Week #10, July 26/27, 2018

Fresh carrots!

Farm News

We had our heads down this week, with Steve very focused on carrots.  He harvested our first carrots of the year.  (They are in your box this week.)  That means getting the carrot harvester out of storage in the neighbor’s barn, greased up and ready to go.  He and Roger always mull over ways to tweak and upgrade it.  

At the same time, Steve is nurturing newly-planted carrot fields.  These will be ready to harvest in fall for fresh eating and for sale through the winter.  The big carrot plantings are a lot of work for him.  Most years, one planting fails after heavy rains and need to be re-seeded.  Each field needs daily irrigation for 12 days after planting, plus flame weeding with propane torches, plus precise cultivation.  It’s a relief when all the fields are successfully planted.  It will be a bigger relief once they are weeded as well.

Raul cultivates a field of carrot seedlings.  Can you see them?

He can get pretty close to the seedlings, leaving 3-inch bands of untilled soil near the carrots.

Sometimes just frilly carrot seedlings emerge (left). Sometimes there are many weeds too (right).  We have to hoe out the weeds by hand, a huge job for the coming weeks.  Steve has seeded eight fields (about 4 acres), with staggered planting dates to give us a chance to weed each field in succession.

In the meantime, the rest of us are focussed on harvests.  Above, Mari catches muskmelons thrown from the field by the rest of the melon crew.  These muskmelons are in your boxes.

August 1 checks

Many of you paid us with checks dated August 1.  I’ll deposit the checks on August 4 or 6.

Soil Sisters Events

If you are interested in exploring small scale farms in our part of the state, check out the Soil Sisters events on August 3 – 5.  All the participating farms are run by women.  I am not hosting a workshop but many of my farmer friends are.  The workshop list is here but there are also farm-to-table meals plus lots of free farm tours.  

Veggie List and Veggie Notes
Week #10, July 26/27, 2018
– Weekly shares
– Purple EOW
– Sun Sampler

Sweet corn, 6 – 7 ears
Muskmelon, 1 medium
Carrots, 2 lb
Tomatoes (slicing or plum), 2 – 2.5 lb
Cherry tomatoes, 1 pint
Pepper, 1
Cucumbers, 1 or 2
Zucchini, a few
Walla Walla onion, 1 or 2
Basil, 1 sprig
You might get a little broccoli.

Next week’s box will probably contain melon, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and more.

Sweet corn – This batch of corn is “Vision”, Steve’s favorite variety.  If you receive 7 ears, one will be smaller, with about half the ear useful.  
Storage: Refrigerate.  
How to cook: see last week’s newsletter.
Carrots – Refrigerate in a plastic bag.
Tomatoes – You should refrigerate your tomatoes this week.  Our first planting was weakened by rain, so those tomatoes are not storing well. The next two plantings are stronger. We’ll let you know when you can keep your tomatoes at room temperature again.
Pepper – You’ll get a bell pepper or a frying pepper.  Some are green, some are partially red.

RECIPES

Visit our 2018 Recipe Log or our 2017 Recipe Log or join our Facebook discussion group.

LOCAL THYME/ Comforting Classics
Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta
Grilled Corn
Melon Smoothie
Carrot Bran Muffins

LOCAL THYME/ Outside the Box Recipes
Moroccan Tagine with Carrot, Zucchini and Tomato
Corn Pudding with Chicken
Melon Cucumber Salad
Shrimp with Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini in Tikka Spice

LOCAL THYME/ Quick & Easy Meal
Hummus, Cucumber, Carrot Wraps

RECIPES FROM LAUREN

VEGETABLE GRILLED CHEESE
This is a recipe inspired by my mother: the queen of tossing a ton of vegetables into something ooey, gooey, cheesy and wonderful. My mom often sautees random combinations of vegetables into what she calls a “sandwich spread.” She keeps the bowl in her fridge and throws it on grilled sandwiches whenever she can’t think of anything else for dinner. I’ve made this other times with diced peppers, roughly chopped kale, or shredded carrots. If you have any of these on hand feel free to add them to the mix. No matter the combination of vegetables, this simple grilled sandwich satisfies. You can also add sliced ham or turkey if you want to make it a bit heavier. The pesto is totally optional, but I really love pesto on grilled cheese sandwiches so always keep a jar in my fridge. Lauren
Takes 30 minutes.
Serves 4.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Walla Walla onion
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bell pepper, cored and diced
2 medium zucchini, shredded (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 head broccoli, florets roughly chopped
2-3 tablespoons butter, softened
8 slices bread, preferably sourdough
1/4 cup prepared pesto, optional
4 ounces of favorite cheeses, sliced (we used a combination of smoky cheddar and havarti)
1-2 tomatoes, cored, trimmed and sliced

1. Begin by cooking down your veggies. In a large, heavy skilled warm oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic along with salt and pepper. Cook until just softened. Reduce heat to medium low and add pepper, zucchini, broccoli, and any other veggies you want! Cook for 10 minutes until broccoli is tender.
2. While the veggies continue to cook down, get your bread toasting. Butter all eight slices of bread on one side.
3. In another skillet or large pan, lay as many pieces of bread† (butter side down) as will fit and begin toasting over medium low heat. Cover half of the bread with cheese slices so it begins to melt. Slather the other half of the bread slices with pesto.
4. When the veggies are fully cooked, add a few spoonfuls to each cheesy slice. Top with a few tomato slices. When the pesto slice is grilled to a nice golden brown, place on top of the tomatoes to complete the sandwich. Press down gently with a spatula.
5. Remove completed sandwiches to a cutting board and cut sandwiches in half before serving. Repeat with remaining slices of bread and ingredients.

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SUMMER CORN, TOMATO & CUCUMBER SALAD
This time of year, super simple salads are king and this dish will taste great eaten alongside something prepared simply on the grill. A steak, some ribs, a nice piece of fish; whatever you have, just add this salad and you’ll have a great meal! Lauren
Takes 15 minutes.
Serves 4-6 as a side.

3 ears corn
1-2 tomatoes, cored and diced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, seeded and cubed
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove over high heat. Once boiling, add the corn and cook for 4 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool to the touch.
2. Remove kernels from ear with a knife and add to a large bowl. Add tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and basil followed by oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

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