Welcome to the 9th week of the Pitchfork & Crow Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share:

• Chard
  
• Salad Mix – Brand new round of salad mix!
  
• Overwintered Onions
  
• Eggplant
• Jalapeno Peppers
  
• Corn
  
• Cilantro
• Cucumbers
  
• Broccoli or Green Beans –  We had a some broccoli from the latest succession to pair with the first of the green beans.  You decide which you prefer this week.
  
• Carrots
• Tomatoes –  cherries and slicers!
  
• Plums – We don’t know what this plum variety is.  If I had to guess I’d say Methley.  Jeff says they taste like summer.  I think they taste like a sunset.  Either way they’re tasty and juicy and amazing.  Some of them may need to sit on your counter to ripen u a bit. 
  
• Strawberries – The berries keep ripening.  We keep picking them.  You keep eating them in your car after the pick-up.

CSA Members: Did you choose the 2-payment option?  Please remember that your second payment is due by August 1st.  Feel free to bring a check or cash to the pick-up or drop it in the email.

Many thanks to everyone who made it out to the farm for the CSA member potluck on Saturday!  Somehow even with temperatures in the high 90s we had a good turn out.  There was great food, farm tours, and screen printing fun.  Shout out to CSA member Autumn for wrangling our screen printing project and making it both awesome and fantastic!  Somehow we accidentally skipped the tomato tasting.  I blame that on the heat.  I think the kids would likely agree that the highlight was the stock tank full of water that acted as an impromptu swimming hole.  If you missed out but want to see the farm, we’ll have another event in October!

We love the opportunity to welcome CSA members to the farm.  We often say we couldn’t do this without you, and of course we couldn’t!  But “this” is more than just our weekly meet-ups for the vegetable exchange.  “This” is the farm property, and the vegetables in the field, and the work that goes into growing those vegetables.  “This” is also an ideal we’ve all bought into as a group, that locally grown organic food and local organic farms are important.  And “this” is a unique community of supporters that have chosen to support our farm.

We currently have 75 shares we fill each week.  About a quarter of the shares are split between multiple households, which brings us up to 94ish families participating in the CSA this summer season.  That’s a lot of amazing support from folks for our little farm.  Our members are teachers and artists and lawyers and accountants and parents and social workers and computer geeks and musicians and entrepreneurs and secretaries and doctors and writers and students and the list goes on.  I often think about this community of diverse people, brought together by the CSA concept, and feel thankful to be a part of it.  Thanks for joining us.  It wouldn’t be the same without you.

We spent Sunday morning harvesting the first wave of plums.  We inherited all of our fruit trees on the farm when we bought the place and we haven’t brought an expert out to help us identify the different varieties.  If pressed, I’d say these are Methley plums.  What we do know is that they are delicious and juicy.  We lost a lot during the past weekend’s heatwave so we went ahead and harvested the remaining fruit.  Some of these plums will need a little more ripening on your countertop.

We’re excited to share plums with you this year.  Last year’s plum crop was dismal and we’ve been glad to watch the fruit grow and ripen this year.  Soon we’ll be harvesting and sharing  the first of the apples too.  July is slipping away just as quickly as it seemed to arrive.  We hope you’re enjoying your summer, and enjoying the bounty of the CSA this season!

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:

Gazpacho with Jalapeno and Cilantro

• 3 1/2 cups (or more) tomato juice
• 8 plum tomatoes (about 18 ounces), seeded, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 English hothouse cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 7 ounces)
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 green onion, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño chili
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Combine 1 cup tomato juice, half of tomatoes, half of cucumber, and half of bell pepper in blender. Puree until smooth. Pour into large bowl. Stir in remaining tomatoes, cucumber, and bell pepper; add onion, cilantro, parsley, lemon juice, green onion, jalapeño, and garlic. Transfer 1 cup mixture to blender. Add 2 1/2 cups tomato juice to blender and puree. Pour back into large bowl and stir to combine. Thin with additional tomato juice, if desired. Season with salt and pepper. Cover; chill 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)

Serve cold.

From Epicurious via Bon Appétit, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/gazpacho-with-jalapeno-and-cilantro-105154

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Cucumber, Tomato, and Onion Yogurt Salad

• 1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon picked-over split skinned urad dal*
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro

Stir together cucumber, tomatoes, onion, and yogurt. Heat oil in a small heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook mustard seeds, cumin, and urad dal, stirring, until mustard seeds begin to pop. Pour oil mixture over vegetables and stir until combined. Stir in cilantro and salt to taste.

*Dals are dried legumes.

Cooks’ note: · You can make pachadi 6 hours ahead and chill, covered.

From Epicurious via Gourmet, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cucumber-tomato-and-onion-yogurt-salad-102948

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Grilled Ratatouille Salad with Feta Cheese

• 1 12- to 14-ounce eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch-thick rounds
• 1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise
• 1 red bell pepper, cut lengthwise into 6 strips
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
• 3 tablespoons purchased garlic-flavored olive oil
• 2 to 3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons slivered fresh basil

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Place eggplant, zucchini, red bell pepper and onion on baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; turn to coat. Grill vegetables until tender and tinged with brown, turning frequently, about 6 minutes for eggplant and zucchini and about 10 minutes for red bell pepper and onion.

Divide vegetables between 2 plates; drizzle with vinegar. Sprinkle cheese and basil over and serve.

From Epicurious via Bon Appétit, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grilled-ratatouille-salad-with-feta-cheese-103770

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