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

• Beets
  
• Salad Mix
  
• Summer Squash
  
• Mixed Cucumbers – a slicer for everyone!  Plus a couple of picklers types too.
  
• Yellow Onion
  
• Salad Turnips
  
• Basil
  
• White & Cheddar Cauliflower
• Fava Beans – Ahh, the amazingness that is the fava bean.  We enjoy them  most shelled and then popped out of their inner skin.  Although they take a little extra prep time, the buttery beans are worth the effort!  No time for shelling?  Try grilling the whole pod.
  
• Yellow Transparent Apples – The first apples of the season!  They will continue to ripen to a pale yellow a which point thy will bruise very easily so we’re sharing them sooner than later.  They are tart and soft, best used in apple sauce.  Jeff suggests a savory bbq sauce would be tasty

First off, many thanks to everyone who made it out on Saturday to the farm open house.  We appreciate you taking the time to come out and see your vegetables in the field and meet other CSA members!  Sorry it wasn’t windy enough for the kites and we forgot to offer up the hay ride. Luckily there will be another opportunity in October for those things and more!

In addition to the open house, and open house prep, this past week was full of planting and weeding and irrigating.  A typical mid-summer week on the farm.  The next rounds of basil, parsley, beets, broccoli, and cabbage went into the ground.  Lettuce and melons and beans got weeded.  A big sowing of overwintering crops including purple sprouting broccoli and extra kale and cabbage was started Sunday.  The push continues to keep this season on the rails.  The week ahead will look very similar.  We’ll weed crops, we’ll plant crops, we’ll start more crops.

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

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler and Jeff Bramlett

P.S. A little update on my mom since her car accident at the end of June.  She’s currently in a rehab facility, recuperating and working with occupational therapy folks to learn to safely do things as her vertebrae continue to heal.  She’s expected to head home late next week to continue the healing process. 

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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Spice-Roasted Cauliflower with Beet Emulsion

• 2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp crushed saffron threads
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp ground fennel seeds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground red pepper flakes
• 1 head cauliflower, leaves removed, cut into large pieces
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup canned beets (or 1/2 cup fresh, cooked beets, pureed in a blender)
• Juice of 1 lime

Heat butter and 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a medium sauté pan. Add all spices and season with salt. Cook about 2 minutes. Add cauliflower and honey and cook about 30 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or so on all sides. When cauliflower is tender, remove it; add beets and lime juice to pan and reduce liquid by half. Add remaining oil. Divide cauliflower among 4 plates and drizzle with beet emulsion. Serve hot.

From Epicurious via SELF, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spice-roasted-cauliflower-with-beet-emulsion-230322#reviews

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Cucumber Apple Pickle

• 1/2 pound Japanese or Kirby cucumbers
• 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1/2 Fuji or Granny Smith apple
• 2 cups water
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned) or cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon very thin matchsticks of peeled ginger
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of Korean hot red-pepper threads (optional)

Slice cucumbers crosswise 1/8 inch thick and toss with sea salt. Let stand 30 minutes, then rinse well and squeeze out excess liquid with your hands.

Halve apple half lengthwise and cut out core. Slice crosswise 1/8 inch thick.

Toss apple with cucumbers and remaining ingredients and marinate, chilled, turning occasionally, at least 1 day.

From Epicurious via Gourmet by Lillian Chou, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cucumber-apple-pickle-351891

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Flatbread with Fava Beans, Cucumbers, and Burrata

• 2 cups shelled fava beans (from about 2 pounds pods)
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for grill
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1/2 Garlic-Herb Naan or 1 pound store-bought pizza dough, room temperature, halved
• 2 (8-ounce) balls burrata or fresh mozzarella, drained
• Basil leaves (for serving)
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
• Flaky sea salt

Cook fava beans in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 4 minutes. Using a mesh sieve, transfer to a colander set in a bowl of ice water. Drain and peel. Combine lemon juice, 2 Tbsp. oil, and half of fava beans in a medium bowl and lightly mash with a fork. Stir in remaining fava beans; season with kosher salt and pepper.

Combine cucumbers and vinegar in a medium bowl; season with kosher salt. Let sit until slightly softened, 10–12 minutes.

Prepare a grill for medium-high, indirect heat (for a charcoal grill, bank coals on one side of grill; for a gas grill, leave one or two burners off); lightly oil grate. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, gently stretch to about a 10×8″ oval. Grill over direct heat, turning and rotating as needed, until bread is stiff and both sides are lightly charred, about 3 minutes total. Move to indirect heat to keep warm while you grill the remaining piece of dough.

Transfer flatbreads to a work surface. Tear burrata into pieces and divide between flatbreads; top with fava bean mixture, cucumbers, and basil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, sea salt, and pepper.

From Epicurious via Bon Appétit by Dave Muller and Lana Porcello, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/flatbread-with-fava-beans-cucumbers-and-burrata

 

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