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 16, 2024 - VOL. 52, NO. 7

In this week’s box:

Broccoli: heads or florets with edible leaves

Cabbage: Farao
Carrots: Rainbow Mix
Cucumbers: Corinto, Generally, Marketmore or Dragon

Eggplant: Orient Express, Purple Shine or Listada
Fennel: Preludio
Garlic: Northern White
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)
Beans: Yellow & Green Mix
Cauliflower: Japanese
Cherry Tomatoes: Mix

Okra: Candle Fire and Bowling Red
Peas: Snow or Sugar Snap


Herb It! option: Sweet Basil, Garlic Chives, Pineapple Mint

and at least one of the following: (see **NOTE below)
Beans: Yellow & Green Mix
Cauliflower: Japanese

Eggplant: Orient Express
Peas: Snow or Sugar Snap


Herb It! option: Sweet Basil, Garlic Chives, Pineapple Mint

Featured Recipes:

Zucchini Quesadillas (we love to make the filling and freeze it!)

Cucumber Basil Salad

Cabbage, Fennel and Carrot Slaw

Pickled Carrots with Mint

Fennel Frond Pesto

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: Trace

We hope everyone got through last night's storms without serious issues. Luckily it was a non-event on the farm, with only some moderate breeze and no rain. The previous few days of hot weather were much more of a challenge. It's tough to keep crops, animals and crew happy and healthy in temperatures like that. There were lots of water and shade breaks for the crew and animals and a rotation of irrigation for the crops. 

Most things seemed to get through without too much issue. The exceptions so far have been the beans, which were still offended from the last heat wave and some of the summer squash. We can't really blame the heat for the squash though, our insect nemeses, cucumber beetles and squash vine borers  are the real cause of the plant die off, the heat was just the final blow for some of them. Never fear, they aren't all dead and we have another planting in a separate field, but they too will likely have a shorter season than we'd like. So celebrate it now and we'll send out summer squash as much as we can for as long as we can. The beans are just sulking as their pollen was sterilized from the heat and they are slow to rebloom. There are two more successions of beans coming along in the field so we expect many more beans in the coming weeks.

Yesterday, ahead of the forecast storm we pushed to get another round of trellising on the tomatoes, in hopes that more support would help them survive the winds. Luckily we missed the wind and now the plants are well supported and looking really good. The first fruits are just starting to ripen. So far there's just been a handful of cherry and mini romas that we are sending out today but there are more to come soon!

Besides keeping up with the tomato plants, watering and harvesting we were able to get more weeding and cultivating done this week. In general things are looking pretty good in the field. The local deer marauders found the edamame and my prized Purple Peruvian corn but hopefully we can keep the hungry beasts from finishing them off. Finally, we got another round of fall crops sown including chard, kale, beans, turnips, beets and daikon. A good week, despite the heat!

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.

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)

BGF NEWS - June 25, 2024 - VOL. 52, NO. 4

In this week’s box:

Baby Cabbage: Farao

Chard

Fennel

Garlic Scapes (the green, curly things) one last time!
Head Lettuce, assorted varieties

Oregano

Turnips

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

Cucumbers: Marketmore or Dragon

Peas- Snow

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

Herb It! option: will start next week!

Featured Recipes:  

Roasted Haruki Turnips with Couscous Salad

Lime Cabbage Salad **BGF Favorite (see recipe below)

Sautéed Cabbage with Fennel **BGF Favorite (see recipe below)

What’s up on the farm?
Precipitation in the past week: 1.18"

Whew, what a week it's been! It started with the announcement that our Peace Tree delivery location was closing. Amid much scrambling and emailing and site visits, our fabulous friends at HoQ have offered us a place with them, just a few blocks from Peace Tree. What a hugely generous offer and we are so thankful to them! We're still looking for a location for VegEmail, as our footprint with three producers is quite a bit larger. We have several leads we are following up on. Big thanks to everyone who emailed suggestions or helped us make connections! Stay tuned for updates on locations.

The past week was a big cultivation push, as we worked to clean up beds and stay ahead of the weeds. The beds were looking really good, though now that we've gotten some rain, we can already see new weeds germinating. It's a relentless cycle this time of year!

This past Sunday we hosted our longtime farming friends group for a workday. Only true farming friends would put up with what we asked of them. We spent several hours installing all the posts for our tomato trellis. It's a formidable job that involves placing and pounding hundreds of posts. Undaunted, we placed and pounded until it was done. Now we "just" have to prune the plants and string the trellis. 

The final big job of the week was the garlic harvest. 

With rain in the forecast, it was important for us to push through this task on Monday, even though the mid-90° temperatures made it a hot, sweaty task.  We were a bit concerned about the rapid drying on some of the garlic and hoped it didn't indicate an issue with the crop. Happily, once we got it pulled we were pleased to see that it was some of the best looking garlic we've grown. Whew! About 4,200 heads of garlic are now hanging in the packing barn to cure. 

A few new things in your boxes today as the season shifts into summer crops. A variety of summer squashes are making their first appearances as are cabbage and fennel. We're excited to see new crops starting to produce and we hope you enjoy them as they make their seasonal debuts! 

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.

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.

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 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.

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 in a jar or other glass container in the refrigerator for best keeping quality.

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!

Turnips: keep best if separated from their greens. Greens are stored in a plastic bag and can be cooked like mustard or collard greens. 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)

Lime Cabbage Salad

1/2 cabbage (or 1 small), finely shredded
2 limes, freshly squeezed
large pinch of sea salt
1/4 tsp cumin seed
1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil

Toss together & serve as a side salad or top with a saucy or spicy meat, like left over BBQ beef or pulled pork.

Recipe Source: Blue Gate Farm friend, Dana F.

Sauteed Cabbage with Fennel

serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil 
1-2 c. fresh fennel bulb, chopped
1 small/medium sweet onion, chopped
4 cups shredded cabbage
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a very large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Add fennel, onion and cabbage and saute until cabbage is cooked through but still crunchy, about 5 minutes.
Place cabbage mixture in a large serving bowl, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve hot.

Recipe Source: Blue Gate Farm

BGF NEWS - August 8, 2023 - VOL. 50, NO. 9

IN THIS WEEK’S BOX:

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

Beets: Cylindra

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

Eggplant: Orient Express, Asian Delight and/or Listada

Fennel

Head Lettuce: asst.

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

Onion: Candy

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: Minnesota Midget

Okra: Bowling Red & Candle Fire

Herb It! option: Sweet Basil, Sage, Lemon Verbena

Bread Share: Honey Oat

Featured Recipes:

Beet Fennel Salad

Roasted Beet and Fennel Hummus

Quick Pickled Cucumbers & Onions (and other veg)

Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta

WHAT’S UP ON THE FARM?

Precipitation in the past week: 1.6"

What a difference a week makes, again! The temps have dropped, we got another shot of rain and crops and everything seems to be putting on a growth spurt. The crew got a lot of the fall crops transplanted this past week including cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, kale and chard. There is still more to go, but we need to clear out some more early crops to make space for them. The beets we are sending out this week are part of that rotation. They are taking up space we need for fall broccoli (and they are QUITE large enough) so out they go! We know they are ridiculously large, but they are still tender and delicious, so we hope you enjoy them. We also started seeding some of the fall crops for the high tunnels this week. It's hard to believe that it's time for those sowings, but the calendar insists it is so.

Amid fall crop chores, we are trying to stay ahead of the mid season harvesting. The tomatoes have really started pumping out the fruits and we are coming to the end of the hail damaged ones, though you will likely notice some cosmetic damage on some of them in your boxes yet this week. 

The cucumbers are slowing down a bit as the high temps a couple of week's ago sterilized their pollen. That and the cucumber beetles are definitely making a dent. The summer squash too are slowly phasing out, so remember to enjoy them while they are here! The peppers seemed to be unfazed by the heat and have finally started ripening. They will likely start appearing in boxes next week. 

The mini cantaloupe seem to have finally peaked. I think this is the most we've ever had at one time. We'll send out what we have and look forward to the next variety which isn't quite ready yet. We did harvest the first watermelon today and the crew deemed it acceptable. Both of the melons are probably still 1-2 weeks away from any significant harvest, but they are coming!

While we are celebrating the return of the rain, it would be extra helpful if it could avoid raining any more on our potatoes and onions. Those crops are finished growing (for the most part) and really need to be harvested. The soil is too wet to dig potatoes, but we were able to get some of the onions and shallots harvested and hung to dry. Hopefully we will dry out enough to dig potatoes later this week.

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- 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.

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.

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.

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: Now mostly cured, these onions can be stored on the countertop for quick use. For longer storage, keep in a dark location with good air circulation, but don't refrigerate until cut open. 

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)