Farm Date 7/5/17: CSA Newsletter Four

It’s hot. And all last night it was somehow hotter. And wetter. Not rain – we’d have loved rain – but sticky, icky humidity. The air was so wet that the mosquitoes dog paddled through it, diving through chinks in our screen armor, and snorkeling their faces down through our sweaty skin, all night long. It was a lousy sleep, but hey, it was over soon enough, as we woke up with the dawn to race the sun’s desiccating rays to the salad and pea rows.

This week’s harvest was brought to you in part by a grant from strong coffee.

But really, mostly, we’re exhausted because life is awesome and we’ve been graced with a lot of fun people and times. We’ve been up too late, imbibing too much, having too many people over, and perhaps even spending too many hours floating languidly down the Saint Croix River, sunburning ourselves in unusual spots.

4th of July float - 6 rejuvenating hours down the Saint Croix. I can see how I got the sunburns on my inner thighs ...
4th of July float – 6 rejuvenating hours down the Saint Croix. I can see how I got the sunburns on my inner thighs …

It’s been great, but we’re excited for some home/work time, to get re-grounded; we’ve been leaving the Farm far too often for our tastes, as we make important connections with friends and family – and prepare to trade our house in South Minneapolis for a nest egg to hatch out here in the Sterling Sand Barrens.

Kristin emerges from beneath West Saint Paul
Kristin emerges from beneath West Saint Paul

It’s all wonderful, all worthy, and we sure as heck recognize how blessed we are to face every single one of the stresses we have  … but still, damn I’m hoping to fall asleep early tonight, wake up late, and spend several days without leaving the Farm at all.

CSA Members Aaron & Robby scale a wall, because it was there.
CSA Members Aaron & Robby scale a wall, because it was there.

Box #4

As usual, everything in your box was harvested fresh today!

 

  • Salad Mix (red & green lettuce, green mizuna, arugula, pea tips, baby kale)
    We’re getting toward the end of spring salad days, as the heat cranks up and the cool-weather-loving plants throw up their seeds in surrender to summer.

    this salad mix is punk as fuck
    this salad mix is punk as fuck
  • Beets (mostly Detroit Dark Red & Chioggia varieties) – Kristin likes to use feta cheese with beets, sometimes simple olive oil and salt and pepper, or compliment them with citrus flavors. We often roast the beet roots, and then chop the beet greens and toss them in toward the end, letting them wilt and combine into a beetastic dish.

    (Since we are obsessed with doing all in our power to preserve the freshness of your food, we cut off the greens and bagged them together –  once they leave the ground, root crops left attached to their leaves lose moisture and become withered and rubbery and sad.)
  • Sugar Snap Peas –  also getting toward the end of these – the plants hate this heat and aren’t doing much in the way of flowers (future peas) anymore.
  • Green Onions – These are getting bigger now – did you know that the bulbing of onions is triggered by shortening day length?  So now that we’re past the summer solstice, the onions are putting on some girth.
  • Broccoli – A good harvest this week!

    Matriarch Deb splitting up the broccoli harvest
    Matriarch Deb splitting up the broccoli harvest
  • Hakurei Salad Turnips – these are done until maybe fall – you’ve had them a few times, maybe change up how you’re using them – if you’ve been enjoying them raw, try them roasted, or vice versa!
  • Sage – We ate ours in grilled hamburger this week and it was delicious; highly recommended. If you’re not able to use it now, it’s easy to dry and use later!

Shareholder Melissa's beet/salad mix dish made this evening
Shareholder Melissa’s beet/salad mix dish made this evening

 

WWOOFer Sarah celebrates the completion of the final row of hay mulching!
WWOOFer Sarah celebrates the completion of the final row of hay mulching!

 

WWOOFer Marty surfs the logging operation's woodpile
WWOOFer Marty surfs the logging operation’s woodpile

 

Farm babies! One of two (so far) new arrivals - spawn of Slick the Rooster & Grey Goose, the Gray
Farm babies! One of two (so far) new arrivals – spawn of Slick the Rooster & Grey Goose, the Gray

 

lean, mean, weeding machines
lean, mean, weeding machines

 

Kristin (right) getting a tractor ride from grandpa on the Farm, back in the 1980s.
Kristin (right) getting a tractor ride from grandpa on the Farm, back in the 1980s.

 

5 thoughts on “Farm Date 7/5/17: CSA Newsletter Four”

  1. What do people do with green onions? Finding it difficult to use them all in a useful way each week.

    1. We just add them to pretty much any savory dish, usually chopping them up and throwing them in near the end of cooking because they are mild. You could chop them up and infuse vinegar with them to make a onion flavored vinwgar to use in your cooking. If you search for scallion recipes in a search engine he will find some ideas!

    2. I love them freshly chopped in salads, used in Asian stir fries or rices, sprinkled over salmon before grilling… I think I used green onions more than any other!

  2. Thanks for the replies! I’m sure Google has a few recipes for me, just curious if anyone else had some unique ideas they really enjoy.

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