Hey Everyone!
Hope the smoke is a bit lighter where you are today - is has let up a bit at the farm today, compared to the last 2. It has been a challenging season for everyone so far, from one extreme to the next. Hope you're all managing to stay healthy and safe. Clearing fuel here on the farm is definitely on the list for this weekend. We were lucky to have a neighbour come by this past week and hay some of the adjacent pasture just to get the grass down, as we don't have the equipment to do it ourselves. So that feels really good!
We have a couple new crops this week: the gold beets are ready and they are a lovely option for anyone who typically doesn't love beets. They are less "earthy" tasting than a red beet; sweeter, milder, and great for beet salads for roasting. The greens are also more delicate than red beet greens. The stem isn't as tough.
We also have garlic scapes from our garlic producer, Buck Ridge Ranch and Gardens on West Fraser. Garlic scapes are somewhat of a delicacy: a byproduct of garlic growing (they are essentially the flowering stalk of the garlic plant that needs to be removed so it puts its energy into the bulb) they have a garlicky green flavour to them and are delicious chopped up and added as garlic to any dish, or you can try garlic scape pesto!
Since we have a beautiful bed of Health Kick this week, I have also added an amazing local product that goes very well with this salad mix. River Select is a fishing cooperative made up of Indigenous fishers and fishing communities that selectively harvest salmon from BC rivers and also advocate for sustainable salmon fishing in BC's watersheds. As a revenue-generating initiative of the cooperative, they produce and sell various salmon products to support the cooperative, one of which is delicious canned salmon.
It is one of my favourite accompaniments with Health Kick mix and I've added them to the Extras page. I often use this with a tahini-based dressing like this one, and add a can of salmon to a bed of Health Kick. It goes well with olives, green onion, radishes or Hakurei salad turnips, red onion, and feta! In addition to River Select, we have more Hanceville Cattle Co. stock on the extras page, as well as Fraserbench Farm's Apple Cider Vinegar to use for your salad dressings.
Another veggie we have in the boxes for the next few weeks are Pattypan squash. They are the little yellow and green squash in your shares that look like flying saucers :P They are a summer squash like zucchini but more buttery tasting and delicate in texture. They are best picked small, about 2" across. You don't have to peel them or anything. I like to slice them about 1/2" thick and fry on high heat with garlic, butter, parmesan, and a touch of balsamic vinegar or halved and grilled with cheese is also delish. They are good on kebabs as well.
Hope you're loving the veggies, everyone! Let me know any questions or concerns as always. See you Tuesday!
Your farmer
Brianna
