Category Archives: sustainable agricuture

What to Do With Your Share—Week 7

carrots, csa, sustainable agricuture, walla walla onions, zucchini fritters

Summer will be officially upon us during Wednesday distribution this week, and the crops in the field are backing that up. The first cucumbers, more summer squash and a few cherry tomatoes all say that the Spring of 2012 is over.

With this hot, dry weather the zukes have grown large between pickings. So we are sorry that this week’s squash is big, but offer a recipe for zucchini fritters as a tasty suggestion for using them. The aroma alone is worth cooking these, so enjoy some fried food this week.

The carrots and Walla Walla onions make their debut for this season too. We love our carrots here at the farm and hope to have them in the share every other week for most of the rest of the season. This first selection is a variety called Bolero. They grow well in our soil, and have a nice shape, texture and taste. We recommend eating them fresh and raw right now. One important note however is to cut the green tops off if you are going to store them in the fridge, and be sure to keep them in a plastic bag, as they will dry out otherwise.

Find the cucumbers in the picture.

The Walla Walla’s are a sweet onion, so don’t be afraid to eat them raw too. They are a great addition to a fresh summer salad. Cukes, onions, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic makes a never fail simple, crisp and bright salad.

The dog days of Summer aren’t supposed to be until August, but this year they have arrived 2 months early. We are hoping that the temperatures do not continue to rise, as all living things on the farm are already feeling the effects of the abnormally hot Spring of 2012.  Rocky tries to keep cool in his polar bear coat of fur by laying on the cool concrete in the barn or on the gravel in the packing area.

Our boy Rocky staying cool.

Thanksgiving Share 2011

cabbage, csa, fair share farm, sustainable agricuture, thanksgiving

The late Fall is here. As I sit writing this on Thursday morning it is 21⁰ F outside and there is a heavy layer of frost in the fields. Through the wonders of modern weather forecasting we were able to anticipate this deep freeze, and have harvested all but the sturdiest of the crops for your Thanksgiving share. We are always happy when we can provide food to the CSA so late in the season—14 items this year.

 With such a large selection of produce, the recipe options are endless. To start with, we suggest perusing the 2009 and 2010 Thanksgiving share recipe suggestions.
We also offer the following suggestions:

Leeks and fennel: Treat leeks like onions and fennel like celery for all of you cooking needs. Use these substitutions in your standard bread stuffing recipe to create a flavorful dish.
Watermelon radish, Hakurei turnip, fennel and broccoli: Start your feast off with this fresh and healthy crudité platter. Cut the radish and turnips into rounds or half rounds. Pull the fennel stalks off the bulb like celery. Cut the broccoli into florets. Make a dip of yogurt, sour cream, olive oil, vinegar and herbs.
Lettuce, spinach, fennel, cabbage and grated beets: Make a nice salad of these oh so fresh vegetables for the dinner table. Or better yet, wait until after Thanksgiving and top the salad with leftover turkey and grated cheese for a hearty chef’s salad.

Beets: Add some color to the normally brown, white and orange of a Thanksgiving plate. Cook your beets whole in boiling water for about 20 to 35 minutes (until just starting to get tender),  cool in cold water and peel. Cut into slices and dress cold with oil and vinegar, or warm in a pan and top with butter, salt and dill.

Sweet potatoes: Good as a savory dish by themselves (mashed or roasted) or in a pie, the options are in your family traditions or on the web.

Cabbage: A fresh cole slaw is always good, especially if you are having smoked turkey or other bbq style meats.

Tomatoes: The tomatoes have been off the vine for over a month, so we don’t expect them to be especially tasty in a salad, but will go well cooked in a stew or curry.

Bok Choy:  We have had these Asian greens under wraps in the field for the last month. It was a pleasant surprise to uncover them and find such large, green plants. They will make for a good stir-fry either side of the Thanksgiving meal, when you need to load up on some green vegetables.

We wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving and hope the you are able to share it with your friends and family.

Tom and Rebecca