure we would have enough.  Kelly was in Montana last weekend and I was keeping watch on the melons - basically just hoping that they weren't ready to pick.  They waited.  I was thankful.  I was excited that Kelly got to see his family, particularly his grandparents.  He floated the Missouri with his brother, his stepdad made them ebelskiver and they got takeout from some places they have been eating from for 40 years.  It was nostalgic and relaxing.  I particularly love that Kelly's dad bought my dad's 1938 Ford Delux after my father passed away and Kelly got to cruise that around Helena while he was home.  

While Kelly and I have weathered the pandemic just fine thus far but we both feel like we have lost valuable visits with family.  We are not alone in this of course, but it is difficult sometimes. 

I know we have many beautiful days ahead of us but the seasons are changing.  I can feel the shift.  I love these few weeks of late August and early September.  They can be gruelling weeks on the farm but the changing light, the cooler nights, the bounty make it worth while.  In the next couple weeks we will begin to bring onions in, plant cover crop and prepare for the dark and rainy days ahead.

Cherry Tomatoes

Potatoes

Zucchini

Lettuce or Salad Mix

Shishito Peppers - Large Only

Bell Pepper - Small Only

Cantaloupe - Large Only

Watermelon - Small Only

Week 13

 Lettuce - Lilttle Gems or Bavaivian - crunchy ribs, both hold up to creamy dressings and lots of toppings

Carrots

Kale - Red Russian 

Garlic

Tomatoes - Many of you will get New Girl, a smaller red tomato.  

Eggplant 

Persian Cucumbers - Large Only

Cantaloupe - Small Only

Watermelon - Large Only

If we are short on eggplant some people might receive shishito peppers and eggplant next week.  

Week 12

Last year I made this simple and delicious soup during corn season. I loved using the corn cob stock and decided I would make some risotto with corn stock instead of chicken stock.  I didn't end up getting a chance last year before local corn was done for the season and it has been on my mind ever since.  Last night I adapted a recipe from the New York Times and really enjoyed it.  There is a lushness to risotto made from homemade chicken stock that this didn't have, even with a bit of heavy cream, but the flavors were lovely.  I also grilled some green beans and chopped and tossed them some diced tomatoes and olive oil.  Soup and risotto might not be at the top of your list this week with the high temps, but I think corn is the ultimate summer food no matter how it is prepared.

Corn - White corn was always my dad's favorite so I chose this variety thinking of him.  We have two successions of corn this year and hopefully we will have some yellow corn in September. 

Cherry Tomatoes

Zucchini

Cauliflower or Green Beans - whatever you didn't have last week

Red Onions

Radish - Radishes aren't heat lovers but I seeded some right after the last hot spell in part because a customer has been raving about a quinoa and black bean salad from the cookbook Naturally Nourished that you top with a radish salsa.  If the radishes look horrible we will sub something else or perhaps you will have a few radishes and a few carrots.  Update - The radishes look horrible so there is also a head of lettuce in your box along with a small bunch of ugly radishes.  They aren't pithy and the eating quality is still good but while they have survived the heat okay they have been attacked by symphylans.  We first spotted them in a different field a couple years ago.  They are difficult to manage/control.  Fortunately other than a few red daikon radishes in the same bed there aren't any other root veggies in that field.

Parsley - Large Only

Week 11

 Week 11

I had a gentleman buy some arugula on Saturday and tell me he was using it to make a salad like the one he had in Lucca, Italy 20 years ago.  It has arugula, pine nuts, shaved parmesan and a balsamic vinaigrette.  He was excited to find our arugula as the baby arugula in the store just isn't the same.  I think that is something most of us do, at least I know I do it.  Rarely do I take a vacation without coming home and trying to recreate a dish.  It isn't just about the dish, it is also a way to remember a great trip.  Sometimes the recipes stick around (spam musubi, chicken pho) and I make them at least a couple times a year.  Other times they only get attempted once.  

If you get a purple cauliflower, please flip it over and admire the underside of it.  Maybe it is just me, but I love the stem ringed and purple and the pretty little leaves edged in purple. 

Have a great week. 

Arugula

Cauliflower or Green Beans - This week Wednesday will get Cauli and Thursday will get green beans.  Next week it will be the reverse

Cherry Tomatoes

Cucumber - traditional slicing style

Small Head Lettuce

Basil 

Garlic - Large Only