Week Three Farm Share

Greetings farm share members. We hope you are all getting in some good otdoor time before temperatures climb over 100 degrees this weekend. Be sure to stay hydrated, maybe with some fresh vegetabe juice. This week we will be hard at work doing some transplanting and seeding. We are already seeding crops for fall and winter like squash and brussels sprouts, all while transplanting peppers and starting the year’s tomato harvest. With the longest day of the year already behind us, it is about to get quite hot amd summer harvest will soon be in full swing.

Harvest for this week’s shares will include purple and Italian kale, salad mix, treviso, summer squash, mini onions, garlic scapes, sugarloaf chicory, beets, carrots, broccoli and/or cauliflower and the first of our cucumbers. We reccomend washing the cucumber and eating it right away, as local seasonal cucumbers are always the best. Cucumbers are great with hummus and can be cut into thick rounds and hollowed out with a small cylindrical cutter and stuffed for a fun snack. Both types of kale are good fresh in salads or cooked. They also make good pizza toppings or sandwich ingredients in place of or in addition to lettuce. Try using cauliflower or broccoli instead of potatoes in a potato salad recipe. Simply cut into small pieces, stems too, and sub for the same volume of potatoes. They work well lightly steamed or fresh.

Carrots are always good as is and are really great on the barbeque. Cut the tops with about an inch of the greens included, wash and coat with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss on the grill and cook till outsides are slightly crisp and softened. The sugarloaf chicory is good on the grill. These are the items that look a bit like a big long cabbage or head or lettuce. Peel off the outer layers and save for veggie wraps. Slice into thick rounds amd brush both sides with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper amd place on grill long enough only to barely caramelize the cut edges. This will most likely be only a minute or two. Grill both sides and serve warm with a salad dressing. They are a little bitter, so something tangy and/or creamy like a caesar dressing or honey vinagrette works well here. For some added flavor and texture, top with toasted hazelnuts or walnuts.

Thanks again to everyone for your continued support. We loom forward to bringing you more producr this season.