BGF News - September 26, 2017-Vol. XXXIII, No.16

BGF News - September 26, 2017-Vol. XXXIII, No.16

In this week’s box:

Choi: Shanghai Green or Joi
Head Lettuce: asst.
Kale Mix
Onions:Ailsa Craig
Potatoes: Kennebec and/or Carola
Summer Squash: asst.
Sweet Peppers: asst.
Tapestry Salad Mix 
Tomatoes: asst.
And at least one of the following:     
Broccoli: Belstar
Cucumber: Lemon
Eggplant: Orient Express or Orient Charm   
Mini Cauliflower: Pusa Megna and/or Giant Purple of Sicily
Okra: Bowling Red
Spinach Mix

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

For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, ginger mint, orange thyme

 
Featured Recipes:  ** indicates a BGF favorite 
Irish Colcannon
Fried Potatoes, Peppers and Onions
Gingered Kale and Bok Choy

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week:  2.75"
 

It happened again this past week...it rained...a lot! There were actually puddles on the lane and in the gardens. It was glorious! The crew got to spend most of Thursday morning tucked into the nice dry barn trimming and cleaning garlic, so there wasn't much complaining about the weather. Then we got just a bit more this morning, again, no complaining. We are still behind for the year, but this rain was another big help for the fall crops. Even with all the irrigation water, crops were still growing more slowly than normal, until this week. Add some unseasonable high temps to the rain and suddenly our different plantings of salad mix are all putting on huge growth and are all ready for harvesting at the same time...about 3 days ago. So you may find the salad mix contains leaves that are a little larger than in the past. We are trying to get caught up so that we don't lose those crops. You should still find them tender and tasty. The head lettuce was also unimpressed with the temperature spikes after the cool weather we were all enjoying earlier in the month. I think the 90° temps have brought an early end to our summer head lettuce trial, but it was fun while it lasted. We have continued clearing spent crops and weeding the fall vegetables. The rest of the week will likely be dedicated to prepping the farm for our biggest event of the year, Farm Crawl! We hope to see you there!

Upcoming events:

Farm Crawl is this Sunday (10/1) from 11am-5pm.  Details can be found at www.farmcrawl.com.  Every year we invite CSA members not only to come out and tour the farms, but also to be part of the BGF team. So here is your chance for 2017. In the past, individuals/families have helped out with greeting visitors, sharing information, helping out at the chickens, parking and other various tasks. And, even better, you can still "Do the Crawl"! We are asking for volunteers to come for a 2 hour shift, so there is still time to visit the other farms. If you (and/or your family) would be interested in helping out at the farm please let us know. If you join us, we will set you up with some very fine BGF gear.

Final Summer CSA delivery:
Our final delivery of the 2017 summer season will be Tuesday, October 24th

VegEmail sales begin: Tuesday, November 7th

A little detail on your produce this week:

Broccoli: Wrap broccoli loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak broccoli, head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If you soak broccoli in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.

Choi (a.k.a. - pac choi, bok choy or pok choy) is the large, structural-looking vegetable.  It is a member of the cabbage family and is a traditional Asian stir-fry vegetable.  Both the stems and leaves of choi can be used and are especially tasty in cooked recipes.  If cooking them, separate the leaves and stems, and begin cooking stems first to avoid overcooking the more tender greens. You can also use the leaves like any green-leafy vegetable and the stems like celery.  We tend to use choi leaves as a sandwich wrap, or just roughly chop the whole thing and sauté with garlic and/or onion.  Cook until stems are tender and dress with a little seasoned rice vinegar. Store choi loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in your produce drawer.

Okra: These lovely, dark red, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, store in their plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge, or place the plastic bag in a small paper sack and store in the crisper drawer and use within the week. Traditional southerners will cut into rounds, bread in cornmeal and fry, but our favorite version is our dear friend Annie's method, "All I do is rinse off the pods and lay them in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom. Ten to fifteen minutes is all it takes...twenty if the pods are really big and "woody" feeling. I put salt on them and eat as finger food. It reminds me of young sweet corn."

 

 Peppers: Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.

 

Potatoes: Keep unwashed potatoes in a cool, dark, dry place, such as a loosely closed paper bag in a cupboard. They will keep for weeks at room temperature, longer if you can provide their ideal temperature of 40 to 50 degrees. Beware: the low temperature of your refrigerator will convert the starch to sugars. Moisture causes potatoes to spoil, light turns them green, and proximity to onions causes them to sprout. (You can still use a potato that has sprouted, however; simply cut off the “eyes” before use.) Potatoes store best if they haven't been washed, so we send them out in their "dust jackets". Just before using, scrub potatoes well and cut off any sprouts or green skin. (Clean delicate new potatoes gently.) Peeling is a matter of preference.

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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