Welcome to the 14th week of the Pitchfork & Crow CSA!
Here’s what’s in the share this week:
- Sweet Basil
- New Potatoes – the variety is German butterball this week!
- Summer Squash
- Tomatoes – a pint of cherry tomatoes and two slicers
- Beans – more purple and yellow snap beans this week
- Cabbage – coleslaw anyone?
- Fennel
- Beets
- Broccoli – we’re happy to share another round of broccoli from our farm!
- Sweet Onions – Siskiyou Sweet onions from Persephone Farm!
Many thanks to everyone that made it out to the farm for the CSA potluck Sunday evening. I think we can call it a rousing success! We had a great time welcoming folks to the farm and the food was fantastic. We joked that the potluck was our ploy to get you to cook for us, and it worked! We’re looking forward to the fall event and might make it another meal on the farm since this was so much fun. Of course, details to come closer to the event.
We appreciate the enthusiasm folks bring to the pick-up each week when you’re gathering your vegetables and that enthusiasm was evident Sunday too. We appreciate being able to take an evening away from our general routine to share a meal with you. It’s important for us to look up from the weeding and harvesting and planting and planning, and to be thankful for people who seek out local food choices and support our farm. And of course we’re thankful for all that the farm has produced thus far.
The topics of conversation at the potluck were obviously very food-centered. Hearing folks swapping recipes (some of which will be shared here in the coming weeks) and cooking tips was a good reminder that the CSA model is fundamentally about community. Of course we see it as a support for our farm, but it’s also about bringing folks together who are interested in food and cooking, about building community from the ground up, literally. So, thanks for supporting us as farmers and also being part of our community!
Enjoy this week’s vegetables!
Your farmers, Jeff Bramlett and Carri Heisler .Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:
Roasted Zucchini with Chili-Mint Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
- Pinch sugar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Large pinch red chili flakes
- 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, chopped
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 medium zucchini and/or summer squash
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in the chili flakes and mint, and then slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking constantly. Taste, add more salt and pepper if necessary, and set aside.
Trim the ends off the zucchini and halve them lengthwise. Arrange the them cut-side-up in a large shallow baking dish and sprinkle lightly with salt. Drizzle about half of the vinaigrette evenly over the zucchini. Roast for about 40 minutes, or until just tender when you pierce them with a fork.
Heat the broiler, and then put the squash about 5 inches beneath the flame for 3 to 5 minutes, watching it carefully and rotating if necessary to make sure it browns evenly. Let the squash cool for a few minutes, drizzle more of the vinaigrette over the top and serve family-style.
From food52, http://www.food52.com/recipes/13832_roasted_zucchini_with_chilimint_vinaigrette
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Sausage and Summer Vegetable Sauté
- 4 (5-to 6-ounces) fresh pork sausages
- 1/3 cup water
- 3/4 cup chopped sweet onion
- 1 medium fennel bulb, chopped
- 1 cup grape tomatoes (5 oz)
- 2 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped dill
Prick sausages a few times. Simmer with water in a 12-inch heavy skillet, covered, over medium heat 7 minutes. Uncover and cook, turning occasionally, until water has evaporated and sausages are well browned and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes more. (You may need to add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet, depending on sausages.) Transfer sausages to a plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet if necessary.
Cook onion, fennel, and tomatoes with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in skillet over medium heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until onion and fennel are crisp-tender and tomatoes are soft and beginning to burst, about 7 minutes. Add corn and dill and sauté 2 minutes.
Slice sausages and serve with vegetables.
From Epicurious.com via Gourmet, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sausage-and-Summer-Vegetable-Saute-354509
