In the Share - Week 14

EGGPLANT OR SQUASH F/P  Mostly eggplant with just a few squash coming in.  If you haven't tried the marinated eggplant recipe yet, I highly recommend it.

DESIREE POTATOES F  We have been leaning heavily on the bountiful potato crop for the shares.  They add some heft to what has been a difficult growing season. 

TOMATOES F/P  More heirlooms than hybrids this week including many green-when-ripe varieties like Aunt Ruby's, Green Zebra and Emerald Evergreen.

YELLOW ONIONS F/P 

CHERRY TOMATOES P

SALSA OR HOT PEPPERS F  See Tom's post for info. on our hot pepper varieties.

HERB CHOICE F/P  Basil, lemon bail or summer savory

NEXT WEEK:  tomatoes, eggplant, salsa packs, hot peppers, herbs and garlic. 

FARM REPORT:

A cold front has dipped down from the North and we were glad for it.  It has stayed dry which is a benefit to us as we work to complete the fall planting.  Almost all is in and with drip tape on each row.  Farm apprentice, Semra, used the discs on the electric Allis  Chalmers G to  "gutter" the beds today. 

It is so nice to be able to do this work after two months of flooding rains.  For quite awhile attempting tractor work was a good way to get stuck in the mud.  If we have wet times in the future, this work will give a place for the water to drain away.

The CSA member job right now is harvesting the potato crop. They have sized up nicely and are plentiful too.  We have brought in over a ton so far this year and there's still more to dig.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 10

Right now we are in the midst of the best eggplant harvest we have seen on the farm. The fruit of this solenaceae beauty is quite captivating when you are lucky enough to be the picker. A bucket, and then a crate of all shades of purple achieves a level of visual stimulation that is not an everyday occurrence.

So we realize that it is eggplant season at Fair Share Farm like never before. We urge you to enjoy eggplant over the coming weeks. It is as perfect as we can grow it, and we do not know how fleeting it will be.

In last year's survey 60% of the membership said that the amount of eggplant they received was just right, 12 percent said they wanted more, and 28% said they wanted less. We think the survey shows that we are serving a community of vegetable eaters, though 28% have other preferences.

To help the 28% we are working on some killer apps for eggplant. This fiber rich vegetable has more recipes for it than any other. For us, some of the best start with roasting the eggplant. So here is a primer on that step, and tonight's recipe.

Roasting Eggplant
Last week's eggplant meatballs is a good example where it is good to have some roasted eggplant on hand. So is baba ghanoush, or tonight's Summer Pasta. Roasting is a great way to pre-cook eggplant so you can use it in a variety of dishes.

The instructions are simple:
Cut top from eggplant. Cut long eggplant lengthwise, round ones into 1/2 inch rounds. Brush with olive oil (seasonings optional), and roast in an oven for about 20 minutes at 450 degrees F, until eggplant is soft.

 

 

Summer Pasta
This dish is also simple.
Cook a pot of the pasta of your choice.
Roast some eggplant, let cool and chop coarsely.
Chop 1 to 2 tomatoes coarsely
Chop 3 to 4 tablespoons of basil.
Combine in a pan with some olive oil and cook until tomatoes are warm
Add pasta, toss. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with fresh or grated cheese.

In the Share - Week Eight

pickling cucumbers

COLORFUL CARROTS (F/P) While the orange carrots are the sweetest, we like to grow some other colors to keep life interesting.

TOMATOES (F/P) This hot weather is good for ripening tomatoes, so expect a bit more in the shares this week. We grow the traditional reds as well as heirlooms in every color and flavor. 

SWEET ONIONS (F/P) More of the Walla Walla variety, perfect for your fresh summer salads.

SUMMER SQUASH (F/P) If we can keep the squash bugs and cucumber beetles from taking over, we should have squash for most of the summer. Fingers crossed!

CUCUMBERS (F/P) Ditto on the cucumbers. We always seem to have better luck with the pickling cucumber varieties than the standard slicers (see above). They taste great un-pickled and you may see some in your share this week.

EGGPLANT (F) We harvested some beautiful eggplant this morning and can’t wait to eat them!

 SWEET PEPPERS (F) We are leaving the green ones to ripen, but we will be picking the purple ones for many weeks to come.

LETTUCE (F) The summer lettuces can handle some heat, but this is a bit much for them. We are picking them small this week to catch them while they are still sweet.

HERBS (F/P) Basil, summer savory, dried herbs or hot peppers

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, summer squash and cucumbers. New potatoes and green beans arrive.

eggplant harvest

FARM REPORT:
Mid-July is always a hectic time of year for the farm. The fields are full of crops and we are running around like crazy, heat stroke victims to keep up with watering, weeding, mulching, trellising and harvesting them. In addition, we have new plantings of cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli to plant for harvest in the fall which leads to more watering, weeding and mulching. The plants appear to appreciate the care that the farm crew lavishes on them at their own expense and at the end of the day the farmer can rest easy knowing that the crops are getting a good drink whether it rains tonight or not.

Or the farmer can give up their evening of rest and instead do some canning. Just the other day the conversation turned to the question of what are the can-able vegetables, or was it cannibal vegetables. Almost any vegetable can be canned and now is the time to grab those pickling cucumbers and bulk beets and get canning … before they start eating each other… crazy cannibal vegetables … okay, obviously your farmer is suffering from heat exhaustion and needs to stop typing before she makes any more bad puns. Happy eating and good night!

In the share - Week 8

first picking of the eggplant

CUCUMBERS (F/P) It is peak week for our first round of cukes and everyone is getting a good amount. We will also have available a crate of “take what you want” ones that the cucumber beetles munched. Look for the crate at the end of the line marked “Cucumber 2nds”.

SUMMER SQUASH (F) Our first planting of the summer squash is winding down, but we have another round of pattypans coming in soon.

NEW POTATOES (F/P) The first of the fresh potatoes – eat soon or store in the fridge. Their skins are not developed enough yet to keep very long, but boy there's nothing like a new potato.

TOMATOES (F/P) We have a new record for earliest harvest with over 100 lbs today. There’s a nice selection of hybrids and heirlooms. We grow many colors of tomatoes including green, yellow, orange, pink, striped, black (dark red really), and of course, red.  All of the tomatoes that we are giving you this week are ripe or 1-2 days away from being ripe. Not sure if your tomato is ripe? Give it a gentle squeeze – it should feel soft not hard.

 This photo shows only heirloom varieties although this week we have quite a few standard red ones too.  Some of the varieties above are Black Krim, Amana Orange, Aunt Ruby's German Green and Marianna's Peace.

GARLIC (F/P) The first offering from the garlic bulb harvest is Musik, a hardneck variety. Hardneck garlic has large cloves that surround a central stalk.   The garlic is cured and should keep on your countertop for a month or more although they are at their prime right  now while they are fresh and juicy.

BASIL (F/P) We are sending in pesto-size bunches this week to go along with the garlic.

PEPPERS AND/OR EGGPLANT (F) The first picking with what looks to be many more to come.

CABBAGE (F) More heads have grown since our last picking, especially the pointy-headed ones.

CHERRY TOMATOES (F) We are hoping to have enough pints for the full shares this week, next week we'll have some for the partial shares.

WALLA WALLA ONIONS (P) These are sweet onions, perfect for every summer salad. Not cured, so refrigerate.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms CSA shares

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes, cucumbers and summer squash. Carrots return. Onions for the full shares.  Salsa packs make their debut.

FARM REPORT

While I made a quick run to Fayette, Missouri for the biennial Rains family reunion on Sunday, Farmer Tom stayed home and got our new storage room ready for the tomato harvest. Just in time too, with our nice harvest today and hot weather in the forecast.  Using a window air-conditioning unit, a gadget called a CoolBot and a lot of insulation we now have a room to keep crops that prefer a cool but not cold storage temperature. It is built in the lowest corner in our barn against two underground walls. We call it the Cave.

Cave was also the last name of my grandmother, Allene. It was her parents, Louie and Cleve, who bought the land that Tom and I now farm. Grandpa Cave had cattle on pasture and grew hay in the field where we currently have carrots, squash and cucumbers growing.