Wow, so many things in the field right now it's hard to decide what to put in the share this week. This is what I think I've settled on...
All Shares:
New Fingerling Potatoes! We hand dug our first new potatoes this week, and they are some real beauties. These new potatoes haven't developed thick skins yet, so they are delicate and a more perishable, but much more delicious. I like to just steam or boil them whole for ten minutes or so, and then toss them in a bit of salt, butter or olive oil, and herbs. So tasty!
Cucumbers! I'll try to give everyone at least one green slicer cuke (either Marketmore, a standard slicer, or Picolino, which has a thinner and smoother green skin) and at least one Boothby's blond, which you may not even recognize as a cucumber at first glance. They are pale yellow and oblong, kind of like an elongated lemon cucumber. The blonds are a really nice cuke with thin skin and firm flesh, great in a cucumber salad.
Kale- With so many Summer crops coming on, have to fit kale into the share one more time before it's too late.
Head lettuce- No surprise here....the small shares had a week off from head lettuce last week, while the large shares got a gigantic head of red crisp, so I may give the larger shares some smaller heads of Pomegranate crunch to avoid overwhelming you with lettuce!
Dill- This is just kind of an extra, I decided to throw it in because we have some nice fresh dill, and with cukes and potatoes in the share, the two things fresh dill goes best with (other than fish!) I couldn't resist.
http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/kitchen-assistant/dill-recipes/dill-recipes_5
http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/kitchen-assistant/dill-recipes/view-all
Scallions- Our scallions are doing so great this year. We transplanted these ones out this Spring (planted them out from starts we had grown from seed in the greenhouse), but I also "direct sewed" (meaning put the seed straight into the ground rather than transplanting) some more scallions, bunching onions and leeks for later Summer and they are looking great! I am excited about this, as if it works out I will definitely do it again in future years...it saves a lot of work not having to start them in the greenhouse and plant them out by hand in the field!
Beets- I think we will do a mix of topped beets in the share this week without the greens....these guys take up less space in the bag, and are easy to clean up and steam or roast for a nice Summer side dish or salad.
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/beet_hummus/
Large shares only:
Peas- It's easy to get rid of these peas, they are great for snacking on. My daughter Nico loves them, and can put away a pint in no time. If you're wondering why the peas look a little different than in years past, read my description of this year's seed mishap a few paragraphs below...
Broccoli- Some nice broccoli coming out of the field right now, and more on the way for the rest of July.
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshow/broccoli-recipes
Hakurei turnips- Might be the last time I get the hakurei turnips in the shares for a bit, so enjoy these ones! Really nice sliced thin in a lettuce salad. Don't forget, you can stir fry the greens if you're looking for more braising green materials!
This season, which got off to such a lousy start, has turned into a pretty awesome growing season so far (knock wood). Our early Summer crops like squash, cukes, carrots, beets and sweet onions are doing great and coming out of the field looking beautiful. All of the late Summer crops are looking great too...starting to see the first blush of color on some tomatoes, the green beans are flowering, the corn is growing like a weed and the first planting is well above knee high for the fourth of July. The melon vines are going crazy, and the peppers and eggplant are looking great. No complaints!
Actually, just one. I got a letter from Osborne seed in Mount Vernon (my favorite seed company where I get most of the farm's seed each year) explaining that the Sugar snap pea seed was mixed with off types...some kind of mess up. So while our peas this year are all still delicious, they aren't the consistent, fat sugar snap beauties we normally have. This might also explain why they were later than usual to come on this year. It makes picking peas a lot more cumbersome, and I'm a bit disappointed at not having the consistently beautiful pods...but at least they still taste good and can all be used as you would the normal sugar snap peas.
We are really humming along now, and with the Orchard Kitchen reopening this weekend we definitely have some busy pick days ahead. Fortunately, with the big irrigation projects and weeding now finished, we can spend our time picking and washing the produce, stocking the stand and packing your shares and I won't feel stressed about not getting to other projects!
I got some news that made me very happy, too. Sadly, our wonderful interns Max and Angela will be leaving in August so Angela can get back in time to finish her last quarter of college. Luckily for me, Jack, my long time manager on the farm, just happens to have a few free weeks before he will start his student teaching in late September, so he will be back to help me get through the last crazy push of harvest season at the end of Summer. It really couldn't have lined up any better.
Hope everyone is having a happy 4th! See you tomorrow!
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