Summer CSA Week 12

Prime tomato season the next 3 weeks.

I highly recommend the Cherokee Greens.

The flavor is very good on the tomatoes this year--growing under plastic with strict control on water is key.

A CSA member forwarded this yummy sounding recipe:  Tomato cobbler

Enjoy!

In this week's share:

Tomatoes, heirloom and cherry

Peppers

Summer squash

Parsley

Salad mix

Onions/garlic

Peaches or apples or Italian plums

At the stand: green cabbage, carrots, blue potatoes, TORTILLAS!!!! Try the tortillas--you will not be disappointed. 

Week 11

We took a day off from farming to visit the Dutchess County Fair, where we looked at...vegetables.  No, of course we saw much more than that, but they do a lovely job of honoring agriculture in all its forms, and now that we have a 4-H program at the Garden of Ideas, it was even more inspirational than usual to see the 4-H kids at the fair with their many animals.

We're in-between things here at the end of August.  Tomatoes continue, squash continues, we're waiting on the next beans and greens.  Our final summer lettuce heads were eaten by the deer, so we'll have to wait a few weeks for the autumn crop.  Lots of lettuce for salad mixes coming, more beets, turnips, carrots, cilantro on the way.  First potatoes at the stand. 

Did you try the tortillas last week!  Unreal.  Organic whole wheat, corn, spelt and rye.  This week I brought in the 10", a larger size.

In this week's share:

Tomatoes--they are fantastic this year, full of flavor
Peppers--really sizing up now
Salad mix or carrots (I have more salad mix than these baby carrots)
Summer squash--really smaller and tender now--the best time of year for them
Kale
Onions and garlic
Peaches or Italian plums or apples (3 varieties to choose from this week)

Please bring in any fruit containers you might have--I had to break down and buy some this week!

Eat well!

Summer CSA Week 10

10 new chicks!!!  They are very cute; if you want to see them, take the long walk back through the woods to the chicken coop.  You'll be eating their eggs someday!

Lots of lasts and firsts this week: last of the cucumbers for the year, last of the beans for a bit (Romanos only this week--haha! you have no choice!), last of the summer squash perhaps (new crop coming, should eventually bear fruit), last of the lettuce heads for a while (these have some summer bitterness to them, so pair the lettuce with the sweeter tomatoes or cukes); first of the tomatoes, first of this crop of beets, first potatoes should be coming soon...

I've opened up the autumn CSA to outsiders...let me know quickly if you want to join!

In this week's share:

Head of lettuce
Microgreens or pea shoots or chard
Romano beans: roasted garlic Romano beans!!!!!!!
cucumber
squash
onions/garlic
peaches or plums or apples (jersey mac or ginger gold this week)
beets: roasted beets and sauteed beet greens recipe
bag of tomatoes and 1 pepper (tomatoes get manhandled on CSA day, leaving lots of  squishy tomatoes for the late arriving crowd, so grab 1 bag which will contain a very ripe beefsteak, an heir loom of varying ripeness (place ones that need to ripen on your counter or in a paper bag for further ripening), a handful of assorted cherry tomatoes, and a pepper.

At the stand:  whole grain tortillas!!!!!!!!!!!!! from the Fingerlakes.  Freshly harvested grains from the Fingerlakes get turned DAILY into fresh tortillas.  Fantastic.  I brought packages of 6" tortillas in for a trial.  $3 a bag!  Can't go wrong.

Apple butter and strawberry jam from Red Jacket Orchards.

Butter, dairy, ginger carrots, kim chee, eggs...

Eat well!!!

Summer CSA Week 9

Wow!!! Just got slammed by a microburst--torrential rain, high winds, hail!!!!!  Took a walk of all fields, and except for some knocked down tomato plants and cages, and a tree down across a gate to the chickens, little damage.  Whew!

Speaking of chickens, 5 chicks were born last night!!!!!!  Our 4-H club will be delighted.

Tomatoes are coming in a bit heavier, but don't have enough for the share this week.  Plenty for purchase at the farm stand, however.  They are delicious, and at $3.50 a pound, $3.50 a pint for cherries,  nicely priced.  I stopped at a farm in Kent yesterday and they were $4.50 and $6.00.  The pale yellow 'White Cherry' tomatoes are especially tasty.  If they happen to ripen all at once, everyone could get some.  I should have enough for the share next week. 

Lots of food in the share this week, including 2 giant pink turnips.  These are the nicest I've ever grown.  Don't be intimidated!!! Try these simple turnip recipes!!!  I cook lots of turnip soup at this time of year and freeze it for the winter--makes the perfect lunch on ski days.  Mashed with garlic is my all time favorite.  The greens are great, too.

In this week's share:

Head of lettuce

Salad mix (lettuces only) or pea shoots

Beans!!! (Pease try the romano beans--they are awesome!)

Cukes (last week might be the last of this crop)

Summer squash

Turnips

2 onions and 1 head of garlic

Peaches or plums or Jersey Mac apples from Woodland Farms

At the stand: canteloupe, small watermelons, tomatoes, kale, chard

Eat well!!!!!!!!!!!