CSA Week 9: Oh sure, let’s plan a wedding!

In their shares this week, members will receive the following vegetables:  Cucumbers (slicers and picklers), tomatoes, sugar snap peas, carrots, Thai basil, sweet peppers, Hungarian hot wax pepper, bunching onions, summer squash, zucchini, salad mix, new red potatoes.  Cherry tomatoes for some shares. (More are coming!)

This newsletter includes a roundup of news from the farm as well as information and recipes. Feel free to jump to the bottom of the newsletter to find the section titled, “This week’s veggies and recipes.”

News from the farm

At the beginning of the season, we talked about possibly skipping this week because on Saturday we are getting married (here, at the farm).  We figured we’d need the time to get ready. Then, we’d add a week onto the end of the season.  Well, we thought that was silly and have decided to do a delivery anyways!  Why not?!  But in all honesty, the field isn’t going to stop producing just because of a wedding.  So, we will carry on as usual.  

Flower beds are bursting with color

Our flowers are taking off and we will have flower shares in the next couple of weeks. We want to have as many as we can for the wedding, but there are still more coming since we’re a few weeks behind last year.  We’ll notify those of you that signed up for Flower Shares and fill those shares in order of first come.  If we fill all those orders, then we’ll see if anyone else wants a share.

Farm stand news 

In Heather-Marie’s first years as a farmer, she went to the UMD farmer’s market once a week and did that for two years.  She also sold at the yearly Harvest Festival at Bayfront Park.  It was a lot of work, and mileage on vehicles, to schlep produce into Duluth and not make that much money.  So, at various farm locations (remember, she moved five times in 10 years) she would set up a farm stand Friday evenings.  It was mildly successful.  We knew we would do the same thing here in Barnum.  Last year, we had many local folks just stop by out of curiosity.  Many grew up with the Johnson kids and were interested in what was happening with the place and happy to see someone farming it.  It was a chance to meet our neighbors, teach people about eating locally and seasonally.  

The last farm stand of the 2021 season, we offered free apple cider and had a “photo booth” for people to get their photos taken. We sold all the usual fall items like pumpkins, gourds, winter squash and potatoes.  We might not have made a lot of money but we felt it was really successful.  We even got some CSA members out of it!

This year, it feels like things have picked up. We are usually swamped the first hour and a half.  We have regulars that say, “See you next week!”  One person last week said to John that they appreciated what our farm stand offered for our community.

 This week’s veggies and recipes

We have a few newcomers to this week’s share. The most exciting of those are new, red fingerling potatoes. They are called “new” because their skins are thin and fragile and their flavor makes them some of the best potatoes you’ve ever had.

This week, John’s daughter Brenna made an amazing soup made with the potatoes, leeks, fresh dill and other ingredients. But, like so much from our garden, our advice is to keep it simple. 

We also want to share a couple of very simple recipes that mostly involve salting vegetables and letting them sweat for a lot longer than you might think – like even overnight. 

David Chang’s quick pickles

We are giving you a nice sampling of pickling cucumbers and we hope you’ll consider pickling them. That doesn’t mean making pickles and canning them. It means just a simple way of preparing cucumbers. Our favorite recipe comes from David Chang, a New York chef who does amazing stuff with simple ingredients.

Here is a link to the recipe.

From the website: “There’s nothing complicated about these pickles. We use them on noodles at Momofuku Noodle Bar and encourage you to do the same.” 

Slice cucumbers and stir with sugar and salt. Let sit for 10 minutes or up to a few hours.

• 3 kirby cucumbers or 2 jalapeños
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Carrots, cukes, bunching onions, salad mix and Thai basil

Bunching Onions

These are similar to scallions but they are larger, like a full-sized onion, but with the greens still attached to make it easier to “bunch”.  Use them as you would scallions or onions.

Summer Roll Rice Salad

From the website Family Style Food

We recently made this for an easy, no-cook dinner.  It reminded us of spring rolls in Vietnam but the rolls are “deconstructed” into bowls.  Heather-Marie can’t eat nuts so she substituted tahini for the almond butter. 

Almond Butter Lime Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons smooth almond butter, preferably unsweetened
• 3 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil such as avocado or canola
• 3 tablespoons agave nectar, honey or maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sriracha
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 plump garlic clove, grated

Noodle Bowl

• 8 ounces rice stir fry noodles, cooked according to package directions, drained and rinsed in cold water
• 2 cups matchstick-cut carrots, about 1/2 pound carrots
• 2 cups half-moon sliced seedless cucumber
• 4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 cup loosely packed each fresh cilantro, mint and basil leaves
• Handful mixed baby greens

Garnish ideas:

• Sesame seeds
• Crushed roasted peanuts or chopped roasted almonds
• Thinly sliced fresh red chili pepper

Instructions

Whisk all ingredients for the dressing together in a bowl until smooth.

In another large bowl, toss the drained noodles with the carrots, cucumber, scallions, shallot, herb leaves and half of the dressing.

Serve in bowls over mixed greens, with additional dressing spooned over to taste. Garnish with fresh red chili, peanuts and/or sesame seeds.

Summer squash, bunching onions, tomatoes

Squash Ribbons with Tomatoes, Peanuts, Basil, Mint and Spicy Fish Sauce 

From Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden

• 4 firm zucchini or other summer squash
• Kosher salt
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup salted, roasted peanuts
• 1 bunch scallions sliced on a sharp angle

Spicy fish sauce

• ¼ cup seeded, minced hot chiles
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup fish sauce
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Sauce preparation

Stir ingredients together until sugar dissolves. This sauce is better if made the day before and will keep for a month.

Preparation

Use mandoline slicer or sharp knife to create long ribbons of squash. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt and put in a colander to drain for 30 minutes. Blot with towel to remove moisture and pile into large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss. Add more salt if needed. Finish with olive oil.