In the Share: Week 6

GARLIC: See below. The garlic harvest has been like no other so far this year. This fresh garlic slips right out of the skin.

LETTUCE X 3: We are piling on the lettuce this week as the heat is bringing them to maturity quickly. Everyone will get a range of butterhead and red leaf, romaines and crispheads.

CARROTS: First digging of the season. Nothing like a freshly dug carrot.

BEETS: They are perfectly big and beautiful. We cooked them tonight, see below for recipe.

SUMMER SQUASH: Zucchinis and yellow squash are finally starting.

KALE OR SWISS CHARD: These spring crops continue to produce. Some of the best stuff we grow on the farm, enjoy these greens while we still can.

SPROUTING BROCCOLI: The broccoli too keeps going strong too.

BASIL: Treat your basil like a bouquet of flowers on your countertop. It will turn black if refrigerated. In a glass of water it will keep at least a week.

RECIPE:  Pan-Cooked Beets
This year we have some of the nicest spring beets in a long time. Root, stem and tops are all fresh, tender and ready for cooking.

Cut the tops off the beet bunch, then cut the stems, and finally peel any rough spots off the beet. Heat a pan with cooking oil, chop the stems and a clove of garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Cut the beet into matchsticks and add to the pan. Add ½ cup of water or cooking liquid (I used some ferment juice). Bring to boil and then simmer for 3 minutes. Cut beet tops into strips and add to the pan. Add1/4 cup more liquid, 2 tbsp butter, salt and pepper. Simmer with lid on for 3 to 5 minutes or until desired tenderness

FARM REPORT:
It had been a stormy Spring and Summer arrived with more. Last weekend 4.5 inches of rain fell with heavy storms.

Mostly we fared fine, just a bit of hail damage. Thanks to the soggy weather, your farmers got a break. Normally it takes a fork and some muscle to get the garlic out of the ground. This year they pulled right out. We were able to get the entire hardneck crop out in part of an afternoon. That’s 1,500 heads pulled, sorted and strung up to cure in the barn.

And, just this week we got the news that our sauerkraut is back in another recipe at Black Dirt restaurant. Chef Jonathan Justus has included it in his classic Rueben sandwich along with beef from our neighbors, Barham Family Farm. We love a good Rueben and the folks at Black Dirt undoubtedly know what they are about!  We are excited to get down there and try it ourselves.