The good news is that while extreme rain and then heat is hard on the crew it is great for many of our summer crops! We started harvesting summer squash and zucchini and the first cucumbers will make their appearance in the farm store this week. In anticipation of a burst plant growth for our the heat loving tomatoes we pounded in stakes and put up the first trellis lines of the season. This weather pattern also means a burst of weed growth! In an effort to keep the weeds out of summer crops we began to mulch the pathways of our the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant with a combination of straw mulch and landscape fabric. We plan to have our cultivating tractors running all week and will hoe whenever we get a chance in an effort to keep up with the weeds in crops that do not get mulched like lettuce, greens, leeks, summer squash, beans and flowers. Wish us luck!
A reminder, the farm store will be closed Wednesday July 4th. The rest of the week's schedule is the same as usual. We hope everyone has a great holiday!
Farm Store Hours This Week:
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday: 11am-6pm*
Wednesday July 4th: CLOSED
Saturday July 7th 9am-3pm*
* As usual CSA pick-up options are Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday
This week in the CSA:
- Cabbage - These mini green cabbages are an early summer favorite! They can be used raw sliced in coleslaw or lightly cooked in stir fry.
- Zucchini - The zucchini are grown with the summer squash across the street on our more newly leased field. These crops are labeled "transitional" because while we use only organic methods, they are grown in a field that is not yet certified.
- Summer Squash - The first of many plantings this season! Transitional.
- Potatoes- These new potatoes are a variety called Dark Red Norland, they have a red exterior and a white flesh. Transitional.
- Swiss Chard - We grow a variety with colorful stems called Rainbow Chard. While chard is great in it's own right, it can be useful as a replacement for cooked spinach in many recipes.
- Garlic scapes - These are the flower buds of the garlic plants. We snap off the scapes in mid June so that the plant focuses its energy on producing a larger bulb. The scapes can be used just like garlic - one diced scape is about the equivalent of one clove in terms of garlicky flavor.
- Purple carrots
- Salanova lettuce mix
- Lettuce - green and red leaf, panise (oakleaf), and more.
- Arugula
- Baby Bok choi
CSA pick-your-own:
We always have a gap in the first week in July between pea and bean season, which works well this time as it is a hot week to be in the fields. This week we will continue to have herbs for picking (basil, sage, thyme, oregano). Soon to come in the CSA pick your own are green snap beans and sunflowers.
This week in the Farm Store:
We will have most of the veggies listed in the CSA available in the farm store. We will also have the first cucumbers of the season! It is possible that we will have some gooseberries later in the week. We will also continue to sell Pete and Jen's Backyard Birds eggs, and mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm.
Spicy Stir-Fried Cabbage and Carrot
Adapted from a recipe by Martha Rose Shulman, NY Times Cooking
• 4 garlic scapes, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 star anise, broken in half
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce (more to taste)
• 2 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
• 1 small cabbage, 1 to 1 1/2 pounds, quartered, cored and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch shreds
• 1 medium carrot, cut into julienne
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons cilantro or chives
Combine the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and star anise in a small bowl. Combine the soy sauce and wine or sherry in another small bowl. Heat a wok or skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in the oil by adding it to the sides of the pan and tilting it back and forth. Add the garlic, ginger, pepper flakes and star anise. Stir-fry for a few seconds, just until fragrant, then add the cabbage and carrots. Stir-fry for one to two minutes until the cabbage begins to wilt, then add the salt and wine/soy sauce mixture. Cover and cook over high heat for one minute until just wilted. Uncover and stir-fry for another 30 seconds, then stir in the chives or cilantro and remove from the heat. The cabbage should be crisp-tender. Serve with rice or noodles.
Quiche with Swiss Chard and Mushroom
by Sue Lau, A Palatable Pastime
- 3 large pastured organic eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 ounces white or crimini mushrooms, chopped (or try using some Fat Moon Farm oyster or shiitake mushrooms!)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion or shallot
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 5 ounces Swiss chard leaves (no stems), chopped
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 5 ounces Prima Donna aged Gouda cheese, shredded
- 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
- Dash nutmeg
- 1 prepared pie crust or quiche pastry dough
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat room temperature eggs with heavy cream in a small bowl. Place pie crust in a deep-dish glass pie plate and crimp edges. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a saute pan and cook mushroom and shallot until browned. Season vegetables to taste with salt and pepper and stir in chopped chard leaves, cooking only long enough to allow them to wilt; cool mixture. Sprinkle about 2 ounces of the cheese in the bottom of the pie crust and spread vegetables over that, then top with remaining cheese. Pour the custard (cream and egg) mixture over all. Make sure the cheese and vegetables are covered or wet with the custard mixture. Dot with butter pieces and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake quiche uncovered, in a preheated oven, for about 45 minutes or until domed and puffy and custard is set. Allow to sit undisturbed for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving.