Week 9; August 29, 2013
What's in the box?
heirloom and slicer tomatoes
bell peppers (green and red)
broccoli
carrots
green and dragon tongue beans
watermelon (either red or yellow)
cantaloupe
sweet corn
heirloom and slicer tomatoes
watermelon
carrots
broccoli
bell peppers
green beans
sweet corn
*cherry tomatoes are making their way into the single shares now. if you didn't get them this week, they will be coming to you soon!*
Notes on the box...
Storage for everything has been covered in previous posts.
Be sure to store the broccoli in a plastic bag to help it keep longer. This is the beginning of our fall planting, already in the box due to sudden shifts in temperature (again!). What the heck??! Since this broccoli came ready out of left field (actually the far North field) we did not have a chance to spray it (with an Organically approved spray) to kill the cabbage loopers. We try to use the spray sparingly anyway, because it kills our beneficial insects, too. We soaked the broccoli in cold water and tried to get out any loopers that we could see, but the fact is we may have missed some. They are not harmful, just might scare folks that are particularly bug-phobic. They are solid green and look like an inch worm. We apologize if you got any!
The watermelons are smaller varieties that we grow because they are particularly yummy and because they fit in the boxes! The light green stripey ones are yellow inside. Sunshine is one variety and Yellow Doll is the other. We tried yellow doll as an alternative to the (very expensive seed) of Sunshine at the advice of some other CSA farmers we know. We still prefer the Sunshine quite a bit, and think the extra cost of the seed is worth the sweetness! Yellow doll is good, but it didn't knock our socks off! They can be stored in your fridge or on your counter.
Cantaloupe can be stored in your fridge and is very refreshing when it's cold, but it tastes sweeter when it's at room temperature. You get to decide how you like it best!
Recipes...
We were trying to eat without cooking this week on the farm. Lots of sandwiches with cheese, mayo, and tomatoes. Ouch it was hot!
[yumprint-recipe id='14'][yumprint-recipe id='15'][yumprint-recipe id='16']Watermelon, Mint, and Cider Vinegar Tonic
If it cools down some, maybe you'll feel like baking some Healthy Carrot Date Coconut Muffins
Creamless Creamed Corn with Mushrooms and Lemon
Rice Stuffed Tomatoes from Smitten Kitchen
On the farm...
I bet you know what I'm going to say. That's right, it's hot! It's dry! Weatherman said we reached record high temperatures for this week. This season has broken so many records as far as weather goes, and that is not fun for us. The good thing is that after the record lows last month, the record highs this month have things ripening quickly. We have stopped trying to predict when crops will be ready. Seems like they are on their own schedule. We are just checking on them to see who's ready! It's been a crazy season and we are only half way through it!
We know there are some members out there who are interested in lamb. We don't raise any on our farm, but our good friends and neighbors at Dog Song Farm have lamb available for sale. Please contact them directly with any questions.
Farm pictures starring Otto and melons this week!
Reminder:
Harvest Party at the farm on September 14th!