This week we begin the 2nd half of our CSA program for 2021.

Saturday will mark the halfway point of our Georgetown farmers’ market.

Yesterday was the 1st of August.

Summer is really half over!

It has been a good summer so far. I know farmers have the reputation of always complaining – especially about the weather – but this year we don’t have much to complain about. While it started out dry, we have recently had some timely rains. After several dry summers this is a welcome change and we continue to be amazed at the growth we are seeing on our vegetables now and the amount of crop they are producing. Eggplant, zucchini, kohlrabi have all been especially productive. Blackberries, tomatoes, peppers … are all looking great so far too. We have been fortunate to have escaped the extreme storms that have hit some areas.

Our CSA is working well – we have a great group of members who are enjoying the vegetable box each week. Business is good at our farmers’ market – Amy & I always look forward to Saturday and seeing all our friends in Georgetown. Our summer work crew of 2 high school students is top notch. And a few faithful volunteers continue to show up and weed weekly.

We are anticipating and looking forward to an equally good 2nd half of the summer!

What’s in the box?

Baby fennel, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, beets, fresh herbs, lettuce, onions, green onions, garlic, zucchini.

extras – eggplant, kohlrabi & sunflowers.

We have reached the height of the summer growing season and this week’s CSA box reflects that, brimming with all sorts of fresh vegetables – plus sunflowers!

It is a colourful box too! The cucumbers might be green or white (don’t dismiss the white – they are crispy & amazing!). The tomatoes will be so many colours – red, pink, orange, yellow, purple, brown, white, green and everything in between – plus colourful stripes too. Along with the green beans we picked some Dragon’s Tongue – yellow with purple stripes. These have a more “beany” flavour than the green though the purple disappears when cooked. Beets come in dark purple, orange and the red & white candy cane striped. As usual we’re picking green zucchini, yellow, green striped and the yellow patty pans. Eggplant isn’t just dark purple, but many shades of purple & pink and green too. We even offer 2 different sunflowers – dark centres & green centres.

They say we eat with our eyes first, then our mouth. If so, then this week’s vegetables will be extra delicious!

One of our CSA members passed along this recipe that she made with our fennel fronds the other week. She says it is delicious!

Fennel Fronds Pesto

https://holycowvegan.net/fennel-fronds-pesto/#recipe

Ingredients

• 4 packed cups chopped fennel fronds (from two bulbs)
• 2 cloves garlic (crushed and chopped)
• 1/2 to 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds (you can use salted, but dial down the added salt in that case. You can also use nuts like walnuts, pecans, cashews or pine nuts)
• 4-8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)

Instructions

• Place all the ingredients except the oil in a food processor. With the blade running, drizzle in the olive oil until you have a coarse paste. Check for salt and pepper and add more if needed.

Notes

You can add more or less olive oil, per your preference. For a runnier pesto, you’ll want to use more oil.

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Around the farm this week …