Week 7

I think we all tend to cook food we know how to make when we are busy.  For one, it is easy and besides there is something comforting about familiar food.  However, there are finally a lot of vegetables around and while it can be difficult to find time to cook new stuff, I feel obligated to try some new things.  Loving to cook and eat is one of the things that led me to farming.  It is still a motivator and a source of satisfaction.  Alternatively, not taking time to cook new food can start to feel frustrating.  Last week I managed to try something new and get in a rut.  A little over a week ago I had a salad with raw beets in it.  To be honest, I was a little skeptical because I am not crazy about raw beets.  However, the salad was great and when I found out it was from a cookbook I own (Jerusalem), I decided to make it myself the next night when we were having company for dinner.  I made it again last night for a potluck/house warming party we went to.  The same dish, three times in a week.  The recipe is really flexible and I just used it as a guide.  I will include a link below if you are looking for something different to do with your beets.  It is almost as easy as making a dish you prepare regularly from memory.  

Lettuce

Carrots

Cauliflower - These will not be the biggest heads of cauliflower you receive from us (those come in the fall) but they are delicious.  

Beets

Green Beans

Cherry Tomato or Raspberry - your choice until we run out of one or the other

Cucumber

Green Bells - Large Only

Root Vegetable Slaw

I adapted this recipe to what I had available to me and you should feel free to do the same.  I skipped the celery root both times because it is not in season.  I used turnips one time and kohlrabi the other.  I used all the herbs the first night but only had parsley handy last night.  One night I topped it with Labneh, one night I didn't.  Each time it came out great.  Many of you have Chioggia beets in your box.  These are particularly beautiful raw with their candy cane stripes.  As a bonus they don't bleed and are easy to deal with when raw or cooked.  They are a little milder than the dark red beets.  

Week 16 

With the equinox just around the corner and the ground littered with leaves it seems appropriate to start dishing out winter squash.  Your first squash will be a spaghetti squash.  There are people who think it tastes great with marinara.  I am not one of them, but the strands are fun and it makes a simple side dish when tossed with some garlic, herbs and butter.  It is also good tossed with butter, roasted kale, mushrooms and topped with a bit of Parmesan.  Because it has a mild flavor you can season it any way you like.  If you are looking for some  inspiration and recipe ideas  the Huffington Post has a couple dozen photos with recipe links you could check out.

We have only pulled spaghetti squash and some delicata (in your boxes soon, I promise) thus far but this week we hope to get the rest of it out of the field and into the barn.  Where it is all going to go I have no idea!  We didn't seed anymore than last year but after seeing how much space the spaghetti squash is taking up I am a little skeptical.

Carrots
Beets - If you haven't jumped on the beet chip bandwagon yet here is your chance.  Be careful, they are easy to burn.
Potatoes - We have been rubbing potatoes with oil, rolling them in course salt and rosemary and baking them right on the oven rack.  So good - I forgot how tasty a good baked potato can be.  I know what potatoes I would like to give you tomorrow but some of the varieties have a lot of bug damage so I am going to resist making promises about the variety but I find that even the waxy potatoes are great baked.
Lettuce
Turnips - These small Japanese white turnips star in a very nice short video in the Kitchen Vignettes segment on PBS.  It is only three minutes long and shows you how to make soba noodles with turnips and shitake mushrooms.  You can find the dancing turnip video here or if you would rather just check out the recipe it can be found here.
Cherry Tomatoes - last of the season!
Kohlrabi - We don't grow much kohlrabi because it isn't particularly popular but I think it tastes great.  We had a salad tonight for dinner with some shaved radishes, kohlrabi, carrots and the the lettuce that most of you will be getting.  I made a poppy seed dressing that I liked.  It was much lighter than the really sweet poppy seed dressing you can buy.  The whole salad was inspired by the recipe for a shaved turnip and radish salad from a beautiful cookbook I heard about on The Splendid Table radio show.
Spaghetti Squash
Zucchini - Large Only
Number Two Tomatoes - The slicing tomatoes haven't been looking great lately but summer is quickly coming to an end and we thought you might enjoy one last tomato even if it is a little on the ugly side.

Week 5

It has been a busy week.   I commented to Kelly that we were getting a bit behind on laundry and his response was that we were a bit behind on life.  It made me laugh.  It is true.  Everywhere I look, whether it is at the farm or at the house, there is something that should have been done yesterday.  July is here and it is kicking our butts.   We do have some great help this year.  Wes and Claire have helped our sanity immensely, but with more help we just try to do even more.   I imagine it will always be that way.

We started pulling garlic yesterday to hang and dry.   It looks awesome.  If the rest of the varieties do as well as the one we pulled yesterday we will be relieved and excited to have one crop down that sometimes gives us problems.  The onions look promising and should be showing up in your boxes soon.  As you have probably noticed we are having a great pea year.  Snap peas are back again this week.  Hopefully that makes you all happy.  With this fantastic hot weather we will be saying good bye to the peas soon and making room for zukes, cukes and peppers.

We hope your week is filled with amazing meals.

Head Lettuce
Carrots
Potatoes - The variety this week is Red Gold.  It is our favorite potato to dig as a new potato.
Kohlrabi - If there is one veggie that might not look familiar to you it will be the kohlrabi.  Sometimes called the apple of the cabbage family it has a mild flavor.  It can be cooked but it is great raw as well.  The bottom should be sliced off and the skin peeled.  If you are feeling adventurous you can eat the leaves.  Cook them the way you would cook collard greens.
Snap Peas
Cauliflower or Broccoli
Raspberries
Cucumber 
Kale - Large Only
Scallions - Large Only
Dill - Large Only

Mexican Street Snacks  - Spicy Cucumbers and Kohlrabi

I will admit I have never had a kohlrabi in Mexico nor do I think I have ever seen one in a market.  However, I love eating the street food.  Often included with the mango and pineapple are cucumbers and jicama. Kohlrabi has almost the same texture as jicama so it is what I use when I make these at home.  They are a great afternoon snack on a hot day or a nice bit of crunch to go with a Mexican dinner.

Cucumber - Sliced or cut into wedges
Kohlrabi - Sliced into thick slices and then cut in thirds
Chile Powder
Salt
Lime

Sprinkle with salt and chile powder and squeeze the lime over the top.