Welcome to the 19th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2024 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Lettuce Mix
• Kalette Tops – Kalettes are a tasty cross between Brussels sprouts and kale. We snap the tops off 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
• Cauliflower
• Parsley
• Mixed Beets
• LaRatte Fingerling Potatoes
• Onions – We’ve made it to the end of the winter onions and we’ve got summer grown sweets too!
• Garlic
• Mixed Cucumbers – Green and yellow slicers and a handful of lemons.
• Zucchini – Lots of green zucchini and a handful of yellow summer squash and light green Mexican zucchini too. We’re nearing the end of zucchini season, if you can believe it!
• Sweet Corn – This is likely the end of the sweet corn train this season. Enjoy!
• 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. These varieties ripen to red or yellow.
• Mixed Cherry Tomatoes or 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!
• Spaghetti Squash

Many thanks to everyone who made it out to the farm this past Saturday for the CSA member farm visit. We lucked out with sunny weather and plenty of orange (and white!) pumpkins to share. Potluck goods were eaten, pumpkins picked from the patch, and members explored the farm via the self-guided walking tour and some tractor rides. We didn’t happen to snap any photos but overall we think it was a successful afternoon!

We’re always glad when members make it out here and see for themselves what we’ve got going on. Let us know if you couldn’t make it Saturday but would like to see the farm. We’re happy to set up a time to show you around.

Ahead of prepping for the farm day we were able to get a few other things underway. We saw a big rain event headed our way on Friday and realized it was time to tackle the dry bean harvest. We harvested the dry plants directly onto tarps and threshed them right away. Our Farmall Cub cultivating tractor came in handy with the initial threshing. They’ll take more cleaning later, but they’re clean enough to be stored in the barn now, safe from future rains.

Jeff managed to get a lot of mowing and discing done this past week and soon enough we’ll be planting next season’s garlic. I started cracking our seed garlic in anticipation of that project. After Saturday’s member farm day, it was back to work on Sunday. We harvested potatoes and zucchini, counted out spaghetti squash, washed and bagged potatoes, and I managed to do some accounting catch-up.

We’re feeling a little behind on our fall projects and we’re hoping we make a big dent on things in the coming week. Before the arrival of prolonged rain we need to get our onions out of the prop house and into the barn so the dry corn can be harvested and left to dry down in the prop house. We also need to fertilize beds for garlic, overwintering onions, and fave beans and then plant those crops. And we need to get some cover crop seed in the ground. Once we get through those things we’ll be getting serious about harvesting potatoes and sweet potatoes and eventually other root crops like beets, carrots, and daikon radishes. One thing at a time. Or maybe two or three things at a time really.

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:

Spice Merchant Cauliflower Couscous

1 large cauliflower (about 1 ½ pound of cauliflower florets)
5 ounces raw cashewnuts
3 ounces sultanas (gold raisins)
5 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced parsley
¹/₂ teaspoon za’atar
¹/₂ teaspoon cumin
1 garlic clove, crushed
¹/₄ teaspoon finely shredded lemon zest
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Place the sultanas in a bowl and pour warm water over them. Leave the sultanas for about 15 minutes, until plump. Drain and discard the water.
2. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the cashewnuts and toast them for about 8 minutes, until lightly golden and gently charred. Stir frequently to make sure that cashewnuts do not burn. Let the cashewnuts cool. Cut the half of the cashewnuts into smaller pieces (or simply crush them with your hands).
3. Break the cauliflower into florets, making sure to leave behind as much of the stem as possible. Chop the florets into smaller pieces. Transfer the cauliflower into food processor in batches, and pulse until the pieces are finely chopped and resemble couscous. Be careful not to over-process.
4. In a large sauté pan, heat three tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the cauliflower couscous to the pan and cook for about 7 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Remove the couscous from the heat and let it cool. Add the sultanas, cashewnuts, za’atar, cumin, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, and the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Leave the couscous for about 15 minutes for the flavors to combine. Serve at room temperature.

From Food52.com by Queensashy, https://food52.com/recipes/21165-spice-merchant-cauliflower-couscous

Spaghetti Squash with Kale Pesto and Burrata

3 cups cubed day-old bread
¹/₂ cup loosely packed parsley leaves
Olive oil (split three ways: 1 1/2 teaspoons, plus 1/2 cup, plus extra for roasting the spaghetti squash)
1 bunch lacinato kale, de-stemmed and washed (Or how about kalette tops)
¹/₄ cup freshly grated Parmigiano
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
1 clove garlic
Juice of one lemon
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 spaghetti squash
1 ball burrata cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 300° F. Place the cubed bread on a parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet, and dry the bread in the oven for approximately 1 hour. To test if the bread is ready to remove from the oven, break a cube in half. If it is completely crunchy and dry, it is ready. If it is still soft in the middle, cook it longer. You are making breadcrumbs, so the bread must be completely dry and crisp. If the bread starts to get too dark and toasty, turn the oven down to 275° F. When the bread is done cooking, cool it on a rack, and transfer it to a food processor. Pulse until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the parsley leaves along with 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil, and pulse until the parsley is blended in with the breadcrumbs. Transfer to a sealed container and set aside. These breadcrumbs can be made several days ahead of time and stored in a cool, dry place.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Have a large mixing bowl ready with ice water. Blanch the kale for 1 to 2 minutes, until it is wilted. Transfer the wilted kale to the ice water. When the kale is chilled, remove it from the ice water. As you remove the kale from the ice water, squeeze out all excess water. Take an extra minute on this step and really do a good job of squeezing out all the excess water from the kale. This will improve the taste and texture of your pesto.
3. Transfer the kale to a food processor. Add the Parmigiano, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of olive oil. Pulse in the food processor until it looks like pesto. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pulse. Taste. Adjust as necessary with more salt, pepper, and/or lemon juice. Set the finished kale pesto aside. This pesto can be made a day or two ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.
4. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Drizzle olive oil over the flesh of the squash so that it is barely coated with oil. Season with salt. Place the squash flesh-side down on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Roast the squash for approximately 50 minutes, until the flesh feels tender when pierced with a fork. Remove the squash from the oven, and when it is cool enough to handle, use a fork to scrape the flesh of the squash. As you scrape the flesh of the squash, it should loosen and look like tangles of noodles. Transfer these tangles of squash to a large mixing bowl. Discard the skin of the squash. Toss the squash with the kale pesto. Taste it, and adjust with salt and/or lemon as necessary.
5. To serve, arrange small nests of squash on a plate, leaving some negative space. Tear small pieces of burrata cheese and place the pieces of cheese in the empty spaces on the plate. Sprinkle a light dusting of breadcrumbs over the dish. Save any extra breadcrumbs for another use. Garnish with a thin drizzle of olive oil. Serve and enjoy.

From Food52.com by Josh Cohen, https://food52.com/recipes/40388-spaghetti-squash-with-kale-pesto-and-burrata

Red Leaf Lettuce with Roasted Beets, Oranges, and Walnuts

2 medium beets, trimmed and scrubbed
olive oil
¹/₂ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
2 navel oranges, peel zested and fruit sectioned
1 tablespoon minced shallot
¹/₂ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¹/₄ cup walnut oil
¹/₃ cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
1 head red leaf lettuce, rinsed, dried, and torn into pieces (Or how about lettuce mix)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay the beets on one half of a large piece of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with olive oil and season with salt. Fold the foil in half to make a packet and roll the edges to seal. Lay on a baking sheet, and roast until tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Let cool. Peel the beets, and slice into 1/2-inch thick wedges.
2. Zest one orange — you need 1 teaspoon grated zest. Using a very sharp knife, cut the ends from the oranges, slicing just deep enough to expose the flesh. Cut off the remaining peel and pith. Then, working over a bowl, remove the segments, cutting between the membrane.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the shallot, orange zest, fennel seeds, lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Gradually whisk in the walnut oil. Adjust seasoning.
4. In a large salad bowl, combine the lettuce, beets, and walnuts. Drain the orange sections and add them to the salad. Pour in the dressing and toss to mix. Adjust seasoning.

From Food52.com by Teresa Parker, https://food52.com/recipes/179-red-leaf-salad-with-roasted-beets-oranges-and-walnuts