Welcome to the 16th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2024 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Red Leaf Head Lettuce
• Brussels Sprouts Tops – We snap the tops off our Brussels sprouts to help the plants focus on making sprouts. At some point we realized these tops are really tasty and we should all be eating them. Treat them like kale in the kitchen.
• Broccoli
• Thai Basil – Used in many Thai dishes for its licorice-clove flavor.
• Dill
• Kohlrabi – Tasty raw, grated in salads, or roasted with other rooty vegetables.
• Yellow Onions – We’re still working through those giant onions from our overwintered harvest.
• 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
• Szegedi 179 Paprika Hot Peppers – A new-to-us hot pepper used for spicy paprika powder when dried but also tasty, and hot, when used fresh.
• Sweet Peppers – Mixed bell and Italian roasting peppers of varying colors. These varieties ripen to red or yellow.
• Eggplant
• 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

We’ve really been feeling the shift to fall around here. The mornings have had a distinct chill that has necessitated the return to layers. Our neglected sweatshirts and flannel shirts and even fleece jackets have made a return to the rotation. What a lovely time of year.

This coming Sunday we’ll pass the Autumnal Equinox, when the day and night lengths will be equal, and fall will officially arrive. It’s time to dig into the last of the summer goodness before it slips away. Enjoy the peppers and tomatoes and sweet corn and basil and zucchini while they’re here. Preserve the excess for enjoying in the darker days ahead. Summer crops are fleeting and we’ve got to get our fill before they’re gone.

This past week was a bit of a reset for us. After months of pushing to get through the propagation and planting we shifted focus to maintenance and preservation. Jeff did a lot of weed whacking and mowing and cultivating to help clean up the farm edges and many beds of harvested crops. After a little propagation I endeavored to get some tomatoes and peppers preserved for our own winter use. We’ve now got a shelf in the pantry full of tomato sauce, ketchup, and roasted red pepper sauce. Then it was back to transplanting some bok choy and lettuce and finally getting our first fall greenhouse sowed with greens and radishes.

In the week ahead there will likely be more mowing, more greenhouse prepping, and we’ll be deciding how to tackle the winter squash harvest. These harvests we only do once a year always take a little extra planning. We’ll continue to enjoy the seasonal shift though. Give us a partly cloudy 70 degree day and we’ll be happy.

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:

Vegan Lasagna with Roasted Vegetables

1 ¹/₂ pounds eggplant (about 1 large or 2 small eggplants), sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips
³/₄ pound zucchini or yellow squash (about 2 zucchini), sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper
10 ounces lasagna noodles (about 10 to 12 noodles)
2 packages extra-firm tofu (about 28 ounces), drained of liquid
¹/₃ cup nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ¹/₂ tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh oregano (or 2 teaspoons dried oregano)
2 ¹/₂ cups marinara sauce, homemade or store-bought
12 to 15 torn basil leaves (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 400° F. Arrange the eggplant slices on a baking sheet and sprinkle them with coarse salt. Allow them to sit for 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Pat the eggplant slices dry to remove any moisture that has collected. Arrange the zucchini slices on another baking sheet. Brush all of the vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and just browning. Remove them from the oven and reduce oven heat to 350° F.
3. While the vegetables are roasting, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the lasagna noodles until they’re just al dente. Drain them and set aside. Next, use your hands to crumble the tofu finely in a large mixing bowl. Add in the nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon juice, oregano, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and black pepper to taste. Continue crumbling the mixture with your hands until it resembles ricotta. Check for seasoning and add lemon, dried herbs (if desired), and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Lightly oil a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce over the bottom of the dish. Arrange 4 lasagna noodles over the sauce, and top the noodles with half of the roasted vegetables. Spread half of the tofu mixture over the vegetables.
5. Arrange 4 noodles and 1 cup of marinara sauce over the tofu. Cover the marinara sauce with the remaining roasted vegetables and tofu. Cover this layer with the 4 remaining lasagna noodles and a final cup of marinara sauce.
6. Bake the lasagna for 40 minutes, or until noodles are crisping at the edges and everything is bubbling gently. Allow the lasagna to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Arrange the basil leaves, if you like, over the top of the lasagna. Cut and serve.

From Food52.com by Gena Hamshaw, https://food52.com/recipes/36466-vegan-lasagna-with-roasted-vegetables

Quick-Pickled Cucumber-Melon Salad

4 Kirby cucumbers, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thin
3 cups sweet melon, cubed
2 tablespoons plus two teaspoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon salt
black pepper, to taste
2 slices high-quality prosciutto, cut into thin ribbons OR:
¹/₂ cup crumbled feta cheese

1. In a bowl, mix together the cucumbers and melon. Sprinkle over with the sugar and salt. The salad will begin to expel liquid almost immediately. Let sit 10-20 minutes and drain well. Return to the fridge until ready to serve.
2. Before your picnic/casual lunch/classy dinner party, drain the salad again and remove to a serving bowl. Add a grind of black pepper and sprinkle over the prosciutto or feta (using both will add too much salt; not recommended). Spoon into bowls or eat straight from the serving dish with your fingers, trying to keep the cucumber-melon juice off your chin.

From Food52.com by MeghanVK, https://food52.com/recipes/12782-quick-pickled-cucumber-melon-salad

Farfalle with Chicken, Broccoli, & All of the Herbs

1 head broccoli, chopped into medium florets, stems thinly sliced
8 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 1 pound (450g)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons kosher salt
8 ounces (225g) farfalle
3 cups (710ml) chicken stock
¹/₂ cinnamon stick
1 star anise
¹/₂ tablespoon unsalted butter
2 ounces (55g) Parmesan, grated
¹/₄ cup (10g) fresh dill fronds, coarsely chopped
¹/₄ cup (10g) fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
¹/₄ cup (10g) fresh tarragon leaves, coarsely chopped
¹/₄ cup (10g) fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped

1. Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C).
2. In a roasting pan, combine the broccoli, garlic, chicken breasts, oil, and 2 teaspoons of the salt. Toss everything well and spread out evenly in the pan. Roast for about 20 minutes, or until the broccoli is a little charred on the edges, the garlic is a little brown, and the chicken is no longer pink. Pull the pan out of the oven and put the chicken on a plate to cool. Put the roasted garlic in a large sauté pan.
3. In a large pot, boil enough water to cook the pasta. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for about two-thirds of the time recommended on the package (5 to 6 minutes).
4. While the pasta is cooking, add the stock, cinnamon, star anise, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt to the pan with the garlic, bring it to a boil, and lower the heat to a simmer. Shred the cooked chicken.
5. Drain the par-cooked pasta (reserving some of the cooking water) and add it to the pan with the stock. Increase the heat to high and cook the pasta for another 5 to 6 minutes, stirring regularly. When the pasta is a minute away from being done, add the broccoli and chicken and stir well to combine. The pasta will have absorbed some of the liquid and the stock will have reduced, but there should still be a cup or so of liquid in the pan; if not, add some pasta cooking water or chicken stock.
6. Turn off the heat and add the butter, Parmesan, and herbs, stirring well until the butter and cheese are melted. Remove and discard the cinnamon and star anise before serving.

From Food52.com by Tyler Kord, https://food52.com/recipes/81941-chicken-pasta-recipe-with-broccoli-and-herbs