This is Week 12 of Summer CSA 2021...halfway through the season! Yes, we're nearing the end of August (already!), but our farmers still have half of our growing season ahead of us. And some of our farmers will continue to grow through the winter in greenhouses, some heated with wood and others relying on sporadic solar heat and cold-hardy plant varieties.
New this week:
- Eggplant from Glacial Till Farm (limited quantity)
- Red/White Mixed Potatoes from Yellow Creek Farm
- Jalapeno Peppers from Glacial Till Farm (limited quantity)
- Various Asian greens from Harmony Grove Farm
- Collard Greens from Glacial Till Farm
- Red Kale from Spur Hollow Farm
Mushroom Share this week is Lions Mane.
Have you ever had roasted cabbage? It's a regular dish on some tables, but for those of you who have never made it, it's a simple side dish that packs lots of flavor. Here's a Honey Balsamic Roasted Cabbage to try. Don't forget to order honey, too!
And here's a recipe for Roasted Beet & Carrot Lentil Salad that one of my daughters and I just love. The rest of the family isn't thrilled when I serve it, but they generally pass on lentils if they can. The salad is so flavorful, and I often add some greens like spinach or massaged kale to make it even better. We like it with either feta or soft goat cheese.
Did you receive a zucchini that is larger than you wanted? While smaller zucchini are needed for lots of dishes, the larger ones are still useful. Cut it in half or quarters lengthwise and scoop out the soft seedy flesh from the center and discard. You will have lots of useful zucchini left. Grate it and make zucchini bread, lemon zucchini bread, or chocolate zucchini cake. Or you can make a mock apple crisp that tastes remarkably like the real thing. But as I stated in a previous email to members who received shares on August 18 and 19, if you would like a credit for a zucchini that is too large, please let me know.
Farm News
Yellow Creek Farm
At our farm, our summer crops are finished and the high tunnel is being cleaned out for our fall crops of carrots, beets, radishes and turnips. We will be "tarping" our current outside gardens and some new growing areas in preparation for next spring. The tarping process will kill all weeds and create a weed free area on which to build and rebuild permanent beds for less labor-intensive and more productive gardens.
Glacial Till Farm
Sometimes you just have to put your nose to the grindstone and work yourself to exhaustion. I like to imagine myself as a French peasant market farmer in the year 1850. Cultivating bliss in the salad zone!
Grateful Life Farm
It has been a very stormy week and all the rain and wind have resulted in a lot of trees falling. I drove the side-by-side up the path to the pasture for afternoon chores on Wednesday, only to find the road blocked by three cherries lying on their sides, their root ball ripped out of the ground and standing as tall as a person. I went back to ask Shawn to bring the chain saw. Yesterday afternoon, we waited in the pasture for the rain to slow so we could move the chicken pens without getting the birds wet. When we finished and attempted to head back to the house, two more trees had fallen and blocked our way! We drove through the neighbor's field, down his driveway, and out onto the road to make it back to our house for the chainsaw. The loss of the trees feels sad to me, but I know they will keep us warm in the wood stove this winter.
Share customization ends at 11 p.m. on Sunday. Remember that you can customize your share multiple times throughout the weekend if you want. I usually customize mine on Friday to make sure I don't miss out on limited quantity items, and then I check it again on Sunday afternoon to add additional items after I've done my meal planning for the week. Some people customize their share, and then plan their meals around that.
Have a great week, and take time in the kitchen to make a memorable meal.
On behalf of your NWPA Growers farmers,
Amy Philson
