BGF NEWS - July 30, 2024 - VOL. 52, NO. 9

In this week’s box:

Beans: Yellow & Green Mix

Collards

Cucumbers: Corinto, Generally, Marketmore or Dragon

Eggplant: Orient Express, Purple Shine or Listada
Fennel: Preludio
Garlic: Northern White
Head Lettuce, assorted varieties
Roselle

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

Turnips: Hakurei

and perhaps one of the following: (see **NOTE below)

Cauliflower: Japanese
Cherry Tomatoes: Mix

Okra: Candle Fire, Bowling Red and/or Okinawa Pink
Peas: Snow or Sugar Snap

Herb It! option: Sweet Basil, Rosemary & Thyme

Featured Recipes:

Crisp Fried Roselle Leaves

Green Beans with Fennel

Cajun Beans and Greens

Zucchini Carpaccio Salad (use roselle in place of arugula)

BGF Pesto **see recipe below**

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 2.85" (in the past 24 hrs)

Wow, that was quite a storm early Monday morning! We were thrilled to come up with just over an inch and a half of rain and negligible wind damage. Just a few miles to the northwest of us they had over 4" and to the east there was some tree damage from the winds, so we are very pleased. 

Corn down!

The only damage we had was our Peruvian Purple Corn was blown down, but I'm hoping it will stand back up given the opportunity. 

And now we've gotten another 1.25" of rain on Tuesday morning! These were a powerful pair of storms so we are pleased to report no serious damage so far besides more corn and sunflowers down and the loss of a young apple tree :(

Dry, dry, dry!

The soil moisture before the rain was really low and we had spent quite a bit of time last week getting the missing sections of irrigations lines run. Since then, we had been running the irrigation daily to make it around to all the plots. Sunday I tilled down some empty beds and the soil was literally dust dry! After tilling I sowed some cover crop seed in hopes that we might get enough rain for it to germinate. BINGO! The timing couldn't have been better!

We did take the opportunity to get lots of cultivating done during last week's dry conditions. Somehow even when it seems like the soil is too dry for anything to grow, the weeds find a way! We also got some more fall crops sown including the final sowing of carrots. It takes lots of irrigation water to get those tiny seeds to germinate in dry soil, so the rain was extra helpful for them!

Our roselle crop is looking really good and 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 started picking the very first of the slicing tomatoes this week and will be sending them out in just a few boxes this week. So it's time to meet the rest of the tomatoes! (all except Dark Star, Granadero & Marmalade are heirlooms):

Azoycha: Lemon-yellow medium-sized fruits with sweet, yet rich flavor.
Black Krim: Medium "black" tomato with big, high acid flavor.

Cosmonaut Volkov: medium-large red slicer with a full-rich flavor
Dark Star: Dark red/purple tomato with rich, tangy flavor.

Dr. Wychee Yellow: Large orange tomato with meaty, rich tasting flavor.
Granadero: Red plum tomato with thick-walled fruit; ideal for fresh tomato sauces, salsas, and salads
Green Zebra: Small, 2 1/2" olive yellow with green stripes and a sweet zingy flavor
John Baer: meaty red heirloom slicer
Mandarine Cross: golden-orange, Japanese tomato with a succulent, sweet/low acid flavor.

Paul Robeson: Large, brick-red fruits with dark green shoulders. Has a sweet, rich, smoky flavor.
Pantano Romanesco: A large, deep red Roman heirloom. The flesh is very rich, flavorful & juicy.
Redfield Beauty: 3”– 4” flat pink fruits with excellent, full flavor.
Rutgers: large, red with excellent flavor for fresh eating or canning
White Queen: Medium-sized, smooth white-skinned tomato with sweet, juicy flesh, low acid.
Wisconsin 55: A flavorful medium-sized variety that is juicy, firm and ideal for slicing, cooking, and salads

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Turnips: keep best if separated from their greens. Greens are stored in a plastic bag and can be cooked like mustard or collard greens (you can add them in with your Braising Greens Mix). Trimmed roots can go into a lidded container or zip-close bag. These aren't your grandma's turnips. These are a sweet, Japanese salad variety that is particularly tasty for fresh eating. They will still work great in cooked dishes, but we love to eat them raw, often right out of hand, like an apple. One of the farm crew's favorite mid-field snacks.

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)

Blue Gate Farm Pesto

2 Tbs Sunflower seeds-toasted (can substitute pine nuts)
2 cloves Garlic (garlic lovers can add more) green garlic or garlic scapes are also good.
2 c. Basil (any variety), Roselle, Purslane or Sorrel or any combo of them
½ c. Olive oil
6-10 oz fresh tomatoes,
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)

Place sunflower seeds and garlic into food processor then pulse several times. Add basil or other greens, drizzle with half of oil. Pulse several times. Add remaining oil, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese 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.

Also, if we are making a large batch for the freezer, for best quality, we omit the cheese and seeds. Freeze as is and then add those items in when we are ready to use.

BGF NEWS - July 2, 2024 - VOL. 52, NO. 5

In this week’s box:

Arugula or Tapestry Salad Mix

Beans: Yellow & Green Mix

Collards

Daikon

Garlic: Music

Ginger Mint

Head Lettuce, assorted varieties

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

and at least one of the following: (see **NOTE below)

Broccoli: some heads, some florets with edible leaves
Cauliflower: Japanese
Cucumbers: Corinto, Marketmore or Dragon

Eggplant: Orient Express

Peas: Snow

Herb It! option: Sweet Basil, Peppermint, Sage

Jam It! option: Apple Pie Jam & Ginger Peach Jam
Spice It Up! option: Nasturtium Salt

Featured Recipes:

Daikon Salad

Mint Simple Syrup
Zippy Sesame Beans **BGF Favorite, see recipe below

What’s up on the farm?
Precipitation in the past week: 1.6"

On July 1st I got up as the sun rose, got dressed, pulled on a sweatshirt and got to work. In a sweatshirt...in July! The temperatures this week are spoiling us (it's delightful). We're going to forget all our hard-earned acclimation to the heat. All it takes is one cool day and we'll have to relearn it all over again. That's ok, we'll take it! 

In the window between rains last week we were able to cultivate both high tunnels, the big east plots and do some touch up hand weeding. It's amazing how fast crops (and weeds) grow at this time of the year with warm soil and adequate moisture. The beans put on some great growth this week and we were able to start harvesting the first succession. The eggplant, cucumbers and squashes also came along nicely and we are starting to harvest those as well. The cooler temps will slow them down just a bit but we anticipate good harvests of them going forward.

Our big task was getting the tomatoes pruned. We've got a little less than 700 plants and they were looking really good. Once the pruning is done, the plants always look a little forlorn until they grow into their new haircuts, but it's a critical step. It makes trellising much easier but more importantly it helps prevent disease by increasing air flow and decreasing the chance of soil splashing up on the plant.

It's hard to believe that as we just get rolling into summer, it's time to start thinking about fall crops already. This weekend we sowed fall broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi and head lettuce. We'll start sowing more fall leafy greens later this week. 

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.

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.

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.

Daikon: Peel if you like (though not necessary). Daikon will last up to 2 weeks stored in the fridge in plastic bag or wrapped in damp towel in fridge.

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.

Green Garlic: This is garlic that hasn't had time to fully 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 in a jar or other glass container in the refrigerator if you want to maintain the fresh quality or store on the counter to allow it to dry down. 

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.

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, 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)

Zippy Sesame Beans

1 lb fresh green beans (whole)

2 tbs olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced (or green garlic)

1 tsp sea salt

fresh ground pepper, to taste

2 tbs seasoned rice vinegar

¼ c. sesame seeds, toasted

Place beans in a large pot of boiling water for 3-5 minutes. You don’t want to cook them, they should still crunch, just blanch until bright green. Drain and allow to cool to room temperature or slightly warm. While beans are cooking, mix garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl, and allow to sit at room temperature until beans are cooled. Place beans in a large bowl and toss with garlic/olive oil mixture. Add vinegar and half of sesame seeds, toss again. Place beans in serving dish and sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds. We like this dish served at room temperature as a salad or as a somewhat messy appetizer, but it is also good served warm or chilled. This is a great party or potluck dish. If you have leftovers, you might want to add another splash of rice vinegar before serving them again, just to liven up the flavor a bit.

Recipe Source: Blue Gate Farm

BGF NEWS - June 13, 2023 - VOL. 50, NO. 2

In this week’s box:

Beijing Express
Chard

Collards

Garlic Scapes (the green, curly things)
Head Lettuce, assorted varieties

Lemon Balm

Scallions

and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail..." below)
Cauliflower: Song (Japanese cauliflower)
Snap Peas
Snow Peas

the first few broccoli and baby summer squashes might also make an appearance in a couple of boxes this week.

Herb It! option: will start in a few weeks as the annual herbs mature
Bread Share: 7-Grain Bread

Featured Recipes:
Garlic Scape and Mess-o-Greens Pesto

Garlic Scape & Lemon Balm Pesto

Pickled Garlic Scapes

Chard Wrapped Grilled Mozzarella (a BGF favorite!)
Grilled Scallions *see recipe below (a BGF favorite!)


What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.15"

While Kermit the Frog would tell you that it's not easy being green, your farmer will tell you that at this time of the season it's very easy, in fact almost everything we are harvesting right now is green. Leafy greens, green onions, green peas, green garlic, green...green...green!

That's just the way it goes eating seasonally in the spring. I personally LOVE greens but not everyone is my household does so we try to find easy ways to use lots of them. Salads are a cinch, but what about greens that are better cooked? My go-to response is "saute them in garlic and olive oil. We also add lots of them to eggs and pasta, or use them in place of lettuce on a sandwich, sliced finely and added to chicken or egg salad. They are tasty on tacos or in burritos and we always use them as the base when we serve beans and rice! And there is always pesto! 

The Beijing Express we are sending out today is a favorite new green (both with us and the bugs!). Technically a choi it makes a great replacement for romaine lettuce in salads. A big, beautiful, deep green, upright variety with sweet, tender choi flavor. Delicious raw in salads, added to smoothies or cooked in any of your favorite greens recipes. Check out a couple of the linked recipes for some detailed inspiration there. And I promise, there are lots of great things to come, in addition to the greens.

Cauliflower is making it's first appearance this week in some of the boxes. This earliest variety is our favorite and it's a little different than your typical grocery store version. "Song" cauliflower is from Japan and it's a little sweeter and more tender than others. It's form is more open and it's much easier to cut apart into florets. And don't automatically compost the stem, many times it's tender enough to enjoy sliced along with the "curds." We're pretty excited about our Japanese scallion variety too. It was a discovery last year and we think they are amazing!

We were SO hopeful about last week's rain chances, and it did indeed rain on the farm, but it didn't last long and didn't add up to much. May and June are supposed to be the rainiest months, but it just isn't happening for us. We are trying to till as little as possible right now to conserve as much soil moisture as we can. The conditions are perfect for cultivating so our weed pressure is probably the lowest it's ever been. Hooray!! The irrigation system is the only thing keeping many crops alive right now. We don't typically irrigate our winter squash but the seed has been in the ground for nearly a month and there has been little germination due to the lack of moisture, so we may have to add some drip lines if we don't get rain by the end of the week.

Besides cultivating, we started clearing some spent spring crops this week. It was frustrating to pull out crops that hadn't been fully harvested (or harvested at all) but they had sped from "not yet ready" to past "harvestable" before we had a chance to use them. Sometimes, when conditions are challenging, that's just the way it goes. So, see you in the fall, Arugula and Vivid Choi!

But again, not all is gloom and doom! The main pea plantings are going gangbusters which is exciting because we love peas and they are also adding nitrogen to the soil for us. The cabbages are starting to head and look really good and the summer squashes and early cucumbers are setting fruits. There are SO many good things to come!

Finally, Farmyard Fancies still has openings for Bread Share! Cost is $120 (if paid with cash or check) or $125 (if paid with PayPal. Please email Angie at (farmyardfancies@gmail.com) to sign up . If you need one more temptation, Angie will be sampling bread in DM at today's delivery.

A little detail on your produce this week:

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.

Garlic Scapes: One of our favorite crops of the year. These curly green things are the emerging flower stalk from a hardneck garlic plant. We remove them to redirect more of the plant's energy into the bulb, but it also provides us with a delightful fresh garlic treat. These keep very well in a plastic bag in your produce drawer and can be used in any recipe calling for garlic. They would be perfect in last week's garlic salt recipe, make a great pesto and can be minced and added to room-temperature butter, which is then stored in log shape, in the freezer for a last minute dollop of goodness for vegetables, breads or meat.

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.

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.

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!

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)

Grilled Scallions with Sesame Oil

Serves 2

8 scallions, greens trimmed to 5 inches, cut in half lengthwise

toasted sesame oil

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the broiler or lightly oiled grill to medium-high heat. Arrange the scallions on a shallow baking sheet or aluminum foil.

Use a pastry brush to coat the scallions with a thin layer of sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper. Broil or grill until golden

brown on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes.

Recipe Source: “The Real Dirt on Farmer John Cookbook”

BGF NEWS - July 12, 2022 - VOL. XLVIII, NO. 6

In this week’s box:

Beets: Ace (red), Chioggia (red/white), Golden (yellow) or

            Cylindra (long, red)

Cabbage: Farao

Cucumber: asst

Collards: Old Timey Blue

Green Garlic

Head Lettuce

Summer Squash: asst.

Turnips: Hakurei last time until fall

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

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

Cabbage Beet Coleslaw

Sausage, Greens and Beans Pasta

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

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.

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)

Luci & Sky