Week 11

There is a farm share customer who always jokes that the purple carrots must have been planted too close to the beets.  Well, using that logic, today you also have beets planted too close to the orange carrots!  Interestingly, the orange carrots in your box most weeks, are descended from a wild carrot from Afghanistan that was purple.  I have thrown around that tidbit of information since we started growing purple carrots but last winter I read a book called Eat on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson.  I was prepared to dislike it because we had a few customers who seemed fanatical about it.  It turned out to be really interesting and I recommend it.  I won't bore you with a full critique and there were some parts of it that  annoyed me but the historical information on how certain vegetables were developed and how sometimes nutrition was lost in the process was fascinating.  She has a lot of interesting information on carrots including how the orange carrot came to be and also how much more nutritious purple carrots(higher in antioxidants) are than orange ones.  Given that, I thought she might have a lot of negative stuff to say about golden beets but apparently they have some health benefits.  Personally, I love them.  They are not as earthy as red beets.  They are mild, sweet and look beautiful when sliced in a salad.  As a bonus they don't bleed so if you find red beets to be too messy golden beets might be up your alley.

We frantically pulled onions last Thursday just in case it really did rain on Friday.  We were a little doubtful but what shower we got - such a nice change of pace to where rain gear.  Looks like we are back to hot and sunny for a bit.

Small shares will have a choice of either cherry tomatoes or slicing tomatoes.  Large shares will get both.

Have a great week.

Head Lettuce
Purple Carrots
Golden Beets
Ridiculously Large Sweet Onion - Some of these are so big they make me laugh.  I know we might not share a sense of humor when in comes to vegetables but if you like sweet onions these will put a smile on your face.
Red Slicing Tomato 
Cherry Tomatoes
Tomatillos - make some salsa - it is easy and delicious
Choice of Melon - We have lots of watermelon, some Tuscan melons, some piel de sapo and maybe a couple other random types.
Cilantro - Large Only
Bell Pepper - Large Only

Week 10

Sometimes when we put together boxes I realize they have a theme.  This week's box was headed towards a purple theme before we switched things up a bit.  Who needs all their anthocyanins in one week?  I do think it would be fun to do a rainbow box - rainbow carrots, rainbow beets, rainbow chard.  I will see if we can pull that off this fall when we have rainbow carrots available.  We will have purple carrots for you in next week's box.

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Carrots
Lettuce
Purple Potatoes 
Cherry Tomatoes
Slicing Tomatoes
Korean Melon
Herb Choice - basil, parsley or dill
Japanese Cucumber - Large Only
Bell Pepper - Small Only green or purple or a mix of both
Corn - Large Only

Week 9

If you were to walk around the farm right now you would probably think it looks great but I see signs of decline.  The plants look a little tired.  I am happy it is August.  It has felt like August for weeks and now, finally, it is okay that I feel exhausted, that everything has a quarter inch of dust on it, that I am tired of being hot, that I am eating tomatoes and watermelon.  It is okay that I broke down and bought some tater tots at the corner store.  It all makes sense now - it is August.  Why those things were all happening in July I don't know and I don't really like it.  I don't feel like any part of the garden or any crop is in particular jeopardy but things just aren't normal out there.  It is unusual to see yellowing on both the melons and the winter squash leaves this early.  I suspect it is just a sign that the plant is at a more mature state than it usually is this time of year.  We won't be putting pie pumpkins in your boxes on Labor Day but they might be ready to harvest!   One thing that has become normal for us is to see downy mildew in our onions.  We have taken to purchasing an organic approved fungicide (actinovate) in the beginning of the season so that we are prepared.  This year our onions look great, probably the best year ever, and there is no sign of downy mildew.   I suppose that in some ways all this variation is normal.  The weather is never consistent and no season is ever the same as the previous one.

Tonight after dinner we are going to go on a melon exploratory mission.  Over the past week we have eaten one very under ripe watermelon, one almost ripe watermelon, one ripe decent watermelon and one fantastic ripe watermelon along with a decent pile de sapo melon.  I don't know if we will have melons for your boxes tomorrow but we will definitely have some for you all to eat while you pack up your veggies.

I hope you all had a great weekend.  Our tired faces may not always show it but we appreciate the heck out of you folks.  Thank you for joining the farm share.

More than most weeks I am a little unsure of exactly what is going to be in your boxes.  I will update this list when I become more certain.

Carrots
Cilantro
Red Onion - Our onions are falling over already(the sign that they are done growing).  These are mature onions but they are not cured/dried down.  They can be left on your counter out in the open but they may attract fruit flies.  Your other option is to put them in a bag in the fridge(don't do this with cured onions).
Garlic
Broccoli
Cherry Tomatoes - Small Share Only 
Slicing Tomatoes - Large Share Only 
Green Cabbage- Small Share Only
Eggplant - Large Share Only
Melons - a definite maybe

The barley salad I made last week was awesome.  Here is a link.

 Grilled Vegetable and Barley Salad

Week 8

 Usually when food magazines arrive this time of year they sit on the coffee table untouched but this month they ended up on the front seat of my car and I had a chance to glance at them on Saturday.  A couple recipes caught my eye.  One I am making tonight, the grilled vegetable and barley salad, along with the roast chicken with sumac, lemon and garlic from the same issue.  Both will be modified a bit but I am looking forward to making them.  The other is a pappardelle with arugula pesto and zucchini ribbons.  I liked the way the zucchini ribbons mimicked the look of the pappardelle.  I might try to make that a bit later in the week.  I love cooking this time of year.

We unexpectedly welcomed seven new chicks to our animal family this week.  Kelly came home late one night from turning off water and heard one of the chicks sending out a distress call from the one piece of landscaping we have in the front of our house - a big bush by the front door.  It was stuck under a branch.  We let our chickens roam (hence the no landscaping) and we recently saw some feathers and a coyote in the back field.  We had assumed that the missing chickens (we don't count them when we close up the coop each night) had fallen prey to the coyote but apparently one was sitting on a clutch of eggs right by our front door for the last few weeks.  It is sweet to see a hen and her chicks.  They sometimes sit on top of her back or just peak their heads out of her wing feathers.  We moved them from under the bush to a safer place and they are pretty fun to watch.  If any of you need some new chicks for your flock I would love to find a nice home for them.

Alright back to the vegetables - happy cooking.

Carrots
Sweet Onion - It is hard to believe that some of our onions are starting to fall over (a sign of maturity).  If you feel the necks of these onions I bet you will find some that are starting to soften.   The sweet onions are always the first to mature for us but usually until August.
Tomatoes 
Lettuce 
Zucchini 
Beets
Cucumber
Green Cabbage - Large Only
Dill - Large Only

Pappardelle with Summer Squash and an Arugula Walnut Pesto

Week 7

We got our last planting of carrots seeded about a week ago.  It is the largest planting of the year and has fresh eating carrots of all colors as well as our winter storage carrots that we sell bulk bags of in the fall.  Kelly flamed most of the beds this morning and I did the last two as my meager contribution when I came back from delivery.  We try to flame weed all our carrot and beet beds.  Ideally the bed is made several days before we seed the carrots so that the weeds have a jump start.  Sometimes we have to seed into freshly formed beds and it is still a worthwhile use of time and propane to flame the beds before the carrots emerge.  We use the beets as an indicator.  When we notice the first beets starting to germinate we flame the carrots the next day.  Typically the carrots pop up a day or two later.  The beds still get hand weeded but it gives the carrots a head start and decreases the weeds considerably.

Our fall carrot beds and the flame weeder.  

Currently we have the propane tank attached to an old metal backpack frame and we wave the wand back and forth over the bed as we walk down the path.  A newer, better system is in our near future but this one has worked great for us the past several years.

Carrots

Lettuce 

Garlic

Basil

Tomato -  As Kelly predicted you all had tomatoes last week but they were stretched a little thin.   I know that those of you that had cherry tomatoes probably finished them before you got home!  

Japanese Cucumber

Potatoes

Parsley   

Red Cabbage - little guys

Arugula - Large Only

I am including a recipe for cucumber agua fresca because it is easy, refreshing, a beautiful color and super tasty.  If green beverages scare you (the water softens the color and makes it more opaque, I think it looks refreshing) you could peel the cucumber but I don't bother.  Below the agua fresca recipe is a link to a recipe for a white pizza topped with arugula.  Both Ian and Kelli who help harvest your veggies on Monday are nuts about arugula on pizza and this is one of Kelli's favorite recipes.  

Cucumber Agua Fresca

In a blender (I have to hold out a half cup water in my blender so it doesn't overflow) combine the following:

1 Japanese cucumber broken into a few pieces

1/4 lime juice

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup sugar (I use a 1/4 cup and find it plenty sweet but there are those who disagree)

3 cups water

Blend until mixture is smooth.  Strain into a jar or pitcher, chill and serve over ice.   

White Pizza with Arugula

Week 6

I heard two tales of beet greens from farm share members this week.  One member put the sautéed beet greens on buttered toast with an egg for breakfast and the other liked them so much he came by on Saturday to see if we had more.  Hope the rest of you enjoyed them as well.  Kelly sautéed them with onions and garlic and we had them with grilled salmon and steamed potatoes tossed with butter and parsley.  Sometimes simple meals really hit the spot.

Another farm share customer came by to pick up a few things on Saturday and asked what we thought was going to be in the box.  Kelly ran down the list of likely suspects and ended with iceberg lettuce.   She laughed.  No, really, there might be iceberg lettuce in your boxes.  Those of you who don't get it tomorrow will get to try it another week.  Will it be different?  I don't know the answer to that because we haven't eaten one yet.  My refrigerator hasn't seen an iceberg lettuce since we bought our house and to be honest I am looking forward to checking it out.  I am including a recipe for carrot dressing, similar to the kind Japanese steakhouses serve, that would be great with iceberg or the napa cabbage that is in large shares or really on just about any salad.

Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbors Porch Day aka National Zucchini Day isn't until August 8th but we will be having all you can eat zucchini early this year.  Our first planting is always the biggest and if we are going to do it now is the time.  We will pick the big, the small and the mediums.  Get out your spiralizer, your loaf pan and fire up the grill.  Last year I added a recipe for turkey zucchini burgers to the blog and since then we have also started to mix zucchini with ground chicken or pork when we make pot stickers or dumplings - so good.  I know there are a lot of jokes about zucchini in the summer and a lot of people who think it is tasteless but I never tire of eating it.

Carrots
Zucchini
Cucumber
Kale
Lettuce
Green Beans 
Bunched Sweet Onions - Yum
Napa Cabbage - Large Only
Tomatoes - Kelly thinks there are enough tomatoes for everyone if we give some slicers and some cherries.  I don't believe him but I remain hopeful.

Carrot Dressing - adapted from  Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites

I use my mini chop for this because I use my mini chop for everything but a vitamix or a powerful blender might give you a smoother consistency.  The original recipe calls for a little bit of silken tofu.  I have never tried it but I bet it makes it nice and creamy.  I love this dressing and my quantities are twice what the original called for, I also add more oil and a little less ginger.   I realize that adding oil to a low-fat recipe doesn't do it any favors in the fat department but as far as dressings go it is still better than most and I think the extra oil improves the texture.   I have added miso to it on occasion as well.  If I had just a smidgen less self control I would probably drink this stuff!  It could easily be cut in half if you are uncertain if you will like it.  The recipe below dresses four good sized salads or six smaller side salads.

2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons mirin (when I don't have this I usually add a little more rice vinegar and a touch of honey)
4  tablespoons rice vinegar (also good with cider vinegar)
3  tablespoons mild tasting veggie oil.
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
4 to 6 thin slices of ginger

Put everything in a food processor or blender and blend until it is as smooth as you can get it.

Week 5

You have something in your box that is a bit unusual for this time of year - baby beet greens.  Because our seeder drops too many beet seeds per inch we thin every planting of beets we sow.  In order to get them to size up into nice round beets we go through and pull seedlings so that we can fit three fingers between each plant.  In the spring, with the first planting, we will bunch and sell some of the baby greens.  They are delicious. They also are a bit nostalgic for us.  When we lived in Maine they were everywhere in the spring and they were something many Mainers seemed to love.  At market there would be big wooden boxes filled with a mess of tangled greens.  We insist on sizing and bunching them because we can't help ourselves.

We realized last night that about 10 years ago Kelly and I went on our first date.  We grabbed a sandwich from the Belfast, Maine Co-op and ate on the rocks by the water after market.  I am sure you can all relate to the feeling of things seeming like they weren't that long ago.  I must have thought about it three times…could it really be 10 years.  We will be joining you in eating beet greens this week and we will make a toast to the place where we met and that we both have such a fondness for.

Typically we only sell greens from the first planting because we don't have a lot of other variety and we have the time to mess with them but we have a planting of beets at the moment that needs to be thinned and Kelly thinks the greens look awesome.  We are going to take some extra time tomorrow and clean and bunch them for your boxes.  They are a little milder than full sized beet green and if you like beet flavor you can leave the little root on depending on how large it is.  If it is very tiny we just cut the tap root off and then chop up and saute the whole thing at once.  If the beets are a touch larger I will separate them from the green and saute them for a few minutes before I add the greens.   Before you cook them they should be swished around in a big bowl of water to remove any dirt.

We got all the squash uncovered that I mentioned last week.  The stuff on South Bay was removed at the perfect time and looks great.  The squash that was planted the same week but at some land we lease off of 46th was a bit large and the plants came tumbling out when we removed the row cover.  They will be fine but they look a little stressed out.  I am not sure why they are bigger.  Typically I think of that field being a little behind our others.  It doesn't get as much sun and the soil is heavier.  Perhaps those conditions were actually favorable with our hot, dry spring.

Hope you all had a nice 4th of July and have found the elusive secret perfect swimming hole that no one else knows about!

Carrots
Lettuce
Garlic
Scallion
Beet Greens
Broccoli
New Potatoes
Basil - Large Only
Raspberries - Large Only