In this week’s box:
Beans: Provider (green) & Carson (yellow) MixBeets: Cylindra
Beijing ExpressCherry Tomatoes: Jubilee Mix (see description on 8/2)
Garlic: Northern White or MusicHead Lettuce: asst
Hot Peppers: Wenk's Yellow Hots (bagged)Onions: Red Carpet Sweet Peppers: asst.
Tomatoes-Slicers: asst. (see description on 8/2)
and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail..." below)
Broccoli FloretsCauliflower: Snow Crown or Song
Eggplant: Orient Express, Asian Delight or Listada de Gandia
Okra: Candle Fire and Burgundy
Herb It! option: sweet basil, ginger mint, par-cel
Jam It! option: Blueberry Lemonade & Peach Fire JamSpice It Up! option: Ramp SaltBread Share: Loaded Blueberry Muffins
Featured Recipes:
Mezair (Cutting Board Salsa), a BGF favorite! see recipe belowWatermelon Salsa another BGF favorite, see recipe below
Beijing Express
Garlic: Northern White or Music
Hot Peppers: Wenk's Yellow Hots (bagged)
Tomatoes-Slicers: asst. (see description on 8/2)
and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail..." below)
Eggplant: Orient Express, Asian Delight or Listada de Gandia
Okra: Candle Fire and Burgundy
Jam It! option: Blueberry Lemonade & Peach Fire Jam
Featured Recipes:
Mezair (Cutting Board Salsa), a BGF favorite! see recipe below
Watermelon Salsa another BGF favorite, see recipe below
What’s up on the farm?
Precipitation in the past week: 0.00" Nada, zip, zilch.
Welcome to our annual Salsa Box! Or Sauce Box if you prefer. Every year when the tomato harvest is at it's heaviest, we "stuff" as many of them into the boxes as possible to give folks the opportunity to stock up on some salsa or sauce. We try to include recipes to appeal to lots of difference salsa tastes, but always include our two favorites: Mezair (a fresh Kurdish salsa) and watermelon salsa, plus our go-to pesto recipe with the secret ingredient (a tomato). As many of you may know, the "FarmHer-in-charge" isn't particularly fond of cilantro so we always substitute parsley/par-cel or mint and sometimes sorrel in our salsa recipes. If you have the same issue, we encourage you to try one of these alternatives. If you do like cilantro, well, that's ok too.
On the farm front, not too much new to tell this week. Here's the Readers Digest Version: It didn't rain. We cleared spent beds and planted new ones. We harvested and cultivated. Some crops are slowing down and others are ramping up.
There was one notable event in the past week. We sucked it up and went out and harvested the winter squash plot. It hadn't been looking good in a while and I was afraid we wouldn't find enough to send out, but it was a bit better than we feared. This led to our annual "Squash the Boss" game. Where the crew tosses the usable squash at to me and I load it into the trailer for hauling to the barn.
There's always a bit of laughing during the task and the occasional "Uufftt" sound and this year was no different. After we loaded the usable squash, we went back and made piles of the bad ones to send to the neighbors pigs. It's good, productive entertainment every year!
Oh, and in addition to the "normal" activities of the farm, this past week we (well, mostly my dad) broke ground on the new porch roof on the back of the packing barn. This will cover our outside wash sink and really help out with both rain and sun protection. A huge thanks to my dad all for his time and expertise!
Precipitation in the past week: 0.00" Nada, zip, zilch.
Welcome to our annual Salsa Box! Or Sauce Box if you prefer. Every year when the tomato harvest is at it's heaviest, we "stuff" as many of them into the boxes as possible to give folks the opportunity to stock up on some salsa or sauce. We try to include recipes to appeal to lots of difference salsa tastes, but always include our two favorites: Mezair (a fresh Kurdish salsa) and watermelon salsa, plus our go-to pesto recipe with the secret ingredient (a tomato). As many of you may know, the "FarmHer-in-charge" isn't particularly fond of cilantro so we always substitute parsley/par-cel or mint and sometimes sorrel in our salsa recipes. If you have the same issue, we encourage you to try one of these alternatives. If you do like cilantro, well, that's ok too.
On the farm front, not too much new to tell this week. Here's the Readers Digest Version: It didn't rain. We cleared spent beds and planted new ones. We harvested and cultivated. Some crops are slowing down and others are ramping up.
There was one notable event in the past week. We sucked it up and went out and harvested the winter squash plot. It hadn't been looking good in a while and I was afraid we wouldn't find enough to send out, but it was a bit better than we feared. This led to our annual "Squash the Boss" game. Where the crew tosses the usable squash 
A little detail on your produce this week:
Beans: Fresh beans are an easy "store." Just leave them in their plastic bag and keep them in the produce drawer. Can last up to 2 weeks.
Beets: 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.)
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.
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."
Onions: Fully cured onions don't require refrigeration. For longest storage, keep in a dark place with good airflow. Once cut, store in the refrigerator.
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.
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.
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!
Tomatoes: always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
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.
Tomatoes: always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
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)
 |
| Sky, Wallace & Gromit |
Mezair
(Cutting Board Salsa, from Kurdistan)
1 lg clove garlic
2 to 3 jalapeños, seeded (or other hot peppers)
½ c. lightly packed, chopped flat-leaf parlsey
3 to 4 tbs chopped fresh mint
1 pound ripe tomatoes
¼ tsp salt
juice of 1 lemon
On a large cutting board, mince the garlic and the peppers. Add the parsley and mint and chop. Slice and then chop the tomatoes, adding them to the other ingredients. Mix as you continue to chop by turning the salsa with the flat of your knife or cleaver. Mix in the salt. Transfer the salsa to a small serving bowl and blend in the lemon juice, The salsa will be quite runny.
Makes approximately 2 cups salsa.
Recipe source: Flatbreads and Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
Larissa's Watermelon Salsa
3c watermelon, seeded & diced
1/2 c. sweet pepper, seeded & diced
2 TBS lime juice
1 TBS cilantro or parsley, chopped
1 TBS green onion, chopped
1-2 TBS hot pepper, seeded & diced
1/2 tsp garlic, finely minced
salt, to taste
Combine all ingredients & refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
Recipe Source: BGF friend, Larissa C.
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