This Week's Vegetable Harvest:
- Zucchini/Summer Squash
- Green-Top Carrots
- Fennel Bulbs
- Purplette Onions
- Baby Spinach
- Asian Salad Greens (mix of arugula and 2 types of baby mustard greens)
- Broccoli or Cauliflower
- Purple and/or Green Kohlrabi
- Green Onions
Reminders & Announcements
- There is a CSA field walk this Thursday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the farm. Kids are welcome. Wear your mud boots!
. - Beginning this week we are accepting registration forms for Fall Vegetable Shares. Forms were placed in last week's CSA boxes. If you need a copy, please email Peg at info@sandhillorganics.com. By the way, I've heard from some of you who thought you remembered signing up for Fall Shares at the same time that you signed up for spring and summer. Please note that Fall Shares were not offered on the initial registration form, so if you'd like to purchase a Fall Share, now is the time.
. - Fruit Shares will be delivered to your pickup sites starting NEXT WEEK. If you have babysitters or relatives picking up your produce for you, please remind them not to take a fruit box unless you have registered for the Fruit Share. Thanks for your help on this!
Farm Journal
Saturday 7:30 a.m.
Another storm passed through yesterday and wreaked minor havoc before it continued its eastward journey. The storm damage includes some torn up salad greens, electrical damage to the well pump and a whole lot of torn and twisted up row cover. After more than 10 years of experience, I can attest to the fact that row cover can be a farmer's best friend and worst nightmare all rolled into one. Row cover, also known by the brand name Reemay, is a kind of lightweight fabric made of spun polypropylene. It's used by organic farmers to protect certain vulnerable crops from frost and from insect damage. On our farm it does a pretty good job of keeping flea beetles and cucumber beetles off crops such as arugula, mustard, radishes, cucumbers and zucchini. The downside is that even though the lightweight fabric is held down every 10 feet or so by heavy sandbags, row cover can still become like a sail in strong winds. This is exactly what happened along the western edge of the farm yesterday.
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So here I am on Saturday morning, fighting to untangle two pieces of torn-up row cover, each measuring approximately 15 feet across by 300 feet long. What a mess! After 2 hours I have managed to restore some semblance of order, but I am now a total mess myself. I'm hot, exhausted, and muddy as I head back to the house. I must admit, though, that I feel pretty proud of myself too. I've wrestled with the row cover beast and won (see photo below), at least until the next storm comes through!
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Tuesday, 10 p.m.
As the new week unfolds, more storms do indeed come our way. Mud is now so ubiquitous that it ceases to be the enemy and in some strange ways becomes an ally. For example, Catherine, a third-year Sandhill Organics employee, smears mud on her face each morning because she swears it protects against mosquitos better than any commercial repellant. I can't say that I've gone that far, but I suppose I have made my peace with the mud. As much as we've gotten used to it around the farm, however, it just wouldn't do to allow mud into your CSA boxes would it? Our packing shed crew has been doing their very best to keep the mud here on the farm where it belongs. This week, Catherine, Nathan, Jessie and Hannah have done a tremendous job of making your produce shine:
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On Tuesday Catherine turns 300 bunches of muddy carrots...
... into 300 gorgeous works of art.
Nathan, our packing shed manager, displays this week's final product. We hope you enjoy it!
Notes from the Farm Kitchen
Kohlrabi is related to cabbage, cauliflower, kale and broccoli. It is delicious peeled and eaten raw. Just peel the bulb, slice into match sticks and serve with or without dip. It also makes a fantastic slaw. (See recipe below.)
Purplette is a mini onion with beautiful purple and white coloring and a delicate, sweet onion flavor. It turns pale pink when cooked.
The Asian salad greens are a mix of arugula, baby red mustard and baby green mustard. The spiciness of the greens goes well with sweet, tangy Asian-inspired dressings. This mix would be particularly good topped with a piece of seared tuna or grilled chicken.
Try substituting fennel for celery in most any recipe, including chicken salad, tuna salad and potato salad. Use the feathery leaves as a seasoning. You can also try using it in place of dill. Fennel is excellent on baked or broiled fish with butter and lemon. Add to vegetable and chicken soups. For those of you who don't care for the flavor of raw fennel, you should know that it is utterly transformed by sauting it in a little butter or braising it with some white wine or vegetable stock. The flavor becomes wonderfully mellow and delicious.
This Week's Recipes
Asian Greens Salad with Ginger Miso Dressing
Slow-Roasted Zucchini with Balsamic Vinegar
Risotto con Finocchi (Fennel Risotto)
Greek Fennel Skillet
Kohlrabi Slaw
Porkchops with Braised Fennel & Green Onions
Next Week's Vegetable Harvest (our best guess)... peas, beets, lettuce, parsley, broccoli or cauliflower, zucchini, basil and more!
