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CSA Produce Subscription Distribution-- Week 28
This post expired on July 10, 2023.
Your box for Week 28!
Farm Where Life is Good
Produce Subscription (Week 28)
Harvest day started in a down-pour with mud up to our ankles. Then the sky turned blue, and the sun shone strong all day. And the mosquitoes sucked strong all day too! (ok, a little bad grammar; but points for the play on words?)
Rog was being photogenic today during beet harvest. They really are striking in their contrasting reds and greens; beautiful!
Beets in the barrow
Beets whispering to the celery to hurry on up!
But on to the more popular items— the cucumbers have arrived! Along with their friends, the beets, you will find in your boxes this week:
Cucumber It is just the beginning, yeaaaaa! Please excuse the lack of uniform size and minor blemishes. Hoping as they climb, less pest irritation from down low. 
Mini-Broccoli So far, so good. Caterpillar-free mini-broccoli! Count your blessings. 
Baby lettuce mix We know it is a lot; hoping it is enjoyed. Wanted to get you the Salanova (below), but couldn’t trust it as a new crop. So, doubled up!
Salanova A trial crop for FarmWLIG; a type of salad mix but more mature/crispy leaves. Let us know what you think, please. 
Kale, Red Russian 
Parsley The parsley is looking and smelling good, if we do say so ourselves! 
Dill Mmmm, craving for a nice dill-green onion dip! 
Oregano Check out the salad dressing below and take your taste buds on a trip to the Mediterranean this week. 
Green onion Well, actually purple. A new variety; we’ll see. 
Beets Have fun with the candy-striped, sweet, young things.
Bonus: And whoever finds the large beet with a funny-looking wart on its nose, you win a prize next week. Snap a photo and email us your finding !
Recipes for your consideration
Satay Marinade for Grilled Mini-Broccoli
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter or tahini (sesame paste)
1 teaspoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice or seasoned rice vinegar
Whisk it all together. Toss mini-broccoli in marinade and refrigerate 30-60min.
Pop florets on the grill until bright green; don’t overdo them!
Check the website for a quick fix to showcase the dill; spread on some fresh bread and slap on some lettuce. Mmmmm good!
Live Beet Salad
I wonder what this will look like with the candy-striped beets?!
½# beets, scrubbed, topped, shredded
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, fine chop
1 small purple onion, sliced paperthin ½ moons
1 Tbsp fresh dill or cilantro (fine chop) *optional
Whisk together:
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (Bragg’s active culture)
3 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
Add all vegetables; toss thoroughly with vinaigrette. Serve chilled as side or atop a lettuce salad or protein-main.
Greek Salad Dressing
A simple dressing to create a fresh Greek salad. A little Salanova salad mix, a pile of sliced or cubed cucumbers, a handful of kalmata olives and toss with some oregano and lemon dressing. Perfecto! (ok, maybe that’s Italian…)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tsp honey or maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
Several sprigs fresh oregano, remove leaves and finely chop
Mix all ingredients in container for shaking or small bowl for whisking.
For Your Reading Pleasure
It’s Time for a New Declaration of Independence by Robert Rodale in 1976
Some intellectual food-for-thought, from one of the pioneers in organic farming, on this 237th anniversary of our nation’s birth.
Farm News
This past week was a whirlwind of transplanting and seeding. We got half of the rutabaga seeded before today’s rain. (Don’t fret now, we will get the other half in in a day or two!) Last year’s rutabaga was plagued with the same pest that knocked out most of the salad turnips; it is a root “fly baby” (Razz doesn’t like the “M” word). We are hoping the floating row covers, 100ft at a stretch, will keep them at bay.
This organic growing stuff, whew! Experiencing what we have experienced, we can just imagine how much agrochemical use is needed, doing it the conventional way, to make pristine roots. But we are H-bent on getting you some healthy rutabaga this year! (I know, you just can’t wait.)
Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the vegetables.
Roger and Lara
