In this week’s box:
Beets: Ace (red), Chioggia (red/white), Golden (yellow) or Cylindra (long, red)
Cabbage: FaraoCucumber: asstCollards: Old Timey BlueGreen GarlicHead LettuceSummer Squash: asst.Turnips: Hakurei last time until fall
and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail..." below)Eggplant: Orient ExpressOkraSnap PeasSnow Peas
Herb It! option: Sweet basil, parsley, roselleBread Share: Tomato Basil Bread
Featured Recipes:
Zucchini Ham & Ricotta Fritters
Zucchini Quesadillas (a cool new way to think of summer squash!)
Beets: Ace (red), Chioggia (red/white), Golden (yellow) or
Cylindra (long, red)
Cucumber: asst
Collards: Old Timey Blue
Green Garlic
Head Lettuce
Summer Squash: asst.
Turnips: Hakurei last time until fall
Eggplant: Orient Express
Okra
Snap Peas
Snow Peas
Herb It! option: Sweet basil, parsley, roselle
Bread Share: Tomato Basil Bread
Featured Recipes:
Zucchini Ham & Ricotta Fritters
Zucchini Ham & Ricotta Fritters
Zucchini Quesadillas (a cool new way to think of summer squash!)
What’s up on the farm?
Precipitation in the past week: 1.35"
Fall transplants
The rain was a much needed boon this past week! In addition to providing the moisture that the crops needed, it also gave us the opportunity to get some "indoor" work done. The packing barn got a serious cleaning by the crew, the irrigation storage area was sorted out, the tools sharpened, all the new fall transplants got moved out to the high tunnel to grow up a bit and I even got a bit of office and fiber work done. It was awesome!
The weeds also appreciated the rain, so we are spending much of this week cultivating to try and stay ahead, or at least not fall behind in our weeding. The warm weather crops are loving this weather too, so we are sending out the first of the okra and eggplant this week as well as a good number of cucumbers!
Earlier this season we were really struggling with deer in the gardens. Then we seemed to make some progress keeping them out until recently when they remembered how much they love beets! UGH! Every morning we'd come out to fewer and fewer beets in the South garden. Finally we couldn't bear it one more day and we harvested all of the beets that were left, it was about half, the number we started with. Normally we send out beets with leafy tops, but the deer ate most of the tops off, so this week, everyone gets to enjoy some lovely beets, but some of you will receive tops and others will be "topless". Just know that if you are in the latter group, your beets were deer tested, deer approved! We're also sending out turnips again this week. We don't usually send out more than one root crop at a time, but it looks like we are seeing some disease starting in the turnips so we want to get them out to you one more time before we lose them. Don't worry, they'll be back in the fall.
Finally we want to be sure it is clear that it takes a whole team of dedicated folks to bring you your produce each week, so we'd like to introduce them to you starting here:Crew Corner: Danielle, Farm Manager
Hello to all of our CSA Members! For some of you this is an annual commitment to healthy living, of which I am pleased to take part. For those who are new to CSA, welcome aboard!! May this adventure be wonderful and tasty!
When I first took a job at Blue Gate Farm, I thought I knew what gardening entailed. But as I have transitioned from day laborer to crew chief to farm manager during the last seven years, I have obviously been educated beyond that limited scope. There are numerous complexities in long-range food plot planning that I don’t have space to write about here. The bottom line for you, is we don’t just grow vegetables and flowers at BGF; we work to improve the lives of those we encounter.
My personal goal is not only to provide high quality, nutrient-rich foods to our customers, but it is also to encourage perspective in times of adversity. The obvious ones here on the farm are weather and animal-related and those can be extremely frustrating. But at least you know “the why”. However, sometimes crops just fail. There is no explanation. Those are harder days.
When you’re tempted to lose heart and get tied up in all of the “why’s”, plow forward (pun intended!) with what is right to do and trust the results to Providence. May you find strength in your particular circumstance, knowing the struggles we face on the farm to bring you safe nutrition, are similar to many areas of life - and can be overcome!
Best, Danielle
 |
| Fall transplants |
The packing barn got a serious cleaning by the crew, the irrigation storage area was sorted out, the tools sharpened, all the new fall transplants got moved out to the high tunnel to grow up a bit and I even got a bit of office and fiber work done. It was awesome!
Earlier this season we were really struggling with deer in the gardens. Then we seemed to make some progress keeping them out until recently when they remembered how much they love beets! UGH! Every morning we'd come out to fewer and fewer beets in the South garden. Finally we couldn't bear it one more day and we harvested all of the beets that were left, it was about half, the number we started with. Normally we send out beets with leafy tops, but the deer ate most of the tops off, so this week, everyone gets to enjoy some lovely beets, but some of you will receive tops and others will be "topless". Just know that if you are in the latter group, your beets were deer tested, deer approved! We're also sending out turnips again this week. We don't usually send out more than one root crop at a time, but it looks like we are seeing some disease starting in the turnips so we want to get them out to you one more time before we lose them. Don't worry, they'll be back in the fall.
Finally we want to be sure it is clear that it takes a whole team of dedicated folks to bring you your produce each week, so we'd like to introduce them to you starting here:
Crew Corner: Danielle, Farm Manager
Hello to all of our CSA Members! For some of you this is an annual commitment to healthy living, of which I am pleased to take part. For those who are new to CSA, welcome aboard!! May this adventure be wonderful and tasty! When I first took a job at Blue Gate Farm, I thought I knew what gardening entailed. But as I have transitioned from day laborer to crew chief to farm manager during the last seven years, I have obviously been educated beyond that limited scope. There are numerous complexities in long-range food plot planning that I don’t have space to write about here. The bottom line for you, is we don’t just grow vegetables and flowers at BGF; we work to improve the lives of those we encounter.
My personal goal is not only to provide high quality, nutrient-rich foods to our customers, but it is also to encourage perspective in times of adversity. The obvious ones here on the farm are weather and animal-related and those can be extremely frustrating. But at least you know “the why”. However, sometimes crops just fail. There is no explanation. Those are harder days.
When you’re tempted to lose heart and get tied up in all of the “why’s”, plow forward (pun intended!) with what is right to do and trust the results to Providence. May you find strength in your particular circumstance, knowing the struggles we face on the farm to bring you safe nutrition, are similar to many areas of life - and can be overcome!
Best, Danielle
A little detail on your produce this week:
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.
Broccoli & Cauliflower: Wrap loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak 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 or cauliflower in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.)
Cabbage: Store dry, unwashed cabbage in the refrigerator, preferably in the vegetable bin. The outer leaves may eventually get floppy or yellowish, but you can remove and discard them to reveal fresh inner leaves. Cabbage can keep for more than a month. Once it’s cut, seal it in a plastic bag and continue to refrigerate for several weeks. Rinse the cabbage under cold running water just before use. Peel away a few of the outer leaves, then cut the cabbage according to your needs with a big, sharp knife, and then chop, sliver, or grate. Our favorite way to eat raw cabbage is as a "walking salad" which is to simply spread peanut butter over a leaf of cabbage, sprinkle with your favorite dried fruit, roll it up into a tube and enjoy. This is a kid-pleaser for sure!
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: 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. Many people like to peel, salt, and drain their eggplant to draw out any bitter flavor; however, bitterness develops only in eggplant that has been stored for a while, so with farm-fresh specimens this is generally not necessary. Many recipes call for salting in order to make the vegetable less watery and more absorbent—much like draining tofu. Salting is not an essential step, but it can greatly enhance the taste and texture of your dish and is well worth the extra effort.
Green Garlic: This is freshly harvested garlic that hasn't had time to cure yet. You will notice that the wrappers are soft and the garlic itself is very juicy. You can use it in any recipe calling for garlic. The flavor is so fresh and green that we like to use them in recipes that really highlight the flavor, like pesto or garlic butter. Store loosely wrapped in the refrigerator for best keeping quality.
Herbs: Besides basil, most herbs keep best standing upright in a glass of water in your refrigerator with a loose plastic bag over the top. To use, simply pull a stem between your fingers and the leaves usually shear off. Chop with a sharp knife and add to your favorite recipes.
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: We grow snow peas (flat pod with little bumps showing immature peas inside) and sugar snap peas (rounded pods with mature peas inside). Both have edible pods and can be used interchangeably in recipes. They are particularly good in stir-fries and salads, though we tend to eat them fresh as a snack. Peas keep best in their plastic container in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.
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.
Broccoli & Cauliflower: Wrap loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak 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 or cauliflower in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.)
Cabbage: Store dry, unwashed cabbage in the refrigerator, preferably in the vegetable bin. The outer leaves may eventually get floppy or yellowish, but you can remove and discard them to reveal fresh inner leaves. Cabbage can keep for more than a month. Once it’s cut, seal it in a plastic bag and continue to refrigerate for several weeks. Rinse the cabbage under cold running water just before use. Peel away a few of the outer leaves, then cut the cabbage according to your needs with a big, sharp knife, and then chop, sliver, or grate. Our favorite way to eat raw cabbage is as a "walking salad" which is to simply spread peanut butter over a leaf of cabbage, sprinkle with your favorite dried fruit, roll it up into a tube and enjoy. This is a kid-pleaser for sure!
Green Garlic: This is freshly harvested garlic that hasn't had time to cure yet. You will notice that the wrappers are soft and the garlic itself is very juicy. You can use it in any recipe calling for garlic. The flavor is so fresh and green that we like to use them in recipes that really highlight the flavor, like pesto or garlic butter. Store loosely wrapped in the refrigerator for best keeping quality.
Herbs: Besides basil, most herbs keep best standing upright in a glass of water in your refrigerator with a loose plastic bag over the top. To use, simply pull a stem between your fingers and the leaves usually shear off. Chop with a sharp knife and add to your favorite recipes.
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: We grow snow peas (flat pod with little bumps showing immature peas inside) and sugar snap peas (rounded pods with mature peas inside). Both have edible pods and can be used interchangeably in recipes. They are particularly good in stir-fries and salads, though we tend to eat them fresh as a snack. Peas keep best in their plastic container in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.
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? Do you want to read more about our life on the farm and see more pictures? Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm or on Instagram at bluegatefarmfresh. CSA members can also connect with other BGF members to share recipes or ask questions on our FB community page at Blue Gate Farm Community.
That's about it for now.
If you have any questions or comments, be sure to let us know.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean (and the whole BGF crew)
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| Luci & Sky |
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