CSA Newsletter: Summer 2010 – Week 15
From the Fields: The weather is just amazing, isn’t it? This is such a wonderful time of year. The heavy heat is finished, but it is still pleasantly warm outside. We start the morning with sweatshirts and put Zea in her little coat. Then once we start working in the fields or the shed a bit, we warm up and begin to peel layers. The sun just feels so good on our skin!
Brie and Skylar, who come out with their moms and help watch Zea on the farm every Tuesday!
As the day comes to a close, the sun is much lower in the sky and the smells in the air suggest that cooler times are coming. Witnessing the changing seasons is something we love about farming. All around us, the hills are changing colors. Corn fields are going to rust, soy fields turning yellow, and our own fields looking more and more brown as we till-in field after field. Our taste buds are sad to see crops like sweet corn and tomato finish for the season, but it is quite satisfying to finish crops. Just as one enjoys a nightly ritual before bed, we enjoy putting another crop €˜to bed’ so to speak. By the end of this week, every tomato plant on the farm will be tilled into the ground, ready to provide the nutrients for the cover crops that will grow after them.
Your Share: We made it all the way to Week 15 before we had a box without a new item in it. That’s a record! In the next week or so there will be several new items, so never fear, the excitement of new items is still to come. Winter squash, sweet potatoes, and brussels sprouts are on deck for the next couple of weeks. While there are no new items this week, you will notice that the box is starting to feature more and more items you haven’t seen since earlier in the season. Head lettuce and broccoli are in the boxes again this week, along with tatsoi. Here are some notes about items:
- Most everyone is receiving a nice large head of broccoli (some of you will receive shoots, bagged up). Don’t forget that the stalk of the broccoli is edible and can often double your broccoli intake in you chop it up and use it! Cabbage moth caterpillars are still around, so make sure to soak your broccoli and check it for the caterpillars before cooking/eating it.
- Tatsoi is great for stir-frying. We’ve been getting fajita strips from Jordandahl farm and having delicious meals with tatsoi and sweet red peppers sauteed with the meat and served over rice. This combination is also great for burritos too! Some of the tatsoi bunches have parts of the leaves that have turned white from too much wind. It’s totally okay to eat that and after you stir-fry it, you shouldn’t notice the spots any longer.
Community News- We wanted to give a special thanks to Lombardinos restaurant. This Monday they celebrated their 10th anniversary under new ownership, and invited us to be part of the celebration. As one of the vegetable farms they do business with, they treated us to a feast! It was a delicious 5-course meal featuring breads, cheese, salamis, prosciutto, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, arugula, risotto, quail, fingerlings, steak, raspberries, wine€¦. Divine. Absolutely divine. We have some amazing chefs in Madison who are able to take what we grow and turn it into something magical on the plate. If you haven’t patronized them lately, please make a plan to support this locally owned restaurant soon.
Enjoy your veggies this week! Sincerely, Mike, Cassie, Zea and crew
In The Box:
- Broccoli
- Beets
- Garlic
- Green Beans
- Jalapeno
- Leeks ” REGs
- Red Summercrisp Lettuce
- Scallions – EOs
- Sweet Red Peppers
- Tatsoi
- Yukon Potatoes – EOs
- Zucchini
REGs = Regular Shares Only
EOs = Everyother Shares Only
This Week’s Recipes
Summer Week 15 – Wednesday, September 15th – Everyother Group A
