Welcome to the 7th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2026 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Butter Lettuce
• Iceberg Lettuce
• Dill – Not sure about dill? Check out the recipes at the bottom of the page; all three feature dill this week.
• Broccoli
• Mixed Cauliflower
• Red or Green Cabbage
• Carrots
• Overwintered Onions – Overwintered yellow onions this week. These were planted last October and withstood the winter weather to mature earlier than our spring planted main onion crop.
• Fava Beans – For the true fava experience you’ll want to shell the beans, blanch them, then remove the outer skin and eat the bright green inner bean. We often skip that last step and eat the shelled beans sauteed over pasta or in salads. Also, grilling or roasting the entire pods make them quicker to shell and the beans get steamed inside, so they don’t need to be blanched for shelling.
• Summer Squash & Zucchini
• Mixed Cucumbers – Mixed green and silver slicers and some lemons too. Last year a CSA member shared a quick pickle recipe that became a go-to for us all summer. I think it’s time to get some cukes pickling this week. You can check it out here and enjoy pickles too.
• Mixed Tomatoes – Slicers and cherries all around this week!

It’s starting to look like summer out there! Tomatoes are coloring up, the cucumbers are flooding in, and we’re just a week or two out from the first sweet corn and pepper harvests. The weather is also in summer mode. The ten-day forecast has a whole lot of 90 degree days noted. July is bringing it!

As often is the case in July, last week is a blur. We transplanted more sweet corn and beets and lettuce and zucchini and cucumbers. We irrigated, constantly. We shifted things around in the prop house and started more beets and chard and bunching onions and fennel and Napa cabbage. We planned the fall garlic planting and pre-purchased garlic seed. We weeded peppers. We trellised tomatoes. We cultivated the winter squash and hand hoed the thistle out. We mowed a little. We got the box truck aligned at a new-to-us truck repair shop and it’s driving smoother. Every project we tackled seemed to take a little longer than expected but we made some progress and you can’t ask for more than that in July.

In the week ahead we’ll do much of the same. There’s less transplanting this week which should give us more time for weeding and mowing. We’ve mostly finished the pepper clean-up and now for the eggplant weeding session. The chicory seed sowing was moved from last week to this week, meaning it’s time to get it done. Celery needs to be potted up for future transplanting. And it’s time to remove the snap pea trellising and begin flipping the spring pea/carrot greenhouse. Of course we’ll continue the irrigation marathon that July has become. 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:

Lemon-Dill Orzo Pasta Salad with Cucumbers, Olives, & Feta

• 1 pound orzo pasta
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 medium shallot, grated
• 5 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
• 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
• 2 medium cucumbers, mostly peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded and sliced
• 6 ounce feta cheese, crumbled

Cook the orzo in abundantly salted water according to package instructions or to your taste. Drain and transfer to a large salad bowl.

Meanwhile, make lemon-dill vinaigrette to dress the salad: combine lemon zest and juice, mustard, and grated shallot in a medium bowl. Whisk everything together with a few pinches of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Slowly add the olive oil while whisking, then stir in the chopped dill. Taste and adjust as needed.

Pour the vinaigrette over the still-warm pasta and toss. Allow to cool to room temperature, then add the olives and cucumbers. Scatter the crumbled feta cheese over the top and serve.

From Food52.com by Sarah Fioritto, https://food52.com/recipes/23175-lemon-dill-orzo-pasta-salad-with-cucumbers-olives-feta

Baghali Polo (Rice with Fava & Dill)

• 3 cup water
• Sea salt
• 2 cup white basmati rice, soaked in cold water for 1 hour
• 2 tablespoon butter or unrefined coconut oil, at room temperature
• 1 pound pound fresh fava beans, shelled and peeled, or 1 pound frozen lima beans, thawed
• 2 tablespoon ghee or grapeseed oil
• 2 cup tightly packed minced fresh dill
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron, ground and steeped in 1 tablespoon hot water

Drain the rice and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear. In a stockpot, bring the water to a boil with a pinch of salt. Add the rice, return to a boil, then turn down the heat to its lowest setting. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the rice rest for 5 minutes, then dot with the butter and fluff with a fork. The rice should be dry and fluffy.

While the rice cooks, prepare the favas. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and prepare a bowl of ice water. Drop the favas into the boiling water, return to a boil, and cook for 
2 minutes, or until just tender. Drain, and shock in the ice water.

Heat the ghee in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the favas for 3 minutes, until heated through. Add the dill and cook for about 1 minute, until just wilted. Combine the favas and rice in a large bowl and drizzle in the saffron. Mix gently, season with salt, and serve.

From Food52.com by Louisa Shafia, https://food52.com/recipes/41908-rice-with-favas-and-dill-baghali-polo

Nashville Hot Cauliflower Sandwiches

For the Nashville hot cauliflower

• 2 1/2 tablespoon cayenne powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup canola oil, plus more for frying
• 1 large head cauliflower (about 12–16 ounces), leaves removed and cut into very large florets
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoon vinegar-based hot sauce, like Crystal

For the slaw and sandwiches

• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, plus more for spreading
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cup green or red cabbage, shredded
• 1 small carrot, shredded (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped
• 4 Arnold®, Brownberry®, or Oroweat® Sesame Seeded Sandwich Buns
• 12–16 dill or bread and butter pickle chips

In a small bowl, mix the cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and brown sugar. Take 1 tablespoon of the spice mixture and transfer it to a medium bowl. To the medium bowl, add the all-purpose flour, mix well, and set aside.

Heat 1/3 cup canola oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Carefully pour over the remaining spice mixture and let sizzle for 1 minute before stirring. Stir well and set aside.

Toss the cauliflower in the spiced flour, lightly coating each floret. In another medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and hot sauce. Shaking off most of the flour from the florets, transfer them to the buttermilk mixture, tossing them to coat. Dip one floret at a time back into the spiced flour and then place on a wire-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining florets and then let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. (This will allow the buttermilk to hydrate the flour for a crispy crust.)

While the cauliflower is resting, make the slaw by whisking together the buttermilk, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the shredded cabbage, carrots, and dill, then toss to coat and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

To fry the cauliflower, add a couple inches of canola oil to a large, high-rimmed skillet or Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat to about 350°F. Fry the cauliflower in batches until golden-brown and crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes, flipping halfway through. Transfer the cauliflower back to the wire-lined baking sheet after frying.

Stir the reserved spiced oil and brush it on one side of the fried cauliflower, flip and brush the other side as well.

To assemble the sandwiches, mound some of the cauliflower florets on the bottom bun . Pile some slaw on top of the cauliflower, along with a few pickle chips. Slather mayonnaise on the top bun and place on the sandwich. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches and serve immediately.

From Food52.com by Asha Loupy, https://food52.com/recipes/85075-nashville-hot-cauliflower-sandwiches