Welcome to the 16th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2021 Summer CSA!  Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Butterhead Lettuce
• Romaine Lettuce
• Mixed Cauliflower – All the cauliflowers colors, plus a few bonus fractal romanescos too!
• Broccoli
• Kohlrabi
• German Butterball Potatoes
• Celery
• Cucumbers – We’ve got lots of green and yellow slicer cucumbers for you to choose from.
• Zucchini – All the zucchinis plus some yellow pattypans this week.
• Sweet Corn – This week’s corn is called ‘Montauk’.
• Red Onion
• Matchbox Thai Hot Peppers
• Numex Suave Low Heat Habanero Peppers – Bred to have all the habanero fruity flavor but only some of the heat!
• Mixed Sweet Peppers
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Slicer Tomatoes
• Mixed Melons – Last of the melons! Some Tuscan melons, orange honeydews, and watermelons.
• Italian Plums!

It looks like we’re in for the first measurable rain for sometime this weekend. We’ve been lucky with the extended sunny weather as we’ve endeavored to get some harvest projects underway, but we’ve been looking forward to fall weather for a while now. It’s been a long hot summer and we’re ready to break out the rain boots and rain jackets.

The first rain of the season is certainly a sign of the seasonal shift, but it’s not a sign of doom like the first frost or hard freeze. It’s a signal that we should get tools and equipment put away, try to harvest the flour corn before mold sets in, and we finally get to press pause on the irrigation schedule.

With the bulk of transplanting for the season behind us we turned our attention to harvesting this past week. We made a dent in the apple harvest and we’re glad to have some apples in the cooler for dehydrating for winter shares. Last year’s fruit crop was pretty sad but things are looking up this year. Though the gravensteins didn’t produce much fruit after our big pruning this past winter, most of the other trees responded well to the cut back. We also dug the first few rows of potatoes this past week. We’ve got many more rows ahead of us, but it’s nice to finally have potatoes in the mix again.

In the week ahead we’ll be harvesting that dry corn and the dry beans, digging more potatoes, thinking about winter cover crops, mowing the August brassica planting, and maybe even getting around to a little tomato canning. Oh, and remember that DMV appointment I wrote about six weeks ago when it felt like summer might never end? It’s finally happening this week!

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

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler & Jeff Bramlett

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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Broccoli, Corn, and Bacon Chowder

• 4 bacon rashers, cut into 1cm pieces
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 French shallots, finely chopped
• 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 40g (1/4 cup) plain flour
• 1L (4 cups) Massel chicken style liquid stock
• 2 (about 400g) Red Delight potatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• 3 sweet corn cobs, kernels removed
• 350g broccoli, cut into small florets
• 250ml (1 cup) milk
• 60ml (1/4 cup) pouring cream

Cook the bacon stirring occasionally, in a heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat for 3 minutes or until slightly crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.

Heat the oil in the pan over medium heat. Cook shallot and celery, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until thick. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in stock until combined. Place over medium heat. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.

Add potato and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes or until potato is just tender. Add corn, broccoli, milk and cream. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender. Stir in the bacon and season with pepper.

From Taste.com.au by Sonja Bernyk, https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/broccoli-corn-bacon-chowder/2a1bb83f-f703-4c9b-92c6-35d7d82201e8

Kohlrabi and Apple Salad with Creamy Mustard Dressing

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon coarse-grained mustard
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 bunches kohlrabi (about 2 pounds), bulbs peeled and cut into julienne strips, stems discarded, and the leaves reserved for another use
• 1 Granny Smith apple

In a bowl whisk the cream until it holds soft peaks and whisk in the lemon juice, the mustard, the parsley, the sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the kohlrabi strips and the apple, peeled, cored, and diced, and combine the salad well.

From Epicurious.com, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/kohlrabi-and-apple-salad-with-creamy-mustard-dressing-10693

Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing

Salad

• 2 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, rinsed and well drained
• 3/4 cup chopped seeded tomato
• 3/4 cup chopped peeled jicama (I wonder about using kohlrabi here)
• 3/4 cup fresh corn kernels, uncooked (or frozen or canned)
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced radishes
• Half a ripe avocado, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese

Honey-Lime Dressing

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
• 1 tsp chopped jalapeño pepper (use canned for less heat)

Toss all salad ingredients in a large bowl. In separate bowl, mix dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over mixture and toss again. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

From Epicurious.com, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/mexican-chopped-salad-with-honey-lime-dressing-230154