Summer CSA Share #13

Welcome to the 13th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2024 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

Lettuce Mix
Lacinato Kale
Dill
Carrots
Storage Onion – We accidentally grew some jumbo overwintered onions this year. Whoa!
Garlic
Bunching Onions
Mixed Cucumbers – Green and yellow slicers and a handful of lemons.
Zucchini – Lots of green zucchini and a handful of yellow summer squash, yellow zucchini, and light green Mexican zucchini too.
Sweet Corn
Tomatillos – A little like green tomatoes, tomatillos make excellent salsa verde and enchilada sauce.
Poblano Peppers – The classic stuffing pepper, also good for flavoring any dish that is asking for a mild chile kick.
Bell Peppers – A mix of green and purple bells this week while we wait for the other sweet peppers to color up. Note, these purple peppers are equivalent to green peppers for this variety.
Mixed Cherry Tomatoes & Slicer Tomatoes – We’re using a lot of the pint boxes for tomatoes and would appreciate it if you could leave them behind or return them for another go around. Thanks!
Mixed Melons – Including Tirreno Tuscan cantaloupes, Honey Orange honeydews, and Lambkin piel de sapo melons.
Asian Pears – Crisper than other pears, these hold up well to cooking but are also great raw. They ripen to yellow.

^{Sunset shots from the corn, through some apple trees, and turning on the solar for the first time!}

And just like that, we’ve made it to the halfway mark of the 2024 Summer CSA season! The height of summer produce is rolling in and it’s time to be gettin’ while the gettin’s good. Getting good things to eat that is. This is the time of year we dream of in December when we’re looking through seed catalogs and planning for the growing season ahead. The memories we’re making now of tasting melons in the field and eating sweet corn raw and hauling in all the tomatoes will fuel us through the winter months, through the planning, to the next season in hopes of re-creating the summer produce magic that is happening right now. The extra corn in our freezer and canned tomatoes will help get us through the winter too.

As we hit the mid-point of the season we also hit another milestone this week. We turned on our solar system yesterday! After the install several weeks ago we’d been waiting on the power company to switch out the meter so they’d be able to distinguish between electricity used and electricity generated. That finally happened yesterday and we’re now in the electricity generating business!

^{Harvesting! Including kale (top left), cucumbers (top right), tomatillos (bottom left), and tomatoes, with a frog friend (bottom right).}

The mild weather this past week was sure welcome. Yes, it’s strange for us to get rain and clouds and cooler temps in August, but we were ready for it. That hint of fall in the air made the continued push of work here on the farm a little easier somehow. The chicories found a home in the field for winter salads and I sowed the overwintering onions that we’ll harvest next summer. Admittedly I’m not looking forward to the return the temps in the 90s this week, but what are you going to do? And maybe that warmth will help with the pepper ripening.

^{Big bird flyby (herons or cranes?) (top left), bumble bee in the tomatillos (top right), and Nugget supervising Jeff’s irrigation adjustments (bottom).}

In the week ahead we’ll be trying to find a little space in the field for a late round of fall kale and some spinach. The planting goes on! There’s also a little propagation to get to, including lettuce and bok choy. Then there are pears to harvest and the perpetual mowing and cultivating and weeding etc. Lots of irrigation this week! And it’s time to get greenhouses prepped for fall planting. Here we go!

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

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler & Jeff Bramlett

Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Dilled, Crunchy Sweet Corn Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

For the salad:
1 clove shallot, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
3 ears of fresh, uncooked corn, the kernels scraped from the cobs with a sharp knife (about 2 3/4 cup)
4 Persian cucumbers, quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch dice
1 long red sweet pepper, seeded, ribs removed and diced
1 small handfull fresh dill (about 4 smallish sprigs), minced
¹/₄ cup minced fresh parsley
1 handful crumbled Feta cheese, rinsed, as a garnish

For the dressing:
¹/₄ cup buttermilk
²/₃ cup plain European style thin yogurt, stirred
1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
3 tablespoons minced Vidalia or other sweet onion
1 small clove garlic, minced and mashed with a pinch of salt
¹/₄ cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Salt the shallot slices in 1/2 t. salt and allow to sit about 20 minutes to draw out any harshness. Rinse well with water and pat dry with a paper towel. In a large bowl toss the corn kernels lightly to separate them, add the shallot and the remaining salad ingredients and toss again to combine.
In a smaller bowl combine the buttermilk, vinegar, onion, yogurt, and garlic and whisk to combine. Add the oil in a slow stream, whisking, until amalgamated. Season with freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.
Serve the salad slightly chilled, garnished with the feta cheese. Pass the dressing separately.

From Food52.com by CreamTea, https://food52.com/recipes/12928-dilled-crunchy-sweet-corn-salad-with-buttermilk-dressing

Chilled Tomatillo and Cucumber Soup

2 poblano chilies*
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 English hothouse cucumber, peeled, chopped (about 2 cups)
4 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño chilies
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 green onions, chopped

Char poblano chilies over gas flame or under broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag; cool 10 minutes. Peel and seed chilies, then cut into 1-inch pieces.

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; saut  5 minutes. Add tomatillos and cucumber; saute  until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add broth and poblano chilies; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tomatillos are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in jalapenos, lime juice and cilantro. Cool completely. Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Transfer to large bowl; stir in cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill soup until cold, at least 3 hours or overnight. Divide soup among 6 bowls. Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

From Epicurious.com via Bon Appétit, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chilled-Tomatillo-and-Cucumber-Soup-105272

Thai Summer Yellow Squash Curry

2 tablespoons red thai curry paste
2 cups low sodium vegetable stock, divided
1 yellow onion, diced
1 ³/₄ pounds summer squash, diced (I use zucchini and scallop squash)
¹/₂ pound grape tomatoes, halved (I used Zima tomatoes)
1 cup full-fat coconut milk (from a can)
¹/₂ cup uncooked red lentils
one 15-ounce can chickpeas, thoroughly drained and rinsed
4 leaves of kale, stems removed, leaves finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat red Thai curry paste and 1/4 cup vegetable stock over medium-high heat until just simmering. Add the diced onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until soft and slightly golden (about 4 to 5 minutes). Stir in squash and another 1/4 cup vegetable stock and continue to sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
Stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock, sliced tomatoes, coconut milk, and lentils and bring pot to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Remove cover and gently stir in chickpeas and chopped kale until kale is just wilted. Remove from heat, season, serve, and enjoy!

From Food52.com by Alexandra Tallulah, https://food52.com/recipes/37779-thai-summer-squash-curry