Welcome to the 7th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2023 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Salad Mix – A mix of three lettuces.
• Rainbow Chard
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Basil – Reminder: basil doesn’t like cold temperatures so we suggest skipping the fridge and keeping it in a glass of water on the countertop.
• Red Toch Garlic – A popular softneck variety originally from the Republic of Georgia.
• German Butterball New Potatoes – These are freshly dug from our early greenhouse planting and have thin skins so we skipped the washing this time around to avoid rubbing the skins off. New potatoes are not ideal for storage, so use them up.
• Romano Beans – Flat podded purple striped snap beans, great for any snap bean/green bean recipe.
• Mixed Cucumbers – Including a new-to-us burpless Asian variety called Tasty Green F1, our standby green slicer called Poinsett 76, a yellow slicer called Silver Slicer, and the classic lemon cucumbers.
• Mixed Zucchini & Summer Squash – Choose from green and yellow zucchinis and yellow straightneck summer squash.
• Mixed Cherry Tomatoes & Slicer Tomatoes

It’s starting to look like summer out there! Tomatoes are coloring up, the zucchini and summer squash are flooding in, and we’re just a week or two out from sweet corn and pepper harvests. Here at the beginning of the season we hope you’re able to savor each first. The first taste of summer can’t be beat, but it’s also fleeting. Like the long days of early summer, these tasty seasonal treats will be gone before you know it.

As I’ve mentioned routinely, the work on the farm this time of year feels constant and repetitive. We harvest, we weed, we sow seeds, we prep beds, we plant, we irrigate, we harvest some more. This past week I started the overwintering cauliflower and broccoli. These crops will get transplanted in August and won’t be harvested until next March and April. We also successfully weeded the celeriac, which had gotten away from us in the midst of getting other crops established. If all goes to plan, these will also be included in late fall and winter shares. We’re playing the long game with these crops.

In the week ahead we’ll be doing much of the same. There are carrots to finish weeding, storage beets and chicories to sow, plenty of cultivation and irrigation to get through. We’re slowly turning the corner from the continued planting push to an emphasis on crop maintenance. Although we’ll continue weekly transplanting of successions, over the next month the plantings will get smaller, leaving a little more time to focus on cultivating, weeding, and prepping for those upcoming winter plantings.

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:

Jane Grigson’s Celery Soup

• ¹/₂ pound celery, chopped (outside stalks or celeriac — about 2 cups)
• ¹/₂ cup chopped onion
• ¹/₂ cup diced potato
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups turkey or chicken stock
• ¹/₂ cup milk (optional, up to 1 cup)
• 1 teaspoon dill weed (2 teaspoons for fresh dill)
• 2 ¹/₂ tablespoons cream

Stew celery, onion, and potato gently in the butter in a covered pan for 10 minutes. Don’t let the vegetables brown. Add stock or water and 1/2 teaspoon of dill weed. Simmer for 20 minutes if you have a blender, 40 minutes if you use a food mill.

Blend or purée the soup. Pour through a strainer into a clean pan (to remove the last few threads of celery), adding a little milk if too thick. Bring slowly to just under the boil, seasoning with salt, pepper and more dill weed if required.

Put the cream into the soup dish, and pour the soup in on top. Swirl round with the ladle before serving, to mix in the cream.

From Food52.com by Genius Recipes, https://food52.com/recipes/26523-jane-grigson-s-celery-soup

Roasted Sausage, Swiss Chard, and Cannellini Beans

• 1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and ribs removed and leaves roughly torn into 2-inch pieces
• 1 can cannellini beans (16 or 19 ounces, or about 2 cups), drained and rinsed
• Finely grated zest and 1 tablespoon juice from one lemon (reserving extra juice for finishing dish)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 16 ounces (about 3 or 4 links) good-quality chicken or pork sausage, removed from casings and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (can also use pre-cooked sausage, sliced into small pieces)
• Finely grated Parmesan or pecorino, to serve

Heat oven to 400° F.

Combine chard and cannellini beans in a large casserole, baking dish, or ovenproof skillet. It will look like a lot of chard, but it will considerably cook down. Season with a few pinches of salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice and zest, Dijon mustard, smoked Spanish paprika, and olive oil. Add to chard and cannellini beans and toss well with hands to evenly coat. Evenly distribute the chard and beans in a single layer—or as close as you can get to a single layer. Nestle the pieces of sausage on top of the chard and beans.

Roast for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the chard is tender with crispy edges and the sausage is no longer pink. For extra security, you can toss about halfway through the cooking time to ensure even cooking.

Taste and add more salt, pepper, or lemon juice if needed. Top with grated parmesan or pecorino. Serve warm.

From Food52.com by EmilyC, https://food52.com/recipes/35346-roasted-sausage-chard-and-cannellini-beans

Pasta with Creamy Zucchini Pesto

• 1 ¹/₂ pounds zucchini and/or summer squash (about 3 medium)
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt plus freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons unsalted roasted pistachios (shelled)
• 2 cups to 2 1/2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 teaspoons finely grated zest + 1 tablespoon juice (or to taste) from 1 lemon
• ¹/₄ cup whole-milk ricotta (see author note above)
• 1 pound linguine (or spaghetti, fettuccine, tagliatelle, or pappardelle)
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan (or a mix of half Parmesan/half Pecorino), plus more for serving

For the creamy zucchini pesto: Trim the ends of the zucchini but don’t peel them, then coarsely grate. (Tip: use the shredding attachment on a food processor for easy work). Gather the shredded zucchini in a clean towel, and squeeze a few times to remove water (this will aid caramelization).

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter plus 1 T extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the shredded zucchini, garlic, and a few big pinches of salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, scraping up any caramelized bits from bottom (lower heat if the zucchini is starting to burn). It should be lightly caramelized in spots, and very soft and almost jam-like.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, add pistachios, basil, lemon zest, and 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Pulse several times until the pistachios and basil are coarsely ground. Add the cooked zucchini (no need to cool it first). Pulse a few more times, then add the ricotta plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Season with salt and black pepper, and add more lemon juice, to taste. Use immediately, or cover tightly and refrigerate for up to a day.

For the pasta and finishing the dish: Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt and pasta; cook until al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

Add the creamy zucchini pesto to the linguine, along with the parmesan and 1/4 cup of the starchy cooking water. Toss to coat the noodles evenly; it’ll seem like a lot of sauce, but it’ll nicely meld with the pasta after a few good tosses. Add more cooking water, as needed, to thin the sauce (note: I usually add close to the full cup). Divide among plates, and top with more parmesan. Serve warm.

From Food52.com by EmilyC, https://food52.com/recipes/83296-zucchini-pesto-pasta-recipe