What's in the box?

Same in small shares, but lesser amounts

salad mix
green beans
broccoli or cauliflower
summer squash
zucchini
cucumbers
green top carrots
sweet onions
kale
basil
heirloom tomatoes
bell peppers

Notes on the box...

We wash the Salad Mix, but suggest you give it another wash before eating just to be sure it's 100% dirt free.

Some of the Cucumbers may be a little large. We culled out the largest ones (they were growing faster than we could pick them!), but there were some on the large size that still tasted wonderful. Though you may want to scoop out the seeds if you find them unappealing. The easiest way to do this is to cut them in half lengthwise and run a spoon down the center making a cucumber boat. Easy. There are quite a few this week. We have been putting them on sandwiches, making cucumber water (just put some slices into your water and put it in the fridge for a few hours until it's nice and cold and so refreshing), making refrigerator pickles, adding them to every salad, enjoying them sliced in the morning with our eggs, and eating them whole fora quick snack. We really love them around here!

Please remember to remove the tops from your carrots for the best storage. If you don't get to it right away and find your carrots a little bendy, you can try soaking them in cold water for a half hour to see if they crisp up again.

Sweet onions are sweet and mild. They are good for fresh eating on burgers and in salads. They are not cured (dried for long term storage) so you should keep them in your refrigerator.

Bell peppers are here! Hooray! They will be coming weekly and as they ripen we will send red and yellow ones. You can expect to see them until frost, so add them to your stir fry and with abandon!

It's the first of the Heirloom tomatoes!! They will be coming on heavier and you will get more soon. The first ones are so special and loved. Best eaten all on their own with maybe a little salt to let the flavor shine. Don't put tomatoes in the fridge unless you plan on cooking them. The cold makes the texture mealy and can lessen the flavor, too. Store tomatoes at room temperature on their shoulders (that's stem end facing down).

Recipes

From members Charles and Shannon, a suggestion for what to do with your cabbage if you still have some from last week. They said it's really good! Worlds Best Braised Green Cabbage

Ben's Everything Easy Salad

Ben took all the produce that was sitting on the counter and made a beautiful salad out of it. So Summery and tasty. Finely chopped broccoli or cauliflower would be nice in it as well. You could serve it with your salad mix, too.

zuchinni or summer squash, diced
bell pepper, diced
basil, cut into thin strips
sweet onion tops, cut into thin strips
carrots, grated
tomato, diced
dress with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

I will ill be testing this Meatless Greens Meatballs recipe this weekend using kale and carrot tops! Wish me luck!

Zuchinni Pizza Crust requires pizza stone

Chilled Cucumber and Herb Soup

Refrigerator Pickled Green Beans

Spicy Refrigerator Pickled Summer Squash and Zucchini
Last season I was making pickles and had some leftover brine. I sliced up some zucchini and summer squash and pickled them. They were wonderful!

Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
For all those cucumbers!

Cheese Share

This week we have Antares (the cows milk Manchego) again. It was made in a different wheel size for this batch. I like this cheese on a fresh vegetable sandwich piled high with cukes, tomato, lettuce, and bell pepper. I also like it on pizza and on its own for a snack. Note that some of the wheels weighed less and so some people got a smaller wedge than others. I tried to group the smaller wedges by drop site and made a note of who got smaller wedges so that I can give bigger ones later on. Don't want anyone to miss out on cheese!

You may have also seen on facebook or instagram the picture of the fresh mozzarella that I pulled for the farmers market. It was well liked and I want to deliver it to the cheese shares, but I need to figure out how to get it delivered to you without the brine spilling everywhere or the mozzarella getting squished! I also need a lot more practice at pulling so that I can make it more quickly without so many that don't pass quality control... Keep your fingers crossed, or if you can't hold out, come to the Linden Hills Farmer's market where we will have the fresh mozzarella in limited quantities off and on in the coming weeks.

On the farm...

We harvested a beautiful crop of garlic this week. It's curing in the barn and we will start adding heads to your box when it dries and gets cleaned up. YAY!

Ahhhh... This time of year is so nice! Everything is coming ripe and looking beautiful and vibrant. Not many pests have found us and we've been getting enough rain. There's still too much to do to stay on top of all the weeds, but we are happy to have a nice abundance to put in your boxes! We hope that you are enjoying everything and making your way through the veggies before the next weeks delivery arrives.

I have to say, seeing pictures on Instagram of the meals that you make with the veggies that we have grown is one of the best treats we get! We are so grateful for all the feedback we are getting from our members. Here's a look at some of the lovely pictures of some truly yummy looking food that you all shared with us. Please keep it coming! It's really fun and motivating for your farmers to know about these amazing meals that you are putting love into for yourselves, your families, and your friends! THANK YOU!