Losing Rocky has been a tough one for us. We can already see the change in wildlife habits on the farm. Raccoons are on the back porch. Who knows what’s next.

Rocky was quite literally a presence in the area. We would see him wander in every direction of the compass. His influence was significant. We get tired just thinking of the effort he expended walking the hills of northeast Clay County, keeping the farm secure.

Watching him work was one of the great things about having him on the farm team. Sleeping, galloping or being petted by the kids, he was one of the finest specimens of a dog you could ever meet. His barking skills were second to none. RIP.

Happy dog in his element

Through all of this we still have to eat. At lunch the other day we hooked farm volunteer Joy on a favorite recipe of ours, marinated eggplant.  We are hoping that these beauties start kicking in for good soon, as the summer won’t last forever. Her version is pictured below.

And the high tunnel has been eating too. On Sunday the cover crop of sorghum sudan grass and sunn hemp were mowed down, and then spaded into the soil on Monday. Happy eating.

7 foot high cover crops

My records show that in the last 8 days we have received but 0.3 inches of rain. The dryness, along with 90 degree days and 70 degree nights have made it finally feel like a real stretch of summer. Hoping that this halfway point of the season marks a change.  One never knows.

Today for lunch I made roasted salsa for the apprentices. Megan noted that she liked the natural sweetness of the tomatillos, and that store-bought salsas have added sugar. I looked it up, and even Newman’s Own is sweetened. So we hope that you enjoy the natural flavors that you get from the farm.

BBT sandwich

On Sunday Rebecca and I treated ourselves to that summer-time specialty, a bacon, basil and tomato sandwich. Our version was especially good, as the bacon was from Parker Farms, and the bread was my favorite Companionship Bread, fennel and golden raisin. A side of Fair Share Farm Summer Kimchi rounded out the lunch. Yum yum.
 


A nice shady job, cleaning red onions

Missing Rocky here at the farm tonight, but reunite tomorrow at the vet’s. Stubborn dog can smell medicine coming.

It is nice to see some crops coming on. The 90 degree days were a shot in the arm. Because of it the tomatillos began filling out and salsa packs will be a choice in the coming weeks and months. The fresh salsa recipe is here, and the roasted one here.

Such an easy treat

The partner vendor shares continue to delight. We get them all and find that they really round out our stock. It is nice to be able to regularly eat such high quality bread, cheese and meat. On Sunday I did some quick cooking—Companionship Bread semolina loaf, Goatsbeard feta, farm lemon basil, some salt and olive oil and a toaster oven. Real flavor.

Digging potatoes on a rainy day

As it does, we are working on fermenting the last of the spring storage crops. We slated extra vegetables and time at the beginning of the year to scale up our fermenting business. We appreciate the support of the CSA in helping us progress into the trade of food processing and look forward to your feedback.

 The CSA is not just another market for us. Sending bulk shipments of ferments to distribution sites is convenient for us, and allows us to reduce the cost to members. As things proceed into next year we are hoping to design a once a month “ferment share.”

Tasting booth

2 gallon test batch in the kitchen

 And while you may not have all of these in your fridge right now, you will notice most every ingredient is from the farm. So if you are so inclined, you can look into fermenting yourself. We suggest that you park yourself at the Fermentation on Wheels website to get started.

Still waiting for summer it seems this year, with more rain and a 55 degree night in the forecast. But lots of sun icons showing up by Friday. Looking forward to a warmup and drying out before Labor Day weekend.

Gorgeous potatoes continue to dominate the shares, and we are enjoying this bounty. Tonight we enjoyed some of the red-skinned and yellow-fleshed Desiree variety. Known as the world’s most popular red potato, its ability to produce well during drought conditions has not been tested this year.

Tonight’s recipe is a simple roasted potato dish that is accented by sage and garlic. While we normally reserve the sage for the fall sweet potatoes, a discussion while weeding the herb beds today prompted this dish.

1.5 lb potatoes, cut into wedges
2 tbsp. olive oil
1-1/2 tbsp. chopped sage leaves
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

Pre-heat oven to 375 deg F
Toss potatoes with olive oil, sage, salt and pepper
Place on baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes
Add garlic, stir and roast for 15 more minutes or until golden brown

There are many other recipe suggestions on our group Facebook page, from roasted garlic with Companionship Bread to Chicken Yakisoba.

Renovating the strawberry beds for next year

Heading into July, and it looks like early June out there in the fields. It has been a one step forward and two steps back type of year, and has become quite draining. But, living in the free world leaves us with nothing to really complain about. As the song says:

Summertime is on the way

Things change quickly around here. Summer is official and the vegetable shift begins. The beginnings of the potato crop hits the shares, as do the carrots and summer squash.

The potatoes especially are looking good and tasting great right now. To get a feel for the quality of this year’s crop we cooked them by themselves, with only olive oil, salt and pepper. They proved to be quite satisfying in taste and texture.

To assure crispiness and an even texture potatoes are often pre-cooked before frying/browning. To minimize cleanup I like to do both steps in the same pan.

Use a steamer and steam your potato pieces for 10 minutes. Using the lid, drain the pan and then pull out the steamer. Pour oil or fat in and cook the potatoes over medium heat until browned.

Another place to look for recipes is our closed group Facebook page. Andrea Newman has suggestions for kohlrabi, carrots, potatoes, peas and scapes.

Lastly, a hearty combination of the share’s two main items, cabbage and potatoes, is colcannon. We have a recipe in our newsletter archive that was submitted by a member way back in 2005. The sidebar discusses the weather and climate ten years ago.

Another day, another couple inches of rain. But it is warming up finally and the nights are getting up near 70 degrees. In the field, however, the harvest looks like April—lettuce, Asian greens, hakurei turnips, endive. As they say though, it’s all good.

One such item is spinach balls, or in this week’s case either chard or kale balls. You can substitute those greens, as well as your beet tops. The recipe even calls for some frisee.

Frisee

I don’t usually quote Sylvester Stallone, but last year Jody from our farm crew brought up the quote in the photo below after we lost 300 tomato plants to a May 16 freeze and immediately started replanting. He made this plaque for us over the winter and it hangs in our new barn. Once again Rocky’s words ring true. Lucky for us no season is forever, and we have the CSA behind us.

As the sole witness to the storm on Thursday (Rebecca was out following detours), I can say that it is the minutes of hail that sticks with me. It was hard to watch, but onward we go.

Bruised, even through the plant’s leaf cover

Fermentation on Wheels moved onward too, at least from the farm. In this modern age Tara’s expertise is at your fingertips. Go to www.fermentationonwheels.com and check out her website.

With this week’s share including a Chinese cabbage for all, I recommend looking over her kimchi recipe. You can substitute most any of the vegetables in your share. Don’t have a carrot, use kohlrabi. The paste is a key ingredient and can be adjusted to your taste.

Some of the Chinese cabbage harvest

The end of May into June can be one of the greenest times of year, and this season it did not disappoint. Now that the water is not running across the ground anymore, and the temperatures have risen, we expect even more greenery. Or purpley as the case may be.

One such example is our Kolibri kohlrabi. This purple jacketed vegetable is more tender than any planting that I can remember. We hope you enjoy it. We also hope that as CSA members you have become experts in peeling and preparing this relative newcomer to the culinary world (it first appeared in Europe in the 1500’s.)

The photos below hopefully give you a good idea of the simplest way to prep it. Cut off the top and bottom, creating a flat surface for it to rest on. Use a knife to peel the skin off from top to bottom. Once you are done trim off any spots you may have missed.

You now have a 100% edible piece of kohlrabi. Slice it up and eat it. Go here for all of our blogs where we talk about kohlrabi.

Another newbie to the shares this week are garlic scapes. They are as good as ever, and ready for chopping into a salad, a dressing, or a pesto.