Welcome to the 6th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2025 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Iceberg or Butterhead Lettuce
• Lettuce Mix – A mix of four types of lettuce.
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Lacinato Kale
• Celery
• Basil – It’s basil time! Don’t forget that basil doesn’t love cold temperatures. We suggest keeping it in a glass of water on the counter instead of the fridge.
• Pinto Potatoes – Pinto are a unique fingerling variety. Great roasted, boiled, or really however you like to eat potatoes. Note: We’re using up the last of last season’s potato crop and we didn’t have time to wash them this week. Eat them up! Also, we suggest storing them in the fridge to slow the sprouting.
• Carrots
• Onions – These are onions grown over the past winter.
• Green Garlic – Small heads of fresh garlic headed your way this week.
• Mixed Snap Beans
• Cucumbers – Mixed green and silver slicers plus a few lemons too.
• Zucchini & Summer Squash
• Mixed Tomatoes – We’ve got tomatoes! Choose from mixed pints of slicers and cherries this week.

It’s been a busy week here on the farm. From a marathon of seeding fall crops, to catching up on transplanting and the bed prep needed to start transplanting, and a couple of dusty days getting the garlic harvested we’ve had some long days. Plus the summer heat has arrived and it looks like we’ll be living in the nineties for the most part this next week while we continue the march forward. Aww July.

The upside to July? A diversity of crops are rolling in now. Hello tomatoes! Hello celery! Hello basil! It’s always rather surprising to realize another part of the plan has come to fruition and it’s time to harvest something new. We’re focused on doing all the things and suddenly we’ve got food to share. What a world!

We ignored some other pressing tasks to focus on finishing up the garlic harvest on Thursday and Friday morning. It’s an involved process of using the tractor to drag a big chisel through the paths to make a track for the undercutter and then dragging the undercutter through the beds to cut the garlic roots and lift the garlic heads a bit. The undercutter is a large square implement that hooks up to the back of the tractor and has a sharp blade on the ground side of the square that is able to dig down and cut through the ground.

At that point we head down the paths, bed by bed, and make piles of 15 stalks of garlic which in turn get tied up with baling twine. We then haul the tied bundles to the shop to hang for curing and repeat the process on the next bed. After some hurrahs for finishing up the garlic harvest we turned our attention to salvaging what there was of our overwintered onion crop. Unlike last year’s bumper ow onion crop we had many onions bolt this spring, possibly due to cold temps this past winter making them want to set seed. Anyhow, we have some to share while we wait for the spring planted onions to mature. And then it was on to seeding and bed prep on Friday afternoon.

Jeff raced to prep beds and I raced to fill flats and get the week’s propagation done. By Saturday afternoon we were ready to get some plants in the ground and we made a solid push but needed to finish up Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon we harvested zucchini and snap beans and I finished the last of the seeding Sunday evening.

This week we’re looking at more of the same, though without the need to harvest garlic. That means time for weeding and cultivating and weed whacking and mowing instead. There’s some big fall/winter seeding on deck and a handful of things to transplant as well. And of course these warm temps mean constant irrigation rotations. July is not messing around!

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:

Kale Pesto Orecchiette

2 bunches (about two cups) lacinato kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
1 yellow onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Kosher salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
¹/₂ – ³/₄ cups olive oil
1 pound (1 box) orecchiette pasta
¹/₂ cup pasta water

1. This recipe makes about double what you need for pasta. I made the pesto and put half of it in the freezer for a super easy meal down the road.
2. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, onion, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the kale and 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Cover and let steam and cook for 8 minutes, until the kale is soft.
3. In a food processor, pulse together the parmesan cheese, lemon juice, white vinegar, kale mixture, and a dash of salt and pepper about 8 times. Blend everything together as you pour 1/2 – 3/4 cup olive oil into the food processor in a slow, steady stream. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as necessary.
4. Transfer about half of the pesto, which should be about 1 to 2 cups total, to a large serving bowl. Add the other half to a sealable container and pop in the freezer.
5. Boil the pasta according to the instructions on the box in salty water. Before draining, add 1/2 cup pasta water to the pesto in the bowl. Drain the pasta and add it directly to the pesto. Combine everything with two wooden spoons and serve hot.

From Food52.com by Brussels Sprouts for Breakfast, https://food52.com/recipes/25673-kale-pesto-orecchiette

Cold Korean Zucchini Salad

FOR THE VEGETABLES
2 medium zucchini, shaved into thin ribbons
½ cucumber, thinly sliced
¼ red onion, thinly sliced, soaked in ice water
2 green onions, thinly sliced, soaked in ice water
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
FOR THE DRESSING
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon gochugaru
1 tablespoon chili crisp
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, minced

1. In a large bowl, combine the shaved zucchini, cucumber, red onion, and green onions.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss gently to combine. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to an hour before serving. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve.

From Food52.com by Cesar Perez, https://food52.com/recipes/90312-cold-korean-zucchini-salad

Smashed Indian Potatoes with Lazy Raita

• Lazy Raita
• 1 cup Plain Yogurt (I used non-fat Greek Yogurt)
• ¹/₂ Cucumber, peeled, seeded, and minced
• a few sprigs of cilantro, chopped small
• ¹/₂ teaspoon cumin seeds
• black pepper to taste

• Smashed Indian Potatoes
• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1″ chunks
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced small
• 2 cups cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 1 ¹/₂ cups frozen peas
• about 5 tablespoons or so of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely grated
• 2 teaspoons garam masala spice blend
• 2 teaspoons ground fenugreek seed
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric root
• 2 teaspoons whole yellow mustard seed
• 2 teaspoons whole cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 handful fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
• juice of one lemon
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil potatoes until tender. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, cook olive oil, garlic, onions, cauliflower, garam masala, fenugreek, turmeric, mustard seeds, cumin seed, red pepper flakes, and fresh ginger over medium heat. Stir until seasonings are well distributed. Salt and Pepper to taste. Cook until onions are translucent and cauliflower is almost tender. Add peas and cook for five more minutes. You may need to add a little more olive oil if things start to look dry.
3. Add the vegetables and potatoes to a big bowl and stir until well combined. I stir quite vigorously, so that the potatoes get all smashed up.
4. Add the chopped cilantro and lemon juice last and stir again. Salt and Pepper to taste and serve!
5. To make the Lazy Raita: Combine ingredients and stir until well combined. Serve alongside or atop the potatoes and enjoy!

From Food52.com by HelenTheNanny, https://food52.com/recipes/2946-smashed-indian-potatoes-with-lazy-raita