Welcome to the 7th week of the 2014 Pitchfork & Crow Summer CSA!

Here’s what’s in the share:

• Overwintered Onions
  
• Fresh Garlic – This is uncured, straight-from-the-field, non-papery, fresh garlic.  You’ll likely find it to be moister than the cured garlic you’re familiar with, but it won’t store as long so use it up just as you would the cured stuff, but store it in the fridge.
  
• Radishes
  
• Kale – lacinato or red ursa this week
  
• Carrots
  
• Fennel
• Lettuce – Blushed Butter Cos and Red Earred Butterheart for everyone
  
• Summer Squash
  
• Cucumbers – slicers, lemons, and picklers!
  
• Dried Shishito Pepper Powder

Welcome!  Before we get into this week’s update, we’d like to talk about pick-up parking at the Salem location.  The folks at the Methodist church have requested we minimize the use of their parking spaces.

Please park in any of the gravel parking lots, or other parking specifically signed as Willamette University parking.  Note that the paved spots near the pick-up mostly belong to the church.

Thanks for your help!  Now on to the updates!

Summer doesn’t seem to be wasting any time making a full-fledged appearance this year.  Is it just us, or is it hot out there?!  We’re working the edges of the day, and trying not to melt in the middle.  Planning the harvest means getting the greens out of the field early and planning for extra breaks during the heat of the day.  Nevertheless, this week’s farmwork has been kept on track with homemade fudgesicles, iced coffee, and cold beer.  And water.  Lots of water.

Someone recently asked what we’d been up to this week, and in the moment we couldn’t really remember.  Isn’t it funny how that works?  The tasks just run together this time of year.  After thinking about it we realized we’d done some transplanting of successions of beets, lettuce, cabbage and more, and we’d done some sowing of fall and overwintering crops including broccoli and extra kale.  It was time to harvest some spinach and bok choy seed, so those plants were cut to further dry down.  And of course there was more weeding; there’s always more weeding.  Jeff also did some impressive pole bean trellising as seen above.

This week we’re including some red pepper powder made from last year’s fully mature and dried Shishito peppers.  Shishitos are generally harvested green and are lovely quickly blistered in a hot pan and tossed with a pinch of salt.  They’re one of our favorite pepper varieties.  In anticipation of last year’s first hard frost, Jeff pulled the pepper plants and we hung them to dry in the barn for the winter.  Knowing not everyone has a grinder dedicated to spices, we went ahead and ground them for you. We like to throw pinches of this stuff into anything and everything.  Add it to scrambled eggs, spaghetti sauce, burgers, you name it!

Enjoy the vegetables and we’ll see you next week!

Your farmers,
Jeff Bramlett and Carri Heisler

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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

 Cured Salmon with Fennel and Carrot Salad

Salmon:

• 1 1/4 cups kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped fennel fronds
• 1/4 cup gin or aquavit
• 1 1 1/2-pound piece skin-on salmon fillet

Salad and assembly:

• 2 medium carrots, peeled, very thinly sliced
• 1 medium fennel bulb, very thinly sliced, plus 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds
• 1 lemon, very thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• Fennel flowers or fennel pollen (optional)

Salmon:
Mix salt, sugar, fennel fronds, and gin in a medium bowl (mixture should feel like wet sand). Spread half of salt mixture in a shallow baking dish. Place salmon on top and cover with remaining salt mixture.

Press a sheet of plastic wrap over salmon and place a smaller dish or heavy pan on top (it should be small enough to fit inside the dish so it rests directly on top of salmon). Add a couple of heavy cans to empty baking dish to weigh down salmon. Chill, turning occasionally, until flesh is firm and slightly darkened in color, 1-2 days. Rinse salmon and pat dry.

Do ahead: Salmon can be cured 1 week ahead. Tightly wrap and chill.

Salad and assembly:
Toss carrots, fennel bulb, and lemon slices with oil and lemon juice in a large bowl; season with salt and let sit at room temperature until slightly softened, about 30 minutes.

Thinly slice cured salmon at an angle against the grain.

Season yogurt with salt, spread on plates, and top with cured salmon, fennel and carrot salad, fennel fronds, and fennel flowers, if using.

From Epicurious via Bon Appétit by Renee Erickson, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cured-Salmon-with-Fennel-and-Carrot-Salad-51236420

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Grilled Summer Squash

• 6 medium yellow squash and/or green zucchini (3 pounds)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons coarse-grain mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Prepare grill for indirect-heat cooking over medium-hot charcoal (high heat for gas).

Trim squash and/or zucchini and halve lengthwise, then toss with salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl.

Oil grill rack, then grill vegetables directly over hottest part of coals, covered only if using a gas grill, turning over once, until grill marks appear, about 6 minutes total. Move vegetables to area of grill with no coals underneath and grill, covered, until tender, about 4 minutes more. Transfer to a platter.

While vegetables are grilling, whisk together lemon juice, mustard, sugar, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a small bowl. Pour dressing evenly over vegetables before serving.

From Epicurious via Gourmet, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Summer-Squash-and-Zucchini-238688

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Cucumbers in Yogurt

• 2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt (14 to 16 ounces; preferably Greek)
• 1 (14- to 16-ounce) seedless cucumber (usually plastic-wrapped), peeled, halved lengthwise, and cored
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 medium garlic cloves

If using a regular supermarket brand of yogurt (not Greek), drain in a paper-towel-lined sieve set over a bowl 1 hour. Discard liquid.

While yogurt drains, cut cucumber into 1/2-inch cubes. Transfer to another sieve set over a bowl and toss with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, then drain 1 hour. Rinse cucumber and pat dry.

Mince and mash garlic to a paste with remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt using a large heavy knife. Stir together yogurt, cucumbers, garlic paste, and salt to taste in a bowl.

Cooks’ note: Cucumbers in yogurt can be made 2 hours ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.

From Epicurious via Gourmet, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cucumbers-in-Yogurt-108080

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