BGF NEWS - August 6, 2024 - VOL. 52, NO. 10

In this week’s box:

Basil: Sweet

Beans: Yellow & Green Mix

Beets: Cylindra

Broccoli: heads or florets with edible leaves

Cabbage: Ruby King

Cherry Tomatoes: Jubilee Mix

Cucumbers: Corinto, Generally, Marketmore or Dragon

Head Lettuce, assorted varieties
Scallions

Summer Squash: Golden Glory, Patty Pan, Safari, Slik Pik, or Zephyr

and perhaps one of the following: (see **NOTE below)
Okra: Candle Fire, Bowling Red & Okinawa Pink

Tomatoes: slicers (see 7/30 newsletter for descriptions)

Herb It! option: Purple Basil, Pink Celery, Lemon Verbena

Jam It! option: Tart Cherry Jam & Blackberry Peach Jam

Spice It Up! option: Roselle Salt

Featured Recipes:

Cucumber Scallion Salad

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

Cabbage Beet Coleslaw

Roasted Beet Hummus

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 3.20"

It's hard to believe, but here we are at Week 10 of the CSA season, half way through! It surprises me every year when we hit these milestones. We hope you are enjoying your CSA experience.

This past week was something! I don't remember many years with severe storms coming so many days in a row. We managed to avoid any structural damage but we did have some rough looking crops by the end of the week. I'm happy to report that much of our corn that had been laid down by the winds has stood back up. By the end of the week we received a total of 5.8" of rain. Much less than some areas had, but more than we needed.

It made for some challenging harvesting last week and now we are starting to see some stress response in crops who aren't happy about having soggy roots for nearly a week. So far the biggest issue looks to be in our carrots (and a few of our dahlias) where stretches of plants are rotting in the ground. Hopefully that trend won't continue.

The challenging weather probably hastened the end of our summer squash plants. They were already failing due to insect pressures but being bashed about in the winds and deluged for 3 days didn't help matters. So here is your heads up, summer squash/zucchini season is ending soon, if you haven't yet, make that zucchini bread and try the zucchini quesadilla recipe before it's too late!

But, all is not lost! The tomatoes are finally ripening so everyone should get at least a little sampling of tomatoes this week. The peppers are also getting close and we anticipate starting to harvest them later this week. The fall transplants are filling out nicely and we'll probably start putting them in the ground in a couple of days. And the cover crops we sowed right before the rains are starting to come up! Woohoo! Covered soil is happy soil!

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 glass or plastic container 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.

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: 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 soaked 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.

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

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.

Herbs: Generally, except for basil, set unwashed bunches of fresh herbs (with stems) upright into small jars filled with 1 to 2 inches of water, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to two weeks. Rinse fresh herbs right before use. To release their scents and flavors, rub them between your hands before mincing or chopping. If you have no idea what to do with fresh herbs, there is one great default answer "compound butter." Finely mince leaves and knead them into a stick of room temperature butter. Roll the butter into a log in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Then simply slice off the amount you need to add delicious, ready-to-use flavor to vegetables, bread or meats.

Okra: These lovely, dark red, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, wrap with a dishcloth or paper towel and 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."

Scallions (green onions)- are best kept upright in a glass with about 1" of water in it, more like flowers than vegetables. Loosely cover the tops with plastic and you will be amazed at how long they will keep. We like to throw a handful of chopped scallions into nearly any savory dish, right near the end of the cooking time.

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.

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, photos 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)

BGF NEWS - September 5, 2023 - VOL. 50, NO. 13

IN THIS WEEK’S BOX:

Basil: Genovese and/or Large Leaf

Bean Mix: Empress (green) & Carson (yellow)

Cucumbers: Corinto, Generally, Lemon, Marketmore, Nokya or Sashimi 

Jubilee Cherry Tomato Mix: see 8/1 newsletter for descriptions

Peppers: Sweet, see 8/15 newsletter for descriptions

Potatoes: Carola

Roselle: leaves & calyxes 

Shallots: Ambition (tan) and/or Prisma (red)

Tomatoes: see 8/1 for descriptions. 

and perhaps one of the following:
Broccoli Florets

Okra: Bowling Red & Candle Fire

Herb It! option: Nunum Basil, Lemon Balm, Stevia

Jam It! option: Tart Cherry Jam & Golden Fire Pepper

Spice It Up! Option: Rosemary-Meyer Lemon Salt

Bread Share: Apple Bread

Featured Recipes:

Quick Pickled Green Beans

How to Quick Pickle Any Vegetable

Mizeria (Cucumbers in Sour Cream)

Roselle Pesto

Hibiscus (Roselle) Tea

Grilled Potatoes and Green Beans

BGF Pesto **see below

WHAT’S UP ON THE FARM?
Precipitation in the past week: 0.00"

Happy September from the farm! Clearly August is having a tough time exiting gracefully but it sounds like the temperatures are supposed to drop a bit later this week. We are certainly ready for it...and rain, please, please rain! 

Despite the inhospitable conditions, we have continued to put fall transplants in the ground and sow fall seeds. The transplants are a bit grouchy with the conditions and we are struggling to get enough irrigation water on the seeded crops for them to germinate, but it is starting to happen. 

And as long as we can pull it through the current heat wave, we will hopefully be back to harvesting head lettuce next week. This is definitely a hello and goodbye time of the year. Hello to roselle and a fond farewell to summer squash and cucumbers. I think we'll get one more week of eggplant and okra, then they too will be done for the season.

We spent the past week trying to stay ahead of the tomato harvest and irrigation needs. We cleared more spent beds, planted Beijing Express greens and head lettuce but most of our "other" time was taken up by the popcorn harvest! 

This is the earliest we've ever harvested popcorn but it was so dry in the field that the ears were starting to drop on the ground, so the time is now! At this point we are about 80% done and so far it looks really good, despite 2 hail storms, severe drought and no irrigation. We won't know for sure until it is fully dried and shelled, but right now it looks like a record breaking popcorn crop!

Now back to the roselle. We are excited to send it out in this week's delivery. For those of you unfamiliar, it is an edible member of the hibiscus family and the leaves have a tart, lemony flavor. It is delicious added to pesto and in combination with other greens. I really like it added to (or instead of) lettuce on my sandwiches. Give it a try and see what you think. Here's a concise page about roselle greens and their uses: Roselle. We are including the calyxs of the roselle as well. This is a favorite ingredient in Asian, Carribean and African countries. It's largely used dried for making both hot teas and refreshing chilled beverages but we like it chopped up and added to salads and sweets as well. Be sure to remove the white seed pod from the inside and only eat the tender red parts.

Upcoming Dates to Note:

Tues, Oct. 24: Final CSA delivery

Sat, Oct. 28: Final Saturday VegEmail delivery

Tues, Nov. 7: Fall VegEmail schedule begins, delivery every 2 weeks.

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 glass or plastic container 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.

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.

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.

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. So refrigerated potatoes should be brought to room temperature for at least 24 hours before using. 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.) Scrub potatoes well and cut off any sprouts or green skin. (Clean delicate new potatoes gently.) Peeling is a matter of preference. Cut potatoes according to your recipe. If baking a whole potato, be sure to prick the skin in at least a few places to allow steam to escape.

Roselle: Store in a cloth or paper-lined plastic bag in the produce drawer of your refrigerator and use within a week.

Shallots: A "high-brow" member of the onion family, shallots have a smooth, rich onion-y flavor that is perfect with egg, vegetable and salad dressing recipes. Cured shallots are stored like a cured onion or garlic (at cool room temp) for many months.  Once you cut into a shallot bulb, store the remainder in a sealed container in the fridge.

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)

BGF Pesto

2 Tbs Sunflower seeds-toasted (can substitute pine nuts)

2 cloves Garlic ( or garlic scapes, garlic lovers can add more)

2 c. Basil (any variety, a mix is particularly nice)

½ c. Sorrel or Roselle (optional)

½ c. Olive oil

1 tsp Salt (if using pre-salted sunflower seeds, can reduce salt amount)

½ c. Parmesan cheese, fresh grated (not the stuff in the can)

1 medium ripe tomato

Place sunflower seeds and garlic into food processor then pulse several times. Add basil and sorrel, drizzle with half of oil. Pulse several times.  Add remaining oil, Parmesan cheese, tomato and salt if desired.

Pesto should be stored for a week or less in the refrigerator in a sealed container.  If storing longer, freeze in snack-sized, zip-top bags (about 1 1/2 TBS per bag), pressed flat. Once frozen, they can be stored upright in a larger plastic bag. To use a little, just break off the amount needed and return the rest to the freezer.

BGF NEWS - August 29, 2023 - VOL. 50, NO. 12

IN THIS WEEK’S BOX:

Bean Mix: Empress (green) & Carson (yellow)

Cucumbers: Corinto, Generally, Lemon, Marketmore, Nokya or Sashimi 

Edamame: Chiba Green

Garlic: Northern White

Hot Peppers: Wenk's (small bag)

Jubilee Cherry Tomato Mix: see 8/1 newsletter for descriptions

Kale: asst.

Onions: Red

Peppers: Sweet, see 8/15 newsletter for descriptions

Tomatoes: So many tomatoes! see 8/1 for descriptions. 

 

and perhaps one of the following:

Okra: Bowling Red & Candle Fire

Summer Squash: 8 Ball, Golden Glory, Patty Pan, Safari, Slik Pik, or Zephyr

Herb It! option: Sweet Basil, Roselle, Parsley

Bread Share: Tomato Basil

Featured Recipes:

Edamame Salsa

Fresh Tomato Salsa

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Okra Corn Salsa

Mezair (Cutting Board Salsa) BGF Favorite **see below, 

BGF Balsamic Tomato Salsa, new BGF favorite **see below

WHAT’S UP ON THE FARM?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.08"

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 favorite: Mezair (a fresh Kurdish salsa).  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.

We are very thankful for cooler temperatures this week, last week was a bit rough on the farm with the temps hovering around 100°. 

The farm crew was sent home early most of the week and what time we did have was largely taken up harvesting and trying to keep everything/everyone alive. We did get some spent crops cleared and some of the fall crops cultivated.  The irrigation system ran nearly non-stop.

This week we have gotten most of the remaining field fall crops transplanted and the next series of seeded crops sown. The "to-be-planted" list is getting shorter and shorter!

We weren't the only ones offended by the high temps, as predicted, the heat pretty much finished off the cucumbers and summer squash for the season. They produced admirably throughout a challenging season, so we can't complain too much, but we are sorry to see them go. 

The harbingers of fall are starting to appear around the farm, The trees have lost their vibrant greens and are now looking faded and almost hazy. The fall yellows are blooming throughout the countryside, native sunflowers and goldenrod, often topped with the dance of butterflies and other pollinators. 

But the real standout sign for me was sighted a couple of days ago, the first blooms on the New England Aster. My grandpa always called these "frost flowers" and claimed that the first frost was due 2 weeks after the first frost flower bloomed. I'm hoping this was just a "scout" for the local aster population and that we are still many weeks away from first frost, but you just never know. 

Speaking of fall milestones, I've started getting questions about the end of the CSA season. We are now on week 12 of a 20 week season. We anticipate the final delivery of the season will be Tuesday, Oct 24. Don't worry, we won't leave you trapped at the mercy of grocery stores after that. VegEmail continues throughout the winter to ensure you have access to local foods throughout the year!

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.

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.

Edamame: (vegetable or green soy beans): Store beans on or off the branches in a bag in the crisper drawer and use within 1 week.  To use, separate beans from branches and cook in salted, boiling water in the pods or shelled, depending on how you plan to use them. In case this is a new vegetable for you, the pods of edamame are not edible, so be sure to shell them before eating. The traditional way to enjoy them is to pull the cooked pod through your teeth, popping the beans into your mouth.

Garlic & Onions: Fully cured garlic and onions don't require refrigeration. For longest storage, keep in a dark place with good airflow. Once cut, store in the refrigerator.

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.

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.

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)

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

BGF Balsamic Tomato Salsa

3-4 tomatoes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 medium clove garlic, minced

1 small shallot, minced

1 Wenk's Yellow Hot pepper, seeded and minced
1 tsp finely chopped fresh oregano
2tbs finely chopped fresh basil
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Stir it all together for a chunky salsa, but I really love it pureed right in the mixing bowl with my immersion blender. You can use a blender or food processor as well. I think this version really melds the flavors beautifully. 

Recipe source: BGF, based on the Balsamic Tomato Salad recipe from Smitten Kitchen 

BGF NEWS - August 22, 2023 - VOL. 50, NO. 11

IN THIS WEEK’S BOX:

Basil: Sweet

Bean Mix: Empress (green) & Carson (yellow)

Carrots: Rainbow Mix

Chard: Rainbow

Cucumbers: Corinto, Generally, Lemon, Marketmore, Nokya or Sashimi 

Eggplant: Orient Express, Asian Delight and/or Listada

Jubilee Cherry Tomato Mix: see 8/1 newsletter for descriptions

Peppers: Sweet, see 8/15 newsletter for descriptions

Scallions

Summer Squash: 8 Ball, Golden Glory, Patty Pan, Safari, Slik Pik, or Zephyr

Tomatoes: see 8/1 newsletter for descriptions

 

and perhaps one of the following:
Cantaloupe: Hannah's Choice

Okra: Bowling Red & Candle Fire

Watermelon: Sugar Baby (red) or Early Moonbeam (yellow)

Herb It! option: Purple basil, garlic chives, lovage

Bread Share: 7-Grain

Featured Recipes:

Simple Garlic Basil Carrots

Ginger Soy Glazed Beans and Peppers

Easy Panzanella Salad

Roasted Ratatouille Pasta

WHAT’S UP ON THE FARM?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.00"

You probably won't be surprised to hear that it's HOT on the farm this week...and all over the Midwest. Our recent temperatures coming into this week have been so pleasant that it rather ruined us for 90°-100° weather. Ah well, it is late August and as of the end of this month, the average temperatures do start to drop, so there's hope! The fall crops that we've been working so hard to get planted would really appreciate some cooler temps, as would the other crops, crew,  animals, farmers and everyone else, I'm sure. We are back to our irrigation rotation for sure and just trying to keep everyone alive out here.

The heat will probably be the death knell for some of the crops that were already slowing down like cucumbers and summer squash. While we're sad to see them go, they have stuck around longer this season than they do many years, so we appreciate that. The current crop of lettuce is definitely offended by the weather and has been added to the "clear it" list of crops along with the early turnips. The early bean crop is done and was cleared last week, but the later successions are going strong for now. 

We made an early morning push to get all the carrots and beets harvested over the past few days to be sure they would be tucked happily in the cooler for the hottest weather.

The new crop of cantaloupe is sadly failing fast. There are just too many stresses on it right now, but the watermelon is going crazy! 

All the sudden they are ALL ripening at the same time! We'll do what we can to get them out to you as soon as possible, but it is a bit of a logistical challenge moving nearly 50 watermelons to our pick-ups along with the CSA boxes. Time to roll out the cargo van again!

The one thing that is LOVING this heat is the popcorn! Most of the ears were done filling, so it's growing season is done and now we move to drying time and this is the weather for it! I swear you can almost see the husks turning brown. Looks like it will be an early popcorn harvest this year.

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.

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.

Carrots: These "mid-season" carrots are a little different than the candy-sweet gems of cool weather carrots. They are a little more strongly flavored, a little earthy. This makes them perfect for cooking and more complicated recipes, as some might not love them for fresh eating. Remove the leafy green tops, leaving about an inch of stems. Refrigerate dry, unwashed carrots in a plastic bag for two weeks or longer. Peel carrots or scrub carrots well with a stiff brush just before using. Trim off any green spots, which can taste bitter. When slicing or chopping carrots for cooking, be sure to make all the pieces relatively the same size; this will ensure an evenly cooked dish. Greens can be added to soup stock for flavor.

Cantaloupe: If your cantaloupe seems a bit short of ripe, keep it at room temperature for a few days or until there is a sweet smell coming from the stem end. Once the melon ripens, store it in the refrigerator. It is best not to cut a cantaloupe until you are ready to eat it. If you need to return cut melon to the refrigerator, do not remove the seeds from the remaining sections as they keep the flesh from drying out. Use within 3-5 days.

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.

Edamame: (vegetable or green soy beans): Store beans on or off the branches in a bag in the crisper drawer and use within 1 week.  To use, separate beans from branches and cook in salted, boiling water in the pods or shelled, depending on how you plan to use them. In case this is a new vegetable for you, the pods of edamame are not edible, so be sure to shell them before eating. The traditional way to enjoy them is to pull the cooked pod through your teeth, popping the beans into your mouth.

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. 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. 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.

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.

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.

Watermelon: Handle watermelons carefully. When harvested at their peak ripeness, they can crack or split easily if bumped or roughly handled. Refrigerate watermelons right away. (Watermelons do not ripen off the vine and do not emanate a ripe smell.) Cut melon should be covered in plastic wrap, chunks or slices should be kept in an airtight container, and both should be refrigerated. Eat all melons within a week.

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)