Three Cheers for the Monsoons!

And...a new Celli spader! Viva Italia! (Photo by Farmer Nic)

And...a new Celli spader! Viva Italia! (Photo by Farmer Nic)

Hello Friends,
Three cheers for the monsoons!  Although the forecast still looks hot, it has been so nice to have the afternoon rain showers back.  The smell of wet soil is a scent for sore noses (or something like that) and it really helps with the mid-July slog.  This week we discovered that our drip lines on many of our plants have slowly been clogging up, so we have spent a good part of the past week trying to fix the problem and get stuff watered.  We have also been trying to out smart the wildlife that has recently moved in on the farm...two young fawns have decided to snack on the head lettuce before bedding down in the onion patch for the evening.  Between them and the precipitously growing bunny population, we are a regular wild kingdom.  We have deployed some row cover to try to hide the lettuce with the hopes that they will not start wandering into the tomato tunnels...although the grass hoppers may have beat them to it.  Sharing this planet can be trying sometimes.  

Summer fruits are starting to appear, slow at first, but in earnest soon.  Bell peppers are lovely for all sorts of things. Fajitas automatically come to mind, sautéed with sweet onions and garlic and your favorite meat, you don't have to do much more for flavor.  Eggplant is better than many of you think.  Grilled with peppers and sweet onions, they make a wonderful filling for veggie melts.  Just toast some good bread, pile on the grilled veg, add some smoked gouda or swiss cheese and place under the broiler for a minute.   I like a good mustard with mine.   Asian eggplants are like mushrooms.  They soak up all the flavor of what you cook them in and take little prep. Pasta, curry, or pizza are all my favorites with these little gems, just slice and sauté.  New potatoes are just that...new.  They are uncured and have delicate thin skin.  They do not store well outside your fridge, so put them in a plastic bag in the cold chamber until you are ready to use them.  They make wonderful hash browns with the peppers and onions but are great for oven fries or potato salad.

See you all real soon!
Katie

This Week's Harvest
Kale
Rainbow Chard
Head Lettuce
Beets
Carrots
Slicing Cucumbers
Lemon Cucumbers
Zucchini and Summer Squash
New Potatoes
Bell Peppers
Italian and Asian Eggplant
Sweet Onions
Basil