Reminders & Announcements This week, we will deliver to all Late Summer Vegetable, Fruit and Egg members. Upcoming Dates  September 30th, 4-7pm - Pizza Night on the Farm Week of October 8th - Last week of Late Summer Shares Week of October 15th - Fall Shares Begin  October 28th, 4-7pm - Pizza Night on the Farm

This Week's Vegetable Harvest: Napa Cabbage Scallions Romano or Standard Green Beans  Salad Mix Head Lettuce Tomatoes Broccoli Fresh Ginger Delicata Squash This Week's Fruit Harvest: Gala Apples Asian Pears Red Raspberries

Farm Photo Journal

Good morning from the farm!

Even though its a cloudy morning, we hope you've been enjoying the warm, sunny weather as much as we (and our crops!) have. After watching the weather closely for weeks, we found a perfect day to recover our hoophouse last week.

We originally took off the hoophouse plastic after our spring crops were harvested to allow for rain and cover crop to rebuild the nutrients in the soil. Jeff recently turned this "green manure" into the soil and with a large team ready, we were prepared for the recovering project.

Teamwork!

Like a barn raising, pulling a 50' by 150' long piece of plastic over a 28' by 144' structure takes team work! Everyone works together and communicates often as they slowly and carefully pull the plastic over with Jeff and Tyler troubleshooting issues along the way.

After the plastic is securely in place, the large group breaks into small teams. The securing teams work on all sides of the structure to wire the plastic in place while the holder teams keep the plastic held tightly in place against any winds.

This process continues for many hours until all of the walls are fitted into place.

At the end of the day, the plastic was secure and team was spent! We all enjoyed a cool, relaxing evening and put the finishing touches on the hoophouse (e.g., attaching doors, trimming edges) throughout the week. Once the weather cools, the team will work together once again to plant the winter spinach inside for winter shares. In the meantime, enjoy your late summer share of the farm! Your farmers, Jeff, Jen and the farm crew

Notes from the Farm Kitchen

Arlet, Kim and Emily give the Napa Cabbage a cool, refreshing bath to hydrocool the cabbage, which brings down the temperature of the vegetable quickly to improve storage time. Napa cabbage has light green crinkly leaves with white ribs. It adds a nice crunch when used raw in a salad, but it also stands up well to the heat of a quick sauté or stir fry. Also try adding a cup or two of shredded napa cabbage to virtually any soup. Napa is especially good in chicken and beef soups.  One easy idea is a to make a simple miso soup broth and just add some steamed chopped Napa, quick, easy, delicious!

What's cuter than puppies and pears? Asian pears have a distinct but pear-like taste and a crisp texture, much like a good apple. Their flesh is crisp, somewhat course, and always very sweet. They are wonderful in salads, eaten raw and used for baking. They store well in your refrigerator in the crisper.

Recipes and Ideas Charred Broccoli with Almonds and Dried Cherries 1 pound of broccoli (stems and florets) 6 T. extra-virgin olive oil 3/4 t. kosher salt 1/3 c. sliced almonds 2 t. minced garlic 2/3 c. whole-milk plain yogurt 1/2 c. dried cherries Position an oven rack in the lowest position and preheat broiler to high. Toss broccoli with 1 T oil and salt in large bowl. Spread evenly on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast on the lowest rack until tender and charred in spots, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the strength of your broiler. Combine almonds and garlic with the remaining 5 T of oil in a small skillet. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until just starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape the mixture into a serving a bowl. Stir in yogurt and cherries. Add broccoli and stir to coat with the dressing. Serve room temperature or cold. (source: Eating Well) Asian Pear Green Salad  2 tsp. olive oil 1 large shallot, finely chopped (1/4 cup) 3 Tbs. rice wine vinegar 1 1/2 Tbs. honey 6 cups salad mix and/or head lettuce 1 medium Asian pear, cored and cut into matchsticks 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (2 oz.) 3 Tbs. shelled, toasted pistachios, chopped Heat oil in small non-stick skillet over low heat. Add shallot, and sauté 4 minutes, or until soft. Remove from heat, and stir in vinegar and honey. Divide salad among four salad plates. Top each serving with Asian pear matchsticks, cheese, and pistachios, and drizzle with dressing. Roasted Delicata Squash - Delicata are a favorite because you can eat the skin, flesh and the seeds! Once the squash is roasted, we add to salads or simply enjoy as a side dish.  1 delicata squash, depending on size 1 tbsp olive oil salt to taste   Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Clean the delicata squash by running under warm water and scrubbing away dirt with your hands. If there are any hard spots on the squash, you can scrape them off with a butter knife. With a sharp knife, cut delicata in half lengthwise. With a spoon scoop out the seeds and discard (you can save these and prepare them like pumpkin seeds if you wish). Cut each delicata half into 1/2 inch segments, creating moon-shaped pieces that have slight bumps around the curve.   Add oil, salt and pepper to the pan. Toss squash into oil to coat. Arrange the pieces in a single layer on a baking pan. Place in oven and roast 10 minutes. Turn once and continue roasting, turning every 7-10 minutes until both sides of the squash pieces are golden brown and the texture is creamy to the teeth all the way through, about 25-30 minutes.

Next Week's Harvest (our best guess)...lettuce, kohlrabi, apples, carrots, cilantro, grapes and more!

• Tags: Broccoli, Pears, Squash

← Older Post Newer Post →