Welcome to week eight everyone! We are almost at the seasons mid point this week and we are awaiting our tomato crop which is a little later than last year but looking amazing. Some cherry tomatoes have started ripening but it will be another week before the large ones even start this year so i’m thinking a week until cherry tomatoes and two weeks until larger tomatoes are ready. We certainly do spend a lot of time trimming and maintaining them as I did for many hours this week and we will continue trimming them this week. Second half season payments will be sent out in the next week so be on the lookout for that email if you have a split payment plan. This week we are going to harvest all of the garlic and we will have some for you in shares for the first time. Garlic is one of our staples here and you can use it fresh before the peel has dried and its slightly spicier that way but great for cooking. Prepare your plates and cookbooks!
Green Beans: Our first green bean crop is coming in and we have some for all of you, they are very good raw but they shine cooked with some of our garlic on just a low heat in a saute pan and some butter.
Swiss Chard: This saute green has many different colored stems. There has been some insect damage this last week or two as the rain and humidity increased but it still tastes great and is a great substitute for spinach.
Curly Kale: This variety of kale has quickly become my favorite on the farm and has great texture and flavor. Massage it with oil a little for a salad or bake it in the oven for some healthy but tasty kale chips.
Summer Squash and zucchini: These golden yellow fruits are my favorite to grill or roast with the zucchini in spears and marinated in soy or terriyaki sauce with a little chili powder or sauce. zucchini fries are great to if you bread them and fry them up like tempura. They also make a great gluten free noodle if you have a spiralizer at home or slice them in long flat slices for lasagna noodles.
Onions: These small red summer onions are sweet and good with every vegetable pairing you can imagine. They are good raw or cooked and are more like a small cippiolini type than a classic round red onion.
Cucumber: Cool as a cucumber, crispy fruit for your salads and sandwiches, or juicing.
kohlrabi: Our kohlrabi crop was perfect this year so we have at least this one more week for you and possibly one more before its all gone for the summer. I like to grate it for slaw or salads, slice it for snacks, and its not bad roasted or in stir fry either.
Basil: Goes great with everything in my opinion! I also enjoy basil for fresh pesto or in stir fry dishes like onion, zucchini, basil stir fry.
Fennel: I think we have just enough left to do one more week for you all, i know not everyone loves fennel but It can be so good for a salad if you slice the bulb up thinly and mix it with salmon and onions, and a sesame ginger dressing or vinaigrette. you can cook it braised in a pan with some water too for a softer and evenly cooked sweet treat.
Garlic: The garlic is fresh this week and ready for use but it will have a fresh peel to remove that is not yet dried. just remove the cloves as usual and mince or puree this for amazing dressing marinade or flavor in your dishes as it goes good with everything else we grow. This weeks garlic is chesnook red which is a beautiful purple striped hardneck garlic. you can just let it dry on your counter also and no need to store it in the fridge, you can cut the stem off if you like as its not useful but we leave it on for drying purposes so it may come with the whole stem attached. make sure to use a sturdy pair of scissors if you need to trim it.
That all the crops that will make it for sure this week. I hope it fuels some fun summer days. I may add edible flowers into the mix if we have time this week. Thanks again for being CSA members and enjoy the veggies! -Kyle
