A little green bug gathering food from (and pollinating) the garlic chive flowers.

The summer is winding down slowly, in fits and starts. It was a hard one for the “plant in summer, harvest in fall” varieties; the last broccoli and Brussels sprouts transplants (a couple hundred or so!) were burned out in the peak of our 90+ degree run. Now is when we are paying for that.

The cooler weather things are just now taking hold; I noticed an interesting thing. Green lettuce varieties don’t germinate in hot soil. Go figure. And neither does any color spinach! (Hoping the spinach transplants hurry up.) The root veggies are “sweetening up” as we speak.

The Market is open for the tail-end of summertime orders.

Ordering will be open from Sunday morning until Monday 8pm. Get your orders in now so harvesting can begin specific to your requests.

Deliveries will be made Wednesday per usual to your chosen Dropsite Location .

Recipes for your consideration

Get your tomato fix before the season is over. This savory take on the crumble is a wonderful side-dish, or boost it up with some Tofurky-brand Italian sausages and serve it as a main event. Mmmmm good.

Tomato Crumble

1 T olive oil
5 medium tomatoes, 1/2" dice
1 shallot, fine chop
1 garlic clove, crush and fine chop
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp corn starch
½-1# cherry or firm paste tomatoes

Crumble—
1c course bread crumbs
1/4c grated parmesan-flavor vegan topping (Galaxy Foods)
1 T nutritional yeast
2 T fresh chives, chopped
1/4c margarine, melted

Preparation:
Grease ramikins (4x 8-10oz) or baking dish (9×9)
In large skillet, add olive oil, chopped tomatoes, shallots, garlic, sea salt and corn starch. Stir and simmer 10-15min until tomatoes are broken down and puree has thickened. Remove from heat and add whole cherry/paste tomatoes.

Mix dry ingredients for crumble, then add melted margarine and stir to coat.

Add tomato mix to baking dish(es), and top with crumble.

Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool 10min pre-serving.

This classic Hungarian stew makes its own liquid as it cooks. Be sure to use sweet Hungarian paprika for the best flavor and color. Serve over bite-sized pasta (bowties, or other similar) or mashed potatoes.

Wheatmeat Paprikash

2# wheatmeat (Whitewave brand), ripped into bite-sized pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips
4 Tbs paprika (substitute 3 fresh paprika pepper, minced)
1 Tbs all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine or vegetable stock
1# paste tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup sour Supreme (Tofutti brand)
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Season the wheatmeat liberally with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large pot and, working in batches, lightly brown the wheatmeat on all sides. Remove to a plate and sauté the onions in the same pot until tender but not browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the peppers and sauté another 5 minutes.

Add the paprika and flour and stir until the paprika becomes fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the wine and stir to scrape up the brown bits in the bottom of the pan.

Stir in the tomatoes and return the wheatmeat to the pan.

Simmer tightly covered over low heat or bake in a 300F (150C) oven until cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Place the SourSupreme in a small bowl and stir into it some of the liquid from the pot. Add the mixture back to the pot and stir to mix well. Serve garnished with chopped parsley.

A little bit of a mix! And a lotta bit of flavor. But really, really simple and less fattening than frying.

Fajita Quesadillas

1 red pepper, sliced (bite-sized pieces)
1 orange pepper, sliced (bite-sized pieces)
1 green pepper, sliced (bite-sized pieces)
1 Anaheim (milder) or 2 Jalapeno (hotter) peppers, diced (optional)
1-2 onions, halved and sliced half-moon
1 Tbsp olive oil
1# wheatmeat/seitan (Whitewave brand), ripped into bite-sized pieces (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
6-8 large wheat flour or rice flour tortillas
1 package Daiya brand cheddar-style cheeze shreds
2-3 tomatoes, diced

Sauté peppers and onions in olive oil until soft but still holding their shape/texture. Add wheatmeat/seitan and heat thru. Salt and pepper to your liking.

Arrange flour tortillas on large baking sheet(s). Sprinkle Daiya cheeze evenly over surface. Bake at 350F until cheeze is melted (approx 8 min). (Daiya melts but looks different than regular cheese, so test as you go.)

Remove from oven, add pepper mixture to half of tortilla, top with chopped tomatoes and fold over. Serve warm.

Did You Know…

…watermelons go “thunk”. It is a well-kept secret in the lives of watermelon, when they are at their peak of crisp sweetness. Is it the drying of the little tendril at the fruit node? Is it the weight and heft of the beast when lofted in the air? Or is it the “thunk”?

We use the “thunk” method. A brisk thwack on the rind with the back of the middle finger and a close listen for the tell-tale sound. You can just picture the FarmWLIG farmers crawling around amoungst the vines with their ears to the melons. (No photos, please!)

It is a daily task out here in the farm…trying to “be” the watermelon. Each variety has its own size, color, seed complement, rind thickness, just to make things more difficult. Why not raise just one variety. Well, where is the fun and surprise in that!

A photo afterall! A loyal WLIG volunteer thunking the melons for harvest.

Produce Subscription Highlights

Anticipated this week for the CSA produce subscription boxes:

Lettuce
Tomatoes
Winter squash
Winter radish (maybe)
Carrots
Parsnips
Onion
Garlic
Celery
Celeriac (celery root)
Sweet pepper (variety)
Anaheim pepper (hot)
Melons
Thyme
Parsley

Start your meal planning now!

We hope to feed you soon!

Roger and Lara

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