Weeks are flying by. Here we are at week 7. Sorry there was no journal last week – things got crazy and so much picking and sleep at night… I am trying to write it between lunch and CSA Monday pickups. So I don’t leave the house after lunch until this is written and eggs are ready to go set up the pick up. time management… in the sprint of July. Speaking of July, I love when the night shades like potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers are producing – I do not like the crazy heat and drought conditions of July. I feel like veggies grow in July but it’s a stressful month for them to grow. Our squash, zukes, and cukes have taken a beating with the heat and no rain (thankful for the rain this morning) some of their outer leaves turn yellow and crispy – not a fungus just heat stress. Also, when it gets too hot like in the 90’s flowers on fruiting plants will abort because it is too hot. Cucurbits and peppers are known for this. Veggies really like growing in high 70- low 80s temperature with regular rain at night a couple times a week with the farmer also doing some watering. There is something in rain water that waters so much more efficiently then our sprinklers and drip lines. Also, so many nutrients and minerals that come down and get recycled in rain water. Anyways, I always feel that July is a roller coaster ride – buckle up and hold on and drink plenty of water.
We picked our first red potatoes this weekend and I boiled them up with a little salt and had them for dinner last night and then as homefries at lunch. So yummy and creamy. We are giving you your potatoes dirty because they store better that way. Please don’t peel them. Their skins have so many nutrients in them. Certified organic produce like carrots, potatoes, beets, turnips shouldn’t be peeled – they do not have coatings or pesticides on them and they are good for your gut.
The cabbage in your share is the best cabbage we have grown in 17 seasons! Hot damn. So juicy and yummy. and honestly I think it was the compost plus from vt compost company we put in each hole and the protek net that we covered all the brassicas with it that we do not have bug damage or bug stress on the cabbage. You can eat this cabbage raw – so juicy!
We picked the first shishito frying peppers today and the first eggplants. So yummy. With these eggplants, you do not have to skin or salt them. They are smaller and more tender than their large distant cousins in the grocery store. The beans you are getting in your share are italian pole beans and great in ratouille or succotash – just cut them up and steam or put them in sauces.
The cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen – we picked 8 pints on Saturday morning and we picked a few more pints on Sunday night for dinner. Fingers crossed for next week;) Sweet carrot bunches, Bush beans – like Haricot Vert – Hopefully next week. Sadie saw a few jack be little orange pumpkins this morning – what the what?! THis is such a weird growing season…but maybe this is the new norm.. and as we keep doing pivot.. Sorry there is no lettuce this week – we lost the whole second planting due to the high heat even though Adam watered and watered and then the storm rain – makes gross lettuce. Third planting should be ready next week or maybe end of this week.
The Hens over the last few weeks have been hit hard with the heat, weasels and fox. they are slowly recovering. We are not selling eggs in the stand, farmers market or city market to make sure we have enough for CSA members and our family during the week. There maybe times that whole dozen share might receive 1/2 dozen just to make sure we have enough for all the csa members. If you would like to be reimbursed for the half dozen you might miss during a week – let us know and we will reimburse you promptly. Hopefully this will all straighten out over the next couple of weeks. We have also called our organic chicken farmer in Pennsylvania to see if he has any extra pullets that are just starting to lay.
We are still looking for volunteers on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings from 9-12, Monday and Thursday nights 4-630. also the farmers market on Saturday in Grand Isle is looking for volunteers for help with parking and welcoming.
One last thing – If you would like to order coffee starting next week to pick up with your share – on farm or delivery Thursday – we have partnered with Perky Planet in Burlington. Our crew has been drinking it the last few weeks and oh my word! It is so yummy. Christine Vaughan and her family are CSA members and deliver fresh, still warm coffee to us when they pick up their share on Mondays J Coffee and Veggies!
So here are the details: Perky Planet is a Vermont owned Coffee roaster with a mission of employing individuals with disabilities. We proudly deliver mountain grown, 100% arabica bean coffee, sustainably sourced and fresh small-batch roasted to extract delicious coffee in every cup. On any given week, you might receive:
Ethiopian- Yirgacheffe Natural Processed, hints of Dark Chocolate, Caramel, Berry, Roasted Almond, Rose
Brazil – Salmo Plus Natural Processed, hints of Milk Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Raisin, Graham Cracker
Colombia USDA Organic hints of Caramel, Cherry, Herb-like, Orange
Guatemala Culbuco, hints of Chocolate, Almond, Apple, Orange
Coffee can be ordered whole bean or ground (drip grind), available at $12/per pound. Please contact Christine at
cvaughn@gisu.org.
Ok, well I better go. See you all soon. Thanks for reading.
Thanks for being part of our farm. We look forward to farming with you this season.
Peace, your farmers, Christine, Adam, Sadie, Delia, Claire and Norma
PS Sorry for any run on sentences, misspellings, or sentence fragments… I try to re-read thhese and catch them – but again – it’s July;)
What’s in the share this week:
This list is what is in a full share this week. Things may change between Monday and Thursday and Individual and Salad share will get differing amounts and may not get everything on the list., zucchini, summer squash, pickling/snacking cukes, slicing cucumbers, green cabbage, basil, shishito peppers, eggplant, new red potatoes, Italian flat pole beans
RAW Jersey Milk for Sale: 1/2 gal jars available of Sandy and Skye’s Milk – cream is so creamy and they love all this spring grass. $5 a jar and if you don’t have a half gal jar to swap $3 deposit. Available at on farm pickup on Mondays and Thursdays.
RECIPES:
Shishito Peppers:
Here’s what you do. Heat a little olive oil in a wide sauté pan until it is good and hot but not smoking. Add the peppers and cook them over medium, tossing and turning them frequently until they blister. They shouldn’t char except in places. Don’t rush. It takes 10 to 15 minutes to cook a panful of peppers. When they’re done, toss them with sea salt and add a squeeze of fresh lemon. Slide the peppers into a bowl and serve them hot. You pick them up by the stem end and eat the whole thing, minus the stem, that is it.
While similar to the Spanish Padrone, the shishito has a distinctive flavor and appearance all its own. The slender, finger-sized peppers are bright green in color (turning red when mature), with long creases in the body of the fruit. Their flavor is lively and sweet with a hint of smokiness.
Char-grilled Shishito Peppers (http://earthydelightsblog.com/shishito-peppers/
Quickly grilling the peppers over high heat chars the thin skins and accentuates the shishito’s naturally sweet-smoky flavor. A drizzle with a good, fruity olive oil and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt is all that’s needed to finish these flavorful little peppers to perfection.
1 pound Shishito peppers
extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Directions:
Pre-heat the grill to medium-high. Thread the shishito peppers onto skewers and brush with a little olive oil. When the grill is nice & hot, place the skewered shishito peppers on the grate. Turn frequently, until lightly charred here and there.
Remove from the grill and set aside to cool for a minute or two. Slide the peppers onto a serving plate, drizzle with your best extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Fresh Green Cabbage
Shred or chop cabbage and put in sandwiches or wraps. It is very sweet and tender. You can make a slaw with it too. You can also wilt the leaves and then stuff them with meat or chopped veggies.
Sesame Cabbage https://mariquita.com/recipes/cabbage.html
1/2 cup raw sesame seeds
1/4 tsp salt
1 dried red chile flakes
1 head Cabbage, chopped
3/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
“Popu”
1 1/2 tbsp oil (olive, sesame, canola, etc.)
1 dried red chili, cracked
1 pinch fenugreek
1/4 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp cumin seed
Dry roast sesame seeds and dried red chili in a pan over medium heat. Stir often until majority seeds are brown. Remove from heat and cool. Once cool, grind in a food processor or blender with 1/2 tsp of salt. Excess ground sesame can be stored in the refrigerator for further use. To cook cabbage over medium heat, add chopped cabbage to 3/4 cup boiling water + 1 tsp salt. Cook until cabbage is desired texture. Once cooked, drain excess liquid. Add 1/4-1/2 cup ground sesame. Turn off heat.Prepare the “popu” in a separate pan by combing all ingredients, heating over medium heat, and waiting for mustard seeds to crackle. Once ready, add to cabbage, stir and heat over low heat for 1 minute. The “popu” can be prepared when the cabbage is nearly finished.
Cabbage and Potato Pancakes (from Simplicty – from a Monastery Kitchen)
1/2 head small green cabbage
4 large potatoes, peeled and grated
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
2 eggs
3/4 c milk
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
a small bunch of parsley, chopped
8 TBS vegetable or olive oil
1. Quarter the cabbage and steam it for about 6-7 minutes. Drain and chop the cabbage finely.
2. Place chopped cabbage, grated potatoes, and chopped onion in a big bowl. Mash them thoroughly with a masher and mix them well with a spatula.
3. In a separate deep bowl beat the eggs. Add the milk and beat some more. Add the cabbage-potato-onion mixture. Add some salt and pepper and the chopped parsley. Mix all the ingredients together until thoroughly blended. Refrigerate 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 250. To make the pancakes use a crepe pan or nonstick skillet. In the pan heat about 1 tablespoon of oil (each time) to low-med and pour in about one eighth of the potato mixture. Flatten the mixture evenly with a spatula and cook over medium heat until the pancake turns brown at the bottom. Turn the pancake over carefully and continue cooking the other side. When the pancake is done, slide it carefully onto an ovenproof platter. Repeat the process until all the pancakes are done. Keep the pancakes in the warm oven until ready to serve.
Napa Kimchee – just in case you still have the napa cabbage from last week
6 lb cabbage, preferrably napa, but any variety will do (you can cut this recipe and use 1/3 of it witht eh one cabbage you got;))
1/4 cup Korean pickling salt or Kosher salt
8 scallions
1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
2 T grated fresh ginger
2 T garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 T candied ginger (I use fresh ginger and add a bit more sugar)
2 t sugar
1/2 cup red pepper flakes
1 T salt
Remove limp outer leaves from the cabbage. Quarter the cabbage then cut across quarters into 1.5 inch-wide pieces. Put cabbage into large bowl with pickling salt. Toss to cover evenly. Let stand for 30 minutes, tossing a couple of times. Rinse with cold water and drain. Toss cabbage
with remaining ingredients and pack into a large crock or covered pottery casserole. Add water to cover, about 3 cups. Let sit on counter for 1 to two days. Store in refrigerator, covered, in the crock or individual glass jars.
Note: this recipe can be adjusted to one 2-lb cabbage. Divide the remaining ingredients by one third
Hot and Sour Soup with Shrimp, Napa Cabbage, and Shiitake Mushrooms adapted from epicurious.com
With authentic Asian flavor, this soup is a perfect light supper. Makes 6 servings.
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
3 14-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
2 kaffir lime leaves or 1 teaspoon finely grated lime peel
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 pound uncooked deveined peeled medium shrimp, halved lengthwise
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, sliced 1/8 inch thick
8 ounces Napa cabbage, cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices (about 4 cups)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped fresh green onions
preparation
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add curry paste and stir until beginning to stick to pan, about 4 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, kaffir lime leaves, and minced ginger. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes. Add shrimp and mushrooms. Cook until shrimp begin to turn pink, about 3 minutes. Add cabbage; cook until beginning to wilt, about 30 seconds. Stir in lime juice. Divide soup among bowls; sprinkle with chopped cilantro and green onions and serve.