What's in the box?

Siberian Kale
Head Lettuce
Green Top Beets
Zucchini / Summer Squash
Fennel
Garlic Scapes
Broccoli - Eat Like a Farmer and Large shares

Notes on the box.

The kale is a mix of Siberian and Red Russian Kale. These are tender varieties that can be cooked or used in salads.
The greens on the beets are edible. If you plan on storing them for a while, remove the greens from the roots.
Fennel bulb and fronds are edible. Use the whisky leaves as you would an herb. It has a nice fresh anise flavor that goes well with beets or cucumbers.
Garlic Scapes are a nice treat. They are the stem of the flower that the garlic sends up. Pulling off the flower allows for more energy to go to the bulbs so we can get bigger heads of garlic. AND the scapes are delicious. You can use them as you would a green onion, but they will have a garlic flavor. Some people like to grill them whole. They also make a yummy addition to pesto.

Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.

This week we have fresh whole milk ricotta and Antares, our cow's milk Manchego. Ricotta is nice in a cake or other baked goods. You can put it in a quiche or pasta dish. The Antares is always a favorite at market. It has a flavor that is described as "piquant". Not quite spicy, not quite sharp, but a flavor that opens your sinuses slightly and lingers after you taste it.

Recipes.

Tumeric and Roasted Fennel, Kale, and Chickpea Salad

1 fennel bulb (save fronds for another recipe)
1 can chickpeas
1 chopped garlic scape
1 tsp turmeric
sea salt
2tbsp olive oil
1 bunch kale
Dressing:
1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 tbsp olive oil
¼ lemon, juice
pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 400
Cut fennel into wedges, place into a bowl and toss with ½tsp turmeric, sea salt and ½tbsp olive oil. Place onto 1 side of a baking sheet.
Drain chickpeas, pat dry and place into a bowl. Add garlic and toss with ½tsp turmeric, sea salt and ½tbsp olive oil. Place onto a baking sheet next to the fennel. Bake for about 30min stirring in between.
Tear kale leaves from the thick stems and wash thoroughly. Pat dry, place into a bowl and toss with sea salt and 1tbsp olive oil. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake for about 10-15min stirring in between.
Mix all of the ingredients for the dressing.
Once everything is baked, toss together and drizzle with the salad dressing.

Beet Greens with Honey and Nuts

2 Tbsp. coconut oil (or your favorite fat to cook with)
½ cup pecan (or other nuts or seeds) chopped
1 bunch beet greens
1 Tbsp. honey
1 clove garlic, minced (or garlic scape)
¼ crushed red pepper flakes
Fine sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
juice of ¼ lemon

Wash greens thoroughly; pat dry. Rough chop into bite sized pieces.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil a large skillet over medium heat. Add nuts. Swirl pan to coat with oil. Add honey. Stir to evenly coat nuts. Cook another minute, stirring constantly. Remove from pan; set aside.

In the same pan, add the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and heat. Add garlic and pepper. Stir, and then add greens. Swirl pan. Lightly toss greens with tongs to coat. Cook until just tender and wilted, 2-4 minutes. Squeeze lemon wedge over greens, toss, and plate. Sprinkle with honeyed pecans. Serves 2.

White Bean Garlic Scape Dip

Ricotta Zucchini Fritters

On the Farm.

Event announcement.
July 15 Turnip Rock and the Cosmic Wheel Creamery are open for the eat local farm tour from 10 am to 4 pm. The Eat local farm tour is a self guided open house of area local farms. There will be guided tours of the farm, too. We'll make some drinks and cheese tastings available as well.
Drive on out to Western Wisconsin! It's a Fun way to spend a Saturday.

the good news:
The squash is on it's way... you'll get just a little taste of it right now. Carrots are just a couple weeks out. Cauliflower will be here next week. Cabbage is right behind it. More butterhead and Romaine lettuce, salad mix. It's all within reach.

the bad news:
The cool wet weather is harboring root maggots, which are causing problems with yields, transplants and any plantings of radishes etc. Warmer temps and drying things out would help, as they are a spring pest and prefer spring type weather. But more rain is forecast for Friday. Much of our broccoli is acting like its underwater, stunted. I've never seen this before. But when a plants roots are wet for too long it rots off the roots in anerobic conditions, stunting them. We are sadly expecting low yields. Compared to last seasons boxes, we see a large decrease in harvest and in the value of the boxes. We will continue to plant and replant and do what we can to get the value to even out over the remainder of the season. We are doing our best! Our farm has the fewest weeds we have ever had at this point in the season, which is fantastic... We just keep getting heavy rains and more rain and that's one thing that we can't control. We will absolutely keep doing all that we can and we are grateful for your support and understanding.

We wanted to be sure to share with you the chance to sign up for a Summer Herbal Share from our dear friend and neighbor farmer, Nancy, at Red Clover Herbal Apothecary. The Summer Herbal Share includes tea, tincture, and salves special for summer with the option of choosing to add more to your share. The Share can be delivered with your Turnip Rock CSA share. If you are interested, click the link above for more info and to sign up.

We are trying to decide between these fantastic name suggestions for our new calf...
Promise
Jonah
moo
Cerna
Betsy

But guess what... We have another new calf to name! See photos below and send your suggestions our way. :)