Week #11, July 27 2017

Veggie List and Veggie Notes
(July 27/28, 2017, week #11, purple EOW and moon Sampler)

Sweet corn, ~6 ears
Green bell pepper, 1 small
Walla Walla onion
Cucumbers, ~2
Carrots, 2 lb
Kale, 1 bunch
Cherry tomatoes, 1 pint
Tomatoes, 2 or 3
Globe eggplant, ~1 lb
Red leaf lettuce
Zucchini/summer squash, ~2ct

Some sites get another cucumber.
Some sites get broccoli.
Some sites get another ear of corn.
Some sites get another pepper.

Next week’s box will contain sweet corn, melon, tomatoes, peppers, onions, broccoli and more.

Sweet corn – Storage. Sweet corn is best when fresh, so we encourage you to eat it asap. Store in the refrigerator, in the husks if you have the room.
Cooking.  It is quicker to steam sweet corn than to boil it.
1.) Stand ears of corn upright in a tall pot. Put one inch of water in the pot.
2.) Bring the water to a boil. If the corn is cold when you begin cooking, steam for 5 – 6 minutes. If the corn starts at room temperature, steam for 4 – 5 minutes. The cooking time will vary somewhat depending on how many ears are in the pot. Pay attention to how the corn smells. The scent changes once the corn is ready. Another clue: water will bead on the corn until it is cooked. Don’t overcook it.
Globe eggplant – Storage – Eggplant will store unrefrigerated for 3 to 4 days on your kitchen counter. If you need to store longer, keep in the warmest part of your fridge.  Eggplant does not store well for long periods of time.  Both our cooks included eggplant in recipes this week.

RECIPES

Visit our Recipe Log, a list of all our 2017 recipes to date.

RECIPES FROM LOCAL THYME

Comforting Classics
Ratatouille Provençal
Beer, Ham and Cheese Chowder
Slow Roasted Kale Chips
Creamy Corn

Outside the Box Recipes
Eggplant and Meatball Tagliatelle 
Slow Roasted Carrots with Harissa Yogurt
Marinated Kale and Carrots with Quinoa
Fresh Tomato Pesto Pasta with Corn, Broccoli and Peppers

Quick and Easy Meal
Hummus, Cucumber, Tomato, Lettuce Wraps

RECIPES FROM LAUREN

SUMMERTIME GREEN CURRY

Serves 4-6
Takes 50 minutes

1 cup brown rice
1-1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 tablespoon butter
1-2 tablespoons green curry paste
1/2 Walla Walla onion, diced
1-inch ginger, peeled and minced
1 eggplant, quartered and thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 head broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 13.5 -ounce can coconut milk
2 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock
Fish sauce, soy sauce or tamari, optional
Lime juice, optional

1. In a medium saucepan, combine rice, water and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to low. Cook for 45-50 minutes.
2. Meanwhile begin your curry! In a large stock pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add curry paste and cook for a minute until fragrant. Add onion and ginger. Saute for 4-5 minutes over medium heat until onions are just beginning to brown and bottom of pan looks dry. Add eggplant, green pepper, broccoli and syrup. Cook for 5-10 minutes until vegetables soften.
3. Add coconut milk and stock. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook gently for 10-15 minutes.
4. Serve over rice with a splash of fish sauce, soy sauce or tamari as well as a generous squirt of lime juice.

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ZUCCHINI, SWEET CORN & TOMATO CAKE

Takes 1 hour
Serves 4-6

1 cup sliced tomato, about 1-2 tomatoes
3 cups sliced zucchini and summer squash, about 2 medium summer squash
1/2 Walla Walla onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sweet corn, removed from ear (no precooking necessary), about 2-3 ears
1-1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons butter
1-1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

400 degrees, 35 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Prep you veggies. Start with the tomatoes, slice them and lay them on a paper towel or cloth with a pinch of salt to drain some of the juice out while you work on the other veggies.
3. Combine cornmeal, sugar, salt, pepper and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer or other large bowl.
4. Combine milk and butter in a small pan. Heat it over high heat until it just begins to simmer and then pour into bowl with cornmeal. Let it cool for a couple minutes, then add the eggs. Stir until well-combined and smooth, scraping down the sides a couple times with a spatula, and then add all the veggies. Fold in gently. It’s ok if they get beat up a little bit.
5. Pour the mixture into a greased 9×9 square pan or 10-inch pie pan and smooth with a spatula.
6. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, add parmesan and bake 5-10 minutes longer until center is set. Serve warm.

Week #10, July 20 2017

Farm News

It has been a very wet week for us, as for most of you.  We did not suffer damage in the thunderstorms and hope you didn’t either.  All our fields are wet so we’ve had to grab opportunities between storms to do our field work.  What else can we do??  We have to be ready for any window that opens.  A big concern with wet weather is disease.  If the weather dries for a few days, things will be fine.  If it keeps raining, we’re sure to see diseases developing.  Let’s hope for the best.  Beth

Maggie and others weed Brussels sprouts.  First harvest isn’t until October but we must keep them weeded.  The woman of mystery is Charlotte in her mosquito net shirt.

Here’s a job we can do when the fields are wet.  Charlotte and Kristen transplant ginger into our smallest greenhouse.  The ginger will also be ready to harvest in October.  This little house is one of my favorite places on the farm.  It’s small but tight enough to grow spinach for our family in winter.  

For the most part, our crops love the heat and moisture.  This is our sweet potato field, photographed three days apart.  Three days!

What does ‘OR’ mean?

Often our Veggie List includes something like “globe eggplant OR cherry tomatoes, etc.”  Sometimes our crops ripen in fits and starts, eg. eggplant and the first harvest of almost any crop. When there are small amounts, we split them up among the sites. We make sure that all boxes at a site are uniform.  That lets us deliver cherry tomatoes in future to the people who received eggplant this week, and vice versa.

When our list says “xxx OR yyy” please do not open CSA boxes searching for your preference. All the boxes at your site are the same. Take your box off the top of the stack. When you open other members’ boxes, their produce warms up. No one wants that. Thank you for your help.

I will be away next week, leaving July 22.

I am taking our teenagers to visit family. Please limit communication with us until Sunday 7/30/17.  Steve is staying home to take care of everything.  If there’s an urgent issue, call or send an email and Steve will help you.  However, he already has a lot on his plate.  I will check in remotely when possible.  Thank you!  Beth

Veggie List and Veggie Notes
(Week #10; July 20/21, 2017; green EOW)

Caraflex cabbage
Swiss chard, 1 bunch
Carrots, 2 lb
Green bell &/or green frying peppers, ~4
Zucchini & summer squash, ~2 lb
Cucumber, 1
Walla Walla onion, 1 large
Flat parsley, 1 bunch

We have small amounts of several new crops, and your site might get one of these:
Broccoli OR cherry tomatoes OR globe eggplant OR a slicing tomato OR an extra cucumber.  

Next week’s box will probably contain sweet corn, some kind of greens, carrots (unless it rains too much!), peppers, zucchini & summer squash, cucumbers, onion and more.

Carrots – The first carrot harvest!  Refrigerate.  We bagged these soon after washing (without much time to drain) so you might need to swap your carrots into a drier bag.  Use your judgement.
Green peppers (sweet) – You’ll get green bell peppers (blocky) and/or a green frying pepper (long, slender).  Both types are sweet.  Frying peppers have lower moisture which makes them particularly suited to frying.  Other than frying, the two types can be used interchangeably in recipes.  A lot of the bell peppers this week happen to be small.  They’ll reach a more typical size soon.

RECIPES

Visit our Recipe Log, a list of all our 2017 recipes. Check June 29 for other cabbage and Swiss chard recipes.

RECIPES FROM LOCAL THYME

Comforting Classics
Seared Cabbage Persillade
Provençal Chard and Zucchini Omelet
Zucchini Parmesan
Bean and Cabbage Soup a Le Marche

Outside the Box Recipes
Parsley Salad
Swiss Chard Carrot Juice
Chocolate and Zucchini Cake 
Braised Cabbage with Prosciutto di Parma

Quick and Easy Meal
Laotian Charred Beef on a Bed of Cabbage

RECIPES FROM LAUREN

ALMOND-CRUSTED TROUT WITH RAINBOW CHARD & GRITS
Adapted from Bon Appetit
This recipe is adapted from a Bon Appetit favorite. The grits are tasty with any number of veggies thrown in. If you happen to have some garlic or jalapenos laying around, feel free to toss that in as well.
Now trust me when I tell you that the grits and chard are super simple to make. The only thing that makes this recipe tricky is the trout so I want you to know I am telling you right now, I won’t be offended if you skip the trout entirely. I also won’t be sad if you buy store bought ground almonds so you don’t have to grind them yourselves or if you skip the almonds altogether. It’s a fun recipe to make to completion if you have the extra 15 minutes to make the fish, but if you don’t, plain ol’ baked fish (any baked fish) will work just fine.  Lauren.

Serves 4-6
Takes 50 minutes

2 tablespoons butter
1 bunch chard, ribs removed and sliced, leaves torn, divided
1/2 Walla Walla onion, diced
1 green pepper, bell or fryer will both work fine, diced
2 teaspoons Kosher salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup grits (not instant) or cornmeal
2 cups water
2 cups whole milk (or substitute more water if you prefer)
1 cup whole, skin-on almonds (see note above)
1 large egg
1 pound trout filets, skin on (preferably rainbow trout from a fish market you trust)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup minced parsley

1. Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add chard stems, onion and pepper along with 1-1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and saute for 10 minutes until very fragrant.
2. Add grits, water and milk. Bring to a very gentle boil, reduce heat to medium low and gently simmer, whisking every couple minutes for 20-25 minutes until all liquid has been absorbed.
3. Puree almonds in a food processor until texture of course breadcrumbs. Place in a shallow dish and season with 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
4. In a second shallow dish, whisk egg. Going filet by filet, dip skin side of filet into egg and then into almonds pressing down gently so almonds adhere. Place each filet on a plate (skin side up) and sprinkle with additional salt and pepper.
5. In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add filets, almond side down, to the pan (as many as fit without crowding (for me it was just one at a time). Press it down so things brown evenly. Cook for three minutes, flip and cook on the other side for an additional two minutes. Repeat with remaining filets, removing any burnt bits from the pan in between batches and adding oil as necessary.
6. When fish are finished cooking but the pan is still hot (and has lingering pieces of almonds, oil and fish bits) toss in the torn chard. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Saute for 2-3 minutes until wilted.
7. Just before serving, stir parsley into the grits.
8. Serve grits in a bowl with sauted chard and fish.

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PICKLED CABBAGE SALAD
Borrowed from the incredible Smitten Kitchen
This is a Smitten Kitchen masterpiece just as simple to make as it is to eat. I’ve simplified it a bit but largely kept her original recipe. The marriage of cabbage, carrots and cucumbers is a match made in heaven. I’ve also had cabbage salads with red cabbage, cauliflower or pepper so feel free to toss any of these in the mix if you have them lying around.
As for how to eat this, it may be pickled (and perfect on top of some fried fish tacos) but this is no side dish. I love to just eat a big bowl of it for lunch. Light, bright and crunchy, it won’t way you down. It’s also great on the side of rich dishes or as a topping for grain bowls. The possibilities are endless for this yummy salad. Hope you enjoy!  Lauren.

Makes 5-6 cups
Takes 20 minutes (mostly chopping) + at least one hour to rest in the pickling liquid

Brine:
1-1/2 cups white vinegar
1-1/2 cups water
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
2 tablespoons Kosher salt

Salad:
1 head Caraflex cabbage, cored and shredded
2-3 carrots, peel and thinly slice or julienne
1 cucumber, quartered and sliced

1. Combine all brine ingredients in a large measuring cup or medium bowl. Whisk so sugar is well-combined. Whisk a few times if sugar and salt are not coming together.
2. Add cabbage, carrots and cucumber to a large bowl. Pour brine over vegetables, toss to combine and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Store in the fridge for at least 1 hour (and up to 1 week). The longer it sits, the more pickled it becomes.
3. Eat on its own or with everything!

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Week #9, July 13 2017

Farm News

Steve has begun seeding our fall and winter storage carrots, and has already planted three acres. The seedlings are beginning to come up. The big question is whether any of these fields will need to be re-seeded after the rains. Carrot seedlings are delicate and have trouble emerging from the ground if there’s a crust.  It’s pretty normal to have to re-seed at least one carrot field. I guess we don’t need the irrigation pipe this week!

It rained 4.5 inches this past week (2 inches on Monday night and 2.5 inches today).  That’s not bad, considering the Madison area got 5 – 6 inches and a farmer-friend wrote that they got 10 inches.  That’s crazy.  We feel lucky.  Our fields were getting dry, so the first 2 inches were welcome.  The second round, not as much.  Your produce is quite clean despite the mud; the crew gave it their full attention.  Wash the beets carefully but that’s the only thing that will hold grit.  A few items show storm damage.  You can see dings in both the snap peas and basil but it’s cosmetic damage.  Enjoy your produce and let’s hope for some drier weather.  Beth

Let’s talk daikon radishes and Korean food

Everyone gets one purple and one white radish this week.

We are sending Korean daikon this week, the same type you received three weeks ago.  I love Korean radishes!  They are so much sweeter than the Japanese types.  We might switch completely to the Korean types in future.  First, we need to evaluate how they perform in fall plantings.

Uses: Daikon radish make excellent salads.  Both Pat and Lauren gave us recipes for pickled daikon three week ago and both featured bahn mi recipes this week.  Great minds think alike.  The recipes have overlapping ingredients but each recipe is distinct.  We are sending about 1 lb total this week, a perfect amount for salad although you may need to adjust the ingredient quantities since we sent more radishes three weeks ago.  Here are their recipes.
– Summer Squash and Kale Tacos with Quick Pickled Radishes
– Pork, Broccoli & Snow Pea Lettuce Wraps with Pickled Daikon
– Grilled Pork Tenderloin Banh Mi Sandwich (A Local Thyme recipe this week)
– Bahn Mi Burgers (below)

I am enchanted with Korean cuisine.  If you are interested in Korean food, you must check out Maangchi’s website.  She has the best Korean recipes and videos, including an extensive list of daikon recipes.  I enjoyed the Maangchi site this winter, making Tteokbokki (Hot and spicy rice cake), various stews, and Bibimbop (Rice mixed with vegetables, meat, an egg, and chili pepper paste), skipping half the ingredients but excellent with her White Radish Salad (Musaengchae).  

I am eager to try her newest Cubed Radish Kimchi (Kkakdugi) recipe; I love kimchi and have always found homemade daikon kimchi recipes more reliable than those made with napa cabbage.  When it comes to kimchi, I am an amateur compared to Maggie who makes gallons and gallons each year.  I’ll get her to share one of her recipes in a future newsletter.  If you don’t have Korean red pepper flakes, you can substitute paprika mixed with some cayenne, although the Korean pepper is ground more coarsely.  Korean red pepper flakes have a lot of flavor but moderate heat.  

In Madison, I shop for Korean staples at the Oriental Food Mart on Park Street, and at an Asian grocery at the northwest corner of Odana and Whitney Way.  Lee’s Oriental on University is good too.  The owners at Oriental Food Mart on Park Street are very helpful.  If you have questions, that’s the place to go.  Beth

Ari, Steve and Sophie enjoy a New Years Eve feast at Koreana restaurant outside Toledo.  At least five dishes on the table contain daikon.  We try to stop at this excellent restaurant during our annual cross-country trip to celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah with family.  This year, we managed to stop on both legs of the journey!

Veggie List and Veggie Notes
(July 13/14, 2017; week #9, purple EOW, sun Sampler)

Beets with greens, 1 big bunch
Sugar snap peas, 1.7 lb
Cucumbers, 2
Broccoli, 1 or 2 nice heads
Zucchini & summer squash, 2 – 3 lb
Korean daikon radishes, ~2, white or purple
Walla Walla onion, 1
Basil, 1 bunch
Fresh garlic, 1 bulb

Next week’s box will probably contain ‘Caraflex’ cabbage, cucumbers, zucchini, Walla Walla onion, carrots (unless it rains too much) and more.

Beets with greens – Beet greens are tasty. They are similar to Swiss chard in flavor (the two crops are very closely related.)  This week’s greens are a little tough so you should remove the thickest midribs before cooking, and give them a little extra cooking time.  We could have harvested them last week but the fennel harvest was more urgent.  The extra week gave the beet roots more time to plump up.
Storage: Cover and refrigerate.  Separate the tops and roots if you don’t plan to eat the greens immediately, to preserve freshness in the roots.  Beet greens are perishable and should be eaten soon. The beet roots will last for weeks.

Sugar snap peas – Let’s give a big cheer for our crew who persevered with the lengthy pea harvest.  This might be the largest bag of snap peas we’ve ever put in the CSA boxes.  These peas are showing some light storm damage.  You’ll see white spots from rain or hail.  The peas are not as perfectly tender as those we delivered last week but are still sweet and delicious, good for either raw salads or lightly cooked.

Cucumbers – The first cukes!  Enjoy!

Korean daikon radishes – See above.

Fresh garlic – This is the first garlic harvest. We can ship these while freshly dug, without curing.  We’ll complete the garlic harvest soon, but then the bulbs need to cure.  It will be a few weeks until we can send more.  Good thing we have lots of onions.

RECIPES

Visit our Recipe Log, a list of all our 2017 recipes.  We’ve already accumulated several zucchini recipes over the past two weeks.

LOCAL THYME RECIPES

Comforting Classics

Grilled Pork Tenderloin or Tofu Banh Mi Sandwich
Beets, Beet Greens, and Sautéed Onions with Feta and Pine Nuts
Raw Beet Salad
Wagon Wheel Pasta with Peas

Outside the Box Recipes

Hoisin Braised Daikon
Bruschetta with Beets and Goat Cheese
Broccoli Pesto
Chilled Snap Pea Soup with Honey Sage Butter

Quick and Easy Meal

Seared Scallops on Snap Pea Puree

RECIPES FROM LAUREN

BAHN MI BURGERS
I know it looks like a long ingredient list on this one but I promise it will come together in a cinch. The hardest thing you have to do is cut daikon into matchsticks and pickle them. Also note that a technically traditional bahn mi uses a Vietnamese baguette, some sort of delicious slow-roasted pork product (usually pork belly), pork pate, pickled daikon & carrots, cucumber slices, pickled jalapeno, and cilantro so calling this a bahn mi is a bit of a stretch. But it’s darn tasty so we’re going there anywhere.  Lauren

Makes 6-8 burgers
Takes 1 hour

Pickled Daikon
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
3 cups daikon, white or purple or a mix, cut into matchsticks (no need to peel)
Burgers:
2 pounds ground pork
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Spicy Mayo:
1 cup mayonnaise
4-6 tablespoons sriracha depending on your preference for heat
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
For Assembly:
6-8 of your favorite burger buns (or baguette bread sliced into bun size for a more authentic bahn mi), toasted
Cucumber, very thinly sliced
Basil
Pickled sliced jalapeno, optional

1. Make pickled daikon. Combine rice wine vinegar, water, sugar and soy sauce together in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add daikon and leave at room temperature to rest while you prepare the rest of the burger. Let pickle for at least thirty minutes. Feel free to do this step the morning or night before preparing the burgers.
2. Make your burgers. Combine pork, garlic, and curry powder in a large bowl along with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Form into 6-8 patties depending on the number of mouths you are feeding. Grill the burgers or cook them in a small amount of vegetable oil on the stovetop until cooked through or about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Prepare spicy mayo. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.
4. Assemble burgers. Spread a generous about of spicy mayo on the base of your toasted buns. Top with a 6-10 slices of cucumber followed by burger patty. Add a few basil leaves, some pickled jalapenos (if using) and a generous pile of pickled daikon followed by the top of your bun. Press down slightly to try and make your burger a manageable, bite-able size and enjoy!

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BEET, SNAP PEA & AVOCADO SALAD
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty

Takes 30 minutes
Serves 2 as a main dish dinner salad or 4-6 as a side

1 bunch beets
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar (red wine or balsamic vinegars also would work fine)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tablespoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 Walla Walla onion, thinly sliced
3 cups snap peas, ends trimmed and halved lengthwise
1 avocado, thinly sliced
1/4 cup basil leaves

1. Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a boil on the stove. Prepare beets, by trimming off the tops. Discard the greens or save for another purpose. Cut any beets larger than a golf ball in half. If they are the size of a baseball, cut them into quarters. Drop the beets into the boiling water and blanche for 5 minutes. Strain and rinse under cold water until cool enough to peel. Peel beets. Thinly slice beets (ideally on a mandolin if you have one but a knife will work fine if you don’t).
   Whisk together vinegar, olive oil, hot sauce, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Add sliced onion and beets. Let sit for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare peas. Trim ends and slice in half lengthwise. Mix together peas and basil leaves on a large, lipped platter. Lay avocado over the top. Once onions and beets are ready, pour them over the peas, mint and avocado. Use as much of the dressing as you desire.

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Week #8, July 6 2017

I queried our crew members about their favorite fruits and vegetables that we grow.  Here are some of their responses plus a photo for each.  I’ll post more people’s responses in a future newsletter.  Think of our hard-working crew when you enjoy one of their favorites!  Beth

Smitty Bietila (2008 – 2013, returned in 2017)  Kale, the gift that keeps on giving all summer long.
Jory Carlin (2014)  Carrots because they are delicious.
Jon Fagan (2013)  Crenshaw melons.  Jon loves crenshaw melons because they are delicate, ephemeral, sweet and delicious.  They are very difficult to grow in Wisconsin so we only get a few each year.
Billy Frain (2013)  Onions.  He likes the steps in harvesting onions; pull from the ground, leave to dry, pull off tops, gather to cure in the greenhouse.  Also … “Carrots.  They bring the whole crew together during weeding, despite the tedious, arduous nature of the work.”
Charlotte Hammond (2016)  “Watermelons because our watermelons are the best on the planet.  I can eat a whole watermelon every day during melon season.  If I ever have my own farm, it’s gonna be a watermelon farm.”  It’s also her favorite crop to harvest.  Charlotte is on Steve’s melon harvest crew because she’s very strong and can catch.  Out of season, Charlotte stays in shape with a ‘watermelon chair’ exercise routine, using a Roman chair at her gym (google it for photos).  She works with 20+ lb weights to mimic picking up and stacking melons.
Kristin Knoener (2008, returned in 2016)  Kristin likes cherry tomatoes, lettuce and watermelons.  “There’s nothing like watermelon at 3:00 pm on a hot day.”
Kelcie Morgan (2015)  Sweet corn.  “It’s a fast-paced straight-forward harvest, a race to the end of the row.  Then we get to eat it on the wagon on the way back to the buildings.”  Strawberries and peas are other favorites to eat but are not her favorites to harvest.  (Beth’s note; these low-to-the-ground crops are hard on everyone’s backs.)
Maggie Schley (1999?)  Maggie loves cucumbers because she loves pickles and salt and fermentation.  Tipi carrots are a big part of Maggie’s life.  They were pictured on her wedding invitation.  She has lots of carrot jewelry.  Everyone on the farm saves ‘lover carrots’ for Maggie; carrots that have grown together in a spiral.  Maggie is always on the carrot harvest crew.
Dana Teske (2015)  Sweet corn.  It’s her favorite to harvest and favorite to eat.
Jim Walker (2016)  Rhubarb.  He likes the fact that you can make dessert from a vegetable with mildly poisonous leaves.  (Actually, it’s a petiole.)  Also, it reminds him of home because rhubarb grew at all the houses where he grew up.

Smitty

Jory (center) helped re-insulate and re-cover our cooler roofs last year.

Jon loves melons.

Billy shows off some ‘farm bling’ he unearthed in a field.  We find all kinds of things.

From left, Maggie and Charlotte retrieve an old tractor tire from the farm.  It weighs 284 lbs.  They took it to Charlotte’s farm for strength training, where they train by flipping the tire.  These are two strong women.

Kristin in an untilled area of our farm.  I want to establish prairie plantings and Kristin is helping me figure out how to do it. She’s worked in prairie restoration for years and has deep knowledge about prairie management.

Kelcie and Billy harvest Brussels sprouts two falls ago.

Maggie, our ‘Lettuce Queen.’

From left, Kelcie and Dana weed carrots.

Jim stacks watermelons at harvest.

Veggie List and Veggie Notes
(July 6/7, 2017, green EOW)

Fennel, 1 bulb with fronds
Broccoli, 1 – 2 nice heads
Snap peas, 1.3 lb
Zucchini & summer squash, ~3 lb
‘Salanova’ lettuce (red or green)
Kohlrabi, 1 (or 2)
Sweet Walla Walla onion, 1 large
Basil, 1 husky sprig

Next week’s box will probably contain some type of greens, carrots, Walla Walla onion, zucchini, basil, fresh garlic and more.

Fennel (large vegetable with a fat bulb and lacy fronds) – Fennel is a ‘swing vegetable’; it can be used raw or cooked.  Clean well and slice as thinly as possible for use in raw salads.  It is good simply prepared with olive oil, lime or lemon juice, salt and shaved parmesan cheese.  Cooking softens and sweetens fennel, and mellows its anise flavor.  Both the bulb and leaves are edible.  Here are ideas from Alice Water of Chez Panisse about how to use fennel:  ‘It’s strong anise characteristic seems to suit fish particularly well.  … We use fennel all the time.  We add the feathery leaves to marinades for fish and to numerous salads, sauces and soups and we use them as a garnish, too. … The bulbs are sliced and served raw in salads in various combinations with other vegetables, parboiled for pastas; caramelized and served as a side dish; braised whole; or cooked in vegetable broths & fish stocks.”

Snap peas – We harvested two varieties this week.  One has strings, the other is stringless.  You’ll just have to figure out which one(s) you receive.

Kohlrabi (round, pale green) – See our June 15 newsletter for info on kohlrabi.

Walla Walla onion – Yeah for the first Walla Wallas!  These are sweet onions, crisp and very mild.  Wonderful raw or lightly cooked.  Try cutting into wedges, threading on a skewer and grilling.  Do not try to fry these onions – it doesn’t work because of their high water content.  Storage:  It’s OK to store at room temperature for up to one week.  Otherwise, refrigerate.

Basil (curly-leaved sprig) – Almost everyone receives the ‘Napoletano’ variety this week. The leaves are larger and more frilly than most basils.  We like this variety because it remains tender and flavorful even as the plants mature.  Storage:  Basil will blacken if stored in the refrigerator.  It is best stored at room temperature with the cut ends in water, for example in a jar or vase.  Treat it like a flower.  Give the stem a fresh trim.  You will receive one sturdy sprig this week.

‘Salanova’ lettuce – This is a new innovation in lettuce breeding that lets you prepare salad mix easily.  It also has nice flavor and texture, even during the summer when it’s otherwise difficult to grow lettuce.  Cut the head across the base and it will fall apart into individual leaves.  Dunk and swish in a tub of water.  Drain and spin dry to store.

We’re pleased with the new ‘Salanova’ lettuce variety.  Cut the lettuce head at the base and it falls apart into salad mix.  Isn’t that great?!  You’ll get either red Salanova or green Salanova this week.

RECIPES

Visit our Recipe Log, a list of all our 2017 recipes.  We’ve already accumulated several zucchini recipes over the past two weeks.

LOCAL THYME RECIPES

Comforting Classics
Chopped Salad of Kohlrabi, Snap Peas, Chicken (other options listed) and Sweet Basil Dressing
Barefoot Contessa’s Roasted Broccoli with Pine Nuts, Lemon and Parmesan
San Franciscan Cioppino
Sweet Onion Rings with Basil Buttermilk Dip

Outside the Box Recipes
Snap Peas with Japanese Seasoning
Pasta Salad with Broccoli, Zucchini, Basil, Feta and a Medley of Olives
Roasted Chicken and Fennel with Oranges and Olives
Curried Squash Soup

Quick and Easy Meal
Kohlrabi and Lamb Stew

RECIPE FROM LAUREN

Summer Pad Thai
Pad thai is a quick easy meal, but it does require quite a bit of slicing and dicing. Get all your vegetables prepped before you start as things will move very quickly once you begin cooking.  Lauren.

Takes 45 minutes
Serves 4-6

8 ounces rice noodles (Thai Kitchen is in most every grocery store and has great Pad Thai noodles)
1/4 cup peanut oil or other mild oil (vegetable or olive oil would both work fine), divided
1/4 cup tamarind paste (if you can find it, I never seem to have any on hand so I substitute 2 tablespoons lime juice with 2 tablespoons brown sugar or raw sugar)
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/2 Walla Walla onion, diced
3 garlic scapes (if you have some leftover, skip it if you don’t)
2 eggs
1 head broccoli, finely chopped
2 pounds zucchini and summer squash, cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup chopped peanuts plus more for garnish
1/2 pound snap peas, end removed and thinly sliced, for garnish
Basil, thinly sliced, for garnish
Limes, quartered

1. Place noodles in a large bowl.
2. In a large stock pot bring enough water to cover the noodles to a boil. Pour over noodles and let stand for 7 minutes. Drain noodles, return to bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon peanut oil.
3. Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan combine tamarind paste (or substitutions), fish sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine and then heat over medium heat until sugar and honey dissolve. Remove from heat.
4. In a large skillet, heat remaining oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic if using. Saute for 3-5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Add eggs and scramble gently. Once eggs are most cooked add the broccoli. Continue sauteing and cooking the eggs for 5 minutes until broccoli is bright green.
5. Add noodles, zucchini, summer squash and sauce. Stir to combine then cook for 2 minutes until everything is warm and zucchini is just barely cooked. Stir in 1/2 cup peanuts just before serving.
6. Serve warm with peanuts, snap peas, basil and lime wedges.

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Fennel & Kohlrabi Salad
Borrowed from my dear friend Andrea Bemis of Dishing Up the Dirt
I always thought I couldn’t eat fennel raw until I shaved it real thin and paired it with some apple and a light homemade vinaigrette. Something about this simple salad transformed the way I looked at fennel. Now I love to eat raw fennel as a side to something real rich and hearty (like a grilled steak or porkchop). This recipe takes things a bit further pairing fennel with crunchy kohlrabi and onion alongside some walnuts and blue cheese. Together it makes for a powerhouse dish. PS Feel free to sub feta for blue cheese if you are a real blue cheese hater. It won’t make much of a difference.  Lauren.

Takes 20 minutes
Serves 4

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3-1/3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large or 2 smaller kohlrabis, stems and greens discarded, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 large fennel bulb, stems removed (and saved for another use), halved, cored and very thinly sliced (if you have a mandoline- use it!), plus a few fronds for serving
1/2 Walla Walla onion, very thinly sliced
1 apple (honey crisp or granny smith work best in my opinion), sliced into thin matchsticks
1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped and toasted
1/4 cup good quality blue cheese, crumbled

1. In a large bowl wisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, celery seeds, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil until well combined.
2. Add all the thinly sliced vegetables (and fruit!) to the bowl and toss well to combine.
3. Divide between plates and top with toasted walnuts, crumbled blue cheese and a few fennel fronts. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if need be.

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