Welcome to the 8th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2023 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Salad Mix – A mix of four lettuces.
• Broccoli – The heat has been doing a doozy on our broccoli this round. It’s still tasty though!
• Cauliflower
• Basil – We’ve had a good start to the basil season, so hopefully you’re keeping up with it. Basil pesto freezes well, and if frozen in small quantities it’s easy to use. We also like having dried basil around to throw into soups and curry. Reminder: basil doesn’t like cold temperatures so we suggest skipping the fridge and keeping it in a glass of water on the countertop.
• Cilantro
• Mixed Onions – Pints of mixed overwintered onions of various sizes and colors.
• Carrots
• Sweet Corn – After somehow not seeing a single corn earworm last summer this first planting of sweet corn was totally overtaken. We attempted to locate and remove them from each ear, but be warned you might see some residual damage or a sneaky earworm hiding in your corn this week.
• 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 a few yellow straightneck summer squash.
• Mixed Purple Sweet Peppers! – These are the immature coloring for this variety of bell pepper, so treat them like green peppers.
• Jalapeno
• Mixed Cherry Tomatoes & Slicer Tomatoes

Hello Summer CSA week #8! We’ve made it to mid-July and managed to get through another short heatwave this past week. Hurrah! It looks like warm days will be lingering through the week so hopefully everyone is staying cool and hydrated.

Perhaps it’s the heat, perhaps it was the lack of prolonged cold this past winter, but we’ve been noticing population spikes in several pest insect species the past couple of weeks. We’ve come to expect a certain level of cucumber beetles and flea beetles in the summer but they seem elevated and we’re already seeing aphid pressure in the brassicas and a crazy number of corn earworms in the sweet corn and even a few in the tomatoes too. In comparison, last summer we got through all five successions of corn without the appearance of earworms.

We think we’ve cleared out these insects from the produce headed your way, but you may see residual damage. For instance we didn’t want to lose the first round of sweet corn to corn earworms, so we tried to remove them from each ear. We avoided the broccoli heads with obvious aphid pressure. We culled the tomatoes with earworm damage.

I guess it’s partially a nod to our certified organic status and our disinterest in spraying pesticides, even those allowed under the organic label. For instance, we use row cover to keep cucumber beetles out of cucurbit crops like cucumbers and squash rather than spraying a pesticide that would kill them. Hopefully we can get through these particular insect life cycle stages without too much damage and they don’t continue to plague us all season.

This past week we weeded the sweet potatoes and fall carrots and tractor cultivated many other crops. We sowed chicories for winter salad and beets for winter roasting. We transplanted fall cauliflower, kohlrabi, and beets. Then it was time for mowing and some Sunday harvesting. The weeks are slipping by quickly.

As we continue forward this week we’ll be planting the fifth and final round of sweet corn, some broccoli, and fennel. There’s a little propagation to do, including sowing the next succession of lettuce. But mostly we’ll be focused on wrestling some of the weedy spots on the farm. I’m looking at you leeks.

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:

Kachumber (Indian Salsa)

• 1 yellow onion
• 1 peeled cucumber
• 1 tomato
• 1 ¹/₂ teaspoons cilantro
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• Salt to taste

Dice the onion, cucumber, and tomato into small pieces. Finely chop the cilantro.

Deseed and dice the jalapeno.

Mix all these ingredients in a bowl with the vinegar; salt to taste.

From Food52.com by Amreen, https://food52.com/recipes/1956-kachumber

Orecchiette with Zucchini, Tomato, and Ricotta

• 5 to 6 plum tomatoes such as Roma or San Marzano
• 11 ounces (320 grams) orecchiette or strascinati pasta
• 2 small zucchini, sliced into thin rounds
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 to 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped finely
• 2 to 3 pinches salt
• 7 ounces (200 grams) fresh ricotta
• Handful of basil leaves, picked, rinsed, and patted dry

Put a large pot of water to boil for the pasta and add a hefty pinch or two of salt. When the water begins to boil, score an ‘x’ on the bottom of the tomatoes with a sharp knife and blanch in the boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds. Keeping the water boiling, remove the tomatoes to a bowl of ice water and let cool.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 8 to 10 minutes (or according to the recommended time on the packet of pasta). After about 3 minutes, add the zucchini rounds.

In the meantime, when the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off and discard the tomato skins, then chop the tomato flesh roughly. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and gently sauté the garlic for 1 minute. When fragrant, add the tomato and a ladle of pasta water and let simmer until the tomatoes melt down into a sauce, about 5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt (and when necessary, a bit more water to keep it “saucy”) and set aside.

When the orecchiette are al dente and the zucchini tender, drain them together (reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, if necessary) and add to the skillet of tomato sauce. Toss until coated, adding the reserved water to loosen if needed. Add the ricotta and fresh basil leaves, stir to distribute a little, and serve immediately.

From Food52.com by Emiko, https://food52.com/recipes/29503-orecchiette-with-zucchini-tomato-and-ricotta

Slightly Exotic Skillet Broccoli and Cauliflower

• 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced (pole to pole)
• 1 head of cauliflower, trimmed and separated into florets, large florets cut in halves
• 1 head of romanesco or broccoli, trimmed and separated into florets, large florets cut in halves
• ³/₄ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 medium cloves garlic, coarsely chopped, and divided
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon brine from preserved lemons
• 1 preserved lemon, rinsed
• 12 to 15 Castelvetrano olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 2 small to medium red peppers, roasted, seeded, peeled, and diced
• 1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar
• ¹/₂ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¹/₂ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 to 3 tablespoons cilantro leaves (or substitute Italian parsley)

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a 12-inch cast iron or other non-stick skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Add sliced onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add cauliflower and romanesco/broccoli, and evenly distribute in a single layer. (The pan should be crowded, but if you cannot create a single layer remove a few florets.) Take a minute to wiggle each piece into place to get some surface contact on each floret. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Sprinkle the red pepper flakes and all but 1/2 teaspoon of the chopped garlic over the brassicas. Season with ground black pepper, and sprinkle on the brine from the preserved lemons. Set a timer for 25 minutes.

While the brassicas are cooking, prep your lemon and make your dressing. Quarter the preserved lemon, and use a spoon to scrape out the pulp. Remove the seeds from the pulp and put the pulp in your blender. Coarsely chop one quarter of the peel, and add it to the blender. Dice the remaining peel and set aside. To the blender add the reserved chopped garlic, all but 1 heaping tablespoon of the diced red pepper, sherry vinegar, cumin, and paprika. Blend until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the blender jar, then while running slowly pour in the remaining olive oil. Taste and add a splash or two more of vinegar if the dressing isn’t tangy enough. Set aside. (NOTE: This step could also be done ahead, just re-blend dressing prior to serving if any separation has occurred.)

After your timer has gone off, check a couple of florets for caramelization. If needed, cook an additional 5 or so minutes. Otherwise scatter the reserved red pepper, diced preserved lemon, and chopped olives over the brassicas. Cover the pan and allow to steam for 5 to 10 minutes as needed to cook the florets through, but still maintain some texture.

Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with cilantro just before serving. Drizzle with dressing, and serve the rest on the side. (Note: The brassicas will be under-seasoned without the dressing.)

From Food52.com by HardLikeArmour, https://food52.com/recipes/24362-slightly-exotic-skillet-broccoli-and-cauliflower