Welcome to the 15th week of the Pitchfork & Crow Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share:

• Parsley
  
• Sweet Corn
  
• Chard
• Salad Mix
  
• Beets
• Melons! – More melons, including muskmelons, red and yellow fleshed watermelons, and an orange honeydew
  
• Broccoli
  
• Cauliflower
• Shishito Peppers – More those ‘roulette’ peppers, some are hot but most are not. 
  
• Yellow Onion Bunches
  
• Cucumbers – choose from slicers and picklers
• Summer Squash
• Tomatoes – Pints of cherries and slicers both!
• Bartlett Pears

Winter CSA memberships are open!  Head over to the Winter CSA information page to get all the details and a link to the sign-up form.

September is looming down on us and with it thoughts of rainstorms, fall harvests, warm beverages, and long sleeves are running through my mind.  The season’s beginning back in spring is just a distant memory and though I’m sure summer has a few more tricks up its sleeve, I’m daring to dream of autumn and all it entails, including the beginning of winter vegetables.  Those photos above are all the shares from last winter’s CSA program, perhaps my favorite season for eating.

Farming is often about looking ahead, always planning for future harvests.  We’ve been preparing for Winter harvests since the beginning of spring, with the planting of leeks and onions in the dark days of February and March.  Winter squash, a staple of our winter diet, went into the field in June.  At the same time we started the overwintering cauliflower and broccoli that won’t make an appearance in CSA shares until March and April of 2017.  The big work of planting and tending winter vegetables happens in summer, alongside the summer crops we’re harvesting now.  It’s the nature of packing as much as possible into the height of the growing season to ensure enough now and enough later.

We’ve been looking ahead to winter harvests for some time.  Planting the winter hardy kale and cabbages, weeding the winter carrots, hilling the leeks that will stand through the cold months.  Now we’re ready to open up the Winter CSA memberships and invite you to look ahead to the winter months too.  Do you know where your vegetables will be coming from?  We’d love to help with that.  You can find all the details on the Winter/Spring CSA page and join us for harvests during that other half of the year ahead.

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

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler and Jeff Bramlett

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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Tagliatelle with Shredded Beets, Sour Cream, and Parsley

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups (packed) coarsely grated peeled uncooked beets (about 3 large)
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 12 ounces tagliatelle or fettuccine
• 1 8-ounce container sour cream
• 6 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided

Melt butter with oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; stir until pale golden, about 1 minute. Add beets and cayenne; reduce heat to medium-low and sauté just until beets are tender, about 12 minutes. Stir in lemon juice.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta and return to pot. Stir in sour cream and 4 tablespoons parsley, then beet mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer pasta to bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and serve.

From Epicurious via Bon Appétit, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/tagliatelle-with-shredded-beets-sour-cream-and-parsley-109365

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Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Pita Bread and Za’atar

• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Accompaniments: warm pita bread, olive oil, and Za’atar

Stir together tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze lemon juice over salad and stir. Drizzle oil over salad and stir.

From Epicurious via Gourmet, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/tomato-and-cucumber-salad-with-pita-bread-and-zaatar-103394

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Yellow Summer Squash and Corn Soup

• 1 pound yellow summer squash
• 2 ears corn
• 3 large shallots
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1 fresh jalapeño chile (or use a couple of shishito peppers)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 1/2 cups water
• Garnish: corn kernels, chopped fresh jalapeño chiles, fresh cilantro leaves, sour cream, and thinly sliced yellow summer squash

Cut summer squash crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Shuck corn and, working over a bowl, cut kernels from cobs. Halve cobs. Chop shallots and mince garlic. Wearing rubber gloves, chop chile, with seeds if desired.

In a 5-quart heavy kettle combine all ingredients (including cobs) except water and cook over moderate heat, stirring, 3 minutes. Stir in water and simmer mixture until squash is very tender, about 15 minutes. Discard cobs. In a blender puree mixture in batches until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), transferring to another bowl. Season soup with salt and pepper. Divide soup between 2 bowls and garnish with corn, chiles, cilantro, small dollops of sour cream, and squash.

From Epicurious via Gourmet, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/yellow-summer-squash-and-corn-soup-15249

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