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Early Summer to Mid Summer

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Early Summer to Mid Summer
This Week's Vegetable Harvest:
  • Cucumbers
  • Zucchini
  • Basil
  • Head Lettuce
  • Eggplant
  • Broccoli
  • Rainbow Swiss Chard or Lacinato "Tuscan" Kale
  • Young Leeks
  • Tomatoes
  • New Potatoes
This Week's Fruit Harvest:
  • Fresh Sweet Cherries
  • Fresh Blueberries
  • Fresh Peaches
Farm Journal
Good afternoon from the farm!
We've had an amazing run of great weather this July and we're so grateful! The dry days, interspersed with slow rainfall, is wonderful for summer crops. This weather also sets the stage for healthier fall and winter crops. Our fearless crew stays busy each week direct seeding fall crop successions (carrots, broccoli, beans), planting late crops (rutabagas, beets, broccoli, cabbage) and preserving a portion of the summer harvests for winter.
Our team also harvests most days of the week now as tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers need consistent harvesting. We're also in the season of pulling in bigger harvests, like garlic, onions (soon!) and potatoes. This week, you'll find the new potatoes, harvested Monday, in shares. To harvest, the team worked alongside our digging tractor to pull plants from the earth and shook those plants to free the potatoes. Then, the team followed the tractor through the field a second pass to ensure that we combed through the soil to find all of the tasty spuds! 
While there's a lot going on above the soil this summer,  there's also a lot going on beneath, too. This week, Jeff also took to turning in the cover crop that was planted in field number one (the field along the driveway into the farm). We've not had this field in "cash crops" for nearly 18 months as we recognized the soil needed more nourishment and time to recover from many years of planting. While this is considered leaving a farm field "fallow", that word doesn't really describe what is happening beneath the surface. Underneath that beautiful sea of green lies an enormous amount of activity, growth and living, microbial life all fed by the growing plants. Jeff seeks to leave this healthy activity mostly undisturbed so he shallow tills the soil as a step towards preparing the field for our fall broccoli crop. This style of field care and preparation is one example of the regenerative growing techniques we use on the farm to ensure soil health, carbon sequestration and responsible land stewardship for future generations of farmers of this land.
As we transition into the mid-summer season, we're navigating new territory with some of our team members and kids heading back to school in new ways. Our winter planning process is taking on a new look as our farm plans for the best ways to safely farm in the cold. While there's much uncertainty in the world, our farming family and production team are rooted in our passion for this work, this place, this land and this community that allows us to produce food for you.

We look forward to sharing our Winter Share plans with you in August. Until then, enjoy the summer weather and thank you for supporting your farmers!
Warmly,
The Miller Family and the Prairie Wind Farm Crew
LAST CALL! Half Cases of Tomato Puree are Available

Our collaborators at Turtle Creek Gardens experienced a downturn in their tomato puree sales to restaurants, so we're striving to help them out and make more Shared Harvest puree available to you! 

Same delicious product, same packaging, same harvest and same offer. More information is available on our website. You can order HERE. Thank you for supporting local farmers!
Notes from the Farm Kitchen
Broccoli is here! This summer broccoli is a product of the lovely weather we've had recently. Summer broccoli is not generally as sweet as fall broccoli, so we recommend grilled or sautéed (don't forget to use the stems, too -- they are sweet in flavor!) and the broccoli is best stored in plastic in your refrigerator. 
This week's potatoes are a Norland Red variety with pink skin and bright white inner flesh. These are called "new potatoes" because they have very delicate skin. We do not wash and encourage you to only gently wash by running under cold water. They are best stored within a refrigerator. They are rich in flavor, and need only the simplest of preparations: boiled, buttered and salted is our recommendation!
Seasonal Recipes from the Farm Kitchen
BLT Wrap with Basil Mayo
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
4 whole-wheat wraps, 9 inches in diameter
4 large bok choy or lettuce leaves
8 thin slices tomato
8 slices cooked bacon
 
Mix first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Spread 1 tablespoon of the basil mayonnaise onto each tortilla. Top each with 1 lettuce leaf, 2 slices of tomato, and 2 slices of bacon. Fold in the ends of each wrap and roll up tightly.

Stone Fruits with Almonds, Chèvre, Ricotta and Honey
½ cup blanched whole almonds
2 tablespoons almond oil or extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces fresh goat cheese, room temperature
4 ounces fresh ricotta cheese
3 peaches and two handfuls of sweet cherries (pitted) 
3 tablespoons wildflower or orange-blossom honey

Heat almonds and oil in a skillet over medium heat, tossing occasionally, until almonds are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer almonds to a plate to cool; discard oil. Stir together cheeses, then mound on a platter, making a small well in the center with the back of a spoon. Surround with fruits and toasted almonds. Drizzle honey into center of cheese.

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