BGF News - July 16, 2019-Vol. XLII, No.7

BGF News - July 16, 2019-Vol. XLII, No.7

In this week’s box:

Basil: Genovese and/or Italian Large Leaf
Cucumbers: Lemon (round, yellow), Marketmore (English-type) or Suyo Long (long, Asian)

Green Top Onions: cipollini

Kale: asst.

Lettuce: Kiribati (light green) & Mirlo (green butterhead)  

Summer Squash: 8 Ball (green,round), Golden Glory (bright yellow zucchini),  Patty Pan(scalloped white, green or yellow), Slik Pik (thin, yellow) or Zephyr (green & yellow)

and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE  after "A Little Detail..." below)     

Cherry Tomato Mix
Eggplant: Orient Express (dark purple) and/or Orient Charm( neon lavender)
Okra: Bowling Red (dark red) and Candle Fire (light red)
Snow Peas: Oregon Giant

For those with the Egg option [Full and Half shares]: one dozen free-range eggs (asst. colors)

For those with the Herb option: Thai Basil, orange thyme, chives

Featured Recipes:  ** indicates a BGF favorite 

Spicy Pork Salad

Parmesan Summer Squash saute ** see recipe below

Baked Onion Tops ** see recipe below

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.00"

The two big news items from the past week are:

#1 The Weather- no rain and increasing temperatures. For us this translates to running the irrigation lines nearly nonstop and to taking lots and lots of water and shade breaks with the crew. As the temps rise even higher in the coming days we may have to resort to shortened or earlier workdays as it won't be safe to work in the field during the heat of the day. We are already looking forward to cooler temperatures to come.

#2 The Garlic Harvest-as of Monday 7/15 the garlic is all harvested and hung in the barn to cure. It wasn't an easy harvest this year as every head had to be dug instead of pulled due to the repeated pounding rains earlier in the season. Luckily, the effort was worth it. I believe it is the best harvest we've ever had of our Music variety for overall head size. The Northern White didn't size up quite as large, but still looks really good. The garlic will hang for about a month until it is fully cured. You will likely see it appear (in it's uncured form) in your boxes again next week.

Jubilee Cherry Tomato Mix

There were a few other things that captured our attention this week, including the appearance of the first ripe cherry tomatoes! These will start appearing in a few boxes this week and will increase in volume quickly over the coming weeks. The slicers are still a few weeks off, but are looking good so far. We got about 1/3 of the field tomatoes mulched this past week and should be able to finish this task in the next couple of days. It's a big job, but the straw mulch helps regulate the soil moisture, suppresses weeds and protects the tomatoes from blight which is caused when soil (and spores) splash up on the leaves. The mulch also helps add organic matter to the soil when we till it in at the end of the season. This all adds up to a worthwhile task, though no one really enjoys the doing of it. We also cultivated all but two of the potato beds and hilled them. The last two beds were a loss with the vast majority of the seed potatoes rotting, so they get tilled down and put to a cover crop. As of today, all of the crops have been cultivated at least once and we are starting the next rotation. The new beans are looking really nice and they are the next on the list to be hoed.

Baby  melon

What's coming? We are starting to see nice fruit set on the melons and winter squash plants. I think baby melons are just about the cutest things in the gardens, though a baby butternut squash is a close second!

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.

  Cucumber: Store unwashed cucumbers in a sealed plastic bag in the vegetable crisper bin for about a week. Keep cucumbers tucked far away from tomatoes, apples, and citrus—these give off ethylene gas that accelerates cucumber deterioration. You can do a lot of fancy things to the skin of a cucumber, but when it is young, fresh (and unwaxed), it really only needs to be thoroughly washed. However, if the skin seems tough or bitter you can remove it; if the seeds are bulky, slice the cucumber lengthwise and scoop them out.

Eggplant: Eggplant prefers to be kept at about 50° F, which is warmer than most refrigerators and cooler than most kitchen counters. Wrap unwashed eggplant in a towel (not in plastic) to absorb any moisture and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. Used within a week, it should still be fresh and mild.  The shape of an eggplant determines how it is best prepared. Slice a straight, narrow eggplant into rounds for grilling or broiling, and cut a rounded, bulbous eggplant into cubes for stews and stir-fries.

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.

Green-top onions: As you might note from their name, these are young, freshly pulled, uncured onions. They can be used as you would any onion, the difference is in the storage. Since they don't have a layer of dried skin to protect them, please store in a sealed bag or container in your refrigerator and plan to use within 2 weeks. As long as the greens are still fresh, you can use them like scallions, or try out the baked onion top recipe below!

Head Lettuce: We prefer to store heads wrapped in a cotton or linen dish towel, then placed in a plastic bag. This helps maintain a little bit of moisture, while keeping the leaves from touching the plastic to extend their "drawer-life".  Wash lettuce just before using. The inner-most leaves of the head are the sweetest, so save those for salad use and take advantage of the bigger, outside leaves for use on sandwiches or wraps.

Herbs (other than basil): Most herbs keep best in a glass of water in the refrigerator, loosely covered with a plastic bag. You can keep them in a glass or base on your kitchen counter for a couple of days if you change the water daily.

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."

Peas are best kept in a plastic bag or glass container in your refrigerator. Use within a week.  They are delicious raw on salads or in stir-fries.

Summer Squash/Zucchini: Refrigerate unwashed zucchini and summer squash for up to a week and a half in a perforated plastic bag or in a sealed plastic container lined with a kitchen towel. These do not need to be peeled to use, just slice them up and go!

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 Luci, Indigo & Sky)

Parmesan Summer Squash Saute

2 tbs butter or olive oil

2-3 cups sliced summer squash (1/4” slices)

1 medium onion or several green onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3-4 tbs grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in sauté pan. Add onion, garlic and summer squash. Brown quickly. Sprinkle parmesan over squash slices and cover until melted. Slide cooked squash out of pan onto a serving plate.

Note: Don’t overcook squash, flavor and texture are best if squash is slightly firm.


Recipe source: Gloria Beebout (Blue Gate Farm mom)

Baked Green Onion Tops

from friends of the farm, Wendy & Roberta

We eat them as appetizers with cheese or use as an ingredient in eggs etc. Super simple and yummy too !!!

Use scissors to slice the tops uniformly  into rings so they cook evenly. Then coat the tops with olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Cook at 350 degrees for 10 - 20 minutes depending on the size and how crispy you want them. Enjoy