CSA Newsletter, Week 9

This Weeks Veggies

Cabbage – Savoy Cabbage

Cauliflower – This cauliflower was sown in flats many months ago.  Due to the wet spring weather, I was not able to transplant it until six weeks later than it prefers.  Consequently, it is coming in to maturity when it is much too hot.  Though it is still quite edible, it isn’t very pretty.

Chard

Summer Squash or Yellow Wax Beans – They are finally here! Choose from a mix of tender summer squashes or yellow wax beans.

Beets – A mix of Golden, Chiaggio, and Kestral. The Chiaggo’s are candy stripped on the inside. The Kestrals are a deep red.

Cooking Apples – The flavor of these apples is fine but the texture is not.  See “Veggie of the Week” below for ideas for using them.  Meanwhile, you can look forward to the “Gravenstein” apples which will ripen next.

Pears – I said in a previous newsletter that I didn’t think the pears were Bartletts but it looks as though they are.  I usually have one as an afternoon snack but they’d also be wonderful baked as a dessert.

Farm Life

The gopher count continues. More summer squash plants lost to the gophers. That makes it Gopher’s three, squash 87!

This week, I finally finished putting together the irrigation system from the pond. This was a major undertaking but it will save me a considerable amount of time in the future. The new system will irrigate all but the tomatoes in four hours. With the previous system, it took sixteen hours and lots of moving of pipes and hoses to water the same areas. And now I don’t have to worry about running out of water. Now that the irrigation project is finished, I can move on to other tasks, like sowing more seeds for fall crops.  It’s time to plant the fall peas!

Don’t forget the berry picking this Sunday, August 17. You may sign up for one of the three sessions at the pick up site or by reply e-mail. The sessions are at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30.

Each session will begin with a thirty minute farm tour, ending at the briar patch. You will have one hour to pick your fill of berries before the folks from the next session begin their turn.

Veggie of the Week

Now that you are getting more fruit and veggies in your share, are you having trouble coming up with menu ideas?   Below, you’ll find what I plan to do with them this week.  If you come up with other good ideas, post them as a comment to the blog so that other shareholders can try them too.

I enjoy miso soup on hot days because it restores the minerals and fluids I lose working out in the field.  I think I’ll use a basic miso soup recipe and add veggies.  First I’ll saute some onion until it is translucent, then add some cubed tofu and continue cooking it until it is brown.  I’ll remove that from the heat while I saute the caulifower.  I’ll cook the florets first, then add the leaves.  Maybe I’ll add some shitake mushrooms too.  I’ll put the onions/tofu and the cauliflower/mushrooms in a soup pot with either vegetable or chicken broth and heat it gently.  Just before serving I’ll add some miso.

I think the cabbage and apples will go together really well.  First, I’ll saute a little onion in some butter, then add the cabbage.  When it is almost done, I’ll add  cubed apples and some slivered almonds.  I’ll serve it over egg noodles.  Perhaps I’ll put bacon, or maybe goat cheese, on top.

Today’s chard would make a good wilted salad with roasted beets and goat cheese on top.  In the past, I’ve used it as an entree by serving it over quinoa.  If you’re not quite that adventurous, you could also serve it over couscous.

Enjoy!