What to Do With Your Share---Week 23

Herbs are Great
We heard that the last time we had sage in the shares there were a lot of bunches that made it to the swap box instead of to folk’s homes. While you may not have an affinity for sage, we hope that you reconsider these last few weeks of the season.

Sage is an old, traditional herb (thus said the old sage.) While it is available most all year round from the garden, we save it for the time of year when winter squash and pumpkins are handed out, as it is an idea seasoning for these cucurbits. In past blogs and newsletters we have highlighted its culinary benefits, like in sweet potato ravioli with browned sage butter, or simply with sweet potatoes, as a substitute for sugar and marshmallows.

Lemongrass is another herb choice this week. A plant suited to the tropics, we were able to get an OK harvest this year. Its wonderful aroma is obvious, but how to utilize it in a dish might not be. These little plants pack a lot of flavor and to get to it all you have to do is grate the bulbous root end (after cutting off any root hairs.) Our favorite use is in Lemongrass Chicken. But search the web and you are sure to find many recipes.

The Trencher Strikes
Sorry if this blog is short, but it has been a busy couple of days. You may know that we recieved some stimulus funds to improve our irrigation system---75% cost share on the 2,300 feet of irrigation pipe, as well as 4 solar panels.

With 2 days of trenching behind us (see photo below) we have weathered the trencher hitch coming off our truck on the way to the farm (all is OK), a very wet day of work on Monday, and severing our internet line. We are fortunate enough to have Rebecca's dad next door so we can borrow his Droid and have a hot spot for an hour to compose this latest installment.

Many thanks go out to our farm crew for putting pipe into the ground today, and especially to Tom Parker, a busy farmer and experienced water line installer, who assisted us today. We plan on being even better prepared in the future for all those hot, dry Missouri days that we know we will see.