this here is the Week Twelve CSA Newsletter

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I love it when the compost is beautiful
I love it when the compost is beautiful

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It’s been an interesting week, but I guess I could say that every week. (Maybe I do.)

the feral White Cat watching me behind the trailer

the feral White Cat watching me behind the trailer

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On Sunday, Field Marshal Kristin left for Cleveland, Ohio for five days, leaving me to run everything …. including the CSA harvest today.

Widget watches Kristin leave for the airport
Widget watches Kristin leave for the airport

It hasn’t been bad but it was a bit frightening to behold coming at me through the calendar.

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Fortunately, the timing was good.

committing weed genocide in the Spinach row
committing weed genocide in the Spinach row

 

Things were pretty stable in the field, and for harvest I had help from two short-term but very supportive WWOOFers- Miami Juan & Miami April (AKA “the PhDs” (both are psychologists)), as well as Neighbors Dave & Marcie and Patriarch Jim Sehr.

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The PhDs had actually been running backup for me since Kristin left – cooking delicious and interesting food, helping weed, and keeping company. And they did so with wonderful cheer in spite of the fact that they were both slowly being killed by the unseasonable August chill that had rode in on a daylong howling wind to banish last week’s Floridian heatwave.

(the PhDs sent me a bunch of photos they took to use in the newsletter!)
(the PhDs sent me a bunch of photos they took to use in the newsletter!)

 

Which is to say, it got really chilly, down into the 40s at night, and it did so right before these poor unsuspecting hot-blooded Miami natives arrived and found their bodies, wardrobes, and accommodations unprepared and unable to maintain sensation in their extremities.

uh oh are his fingertips frozen to the cabbage? (pic thx to Miami April)
uh oh are his fingertips frozen to the cabbage? (pic thx to Miami April)

My blood is thicker, but I suffered a bit with them – although I closed all the windows for the first time in months, sleeping was cold without Kristin there.  I swapped out the Albatross screens for storm windows, provided the PhDs with extra blankets. and draped a thick fleecelined flannel over old Cleo. (I could have run the woodstove, but I didn’t want to concede to winter. And even if I did, it would be demoralizing to the dwellers of the unheated Albatross, and it would chip away at our woodpile, which suddenly seemed too small, urgently in need of additional wood to get busy drying out.; the last thing I wanted to do was start shrinking it in August.)

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Learning the Way of the Maul (Pic thx to Miami Juan)
Learning the Way of the Maul (Pic thx to Miami Juan)

 

The sun came out today though, for a gorgeous harvest day, the opposite of last week’s grey rainy scene.

He's a freshman at Kale
He’s a freshman at Kale

 

Here’s what we put in your boxes in that sunshine:

Week 12 Box

 

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(Kristin wrote in remotely to help me out today with this part!):

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Savoy cabbage aka cabbage patch kids
The sweetest and most tender type of cabbage best type for eating raw in salad or use leaves for wraps. Can also be sautéed with butter/ tasty oil, garlic, ginger, pepper, lemon, whatever seasonings you like!

hauling cabbage (pic thanks to Miami April)
hauling cabbage (pic thanks to Miami April)

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Thai basil
Add to soup, stir fry, add to peanut sauce zoodles.
Try making an Asian style pesto by blending:

2 cups fresh Thai basil leaves
2 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves

Zucchini
http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/sweet-and-hot-curried-zucchini-pickles

pod pickers
pod pickers

 

Edamame (aka fresh soybeans)
Don’t eat the pods! Basic serving suggestion:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chile-garlic-edamame-recipe.html

Neighbor Marcie, Pod Person
Neighbor Marcie, Pod Person

Other edamame ideas:
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5877128

Sugar baby watermelon:

(Drat, I opened one of the coolers today and saw a tree frog hanging out on the watermelon pile inside – but he hopped away all photo-shy when I pulled out my phone. So use your imagination here.)

Probably just eat it, right? That’s easiest. But it would also pair nicely with Thai basil. Here’s a refreshing drink:
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-watermelon-basil-agua-fresca-recipes-from-the-kitchn-205390

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Tomatoes
Gazpacho! Tomato soup served ice cold!
Tomato slices on burgers, sandwiches, and with eggs Benedict.

AAaaaagh VOLES! They are fueling new generations with ripe tomatoes now.
AAaaaagh VOLES! They are fueling new generations with ripe tomatoes now.

Broccoli
Cucumber
Onion
Sweet Corn

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The challenge this week was fitting things into the boxes. Holy crap … you have less zucchini than you started with, and Plan A of putting BOTH a cabbage and a watermelon in the boxes was sensibly and necessarily abandoned … so the watermelons are a la carte.

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Hope you enjoy the food!

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Shareholder Elizabeth’s Nicoise Salad creation: “Salmon not tuna, didn’t use eggs, balsamic and red vinegars, parsley, dill, dijon, red and la ratte potatoes, two types of your tomatoes, green beans. Next morning some of the leftovers were used in omlets with Gail’s eggs!”

 

 

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the pile of reject tomatoes (destined for sauce and juice and salsa and such)
the pile of reject tomatoes (destined for sauce and juice and salsa and such)

3 thoughts on “this here is the Week Twelve CSA Newsletter”

  1. Wonderful – wonderful day.
    The harvest and preparing the “boxes” went very well….and we had fun ! Colorful, varied textures and awesome flavors.
    Delicious lunch – thank you April and Juan.
    Looking forward to your safe return Kiristin.

  2. Thanks for the treats… fun visit with Marcie (she’s LOTS taller than you think just seeing her drive by in a car!) after everybody rolled out. Positive thoughts going out from us to Rene’ in New Yawk.

  3. Holy Cats that’s a full box! We’re very excited about the watermelon. :-) Keep up the great work!

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