Welcome to the 14th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2023 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Salad Mix
• Broccoli
• Thai Basil
• Sweet & Torpedo Onions
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Sweet Corn – We’ve moved on to the second variety of the third succession and didn’t see a corn earworm in sight, though hopefully we didn’t just miss them.
• Mixed Eggplant – Looking for some eggplant recipe inspiration? Check out the recipes down below!
• Mixed Cucumbers – Including green and yellow slicers and lemon cucumbers.
• Mixed Zucchini & Summer Squash – Choose from green, yellow, and light green Mexican zucchinis.
• Mixed Sweet Peppers – Mixed Bell and elongated/pointy Italian Frying Peppers, different shapes but similar in taste and use. Some with more color than others (these varieties ripen to red and yellow) but all sweet with no heat.
• Matchbox Thai Hot Peppers
• Mixed Cherry Tomatoes & Slicer Tomatoes
• Mixed Melons – Including Tirreno Tuscan cantaloupes, Honey Orange honeydews, and Lambkin piel de sapo melons.

Welcome to the second half of the Summer CSA! Wasn’t it just July? Hard to believe it’s nearly September. Fall has been in the morning air this past week though, and the weather forecast suggests the high temperatures are moderating into the 70s. We might even see some rain! The weather switch feels right on time as we flip the calendar.

Thinking back on the last month, it’s just a blur of planting, weeding, harvesting, irrigating. August is the height of it all at once and everything blends together. While it’s mostly a slog, trying to get things done on hot day after hot day, of course there are highlights too. The blazing sunrises and sunsets, the small patches of black eyed susans, zinnias, and sunflowers planted here and there, all the bumble bees also enjoying the flowers, the first red ripe peppers. Standing in the field eating the ripest melon that couldn’t contain itself any longer. No, August doesn’t totally suck.

I managed to fly the drone around a bit on Sunday evening before the wind grounded things. The farm is too long to ever get the whole thing in a single shot, but hopefully you can get some sense of the place. These photos show the ragged edges of August in all their glory.

I can see the winter squash beginning to succumb to powdery mildew, and the fourth succession of corn trampled in places as the deer have passed through on their way to the apples. I can see the self-sown buckwheat from last summer’s cover crop that came up as a weed in the current broccoli and cauliflower. I can see the promise of the clean straight lines of winter crops juxtaposed against the messier beds of mature summer crops we’re harvesting from, that will be finished up and mowed sooner than later.

It’s difficult to describe August to any satisfaction. It’s the hard work, the long days, the heat and dust (and smoke), but it’s also the summer fruits, the sunny days, the open windows, and the start of the big rewarding harvests like onions but also all the sweet corn and tomatoes and peppers that we wait for months to enjoy straight from the field.

And August is also preparing for the winter months ahead and the slowly encroaching end of this growing season. Just as we harvest the summer onion crop, we’re seeding the overwintering onion crop that will get planted in October and withstand the winter weather only to mature next May and June, just in time for the start of another summer CSA season. It’s the cycle of nature that keeps us moving forward.

As mentioned above, we did indeed harvest the onions this past week. So far it’s looking like a successful harvest. They’re drying down in the prop house and we’re looking forward to all the future fall and winter shares in which they’ll make an appearance.

We’re happy to have gotten the onions inside ahead of this week’s potential rain. Now we’re ready to focus again on some transplanting and plenty of weeding. September, here we come!

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:

Eggplant Dip with Yogurt

2 eggplants, decently sized (just shy of a couple of pounds worth)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup yogurt
¹/₂ lemon, juiced
1 clove of garlic, crushed (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped (optional)

Prick eggplants with a fork. In a very hot oven (450 degrees) or under a broiler, roast the eggplants for 30 to 45 minutes, or until their skins are blackened and their insides are extremely soft. Let cool, then scoop the flesh into a colander. Press gently so that the juices drain away.

Put the eggplant flesh in a bowl and mash with a fork or a potato masher. Add the olive oil and yogurt and continue mashing and blending. Add the lemon and garlic, if using, and salt to taste. Mix in the parsley or mint, if using. Taste again. Serve.

From Food52.com by Nicholas Day, https://food52.com/recipes/18763-eggplant-dip-with-yogurt-borani-e-bademjan

Unfussy Eggplant Parm

¹/₄ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 (28-ounce) can whole, peeled tomatoes
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
1 medium globe eggplant
¹/₂ cup fresh breadcrumbs
¹/₄ cup grated low-moisture, whole-milk mozzarella
2 tablespoons grated parmesan

Get the tomato sauce going. Add the olive oil to a pot and set over medium heat. When it’s shimmery, add the tomatoes and their juices. Smush with a spoon to break up a bit. Add the salt and stir. Cook—somewhere between a simmer and boil, stirring every so often—for about 30 minutes, or until thick and jammy.

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise—so, from stem to tush. Now, cut a diagonal crosshatch pattern in each: sort of like a duck breast. Figure 1/2-inch deep, 3/4-inch diamonds. Line a rimmed sheet tray with parchment or foil or a silicone mat. Place the eggplant haves on top, cut side facing up. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Rub both into the eggplant with your hands.

Roast for about 28 minutes or until tender. During the last couple minutes, add the breadcrumbs to the sheet pan to toast a little. Pull from the oven and raise the temperature to 475° F. Mix the mozzarella and parm in a small bowl to combine. Top each eggplant half with 6 tablespoons tomato sauce, spreading evenly with a spoon. Now top each with roughly a quarter of the cheese. Then each with half the breadcrumbs. Finish with the remaining cheese.

Bake until the cheese is bubbly and browned, about 4 minutes.

Let cool a little before serving. Serve with a fork and very sharp, steak-worthy knife.

From Food52.com by Emma Laperruque, https://food52.com/recipes/77386-unfussy-eggplant-parm

Thai Basil Stir-Fry (Put Kaprow)

• The Stir-Fry
• 300 grams of ground beef (can substitute with any other meat)
• 1 red onion, sliced thinly
• 3 to 5 thai chilies, chopped
• 3 to 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• ¹/₂ teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 cup thai basil leaves, packed
• Generous pinch of ground white pepper
• 1 fried egg per person, finishing with a dash of soy sauce

• Fish chili sauce
• 2 to 3 thai chilies, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• ¹/₄ cup spring water
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped (optional)

Make the chili sauce, combine and set aside.

Heat the woke with 1 tbsp of oil, when oil just starts to smoke, add garlic, chili, sugar and onion; stir-fry until onions are soft and golden brown.

Add meat and stir-fry for around 5 minutes; add soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and stir-fry until meat is well-cooked, another 2~3 minutes; take off heat and throw in basil leaves, stir-fry until well combined and wilted.

Garnish with ground white pepper and serve with a fried egg over thai jasmine rice. Accompany with fish sauce as needed.

Enjoy.

From Food52.com by Francesren, https://food52.com/recipes/9433-thai-basil-stir-fry-put-kaprow

Tomato, Cucumber, Corn, and Herb Salad

• 1 to 2 garlic cloves
• 1 very small red onion (or shallot)
• Juice and zest of 1 small lemon
• 2 tablespoons Champagne (or white wine) vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sherry (or red wine) vinegar
• 1 ear corn
• 1 large tomato (or a pint of cherry tomatoes)
• 1 cucumber
• ¹/₄ cup olive oil
• ¹/₂ cup chives
• 1 cup basil
• ¹/₂ teaspoon flaky salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Set out a large mixing bowl. Mince the garlic and thinly slice the red onion; move them to the bowl. Add the lemon juice and zest and both vinegars. Spoon the liquid over the onion and garlic to coat so that their harshness starts to mellow.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a vigorous simmer. Remove the husk from the corn. Boil the corn for 1 to 3 minutes, depending on how deep you are into corn season. (Very fresh corn barely needs to be cooked at all.) Remove the corn from the water, and run it briefly under the tap, until it is cool enough to handle. Cut the kernels from the cob, and scoop them into the mixing bowl.

Dice the tomato or cut the cherry tomatoes into halves. Cut the cucumber into thin half moons. Add both to the bowl. Pour in the olive oil. Mince the chives and chiffonade the basil and then add those, too. Finish by adding the salt and black pepper. Give everything a generous stir, and then allow the salad to sit for 5 minutes; taste it, and add more olive oil, salt, and pepper if needed. If you have time, allow the salad to sit for another 20 to 30 minutes. Serve with plenty of good bread, to mop up all the juices.

From Food52.com by Cristina Sciarra, https://food52.com/recipes/35737-tomato-cucumber-corn-and-herb-summer-salad