In this week’s share, members will find peppers, scallions, tomatoes, cucumbers, green-top beets, salad mix, broccoli, basil and collard greens. Half-share members will also receive a summer squash or zucchini. 

As always, scroll to the bottom for some recipes for this week’s produce.

This week at the farm

After weeks of dry, dusty weather, the farm finally got some much needed rain. On Friday night, a major thunderstorm rumbled through the region. We sat inside, turned off the lights and watched the lightshow. By the time we woke, 2.5 inches had fallen in less than 8 hours. 

We nervously walked out to the field to see if the storm had caused any damage. Some plants had been knocked down from the wind and rain, but largely, the field looked to be in good shape and, for the first time in a while, we didn’t have to worry about irrigating. 

The rain, coupled with the hot, sunny days has meant an explosion of growth in the field and in our high tunnel. The tomato plants and cucumbers in the high tunnel are now over 6 feet tall, and we are harvesting fruit daily. 

Meanwhile, out in the field, summer squash are beginning to produce as well. We will be delivering a variety of squashes, including zucchini, yellow summer squash.

What’s very exciting is that we have finally finished our walk-in cooler, which means we can take all our freshly harvested produce and store them in the cold room so they stay fresh for delivery day. 

As we come into the peak of growing season, our days are filled with harvesting, cultivating and trying to keep the weeds and the pests at bay. We walk the potato beds daily, looking for potato bugs, which, if not kept under control, can decimate a crop in a matter of weeks. So far, we have been able to stay on top of them.

In many ways, this may be the most exciting time at the farm. Our meals are all built around what we’re harvesting and, though the work remains demanding, it’s also a time to just appreciate what we’ve accomplished.

We are also really enjoying our new community and the friends we have made. We have wonderful neighbors and have met other friends, some of whom are farmers like us. 

All in all, it’s a rich life and we feel so fortunate.

We can’t wait to host this week’s Movie Night at the Farm as well. We’re excited by the number of people who have told us they will be here.

Recipes

Here are the recipes for the week. We are really excited that we can now begin to pair our homegrown tomatoes with basil this week. Included below is a recipe for bruschetta, which is always a favorite this time of year. Enjoy your veggies!

Green-Top Beet:

This is our first week for beets. Here’s a few things that you can do with beets:

• Early in the season we keep the tops on and can be eaten as well. If you’re not going to use them right away, then detach them from the bulb otherwise the beets will turn soft. 
• Raw beets can be shredded and be put into salads
• Peel and roast them

Beet Greens with Bacon from farmer Catherine Conover

3 beets

4 slices of bacon

4 scallions, sliced

Coarse salt and ground pepper

Cut greens off of beets; discard stems and chop leaves.  In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until golden brown, 6 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate; pour off all but 1 tsp fat from skillet.  Add scallions and cook until softened, 1 minute.  In two batches, add beet leaves and cook until tender, 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and stir in bacon.

Cucumber

Moroccan-Spiced Chickpea Bowl pinchofyum.com from Pinterest

Yummy mix of flavors and textures!

Moroccan-spiced chickpeas:

1 T EVOO

¼ cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T each chili powder and cumin

1 tsp each turmeric and garam masala

1 tsp sea salt

dash of each- cinnamon and cayenne (to taste)

2- 14 oz cans chickpeas

2- 14 oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes

Bowls:

Cucumber

Couscous

Mint, parsley, cilantro

yogurt and/or hummus

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Toasted pita wedges

Heat the EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion; sauté until soft.   Add the garlic, spices, salt and chickpeas- stir until very fragrant.  Add the tomatoes (undrained) and simmer for 20 minutes while you prep the other ingredients.

Chop the cucumber, cook the couscous, and mince the herbs.  Arrange the bowls with desired amounts of all the ingredients, either layered or separately in the bowl.  Voila!

Broccoli

Pasta with Broccoli Florets From “Asparagus to Zucchini”

Florets cut from 1 head of broccoli 1 clove garlic, minced

½ pound pasta ½ pound mushrooms (whole, halved or sliced) 

2 Tb olive oil ¼ c grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tb butter

Cook broccoli florets in boiling water 2-3 minutes.  Remove with slotted spoon.  Cook pasta in same water (or use fresh).  Meanwhile, heat olive oil and butter in skillet.  Sauté garlic and mushrooms 3-4 minutes.  Stir in broccoli.  Drain pasta.  Toss with broccoli mixture and cheese.  Make 2-4 servings.

Tomatoes and basil

Bruschetta

6 large slices crusty Italian bread

3 large cloves garlic 

Toast bread until brown. Cut cloves of garlic in half. When bread is toasted, rub one side with cut half of garlic. Cut slices in half and top 3 of the halves with heaping tablespoons of broccoli topping (https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/3916-topping-of-broccoli-and-olives); heap pepper topping over remaining bread halves. 

Collards Greens

Coconut rice wrapped in collards with carrot chutney and tahini dressing

Like many of our dinners, this recipe kind of happened in the moment as we brainstormed a way to make a meal out of what we had. The rice is adapted from one of our favorite cookbooks, “Deliciously Ella With Friends” by Ella Woodward. The carrots are adapted from a recipe in “Vegetarian for a New Generation,” by Liana Krissoff. The tahini dressing is a family favorite and something we put on almost anything.

Coconut rice

• 1 cup long grain brown rice
• Juice of one lime
• 1 can of coconut milk
• Water (about 1 and a half cups based on your rice cooker. If you don’t have a rice cooker, why don’t you? Get one.)
• Stems of collard greens, chopped finely
• Small to medium onion diced

Carrot chutney

• ½ pound carrots, grated
• 2 tbs turbinado sugar
• 1 tbs grated
• 1 navel orange, scrubbed and juiced with some of the zest set aside as well

Tahini dressing

• 2 tbs tahini
• ¼ extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbs white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• Grated ginger, optional

Collards

• 1 pound collards, washed, stems removed. Larger leaves are better.

Steps:

1. Prepare the collards leaves, setting aside the stems.
2. Chop collard stems and onion and saute in olive oil with a little salt and pepper.
3. Using a rice cooker, combine the ingredients for the rice and start it so it will be ready when everything is done.
4. Combine ingredients for carrot chutney in a small to medium saucepan and bring just to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes and let cool.
5. In a large, flat deep pot with a cover, heat salted water that is about a half-inch deep (you could use a broth for more flavor). Work in batches, adding four or so collard greens to the boiling water and covering the top. Cook until the desired tenderness. There is a lot of variation in collard green toughness so you’ll need to taste and test. Set aside. 
6. Once rice is done, use collard leaves as wrappers, placing a dollop of the rice mixture inside and rolling into a cigar shape.
7. Serve garnished with carrot chutney and dressing.