Can you now remember those huge piles of snow this past winter? So long ago.
July should be hot: middle summer. And many crops thrive in this weather. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, melons, and beans seem to smile whilst we sweat and pull weeds alongside them. A plant CAN look happy; a beautiful sign of success to farmer or gardener. Which brings us to the lettuce. In this heat, we struggle to eke out a much leaner harvest of those delicious salad greens, which prefer cooler temps. Shade cloth strung over some hoop houses helps to create a microclimate for lettuce culture. We hope we've got enough to include in this week's share - savour it!
We are staying busy with hoe and hose, enjoying the best things of summer, looking forward to a full moon on Friday. You can expect plums and fennel in the near future.
In this week's share:
1) one bag Red Russian Kale. Kale is great for you offering a list of health benefits too long to list here. Eat it! Here are some recipe ideas.
2) one bag July Jubilee Salad Mix: a colorful and delicious mix of baby lettuces, cilantro and basil microgreens, and pea shoots
3) half pint raspberries from Red Jacket Orchards
4) one bunch white scallions
5) three peaches: first of the season from Woodland Farm in South Glastonbury, CT. Last year, many folks told us Woodland's peaches were the best they'd had since childhood. Woodland's crops are not certified organic, but they grow to great lengths to produce sustainably.
6) one pint blueberries from Red Jacket Orchards
Tuesday, July 12
Wednesday, July 6
CSA Summer Harvest Week Five
The fireworks are over, but the fireflies are out. We've been going out at dusk to catch them and admire their small, powerful bodies.
We hope you are feeling empowered by our harvest share goodies each week. May you run faster, think better, love more...and see lots of fireflies.
In this week's share:
1) 3 stalks fresh hardneck garlic: Garlic is planted in the fall. In recent weeks you've been eating the flowering stalks called garlic scapes. Now the plant has bulbed up and the second harvest is beginning. Fresh garlic does not keep as long as cured garlic. Today's harvest is fresh, just out of the ground, ready to use. The taste is superb. You will find the flavor more delicate than the garlic you buy in the store. Store in cool, dark place until you use it. You can cure your heads by hanging them in a dry place out of direct sunlight. Takes about two weeks. Here's a recipe.
2) two pounds tomatoes: keeping them coming from March Farms until ours are ready
3) one bag swiss chard: Swiss Chard is a versatile healthy green eaten widely within the Mediterranean. Like spinach with a lemon twist, it has a more delicate flavor than other sturdy greens like kale or turnip greens. Chard comes in different colors; the leaves are always dark green, but red chard has red stalks and yellow chard has yellow ones. No matter what color, chard is a nutritional powerhouse, a superb source of calcium and potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A and beta-carotene, as well as two carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin), which some studies have indicated can help protect the eyes against vision problems such as macular degeneration and cataracts. There is also evidence that consumption helps in blood sugar regulation. Here's a recipe for chicken enchiladas with chard. And another for sauteed swiss chard.
4) one bag red sorrel: this colorful green also has a strong lemony flavor. Great cooked in almost anything - pasta, scrambled eggs, beans, soup. Pecan crusted salmon with sorrel sauce.
5) one pint sweet cherries: from Red Jacket Orchard in Geneva, NY. Yum!
We hope you are feeling empowered by our harvest share goodies each week. May you run faster, think better, love more...and see lots of fireflies.
In this week's share:
1) 3 stalks fresh hardneck garlic: Garlic is planted in the fall. In recent weeks you've been eating the flowering stalks called garlic scapes. Now the plant has bulbed up and the second harvest is beginning. Fresh garlic does not keep as long as cured garlic. Today's harvest is fresh, just out of the ground, ready to use. The taste is superb. You will find the flavor more delicate than the garlic you buy in the store. Store in cool, dark place until you use it. You can cure your heads by hanging them in a dry place out of direct sunlight. Takes about two weeks. Here's a recipe.
2) two pounds tomatoes: keeping them coming from March Farms until ours are ready
3) one bag swiss chard: Swiss Chard is a versatile healthy green eaten widely within the Mediterranean. Like spinach with a lemon twist, it has a more delicate flavor than other sturdy greens like kale or turnip greens. Chard comes in different colors; the leaves are always dark green, but red chard has red stalks and yellow chard has yellow ones. No matter what color, chard is a nutritional powerhouse, a superb source of calcium and potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A and beta-carotene, as well as two carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin), which some studies have indicated can help protect the eyes against vision problems such as macular degeneration and cataracts. There is also evidence that consumption helps in blood sugar regulation. Here's a recipe for chicken enchiladas with chard. And another for sauteed swiss chard.
4) one bag red sorrel: this colorful green also has a strong lemony flavor. Great cooked in almost anything - pasta, scrambled eggs, beans, soup. Pecan crusted salmon with sorrel sauce.
5) one pint sweet cherries: from Red Jacket Orchard in Geneva, NY. Yum!
Wednesday, June 29
CSA Summer Harvest Week Four
Tomorrow is the last day of June. Time does fly. Happy Independence Day! We wish you good fireworks, good food, and good company.
Your summer crops are chugging along. Cukes, zucchini, tomatoes grow more robust each day. Yellow flowers and pollinating insects equal fruit in the near future. The last planting of spinach succumbed to fusarium wilt, but the New Zealand spinach looks promising; this is a crop we've not tried before, but I'm told it is tender and delicious. Soon, we can all be the judges! Yesterday, we planted Jericho lettuce, celery root, and red noodle beans. Tomorrow, the second crop of zucchini plants get settled. Bring on the sun, sun, sun...
In this week's share:
1) CHOICE: one bottle cherry stomp juice OR one bottle Joe's Summer Blend juice from Red Jacket Orchards. Red Jacket in Geneva, NY is one of our fruit grower farm partners. Their juices are to die for!
2) 8 garlic scapes: Did you use these last time? They are so versatile. Chop off the flower head and a small portion of base, which can be tough. Dice the remaining stalk and add to almost anything. Saute briefly in butter or olive oil to create a crisp, tasty topping for pasta, eggs, bread. Use raw in salad dressing. Endless possibilities. Freeze and use all year long!
3) 1 bag arugula microgreens: baby leaves for a stand-alone salad, sandwich ingredient, garnish. Packed with fresh flavor and nutrition.
4) one pint strawberries: It's been a tough season for strawberries. Lots of rain and overcast days during ripening. Enjoy the end of a fleeting harvest. Grown sustainably by Red Jacket Orchards.
5) one pint sweet cherries: Where strawberries end, cherries begin. Also grown by Red Jacket.
6) two pounds tomatoes: A few days of sun brought the return on March Farm early season tomatoes. We eat these while we watch our plants grow.
See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
Joe and Ilsa
Your summer crops are chugging along. Cukes, zucchini, tomatoes grow more robust each day. Yellow flowers and pollinating insects equal fruit in the near future. The last planting of spinach succumbed to fusarium wilt, but the New Zealand spinach looks promising; this is a crop we've not tried before, but I'm told it is tender and delicious. Soon, we can all be the judges! Yesterday, we planted Jericho lettuce, celery root, and red noodle beans. Tomorrow, the second crop of zucchini plants get settled. Bring on the sun, sun, sun...
In this week's share:
1) CHOICE: one bottle cherry stomp juice OR one bottle Joe's Summer Blend juice from Red Jacket Orchards. Red Jacket in Geneva, NY is one of our fruit grower farm partners. Their juices are to die for!
2) 8 garlic scapes: Did you use these last time? They are so versatile. Chop off the flower head and a small portion of base, which can be tough. Dice the remaining stalk and add to almost anything. Saute briefly in butter or olive oil to create a crisp, tasty topping for pasta, eggs, bread. Use raw in salad dressing. Endless possibilities. Freeze and use all year long!
3) 1 bag arugula microgreens: baby leaves for a stand-alone salad, sandwich ingredient, garnish. Packed with fresh flavor and nutrition.
4) one pint strawberries: It's been a tough season for strawberries. Lots of rain and overcast days during ripening. Enjoy the end of a fleeting harvest. Grown sustainably by Red Jacket Orchards.
5) one pint sweet cherries: Where strawberries end, cherries begin. Also grown by Red Jacket.
6) two pounds tomatoes: A few days of sun brought the return on March Farm early season tomatoes. We eat these while we watch our plants grow.
See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
Joe and Ilsa
Arethusa Dairy
Good press in New York Times for Arethusa Dairy's milk, yogurt and ice cream!
Can you read this? Let me know!
Can you read this? Let me know!
Wednesday, June 22
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