BGF News - August 15, 2017-Vol. XXXIII, No.10

BGF News - August 15, 2017-Vol. XXXIII, No.10

In this week’s box:

Basil: Thai Magic
Cabbage: Super Red
Beets: Ace (dark red), Chioggia (red/white striped) and/or Golden (yellow)
Fennel

Head Lettuce: Coastal Star, Magenta or Muir
Baby Leeks
Summer Squash: 8 Ball( round, green), Slik Pik (long, light yellow), Patty Pan (dk green, lt. green or yellow "flying saucer-shaped") or Golden Glory (yellow zucchini)
Sweet Peppers: Ace & Revolution (red) Golden Marconi (yellow) and/or Islander (purple)
Tomatoes: see descriptions in 8/1 newsletter
Watermelon: Cream of Saskatchewan (white interior) or Sugar Baby (red interior)
 

And at least one of the following:
Beans: Mix or Romano

Broccoli: Belstar
Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget

Cherry Tomato Mix:  see descriptions in 8/1 newsletter 
Cucumbers: Diva/Marketmore (green Euro.), Suyo Long (long, green Asian) or Lemon (round, yellow)

Eggplant: Orient Express (Asian-type, purple), Orient Charm (Asian-type, lavender) or
    Listada de Gandia (Italian, striped)

Okra: Bowling Red

          

For those with the Egg option [full shares]: one dozen free-range eggs (assorted colors)

For those with the Herb option: lemon basil, oregano, lemon thyme

 
Featured Recipes:  ** indicates a BGF favorite 
 Sauteed Cabbage and Fennel with Mustard
 Cheddar, Leek & Tomato Sandwiches
Mushroom & Leek Tagliatelle With Thyme, Garlic and Parmesan
Quick Summer Squash and Bell Pepper Gratin
BGF Summer Garden Pasta ** see recipe below

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.08"
 

Well, it has been a week for sure. Sean's surgery went well and his recovery is progressing nicely. He is now home from the hospital and we look forward to continuing forward progress. It is a challenge to run a farm under the best conditions, but add obnoxious weather and a health issue and it becomes a bit overwhelming. Huge thanks to family, farm crew and friends that kept everything moving forward.

We did manage to forge ahead on a number of things over the past week. Still no appreciable rain, so the irrigation system continues to be our lifeline. Spent crops (like cucumbers, shallots and early turnips) have been cleared, the beds renovated and fresh crops planted for fall. In the past week we've sown or transplanted: beets, cabbage, cauliflower, arugula, head lettuce, kale, chard, turnips and broccoli raab.

Speaking of beets, we are sending out beets in the delivery this week. It is mostly just a taste, but we harvested every single beet on the farm. Never have we had so much trouble with the crops as we have this season. We sowed well over 1000 row feet of beets since the start of the season and between weather and furry eaters (deer & rabbits) we've had crop failure after crop failure. We had thought that this last bed of beets had gone unnoticed by the eaters and that it was progressing well. Then we checked them yesterday. Nope, sometime in the past week they found it and not only ate the tops off much of the bed, but also pulled them right out of the ground. Definitely a deer trick, and now that they've found them, they will return to finish the job, so we just cleared the bed and are sending them out to you with the reassurance that we have planted more and hope to send them out before the season.

So as not to just wallow in the frustrations of the season or week, we are celebrating a couple of things this week, in addition to Sean's successful surgery. We are sending out melons again in this delivery. This is hands down the best melon season we've ever had and we hope you are enjoying it as much as we (and the crew) are! The season for melons will start winding down soon, but we have been very pleased with these crops. And finally, there's this guy, who celebrated his 2nd birthday on the 14th.

 

Happy Birthday, Percy!

A little detail on your produce this week:

Basil hates the cold and will turn black with exposure. Keep long stemmed basil in a glass/vase of water on your counter top (out of direct sunlight). Stems that are too short (trimmings/tops) should be placed in a plastic bag, with a dry paper towel. Then put inside of a paper bag (for insulation) and put in the warmest part of your refrigerator (usually the door) or on the top shelf towards the front.

Beets- Cut off greens, leaving an inch of stem. Refrigerate the unwashed greens in a closed plastic bag and use with your chard mix as beets and chard are closely related. Store the beet roots, unwashed, with the rootlets (or “tails”) attached, in a plastic bag in the crisper bin of your refrigerator. They will keep for several weeks, but their sweetness diminishes with time. Just before cooking, scrub beets well and remove any scraggly leaves and rootlets. If your recipe calls for raw beets, peel them with a knife or vegetable peeler, then grate or cut according to your needs baby/young beets usually don't need to be peeled.

 Fennel: Cut off the stalks where they emerge from the bulb. To use the feathery foliage as an herb, place the dry stalks upright in a glass filled with two inches of water, cover the glass loosely with a plastic bag, and store in the refrigerator for up to five days. The unwashed bulb will keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for at least a week. To use: Remove any damaged spots or layers. Cut the bulb in half lengthwise and check the inner core. If it’s tough, remove it with a paring knife. Fennel should be washed carefully, because dirt can lodge between the layers of the bulb. Chop or mince the leaves.

Leeks: Loosely wrap unwashed leeks in a plastic bag and store them in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. They will keep for a couple of weeks. To use- Cut the leek about 1 inch above the white part, where the leaves begin changing from dark to light green. (Save the unused greens; they’ll give great flavor to your next vegetable stock.) Fan the leaves under running water to dislodge any dirt collected there, then pat thoroughly dry. You can julienne a leek by cutting it lengthwise, or slice it crosswise. If you want to clean a leek that you will be cooking whole, make a slit down one side to within an inch or two of the root end. Then spread the leaves under running lukewarm water to clean the leek. During cooking the leek will stay whole. When serving, arrange the leek with the cut side down.

A few other details: All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.  

* NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..."  These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time.  We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item.  On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.

Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm?  Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm and/or share your recipes, experiences and questions with other BGF members at Blue Gate Farm Community.

That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know. 

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Blue, Luci & Indigo)

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Posted by BlueGate at 6:18 AM No comments:

Summer Garden Pasta

Small bunch young beets, assorted colors with greens

1 tbs Olive Oil

1 tsp garlic, minced or garlic scapes, chopped

1 cup Romano Beans, or other fresh beans or peas, stemmed and snapped into bite-sized pieces

2 tbs Dried Tomatoes, chopped or 2-4 Small fresh tomatoes, chopped

Feta Cheese. crumbled

1 tbs Balsamic vinegar

1 tbs fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade

Penne pasta

Prepare pasta according to directions.

While pasta is cooking, separate beets from greens (discard stems), cut beets into quarters or eighths and cut beet greens into a chiffonade.

Place dried tomatoes into a small heat-proof dish. When pasta is about half done, take 2 tbs of pasta water and pour over dried tomatoes to re-hydrate.

Place olive oil, garlic, beets and beans into a sauté pan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Remove dried tomatoes from liquid (reserving liquid) and add tomatoes to sauté pan along with beet greens. Cook until greens are wilted and bright green.  Remove from heat.

Place pasta in a serving bowl, add sauted vegetables, fresh tomatoes and feta cheese. Sprinkle with reserved water from dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and basil, toss gently.

Tasty served warm or at room temp.

This recipe serves two as a main dish, but is easy to multiply to feed any number.

Recipe source: Blue Gate Farm