What’s in the Box:
Carrots, red leaf lettuce, english cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, green or savoy cabbage, sunflower shoots, and swiss chard.
What’s going on at the farm:
We have some pretty hot and humid days in the future for us here as we head deeper into the main summer portion of our CSA season. Exceptional amounts of rain have kept the fields muddy and the bugs hatching even better to keep us moving quickly in the fields. We have been keeping up on our regelular chores of harvesting, weeding and pruning and mowing but also removing beds and preparing for other crops to go out this week if it will just stay dry for a few days for us. We have some big events for us in the next month including garlic harvest, onion harvest, and hopefully also planting of many fall crops which will rely on our ability to keep up with all the other tasks of harvesting, cleaning, and delivering/marketing. The change in weather has some new crops ready including some awesome carrots over the next few weeks. Lastly don’t forget all Thursday shares this week will be delivered on the 4th to the West Side dropside at 305 N Meadow Ln, Madison WI. Please remember to pack out your shares and only unpack the box with your name on it. Shares will be there by 12 noon that day at the latest.
Red leaf lettuce: These frilly red heads are lime green underneath and great for wraps or salads, slightly stronger in flavor raw then other lettuce but lovely color, and I enjoy the rich flavor with dressing on it.
Swiss chard: For only the second time this season our bright lights swiss chard makes a stunning appearance with its multi colored stems and earthy beet like stems and rich spinach like greens. I enjoy my chard sautéed in butter for a frittata in the morning with a little cheddar cheese added at the end. Its great anywhere you would use spinach too and packed with vitamins!
Carrots: Crispy, sweet and crunchy these lovely roots were one of the first crops I planted this year and they are finally in after several months of attention weeding this sometimes challenging to grow crop. One of the reasons they are so challenging is because they take two weeks to sprout and cannot be transplanted so that gives weeds an unfair head start on the carrots. Yet, here they are… enjoy!
Cabbage is great for slaw, or in stir fry too! Try it with other grated roots like carrot or minced onions and herbs. I really like dressing it with a balsamic mayo I make with balsamic vinegar and mayonaiise. Two types of cabbage coming to you this week and its the 4th of July so do yourself a favor and try a multicolored coleslaw or grilled cabbage quarters! I like to quarter them bi slicing through the tap root into large quarters and then roast the flat side down and marinate the cabbage as it cooks with teriyaki or your other favorite dressing.
Sunflower shoots: These are a great summer solution to salad greens and great as a topping on just about any dish you can imagine!
Zucchini and Summer Squash are very similar in texture, flavor, and cooking requirements. They really go well in everything and we are continuing to pick these guys daily in order to keep them from getting to big on us, at least that is our goal. I love these sautéed with butter and onions with eggs, on pizza, grilled and brushed with herbs and oil, and in pasta, stir fry, or even sliced thinly the long way for a mock lasagna using squash instead of noodles.
Cucumbers love all this humidity and water and our slicers have finally started coming in this week. The bigger slicers have a slightly thicker skin but are still the european type with small seed cavities and smooth skin with no spines. Our baby english cucumbers are still peaking too so we will have some of those sweeter, softer, and smaller ones that you were receiving in there too.
Some other crops to note that look good and will be coming the next month include green beans, eggplant, onions, green peppers, leeks, hot peppers, cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, and cauliflower.
Have a great 4th of July holiday everyone and enjoy the veggies!