Week #14, Our planting is almost finished.

Look at those empty seedling benches!  We have just a few flats of seedlings still to transplant this year, mostly bok choy and other fall greens.

The greenhouses are long empty of plants.  Now, we’re curing onions in the largest greenhouse.  It’s a good place for the onions to dry down and mature before we move them into the barn loft.

Steve seeded one of our final summer cover crops tonight.  This is a good moment to seed quick-growing annual cover crops, especially as vegetable crop finish and fields open up.  Soon we’ll begin seeding overwintering fall cover crops that protect the soil in winter, then fix nitrogen in spring.

This seeding is sunn hemp, an interesting, fast-growing legume.  This is our second sunn hemp planting this season.  It is a new cover crop for us, and we are impressed with the quick, lush growth in our fields planted in July.  As a legume, we can hope for nitrogen fixation.  I’ll take some photos soon so you can see how beautiful the fields are.

We are back to irrigating and would really appreciate some rain.  These young carrots need the water but we’re also irrigating this field so it will be easier to weed in the next two days.  It’s the next field on our weeding schedule.

Three new employees started work in the last week or so.  Their arrival was cheered by the other crew members.  We have felt quite short-handed the last few weeks as several crew members left us to return to school or their pre-pandemic careers.  Above, new guy Janson loads tomatoes into the truck.

Veggie List & Veggie Notes
Week #14, August 20/21, 2020
– Weekly shares
– EOW/ purple
– Sampler/ sun

Slicing tomatoes, 2.5 – 3 lb
Watermelon (red OR orange OR yellow, by site)
Carrots, 2 lb
Cherry tomatoes, 1 pint
Peppers, ~2
Jalapeno chile (hot), 1
Cucumber, 1 or 2 large + 1 small
Walla Walla onion, 1 or 2
White onion, 1 or 2
Basil, ~2 sprigs
By site; red cabbage OR globe eggplant OR Swiss chard
If your red cabbage is small, you’ll get a bag of pickling cucumbers too.

Next week’s box will probably contain tomatoes, peppers and other summer crops.

Slicing tomatoes – This batch are in good shape.  I still encourage you to spread your tomatoes on plates on your counter so you can keep an eye on them.  If small flaws develop, eat those tomatoes first.
Cucumbers – This is the final delivery of cucumbers!
Onions – You’ll receive both white and Walla Walla onions this week.  They are easy to tell apart.  See photo.  Walla Wallas are the sweet onions we’ve sent so far this year.  White onions are more pungent and less watery.  Neither type fries particularly well, although you have a better chance with a white onion.  

From left, white onion and Walla Walla onion.

RECIPES

Visit our 2020 Recipe Log or our 2019 Recipe Log or join our Facebook discussion group.

LOCAL THYME/ Cooking 101
Salad with Tomato, Cucumber, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil Vinaigrette
Grilled Red Cabbage with Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing
Shredded Carrot Cabbage and Chicken Salad with Honey Poppy Seed Dressing

LOCAL THYME/ Cooking 202
Pork Tenderloin with Apple Cider Braised Red Cabbage and Horseradish Sauce
Spicy Tomtato Basil Salsa
Cucumber and Carrot Kimchi Style Salad

LOCAL THYME/ Quick & Easy Meal
Watermelon Gazpacho

RECIPES FROM LAUREN

MASON JAR CAPRESE

Takes 10 minutes
Makes 1 quart caprese
Serves 1 hungry person for lunch or 2 less hungry non-farming people

1-2 pounds slicer tomatoes (if they’re out of season, don’t even bother), cored and cut into thick slices
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
4 ounces fresh mozzarella ball, halved and cut into thick slices
1/4 cup minced basil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Grab a quart mason jar (or a 4-cup pyrex or other container). Place 1-2 sliced tomatoes in bottom of container. Layer a handful of cherry tomatoes on top followed by a few slices of mozzarella. Sprinkle with a quarter of the basil. Repeat until you’ve used all ingredients or filled your container (whichever comes first).
2. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic. Cover and shake gently so that olive oil and balsamic coat tomatoes throughout.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper just before serving. (I have my own Kosher salt jar and pepper grinder at work for exactly this kind of purpose. I suggest you do the same.

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LIME WATERMELON FLOAT
Makes 2 large or 4 small floats
Takes 5 minutes

1 small watermelon or 1/2 large watermelon (any color!), preferably chilled
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Pinch Kosher salt
1 (12-ounce) can lime seltzer, preferably chilled
2 cups frozen yogurt or custard scoops

1. Scoop watermelon out with a spoon or cut into cubes and place in food processor or blender. You want about 4 cups. Add water, sugar, lime juice and salt. Process until smooth, about 30 seconds.
2. Using a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth, strain watermelon into a measuring cup or mason jar. It should be about 2 cups. Add seltzer.
3. Divide frozen yogurt or custard into two or four glasses (depending on how many you are serving) and pour watermelon soda over. ENJOY!

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EASY QUESO CHEESE DIP

Takes 30 minutes
Makes 4 cups
Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 red or yellow pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1-2 hot peppers of your choice, seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1-1/2 cups milk, divided
1 8-ounce block cream cheese, cut into cubes
3 cups shredded cheese (Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and Brick would all work—or use a blend)
2 tomatoes, cored and diced

1. Melt butter in a large saute pan or deep skillet over medium low heat. Add onion, peppers, and salt. Saute for 10 minutes until vegetables soften and become very fragrant.
2. Add ½ cup of the milk along with the cream cheese. Stir consistently until the cheese has melted and is mostly smooth. Reduce heat to low.
3. Add remaining milk followed by shredded cheese. Stir until incorporated, about 5 minutes, and remove from heat.
4. Add diced tomatoes and gently stir until combined. At this point it is ready to go! You can puree it with an immersion blender or food processor for a smoother texture.
5. Serve with chips, guacamole and salsa or use it for a big old plate of dinner nachos.

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