Welcome to the 4th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2023 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Red & Green Lettuce Heads – These are two of the types we use for salad mix. Enjoy them as full leaves on sandwiches etc. or cut into salads.
• Bok Choy
• Broccoli
• Purple Cauliflower
• Basil – Don’t forget that basil doesn’t like cold temps. We suggest storing it in a glass of water on the counter like flowers.
• Garlic Scapes – Like the leek scapes we shared previously, you can use these chopped up like you would garlic.
• Snap Peas
• Fava Beans – For the true fava experience you’ll want to shell the beans, blanch them, then remove the outer skin and eat the green inner bean. We often skip that last step and eat the shelled beans sauteed and over pasta or in salads. Also, grilling the entire pods make them quicker to shell and the beans get steamed inside, so they don’t need to be blanched for shelling.
• Kohlrabi – The classic CSA vegetable, kohlrabi is often new to folks who are new to CSAs. Why else would you come home with such a strange looking vegetable? We like them chopped up and raw, like a carrot stick, but they can be roasted, or added to mashed potatoes, or shaved super thin into salads. I’ve heard kohlrabi and peanut butter can be a pretty great snack too.
• Carrots
• Hakurei Salad Turnips – A mild turnip, great raw or roasted. For reals.
• Zucchini

Happy summer solstice on Wednesday! We’ve made it to the longest days of the year, and it sure feels like it. After a month plus of little to no rain we welcomed the return of the rain clouds these past few days. Though we didn’t get as much rain as originally predicted, we got just enough to ease up on the irrigation schedule. Out came the rubber boots and rain jackets for the sporadic downpours on Sunday and Monday. Thankfully the forecast has cleared for this week’s CSA pick-ups.

Earlier in the week I flew the drone for a few mid-June shots of the farm. Jeff was busy cultivating with our 1947 Farmall Cub tractor just before sunset as I snapped a few photos. The length of the farm makes it difficult to get a photo of the entire place but the top photo above gets about two thirds of it. The large white rectangle in the top photo is row cover over our newly planted winter squash. In the bottom photo you can see a high tunnel full of slicer tomatoes. Things look pretty okay from up there.

As with most weeks during the summer season we had some transplanting on deck this past week. We got the third round of sweet corn in the ground Thursday and then finished up with lettuce, basil, beets, and bunching onions on Saturday. In the photos above you might get an idea of the process. We carry flats of plants from the propagation house to the field on the front of the tractor using pallet forks then transfer them to the tray on the water wheel transplanter at the start of each row. I sit on the seat of the transplanter, plugging plant starts into the muddy holes made by the water wheel. At the end of the row I pick up empty flats while Jeff gets the tractor turned around. It’s a whole process, but it sure beats the days of hand transplanting that included bending over or squatting for hours.

In the week ahead we’ll be doing much of the same. More cultivating, more ground prep, more irrigating. We’ve got the next round of broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage ready to transplant. Plus there’s some propagation to do and some hand weeding to get to where the tractor cultivating didn’t quite get all the weeds. Another week, another list of things to do.

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:

Spring Soba Noodle Salad with Fava Beans

• 1 cup fresh fava beans, shelled, blanched in boiling water, and waxy coating removed
• 1 ¹/₂ cups asparagus, chopped into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 ¹/₂ cups chopped broccoli florets
• 10 ounces buckwheat soba noodles
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 6 tablespoons rice vinegar (not seasoned)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons avocado or walnut oil (you can substitute olive oil as well)
• 1 clove finely minced garlic (or how about garlic scapes)
• 1 teaspoon crushed fresh ginger
• 1 ¹/₂ tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Fit a pot of boiling water with a vegetable steamer. Steam the fava beans, asparagus, and broccoli till slightly tender and bright green (about 2 minutes). Quickly rinse under cool water to preserve color and crunch, and set aside.

Whisk the vinegar, syrup, sesame and avocado oil, garlic, ginger, tamari, and lime juice together to make the dressing. Set aside.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook soba noodles according to package instructions. When the noodles are ready, drain them and transfer them to a large bowl.

Mix the steamed vegetables and raw carrots and scallions with the noodles. Dress the noodles generously (you may have a little dressing leftover). Allow them to sit for an hour or two before serving. You can add a few more tablespoons of dressing before you serve.

From Food52.com by Gena Hamshaw, https://food52.com/recipes/21914-spring-soba-noodle-salad-with-fava-beans

Grilled Cheese with Zucchini, Basil, and Gruyere

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch coins
• Salt
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter, softened
• ¹/₂ cup finely grated Parmesan
• 4 slices bread
• 4 ounces Gruyère, cut into 1/4 inch- or 1/8 inch-thick slices
• ¹/₄ cup fresh basil leaves

Mix first 7 ingredients together in a large bowl. Toss to coat the fava pods, then place them on the grill over medium-high heat.

Grill favas for several minutes, until charred, then flip them over and char the other side, cooking until the pods seem about to open.

Remove pods from grill, return them to the mixing bowl, and squeeze the lemon over them. Toss the pods to coat. Check the seasoning, and add salt if necessary.

Add the anchovies to the bowl, mixing well.

Place the pods on a serving platter, drizzle to taste with olive oil, and sprinkle the bread crumbs on top, if using. Serve hot or at room temperature; eat with your hands or with forks and knives, depending on how messy you want to get.

From Food52.com by Ashley Rodriguez, https://food52.com/recipes/37516-grilled-cheese-with-zucchini-basil-and-gruyere

Cauliflower “Couscous” with Basil-Lemon Sauce

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, finely diced
• 1 medium head of cauliflower, stalks and stems discarded, florets finely diced
• ~ Kosher salt
• ~ Freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup Basil-Lemon Sauce (see recipe below)
• 2 Tbsp. fresh basil chiffonade

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a chef’s pan or wok large enough to hold all the cauliflower over high heat. Add the onion and sauté until the onion softens, about 2 minutes. Add the cauliflower, stir thoroughly, salt and pepper liberally, and cook until the cauliflower softens, about 10 minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons of the sauce and cook until tender and fragrant, another 10 minutes. Adjust the salt, add the remaining 2 tablespoons sauce, mix thoroughly, and transfer to a serving bowl. Top with the basil chiffonade.

Basil-Lemon Sauce

• 10 large fresh basil leaves (about 1 cup loosely packed)
• ~ Zest and juice of 2 lemons, preferably Meyer
• ½ cup fruity extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup

Combine the basil, lemon zest and juice, oil, and maple syrup in a blender. Puree and transfer to a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Keeps in the refrigerator for about 7-10 days.

From Culinate via The Breakaway Cook by Eric Gower, http://www.culinate.com/books/collections/all_books/the_breakaway_cook/cauliflower_couscous_with_basil-lemon_sauce