Summer CSA Share #14

Welcome to the 14th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2024 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

Iceberg or Romaine Lettuce
Broccoli
Basil
Fennel – If you’re not a fan of the anise flavor in fennel, try cooking it such as in this Fennel, Cheese, Onion Tart recipe.
German Butterball Potatoes
Storage Onions – We accidentally grew some jumbo overwintered onions this year. Whoa!
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
Romano Beans -flat podded fresh beans for use in any recipe calling for green beans.
Aji Marchant Hot Peppers – These peppers have an intriguing history that you can read about here. Though citrusy and spicy when yellow and under-ripe they get fruitier and hotter as they mature to red.
Sweet Peppers – Mixed bell and Italian roasting peppers of varying colors. Most this week ripen to red.
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.
Bartlett Pears – Most of these will be happy to ripen on your counter until they yellow up some.

^{The fall/summer overlap of pears and tomatoes.}

Welcome to September! We were gifted a lovely harvest day yesterday by the weather gods ahead of another hot spell that’s on deck this week. We’ll roll with whatever weather comes our way, but those cooler days sure help. We’ve been feeling the shorter days as the sun rises later and sets a little sooner each day and we can use all the help we can get to push through the To Do list. September is the transition month between summer and fall and we’re here for it. Fingers crossed the temps in the 90s chill out sooner than later.

A couple of updates. First off we’ll be doing Winter CSA sign-ups soon. Keep an eye out for the email letting you know we’re ready take members hopefully later this week.

Second, don’t forget that we’re no longer going to be sending out pick-up reminders for the time being. There were some changes to the service we used for those texts and we’re no longer able to use it. If you need a nudge ahead of your pick-up time we suggest adding it to your calendar and setting a reminder alert there. And let us know if you miss the text reminders and we may implement a new service in the future. Thanks!

^{Busy spot near some lettuce and beans including prints from deer and raccoon (left), one of the piles of thistle and other weeds removed from the winter carrots (top right), and Nugget playing hide and seek in the kale (bottom right).}

It’s been an interesting year for pest pressure thus far. The corn ear worms are around, but not to the degree that we dealt with last season. And the flea beetles haven’t been quite as destructive as last year either. Instead we’ve been seeing more damage from the turkeys, deer, quail, and squirrels. These guys have all taken their toll on crops planted toward the back of the farm including stripping the last round of beans for the season, taking out a third of the next round of lettuce, damaging half of the last round of fall broccoli, and generally frolicking in the various corn planting blocks. We’ve been covering more crops than ever for this time of year but it seems to be helping and there’s hope for some recovery.

This past week we managed to mostly clean up the winter carrot beds by pulling out the weeds, including lots of thistle, but realized we’d just exposed the carrot tops to hungry critters. That meant once again the added step of row covering. Hopefully as the plants grow they won’t be quite do vulnerable to the marauders and we can uncover things.

^{Bonus photo from Sunday’s evening trip to the South Santiam.}

In the week ahead we’ll be focusing on harvesting onions and cultivating and seed sowing. It’s time to get the onions out of the ground and curing. And it’s time to get the weeds under control in many of those row covered beds. And it’s time to sow some fall greens and roots in a greenhouse. There’s also plenty of mowing and weeding and greenhouse prepping and more if we get through those projects.

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:

Crispy Cream-Braised Potatoes and Fennel

3 yukon gold potatoes (about 1.5 pounds) – peeled and cut into irregular 1.5″ to 2″ chunks
2 fennel bulbs (about 1.5 pounds) – trimmed (with tough or bruised outer layers removed), then cut lengthwise into wedges about 1.5” wide (leaving core intact)
About 2 to 3 cups of half-and-half or cream, or enough to cover the vegetables
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
Kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper
3 or 4 large springs of thyme, leaves removed and finely chopped
1 large leafy sprig of rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped
heaping ¼ cup finely grated pecorino romano (or parmesan reggiano)
zest from 1 small orange, finely grated
olive oil

In a 3 to 4 quart pan, combine potatoes, fennel wedges, bay leaf, and fennel seed. Add enough half-and-half to fully cover the potatoes and fennel. Season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Over medium-high heat, bring the half-and-half to a simmer, then lower heat to just maintain the simmer. Cook until the potatoes and fennel are soft and tender, about 20 minutes. Take off the heat. The potatoes and fennel should be fully cooked at this point.
While potatoes and fennel are braising, preheat broiler to medium-high. In a small bowl, combine rosemary, thyme, pecorino, and orange zest.
Remove potatoes and fennel wedges from the half-and-half with a spider or slotted spoon, and transfer them to a gratin or casserole dish. Some of the half-and-half will cling to the vegetables, which is a good thing. Make sure to generously coat the bottom with olive oil to prevent sticking. Taste the potatoes and fennel for seasoning – if you need more salt or pepper, add them now. Toss with olive oil (about 1 tablespoon), then the herb-cheese-orange zest mixture. Arrange the potatoes and fennel wedges in a single layer to promote even browning.
Place the casserole dish under the broiler (about 6 inches away from the source of heat). Broil for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until the potatoes and fennel are caramelized and crispy around the edges. (I typically brown the vegetables more than the ones in the picture above…just leave them under the broiler until they’ve reached your desired crispness!)

From Food52.com by EmilyC, https://food52.com/recipes/14606-crispy-cream-braised-potatoes-and-fennel

Grilled Summer Salad with Tonnato Verde

Salad
1 pound romano, wax, or green beans (or a mix)
1 pound small escarole and/or little Gem lettuce heads, halved lengthwise through the core
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¹/₂ baguette, halved lengthwise
1 ear fresh corn, husked
2 tablespoons lemon juice (from about 1 medium lemon)
1 large tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons drained capers

Tonnato Verde
2 (7-ounce) cans high-quality water-or oil-packed tuna, drained
4 ounces soft tofu
3 salt-or oil-packed anchovy fillets, drained
2 whole garlic cloves
¹/₂ cup (packed) Italian parsley leaves
¹/₄ cup chopped chives, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons lemon juice (from about 1 medium lemon)
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon drained capers
¹/₂ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make the salad: Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Lightly grease the grates.
Toss beans and lettuce with 2 tablespoons of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the cut side of the baguette with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Grill the lettuce, beans, bread, and corn, turning occasionally, until lettuce is wilted, bread is toasted, and beans and corn are nicely charred and tender—this will take about 2 minutes for the lettuce and bread, about 5 minutes for the beans, and 10 to 12 minutes for the corn. Once cooked, transfer vegetables and bread to a cutting board to cool. Coarsely chop the cooled lettuce and bread, cut the corn kernels off of the cob, and set aside. Leave the beans whole.
Meanwhile, make the tonnato verde: In a food processor, add 2 ounces of the tuna, tofu, anchovies, garlic, parsley, chives, lemon juice, Parmesan, and capers. Pulse a few times to combine. With the machine on, slowly drizzle in the oil until the mixture is well emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To a large bowl, add the grilled lettuce and beans; season with the 2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus salt and pepper to taste, and toss to combine. Divide this mixture on 4 plates, then follow with the croutons, corn, tomatoes, capers and the remaining tuna, divided for each serving. Drizzle one-quarter of the dressing over each salad, then garnish with chives and more black pepper.

From Food52.com by Kay Chun, https://food52.com/recipes/86186-grilled-salad-recipe-with-tonnato-herb-sauce

Cantaloupe & Cucumber Salad with Feta & Basil

¹/₂ of a medium cantaloupe, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 cucumber, cut into 1/2-inch chunks (any variety will do, but I prefer a hothouse — seedless, with a thinner skin — for this salad)
6 large basil leaves, chiffonaded (see note)
3 ounces feta, crumbled
3 tablespoons shelled raw sunflower seeds
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Flaky sea salt
Ground pepper

To toast the sunflower seeds, place in a dry pan over medium heat. Toast 2 to 3 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until lightly browned and fragrant.
In a bowl, combine the cantaloupe, cucumber, feta, and half the basil. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Serve the salad topped with the toasted sunflower seeds, flaky salt, and more pepper.

From Food52.com by Kendra Vaculin, https://food52.com/recipes/30433-cantaloupe-cucumber-salad-with-basil-feta