- Tomatoes!!
- Sweet Peppers
- Hot Peppers
- Cherry tomatoes
- Thyme
- Basil
- Cucumbers
- Summer Squash
- Green Beans
- Potatoes
- Onions
- Garlic
- Eggplant
Well members, this is the last harvest before we take off for a one week vacation. We are excited to be getting out of Oregon just as it’s starting to heat up again. We have been busy this week turning over any garden bed that we can from summer or spring crops to fall. We are taking this opportunity before the heat wave to get lettuce, radicchio, and Napa cabbage in the ground. I’m trying to seed fall arugula, cilantro and dill and more beets. Those crops have two weeks to get their heads above ground because when we come back if they are not germinated they will be re-planted. This is the week to order flowers. I am taking August off from the farmers market and have tons of beautiful flowers. Please consider buying flowers for yourself, Your mother, your friend, your neighbor. Miraculously the crops that we planted just after the last heat waves are going strong. We have brussels sprouts, cabbages and radicchio taking hold. The fall broccoli is looking pretty good despite our soil being pretty low in nitrogen. We will have to address that when we get back from our trip.
The cucumber bed that I added around the Fourth of July is going crazy if you thought we had a lot of cucumbers before, hold onto your hats. We are going to have a ton of cucumbers. We have been giving about seven cucumbers per share that’s one a day folks make sure to eat your cucumber a day. I am highlighting Becca‘s delicious Thai cucumber salad. Sue Kass has done an amazing job this week at surfing the net for recipes. I have attached a huge document she created to the weekly email.
This is the first Saturday in four months that I’m not dictating this note as I drive to the farmers market. Instead I’m dictating while I plant your green onions. I managed to get lettuce in the ground this morning, I hope to get more beans in later.I harvested flowers because I just couldn’t leave them in the field and I will be working on wreaths and more later on today.
Kody will be in charge of the harvest while we are gone. My sister Diane and her family have offered to help lead the charge on Sunday. If you have time to lend a hand to help us harvest green beans and cherry tomatoes please show up at 7 AM on Sunday and on Wednesday as we need pickers. Next week the harvest will be smaller due to our absence. We do have a great crew for Sunday. We will be back to a regular harvest on 22 August. We can always use extra hands especially with all these small crops that are labor-intensive to harvest. We appreciate all those that have signed up on the google doc.
We still have a few spots available for the winter share. If you are curious about what this is like I suggest you reach out in an email to me. Many subscribers prefer winter over summer as vegetables are scarce and it is so nice to get those really delicious greens and have a salad every week of harvest.
With the exponential increase in coronavirus cases due to the Delta variant, we continue the mask recommendation at our farm. If you come to help harvest and you are vaccinated you may remove your mask to harvest but once we are back in the barn distributing the produce we expect that a mask will be worn. Thank you so much for caring for our community, for taking care of one another and working to keep everyone safe. If you know someone who is not yet vaccinated they can call 211 and get more information about a vaccination site near them. I heard the most astonishing number yesterday, that there are 9 million unvaccinated eligible Americans. Do your part to spread the word and get anybody who is not yet vaccinated to the nearest vaccination site. There is no way out of this pandemic without increased vaccination.
Be well and we will see you this week or on our return August 22.
If you just can’t bear to cook that zucchini, you can carve a zucchini peacock—there’s even a YouTube video
Alternately, if you like making zucchini bread/muffins/fritters but its just too hot to cook, you can grate it and save in measured amounts in ziplock bags in the freezer and make them in October!
Sue’s loose gazpacho recipe
1-2 cucumbers (depending on size)
1 green pepper
1 jalapeño, coarsely chopped (optional)
3-4 tomatoes
1 small onion
1 slice day-old bread, torn into small pieces
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tsp or so of oregano or basil or both
A few tablespoons EVOO
3-4 Tbs tomato paste
Blend the garlic, bread, herbs of choice, olive oil and salt and pepper and jalapeño until everything is pretty small. Then roughly chop the rest of your veggies, toss in and pulse until everything is well chopped and mixed. Add the tomato paste (you could just do more tomatoes too) and then add a few cups of water until it’s a consistency you like. Chill prior to serving.
Green Bean Salad with Farro and walnuts
FOR THE FARRO:
· 1 cup farro
· Kosher salt
FOR THE GREMOLATA:
· ½ cup finely chopped walnuts
· 1 cup roughly chopped fresh dill
· 2 tablespoons lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
· 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (from about 1 shallot)
FOR THE GREEN BEANS:
· 2 tablespoons olive oil
· 1 pound green beans, trimmed
· Black pepper
· Lemon juice or white wine vinegar
· Flaky sea salt, for serving (optional)
PREPARATION
1. Add farro, 3 cups water and a pinch of kosher salt to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the farro is tender and toothsome, about 30 minutes.
2. While the farro cooks, make the gremolata: Toast the walnuts in a large (preferably 12-inch) skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to ensure that they don’t burn, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer toasted walnuts to a medium bowl. Add the dill, lemon zest and shallots and toss to coat. Season with salt and set aside.
Becca’s favorite Thai Cumber salad with Roasted Peanuts
¼ cup fresh limejuice
1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons minced seeded jalapeno chili (about 1 large)
2 garlic cloves
1 ½ English hothouse cucumbers, halved, seeded, thinly sliced
¾ cups sliced red onion
2 tablespoons fresh mint
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped lightly salted roasted peanuts
Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Place cucumbers, onion, and mint in large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle on peanuts and serve.