Ripening Weather
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Good Morning Folks,
Hope y'all are finding good ways to stay cool out there! These 95 degree days are really only good for tomato and pepper ripening and that is exactly what I'm thinking about when we are struggling through the heat of the day. Looking like we might be getting a little relief in the next few days with a 30-40% chance of afternoon showers. The good folks at the National Weather Service are calling for heavy rain...just time for us to seed our winter carrots. Most moisture is good for farmers this time of year but heavy rain can wash the tiny carrot seed away and cause our soil to crust. We are keeping our fingers crossed for some gentler showers so that we can all enjoy sweet winter carrots in December. We are just starting to see the first heirloom tomatoes ripening in the hoop houses, so it won't be long now before we will all be reaping the rewards of the summer heat. This week also marks the start of our big fall planting push which lasts for the next month or so. Fall broccoli, storage kohlrabi, napa cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and chard are all going in the ground this week and we will be prepping for weekly plantings of spinach, radishes, and turnips over the next few weeks.
Green Beans have made it to the market stand this week and they are tasty! Hard to go wrong with these guys as they are a lovely side for just about any meal. Fresh green beans are such a summer treat and why they are part of a strange Thanksgiving casserole still baffles me (apologies to anyone who holds this tradition near and dear, I total agree that it is tasty, just strange). Grill some nice pork chops, steam some of these beans and serve with shallot butter. Can't go wrong. We continue to enjoy the fruits of summer in our family and have been trying to think outside the box. This weekend we made a raw cucumber salad with shaved fennel and sweet onions. Tossed with a lemony dill dressing and it was quite a refreshing treat. The New York Times Cooking site has some great ideas for zucchini which I am excited to try this week. I love the easy recipes like zucchini with fettuccine and pine nuts or zucchini fritters with feta and yogurt sauce. Someone mentioned something about Shaksuka, of which there appears to be many variations of. I think I will try it eggplant and zucchini this weekend.
A couple of logistics, I know many of you have been wondering how many weeks we have left in the CSA and you will be happy to know that we are not even half way there yet! Counting this week, we have 15 weeks left, plenty of time for cooking and enjoying summer and fall bounty. The last day to use your accounts in October 28th. After that, we will be starting our winter CSA program that is an super way to keep eating seasonally and locally all the way through March. We have been gradually increasing our winter CSA every year and every year we sell out, so if you are interested in the awesomeness that is the winter program, be sure to sign up soon. Winter info can be found on our website here.
Looking forward to seeing you all real soon!
Katie
This Week's Harvest
Kale
Chard
Head Lettuce
Sweet Onion
Beets
Carrots
Green Beans
Cucumber
Zucchini and Summer Squash
Broccoli
Basil
Garlic
