Welcome to the 12th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2025 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Head Lettuce – Iceberg and butterhead this week.
• Lacinato Kale
• Dill
• Carrots
• Mixed Onions – Choose from red torpedoes and yellow sweets this week.
• Sweet Corn
• Mixed Snap Beans
• Cucumbers – Mixed green and silver slicers. Shoutout to CSA member Coral R. who shared their go-to refrigerator pickle recipe with us a couple of weeks back and we agree it’s a keeper. The recipe says kirby cucumbers only but we used small-medium slicers and have been eating up the crisp pickles on everything. Check it out here and get some cukes pickling. You won’t regret it.
• Zucchini & Summer Squash
• Green & Purple Bell Peppers – Equivalent to a green bell pepper, the purple peppers are the under-ripe stage for that variety. Use them as you would a green bell.
• Shishito Peppers – Known as a roulette pepper, 1 in 10 might be hot. They’re great with eggs, or anything else really, but traditionally blistered in hot oil and eaten with a little salt.
• Mixed Tomatoes – Pints of cherries plus all the slicers this week.
• Mixed Melons – Including Tirreno Tuscan cantaloupes, Honey Orange honeydews, and a few Lambkin piel de sapo melons.

After our first 100 degree day of the year a week ago we’ve been enjoying the shift to cooler temperatures here on the farm. Throw in the rainstorm we had overnight Friday and you’ve got a couple of happy farmers. We tend to think of August as a scorcher but we’ll gladly take the reprieve. Everything is just a little easier when it’s 75 degrees outside instead of over 90. But that’s August, always keeping us on our toes.

It was a push on Thursday afternoon, after some mowing, to get beds finished for transplanting but Jeff managed to get them ready. We leapt to it Friday and got the late fall broccoli/cauliflower in then switched fields and got our overwintering cauliflower and purple sprouting broccoli transplanted too. The rain was threatening all day but thankfully held off until we were finished.

I think those were the last of the big plantings of the season. We’ll finish things off in October with the garlic planting, but between now and then we’ll only be tasked with smaller plantings of lettuce, spinach, cilantro, etc. Hurrah for smaller plantings!

In addition to transplanting we kept busy with the irrigating, propagating, mowing, and weed whacking. As I often say, the week ahead will be much the same. However, Jeff’s Aunt and Uncle are visiting this week from Alabama and we’re fitting in some catching up in between the onslaught of the August farm. Let’s go!

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:

Grilled Zucchini with Big Beans, Kale, & Mustard Vinaigrette

• 1 pound gigante or royal corona beans, soaked overnight
• 1 yellow onion, halved
• 10 sprig thyme (optional)
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup whole-grain mustard
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 2 tablespoon apple cider or red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Kosher salt
• 5 parsley stems, roughly chopped
• 5 dill stems, roughly chopped
• 4 medium zucchini and/or summer squash, cut into long wedges or planks
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bunch kale (any variety), washed, stripped, and cut into ribbons

Step 1 Boil the beans with the onion and thyme until cooked through, about 35 minutes (though it might take longer, depending on their age).

Step 2 Meanwhile, mix together the shallot, olive oil, mustard, lemon zest and juice, vinegar, honey, and a big pinch of salt.

Step 3 Drain the beans and discard the onion and thyme. Immediately dress the still-warm beans with the mustard vinaigrette and chopped herbs, and let cool to room temperature.

Step 4 Dress the squash wedges with a hefty drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and grind of black pepper. Grill over medium-high heat until golden brown all over and just starting to soften.

Step 5 In a large bowl, massage the kale with a pinch of salt and glug of olive oil until tender.

Step 6 When the beans have cooled, taste and add more salt as desired.

Step 7 To serve, spoon the beans into a bowl, top with a pile of massaged kale, and then the grilled squash.

From Food52.com by Abraberens, https://food52.com/recipes/83760-grilled-zucchini-recipe-with-kale-beans-mustard-vinaigrette

Cucumber Honeydew Soup

• 1 cup English cucumber – peeled and chopped
• 1 cup ripe honeydew melon, peeled seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut water (I used Zico)
• 2 tablespoon lemon yogurt
• 2 mint leaves
• paper thin slices of peeled cucumber and chopped mint for garnish

Step 1 Blend the cucumber, melon, yogurt and coconut water until smooth, then pour through a strainer to remove any lumps. Put in the fridge to chill.

Step 2 Chill 2 bowls. Stir the soup back together (it will separate a little) and pour into the bowls. Top each with thin slices of cucumber and mint and serve. That’s all there is to it!!

From Food52.com by Aargersi, https://food52.com/recipes/4903-cucumber-honeydew-soup

Charred Corn Salad with Quick Pickles and Lime Dressing

• 2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste, divided
• 6 allspice berries
• 10 peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 large red onion, ends trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch-thick slices
• 2 ears sweet corn
• 2 limes, peel and pith cut off and discarded, quartered
• 1 large clove garlic, smashed, peeled, and chopped
• 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 head lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 2 to 3 nectarines, pits removed, and sliced thin

Step 1 To prepare quick-pickled onions, combine apple cider vinegar, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, allspice, peppercorns, and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan. Set over medium-high heat. When mixture starts to steam and sugar has dissolved, add sliced onions, pressing a bit to make sure all slices are immersed. Steep in the brine for 10 minutes. If working ahead, place onions and brine in a wide mouth jar, cool to room temperature, then seal and refrigerate. (If you don’t have time to make ahead, they’ll still be delicious.)

Step 2 Fill a sink with cold water and soak the corn, husks and all. (This step isn’t absolutely necessary, but it helps to plump the kernels.)

Step 3 Prepare a hot grill.

Step 4 Shuck corn and set over hot coals. Cook each ear until nicely charred, rotating a quarter turn every 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside to cool, then slice kernels from the cob and sprinkle with sea salt.

Step 5 To prepare dressing, combine the lime, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, and sherry vinegar in the pitcher of a blender. Pulse to break down limes, scrape the sides, then turn blender to low. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Add a pinch or two of sea salt, as needed.

Step 6 Toss lettuce with several tablespoons dressing and arrange in a large serving bowl. Scatter over the quick-pickled onions and nectarine slices. Top off with corn kernels and a generous drizzle of lime dressing, and toss gently. Finish with several twists of black pepper and a pinch of sea salt. Serve immediately.

From Food52.com by Elizabeth Stark, https://food52.com/recipes/37154-charred-corn-salad-with-quick-pickles-and-lime-dressing