In the Share - Week 11

summer harvest

TOMATOES (F/P) We thought last week’s harvest was pretty good. This week is monumental. Over 800 lbs. just today. Each share is getting about 5-6 lbs. We will pick the cherry tomatoes tomorrow and likely have lots of them too. Here’s a photo i.d. of some of our heirloom varieties:

clockwise from upper left: Green Zebra, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Pineapple, Cherokee Purple, Amana Orange and Rose.

KENNEBEC POTATOES (F/P) an old-time favorite from Maine. They are great mashed or baked.

HARDNECK GARLIC (F/P) Musik garlic is a porcelain hardneck variety and one of our favorites because of it’s huge cloves that make adding lots of garlic to every dish easy.

SALSA PACK (F/P) The tomatillos are producing well. Pick up some extra on the bulk list and preserve some chile verde for the winter.

CABBAGE (F/P) It is perfect weather for some coleslaw.

EGGPLANT or OKRA (F) We picked the eggplant smaller this week as the blast furnace in our field is taking its toll. A few less fruit to care for will hopefully help the plants hold on a while longer.

CHERRY TOMATOES (F/P) You don’t have to be a celebrated chef to appreciate Fair Share Farm cherry tomatoes, but when they are served to you in a duck egg pasta with chanterelle mushrooms and rabbit you look at them in a whole new light.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, summer savory, thyme, tarragon or a dried herb.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes and salsa packs. Carrots and onions. Perhaps some ripe sweet peppers.

FARM REPORT
The events of the last week seem like a dream to me. On Sunday Tom and I were sweating in the herb garden pulling weeds. Just a few hours later we sat just a few feet away and dined on seven-courses of local food skillfully done with 150 new friends. Read Tom’s post for all the details on Outstanding in the Field including some photos of ours and more from our neighbors at the table who took lots of great shots.

In the midst of the big event, we were still full-time farmers and this was a big harvest week on the farm. The last of the garlic was dug and hung in the barn and all varieties look pretty good. On Saturday an extraordinary crew of CSA members brought in the bulk of the onion crop, over 1,800 row feet of onions and laid them all out on the screens in the upper barn. This is also peak tomato season and this year the fruit are really coming in. We picked over 1,000 lbs. of tomatoes last week and it looks like we are going to top that this week.

All of this work and more got done despite the blazing heat. We continue to keep to our “tropical” schedule of starting early, breaking at mid-day and doing more in the evenings. The plants would surely love to take a break at mid-day also, but instead we are trying to keep the water flowing all day every day. The water pressure does not allow for all crops to be watered at once, so each section of the field gets a half-day of watering before it’s on to the next one. So far we are managing to keep the plants alive for the most part. A good summer thunderstorm full of a couple inches of rain would be much appreciated however.

What To Do With Your Share---Week 11

Sunrise tomato harvest

When a bounty of food enters the home, a plan is needed to make the most of the surplus. With this week’s share one thing you can do is eat as many fresh tomatoes as you can, as such windfalls are fleeting. Eating a whole fresh tomato, cut into thick wedges, and topped with some salt and olive oil is an opportunity that should not be missed. The simpler the better.

You can also juice them into a drink. Tomato juice with some salt, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco is a refreshing drink.

You can also make sauce. We made some on Monday with a couple crates of tomatoes one step away from compost. Slicers like you are getting are make a tasty sauce, but it is a bit thin unless you cook it down. We cook ours in an electric roaster on the porch. It keeps the house cooler.



Another option is to freeze your excess tomatoes. Drop them into a pot of boiling water for 45 seconds to one minute, then remove with a slotted spoon, and place in cold water. The skins should be cracked . Peel the skins off the tomatoes, squeeze and drain them before placing in a freezer bag.

Outstanding in the Field Dinner

Well the Outstanding in the Field Dinner was a rousing success. After all the planning and preparing to host, things went off as well as we could have ever hoped for. The weather cooperated, as it was the coolest day in the last week or so.

My sister Fran and her husband Woody visited for the weekend. Along with some good family time, Woody helped us put up our new barn door the morning of the dinner. That, along with all the onions the CSA crew helped us harvest and fill the barn with gave the old timbers a new shine.



Things began on Saturday night when the OITF crew rolled onto the farm near midnight after a 14 hour trip from Colorado. The next morning they slowly roused themselves before quickly hitting full stride.



We walked the farm with founder Jim Denevan, discussing how to lay things out. He then mulled things over with his staff and they promptly set up the communal table in the field where it rose up and over a ridge. One of the guests said you could see the curvature of the earth.It was neat to watch their efficiency and timing. We really enjoyed their visit.







Next the restaurant crew arrived after working all night. They too went right to work. That included cooking the ribeye in a charcoal roaster. A picture of the roaster in action is here. This link has been shared with us from Bud Hirsch, who sat at the table with us and has linked an entire album of photos from the dinner.



150 people trickled onto the farm around 5pm for a reception and farm tour and electric tractor demo by Rebecca. We then sat down to a dinner in our field that included green bean lollipops; duck egg fettuccini with goose confit, chanterelles and cherry tomatoes; and roasted Majinola Wagyu rib eye, carrot gnocchi, onion, arugula, romaine with sweet vermouth and black raspberry. Jonathan Justus and his staff cooked an incredible meal. I get tired just thinking about all the effort they put into it. All of the guests seemed to have a wonderful time.

Bulk List---Week 11

Paste tomatoes (firsts) - $3.00/lb; $2.50/lb over 10 lbs
Tomato seconds (heirloom and hybrids) - $2.50/lb; $2.00/lb over 10 lbs
Drying tomatoes: $4.00/qt
Tomatillos: $2.00/lb
Salsa Packs: $2.50/pack
Jalapenos: $2.50/pint
Swiss chard: $3.00/bunch
Carrots: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (summer savory, tarragon, thai basil): $2.50/bunch
Large basil bunch: $3.00/bunchJalapenos: $2.50/pint

Medium and large/slicer pickling packs are available in a limited quantity this week, depending on harvest. If we cannot fill your order this week you will be put on a wait list for next week.
When placing your order, be sure to specify what types of aromatics you want. Choices are:
cornichon (tarragon, thyme, garlic, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
dill (dill flowers, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
garlic (garlic, hot peppers, grape leaves)
Pickle pack (medium cukes): $14/pack
Pickle pack (large cukes): $12/pack

In the Share: Week 10

TOMATOES (F/P) The tomato crop is in and lookin good.
GREEN BEANS (F/P) Last pickin’s off the first planting. Partial shares get a choice of beans or a salsa pack.
COLORFUL CARROTS (F/P) Not all carrots are orange.
WALLA WALLA ONIONS (F/P) Sweet and mild, they are a quality fresh onion
SALSA PACK (F/P) Roasted or fresh, add a tomato and the pack makes a salsa muy bueno
CUCUMBERS (F) Some large picklers and regular slicers. Let us know how you like the varieties
SUMMER SQUASH (P) Rounds and pattypans
HERB CHOICE (F) Mixed bunches including parsley, basil, thai basil, thyme, summer savory, tarragon, or jalpenos or dried herbs.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers and squash. Potatoes and garlic.

FARM REPORT
The high pressure dome of air sitting over us has brought lots of heat, and a south of the border farm schedule. In order to do all we have to do in this oppressive heat we are starting at sun-up and working past mid-day before taking a siesta until 6pm. It has worked well and our interns Luke and Kim have sweated it out with us, giving their all to help us harvest, pack, hoe, tie tomatoes, weed, irrigate, sow cover crops, take care of the sheep, etc.

We are moving to a new carrot bed this week to bring you the annual “colorful carrots.” Orange, red, and yellow, they are great for the palate and the eye. Varieties include White Satin, Yellow Sun, Dragon (purple) and our favorite orange, Bolero.


sweet potatoes happy in the heat

Tonight’s evening work stint has been taken over by the tomato harvest’s shear volume. We hope you enjoy this week’s share, one of our best tomato harvest’s yet. More to come next week and we hope for a while.
We have also been spending time preparing for the Outstanding in the Field dinner this Sunday. As Ronny, the host at Justus Drugstore told us last month, “It’s a big deal.” We have been planning and working to show the farm in a good light and provide a subtly beautiful Missouri farm setting for the event. Some details we won’t know until the dinner table arrives, so we will have to be nimble on Sunday morning when the OITF crew arrives.
Thanks again to all for your help and support. And we look forward to seeing some of you at the dinner.

Bulk List Update and Canning Class Info

For those of you interested in learning about water bath canning, fellow CSA member Emily Akins and I will be teaching a class at Bad Seed on Sunday July 31 from 1 to 4 pm. All the info you need on the class, the cost, and how to sign up is at http://www.badseedkc.com/farm/classes-events/. If you have never canned and are interested in learning the basics and a bit more, take advantage of this class.

For those of you that already know what to do, this email is to inform you that with this morning’s harvest the paste tomatoes have started ripening, and are coming off the vines by the bushel. We have 6 different varieties of paste tomatoes planted, of varying shapes and sizes. There are all great for making sauce, salsa, chili sauce, whole tomatoes, and any other recipe that calls for a meaty love apple.

We also have “seconds” of the slicers we hand out. These tomatoes may have cracks, bug holes, or serious “cat facing” that requires trimming them a bit. They can be a bit fragile, as they can have some damage, so be prepared to use them fast. They don’t make a thick sauce like the paste tomatoes, but are good for canning and a multitude of other uses.

One more note, the paste tomatoes are picked with a good overall blush, but take a while to ripen. So what we send in can be a few days away from being dead ripe, giving you time to prep for your tomato preserving. Prices are below.

We also have Principe Borghese drying tomatoes, perfect for the dehydrator, and a limited supply of extra salsa packs and tomatillos.

Paste tomatoes (firsts) - $3.00/lb; $2.50/lb over 10 lbs
Tomato seconds (heirloom and hybrids) - $2.50/lb; $2.00/lb over 10 lbs
Drying tomatoes: $4.00/qt
Tomatillos: $2.00/lb
Salsa Packs: $2.50/pack
Jalapenos: $2.50/pint
Swiss chard: $3.00/bunch
Carrots: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (summer savory, tarragon, thai basil): $2.50/bunch
Large basil bunch: $3.00/bunch

Medium and large/slicer pickling packs are available in a limited quantity this week, depending on harvest. If we cannot fill your order this week you will be put on a wait list for next week.

When placing your order, be sure to specify what types of aromatics you want. Choices are:
cornichon (tarragon, thyme, garlic, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
dill (dill flowers, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
garlic (garlic, hot peppers, grape leaves)

Pickle pack (medium cukes): $14/pack
Pickle pack (large cukes): $12/pack

What to Do With Your Share---Week 10

Some suggestions this week for eating in the heat. This hot weather calls for only limited cooking, so as to keep the house coooool. Here are a few of the things we have been eating during the heat wave.

With the tomato surplus rising, we continue to gobble them up. Our standard lunch for the last week has been tomato sandwiches. They always include some type of basil accompaniment. The simplest is to pluck some large leaves and layer them on. Another is to make some pesto and use it as a spread. You can add the pesto to some mayonnaise and it will last even longer. Dress it up however you want, and eat it quick, as you can’t pack it in your lunch unless you want a soppy sandwich.

Gazpacho is yet another quick meal from the share that fills our fridge regularly. Last year’s blog has a gazpacho primer. This no-cook, cool soup is one of those things that tastes so right on a 99 degree day.

As a Bread of Life specialty bread subscriber we regularly get pizza crust in our share. We bought a new toaster oven last winter that fits a 12 inch pizza crust. A few fresh veggies, some homemade goat cheese, a sprinkling of olives or anchovies, and dinner is served.

You may remember from two weeks ago that we started to ferment some cukes into pickles. This old, old food preservation method has held on for centuries for a reason. It works so well, is easy, and creates a taste treat you can only get from cukes, water, salt, seasoning, a crock, and patience.

The photo below is the finished pickle. Fragrant, tart, crunchy and juicy, you have to taste them to understand just how good they are.



On the bulk front, along with the paste tomatoes, we suggest trying the jalapenos. Last year we canned them Mexican style (Chiles Jalapenos en Escabeche). Our recipe is from the critically acclaimed The Art of Mexican Cooking by Diana Kennedy. A link to a very similar recipe is here. If you like jalapenos, and want some to tend to a wintertime craving, make this dish.

Bulk List---Week 10

Jalapenos: $2.50/pint
Swiss chard: $3.00/bunch
Carrots: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (summer savory, tarragon, thai basil): $2.50/bunch
Large basil bunch: $3.00/bunch

Medium and large/slicer pickling packs are available in a limited quantity this week, depending on harvest. If we cannot fill your order this week you will be put on a wait list for next week.

When placing your order, be sure to specify what types of aromatics you want. Choices are:

cornichon (tarragon, thyme, garlic, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
dill (dill flowers, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
garlic (garlic, hot peppers, grape leaves)
Pickle pack (medium cukes): $14/pack
Pickle pack (large cukes): $12/pack

What to Do With Your Share---Week 9

The soaring temperatures and humidity this past week has been enough to make you dizzy. The past week has been as long and hard and hot as I can remember, but with a nice payoff of a new barn front and a good harvest.

This week is peak for squash and cucumbers, while the peppers and eggplant continue to produce well. The tomatillos are coming on, as well as the hot peppers. We continue to dig a good crop of garlic, and hope for the okra to kick in soon (especially if we can weed it).



New to the share this week (as a choice) are salsa packs. Familiar to many, the pack contains most all the ingredients you need for a fresh salsa (tomatillo, garlic, onion and jalapeno). Just add a tomato and a few other ingredients, and you will have an incredibly fresh and flavorful dish

Check out our past blogs for our Fresh Salsa and Roasted Salsa recipes.

We are also starting to add hot peppers as an occasional choice. We don’t plan on giving everyone hot peppers, but if you like them, keep your eyes open as they may be a choice, or in the swap box. Right now the hot peppers are Numex Joe E. Parker (Anaheim type good for frying) and jalapenos.

This week also marks the return of dried herbs. We plan on having a selection of dried herbs available as a choice each week. These herbs are cut and dried in our hot, hot summer greenhouse. The tins they come in are reusable, so we will take them back if you have no need for them when you are done.

Another item that may be less familiar to some is Thai basil. An herb choice, this is the basil that often is a part of spring rolls and other Asian cooking. Try it in last week’s cucumber salad recipe.

In the Share - Week 9

TOMATOES (F/P) The heat is bringing on the favorite fruits of summer. This week Nyagous, a velvety brown heirloom is coming in nicely along with our early reds.
CHERRRY TOMATOES (F) Try one of the pink ones, it’s a new variety for us. Let us know what you think.
POTATOES (F/P) We’ll be digging the Caribe and the Kennebecs this week. Both are have a mealy texture great for mashing.
BEETS (F/P) Last of the spring beets go in the shares this week plus a few available on the bulk list.
CUCUMBERS (F) The cucumbers grew fast in this heat, which is perfect weather for a cold bowl of gazpacho.
SUMMER SQUASH (F) Lots of round zucchini and pattypan squash. So cute and they won’t slide off the grill like the long ones.
GREEN BEANS (F/P) Whoa, we went from no beans, to loads of beans. With few pickers on the schedule we can’t pick them all. Everyone gets a good amount this week, but if you want more you’ll have to come pick ‘em yourself.
EGGPLANT AND GREEN PEPPERS (F) Soon we will let the peppers ripen and stop picking their green fruit. In the meantime, enjoy!
GARLIC (F/P) Partial shares get a choice of garlic or herb. The garlic is not quite cured, so use soon or refrigerate.
HERBS, HOT PEPPERS OR SALSA PACK (F) Basil, thai basil, dried herbs, jalapenos, Numex anaheims, or salsa pack. It’s a hodge podge of good things to complement your vegetables. Read Tom’s post for more info.
ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares
NEXT WEEK: More beans, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers and squash. Onions and carrots.

FARM REPORT
To state the obvious, it has been blazing hot this week. As luck would have it, back in May we chose this weekend for a volunteer day at the farm. I am happy to report that the weekend was injury-free and that we got a lot of work done despite the heat. A big thank you goes out to all the folks that braved the heat with us: John Graff, Kelly Parker, Rick Robson, Mark Flynn, Tiffany Coleman, Trish Berrong, Chris Riebenslager, Lucas Knutter, Keith and Nancy Stubblefield. We know there could have been many more comfortable ways to spend your weekend, instead you slogged it out with your farmers who are forever grateful.

The barn at the farm has seen alot over the century that it has stood. Originally built to dry tobacco, it once held a dairy operation before its current life as our vegetable farm's only barn. It serves us as a packing house, storage and tool shed, garlic and onion drying house and equipment shed and workshop.



On Saturday the tearout of the old siding began.




By Sunday morning all the siding was off and the new, wider doorway was framed in.




The new siding went up as the sun beat down.


Almost finished and no one passed out from the heat. Hooray!

Bulk List---Week 9

Beans don’t pick themselves, and we have a lot of beans in the field as of today (and not enough pickers). Join the fun and have some good produce to eat, freeze, or make into dilly beans.

U-pick green beans $1.50/lb
Beets: $3.00/quart
Swiss chard: $3.00/bunch
Carrots: $3.00/bunch
Walla Walla onions: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (summer savory, tarragon, thai basil): $2.50/bunch
Garlic: $1.00/head
Large basil bunch: $3.00/bunch

In the Share: Week 8

Cherry tomatoes ripening

TOMATOES (F/P) We have just enough for everyone to get one tomato or some cherry tomatoes and not all the fruit you get is completely ripe. To ripen a tomato, leave it on your kitchen counter or for quicker ripening place in a paper bag. Ripe tomatoes of any color (and we grow a lot of different colors) feel soft with gentle pressure. Most of what we have this week are hybrid early reds and heirloom “black” varieties (more burgundy or brown really with various amounts of green-shoulders) and there's a few pink ones. By the end of the season we hope you get a chance to try all of our 30 varieties and find a few favorites.

CARROTS (F/P) While the tomatoes are just starting, the carrot harvest is in full swing. More sweet orange carrots from the April planting.

CUCUMBERS (F/P) The struggling first planting of cucumbers has turned the corner and is pumping out the fruit.

EGGPLANT and/or GREEN PEPPERS (F/P) The graceful eggplants and peppers are also giving up their jewels.

SUMMER SQUASH (F) The first planting of summer squash has been a bit of a dud. The second planting of round squashes is looking good and is just starting to come in. As happens in the squash patch, a few got larger than we want. These will be at the end of the line as a "take what you want" extra. They would be great stuffed or turned into baked goods.

WALLA WALLA SWEET ONIONS (F/P) See Tom’s recipe for a sweet onion, tomato, cucumber salad. Tastes like summer.

HERBS (F/P) Pesto basil bunches or a mixed bunch of summer herbs.

KOHLRABI (all) Extra item this week for those who want it, last of the season but still very tender and substantial.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: More cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, squash and eggplant. Potatoes and beets.

FARM REPORT
Killing weeds is one of our favorite ways to kill time on the farm. Over the years we have gotten better and quicker at the task. The various cultivators and discs that we attach to our electric Allis Chalmers G made quick work of many a weed this week. Hoes were also put into service for the places the tractor can’t go like around the bigger plants like the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. The leeks are especially demanding of cultivation because they are in the ground for such a long time. After a combination of farmers and CSA members completed the task of hand weeding around the plants, we were able to get them in top notch shape with a few passes of the G.



Leek cultivating



the end result

What to Do With Your Share---Week 8

Summer is in full swing here as the days heat up. Work is demanding in July, but the warm and dry is something that has been missing over the past several years. The weather has produced a crop of peppers and eggplant that is our best to date. We are hoping that the plants maintain their health and produce into the Fall.

If such a fate is ours, you will be eating eggplant, peppers and tomatoes on a regular basis. So here are a few tips to enjoying these wonderful and beautiful vegetables.
1. Do not refrigerate your fresh tomatoes. It adversely affects both taste and texture.
2. Raw and crunchy eggplant can be a turn-off. You should cook you eggplant to the texture of a cooked mushroom.
3. Eggplant does not have a strong flavor, so you can add it to most any dish and it will take on the flavor of the dish.
4. Peppers are easy to preserve. If you have too many just cut them, clean them, chop them (if desired) and freeze them.

Cucumbers are something to use this week, as we are having a good harvest at the moment. The simplest thing is a cucumber, Walla Walla onion, and tomato salad. Cut them up, add the dressing of your choice, and you have a great veggie dish. The Walla Wallas are particularly sweet and make this not just any salad.



The request for pickle packs has been great. We are glad that pickling has become a CSA experience for so many of you. You may have to be patient (you are in the cuke queue) and flexible as far as when you get yours though. We have 200 feet of plants, but they have been temperamental as far as production. The small ones are in highest demand and are the slowest producing.

I’m here to say that the large cukes have great potential too. We recently started a crock of fermented pickles using the large ones. Our friend Linda Coussens gave us a large, high quality Gartopf crock. We started the process on Sunday, filling it with whole cucumbers, onions, garlic, tarragon, dill and salt water. Ten days like that, and then 2 weeks in the larder. So come the end of July we will update you on their progress.



Another good use is making pickle chunks. Get some pickling lime and follow their recipe. Lime pickles are the crunchiest you can get.

Bulk List---Week 8

Beets: $3.00/quart
Kohlrabi: $1.00/lb
Swiss chard: $3.00/bunch
Carrots: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (summer savory, tarragon, thai basil): $2.50/bunch
Large basil bunch: $3.00/bunch
Walla Walla onions: $3.00/bunch

Pickling packs are available in a limited quantity this week. If we cannot fill your order this week you will be put on a wait list for next week.

When placing your order, be sure to specify what types of aromatics you want. Choices are:
cornichon (tarragon, thyme, garlic, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
dill (dill flowers, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
garlic (garlic, hot peppers, grape leaves)

Pickle pack (small cukes): $18/pack
Pickle pack (medium cukes): $14/pack
Pickle pack (large cukes): $12/pack