It’s week 17 of our CSA – only 1 more week left!

Some years we are almost out of vegetables by now and the boxes reflect this.

But this year we are still picking a lot of stuff! In fact, there are 5 new vegetables in the share this week! We’re pretty excited about that.

What’s in the box?

Carrots, corn, squash, shallots, baby kale, peppers, arugula, lettuce, garlic.

• Carrots are not something usually found in our CSA box. We have not grown them in years. But we tried them again this season – and they turned out great. And they taste even better!

• We grow 1 planting of corn each year. This season we got it in quite late and weren’t sure it would mature in time. But it has! Enjoy some fresh corn-on-the-cob in your share this week. I’ll give the same warning I do each year – the corn is not sprayed so don’t be surprised if you find a few worms. In the past, most CSA members have said they prefer to cut out a worm or 2, rather than have insecticide on their corn. Please give us your opinion on this.
• We began to cut the squash today and pile it up in the field to cure. It felt wrong to be harvesting a fall vegetable in such hot & humid conditions (high 30’s C.). It also felt wrong – or at least disappointing – to have such a poor harvest. We planted 27 varieties but picked only about a dozen kinds, and very few squash in total. Butternut squash is one that turned out ok. It is also one of the more popular kinds. It is a delicious squash with a thick, orange flesh, somewhat sweet and nutty. It is very versatile and can be used for roasting, stews & casseroles, and baking (pies, muffins, bread …).

• Instead of onions there will be shallots in your box this week. Shallots are similar to an onion but perhaps less pungent & a little sweeter, with a hint of garlic. This makes them excellent to use raw, perhaps in salads or dressings. When cooking with shallots, you will notice a finer, smoother texture well suited to sauces, quiches & custards.
• Baby kale – small leaves & stems that are especially great raw, in salads.
• There will be both bell peppers & shepherd peppers available again this week. The bells come in more colours, the shepherds only in red. You will notice that many of our peppers are not completely coloured – there is often some green along with the red, yellow or orange. It seems we are not the only ones who enjoy sweet peppers. Mice (and maybe rabbits too) find them tasty! If we leave the peppers on the plant to completely turn colour, they are very often chewed & eaten. As it is we are losing probably a third of our peppers to critters & spoilage. Both peppers taste great but shepherd peppers are a bit sweeter and have a thicker flesh making them the better choice for roasting.

• Arugula, lettuce & garlic round out the CSA basket this week.

Last week’s CSA box.

Remember – next week is our last week for CSA!

A foggy, fall morning on the farm is beautiful …

What’s in the box?

Spinach, bok choy, lettuce, beans, zucchini, peppers, onions, garlic, (maybe tomatoes).

• There are 3 kinds of greens in the box this week – spinach, bok choy & lettuce. That’s a lot of green! But they are all ready, & beautiful, & delicious, and we couldn’t decide which one to leave out – so we included them all. Bok choy seems to be a little unfamiliar to some of our CSA members. It is best stir-fried either on it’s own or with other vegetables. Actually, the box this week has all the makings for an amazing stir-fry – bok choy, beans, zucchini, peppers, onions & garlic. Save the lettuce, spinach & tomatoes for a salad.

There are many good stir-fry recipes out there, but our quick, easy, go-to recipe is as follows …

Stir-fry Sauce

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• salt & pepper
• combine all ingredients and pour over stir-fried vegetables. Heat through till sauce thickens.
• Serve and enjoy!

There are 2 weeks left in our CSA.

September is …

• wet mornings.

The dew is often heavy & lingering, which means a slower start to picking – for our sake, but mostly for the vegetables. Picking vegetables wet can lead to disease on the plants (eg. beans get rust), or mold & spoilage issues with the fruit (eg. blackberries).

But the morning dew & the bright sunshine are also beautiful!

• the end of the summer vegetables … and blackberries.

Tomatoes – almost over.

Many blackberry plants are almost picked clean, while others still have quite a few berries.

• Lots more vegetables – fall vegetables …

like lettuce, spinach, arugula,

cabbage, bok choy, radicchio ( a new one for us!)

carrots

several kinds of cabbages

and peppers.

• the end of seeding & planting.

This week we will seed our final crops – lettuce, spinach, arugula, and kale and transplant the last of the cabbages & other lettuces.

What’s in the box?

Chinese cabbage, beets, peppers, beans or zucchini, blackberries, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, garlic.

• Chinese cabbage is different from our regular cabbage. It is tender, mild & sweet. Enjoy it raw in salads, or in stir-fries or steamed. Because it is so tender it cooks quickly & can turn to mush if overdone!
• Our new patch of beets includes red beets, yellow beets & candy cane – red & white striped – beets. They are all delicious & sweet!
• When we go through the pepper patch now, we can finally see lots of colour – and lots of peppers. The forecasted warmth this week should bring them on faster. They are both beautiful & delicious!
• Beans & zucchini – we have both, but not a lot of either. Choose one or the other this week.
• Enjoy the blackberries this week – perhaps the final week for them!
• Lettuce, tomatoes, onions & garlic – part of your CSA share again this week.

This is week 15 of our CSA – 3 more weeks to go!

Providing fresh, local, quality produce at a fair price is one of the primary goals of CSA. Along with that is the confidence in knowing where, how and who grows your food.

Often, it seems that our youngest CSA members catch on to this the best – and take it to heart. Here’s a story from a CSA member.

(Olivia (age 4) and her family have been CSA members for a couple of years. Olivia enjoys coming to the farm, bringing Lorie drawings, checking on the chickens & helping to gather the eggs. Her family went to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) this weekend and they toured the agriculture building.)

Her mother writes …

There is a demonstration called “Be a Farmer for a Day”. As you walk through the activities with your plastic sand pail you are asked to plant a seed, pick apples, harvest veg, milk a large model of a cow, pick up a plastic egg from a display of fake chickens, gather wool from a sheep pen, then ride a tractor. Olivia gets quieter and quieter as we go through. Then after the tractor she pulls one of the attendants aside and says. “This is all wrong. It takes more than a day to grow vegetables. The vegetables in the bin are all fake. The chickens …FAKE. The eggs…FAKE! Mrs Thiessen works way harder than this. How are kids supposed to know what this is actually like if all of the stuff is fake. The eggs should be warm. The tomatoes should smell good. Ugh.“

Thanks Olivia! That’s the encouragement we needed!

What’s in the box?

Cabbage, beans, bok choy, blackberries, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, onions.

• The first of the cabbage is ready for harvest! I’m a big fan of coleslaw so this is good news for me. This weeks cabbage is green cabbage (red cabbage, Chinese cabbage, & savoy cabbage are still ahead). We grow varieties that give smaller heads, thinking that it’s better to finish a smaller cabbage sooner & get a fresh one next week, than eating from a huge head that takes up fridge space.
• I guess the weather is more to the bean plants liking now. We’re finally getting some serious bean harvests – green beans, and especially the purple striped dragon’s tongue. Treat them the same as a green bean – they just taste better!
• Perhaps we planted too much bok choy (some people here at Thiessen Farms think so)? It is plentiful now, as well as beautiful & delicious. Enjoy bok choy in your share again this week.
• Our blackberry canes have given us a lot of blackberries this season. Many of the plants are empty now. Another week or so and blackberries will be finished.
• We’re seeing more colour appear on the sweet peppers – red, orange, yellow, & purple. Peppers prefer warmer temperatures than we’ve experienced this summer, which is why they are slower & less prolific.
• The tomato patch is looking sadder & sadder. The plants have almost given up, yet still somehow manage to ripen some fruit. There are less cherry size tomatoes, and more of the larger beefsteak kinds now.
• The cooler temperatures lately are perfect for growing lettuce. We keep planting more, so there should be lettuce for most of the CSA season!
• The onions are all picked now. No more green tops, and no more huge bulbs – but lots of smaller, delicious onions for another week or 2.

Here’s a recipe from the current issue of Eating Well magazine that we tried. Turned out great! (http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/258537/herbed-tomato-gratin/)

Herbed Tomato Gratin

Vegetable gratin recipes often have a crunchy breadcrumb or crouton topping. But summer tomatoes are too gorgeous to hide, so we tucked crusty cubes of bread underneath them instead. Plus, the bread soaks up all the juicy tomato goodness. If you can’t find marjoram, fresh basil or oregano makes a good substitute.

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups crusty whole-grain bread cubes ( ½-inch)
• ⅓ cup heavy cream (we used milk instead)
• ½ cup finely shredded Pecorino Romano cheese, divided (we used parmesan)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram, plus more for garnish

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper
• 3 pounds medium heirloom tomatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch pan (or similar-size 3-quart baking dish) with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bread and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown and crispy, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Transfer the bread to a large bowl. Gently stir in cream, ¼ cup cheese, marjoram, garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper. Spread the mixture in the baking dish. Layer tomatoes on top and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup cheese.
4. Bake the gratin until golden and crispy on top, 40 to 45 minutes. Garnish with marjoram, if desired.

Last week’s box

Oliver & Flynn – each looking forward to CSA pick-up (in their own way!)

After our morning tour of the farm today (something we do daily, to check on the crops & decide what needs to be done that day …) it was pointed out, that I had not once mentioned, nor moaned or lamented about all the weeds.

Of course not! Embrace the weeds is what I always say!

And WOW! There are lots to embrace!

Weeds grow well in most conditions, but this year they are especially prolific. Due to the abundance of rain earlier, and warm temperatures lately, conditions have been ideal for weed growth. Also, it has often been too wet to get in to cultivate, hoe or even hand weed at times, resulting in more weed pressures.

We lost some crops at the start of the season to weeds, but since then we have been handling them ok. A few extra helping hands and timely weeding have gone a long way to keeping things under control. We concentrate our efforts on the new transplants and seeds that have just come up. Minimizing competition from the weeds for space & sunshine gets the seedlings off to a good start. Then if we can’t get to everything, the larger plants can handle the weeds better. And so far, there has been moisture enough for all!

Our newest crops – happily growing weed-free!

Carrots – which we have not grown for years because of the weeding required – looking clean.

Mature vegetables successfully co-existing with the weeds.

Even the onions & leeks which were buried deep under weeds have been successfully saved!

The big problem with allowing some weeds to grow & mature, is that they will go to seed, and we’ll be dealing with them for years to come.

But that’s next year’s problem. This season we embrace the weeds!

What’s in the box?

Blackberries, bok choy, beans, fresh basil, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, onions, garlic.

• Looks like another big pick of blackberries this week. Enjoy some in your box again! See below for a recipe for Blackberry Lemon poppy-seed Muffins from one of our CSA members (thanks Shelley!).
• We have a lovely planting of bok choy ready to harvest. Perfect for a delicious stir-fry – maybe with beans, tomatoes, peppers, onions & garlic!
• A beautiful bunch of basil – perfect for pesto (see recipe below) – is part of your share this week. Choose from lemon basil or regular basil.
• Summer is salad time – made with our fresh lettuce mix. 

Blackberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

1 and 3/4 cups (220 g) all-purpose flour

1 and 1/2 Tablespoons poppy seeds

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup (120 g) Greek yogurt

1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup (60ml) milk

2 Tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

1 and 1/2 cups (250 g) fresh or frozen blackberries (do not thaw if using frozen)

Glaze

• 1 cup (120 g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2-3 Tablespoons (30-45 ml) fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. Make the muffins: In a large bowl, toss the flour, poppy seeds, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high-speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the granulated sugar and beat on high until creamed, about 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, yogurt, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute, then turn up to high-speed until the mixture is combined and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat on low-speed until just about combined. Add the milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest and continue to beat on low until combined. Fold in the blackberries with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. They may bleed a little.
5. Spoon the batter evenly into each cup or liner, filling each all the way to the top. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425 then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 22-23 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack and drizzle with glaze. Muffins stay fresh stored in the refrigerator for 1 week.
6. For the glaze: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice together. Drizzle over muffins.

Make ahead tip: For longer storage, freeze muffins (without glaze) for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or warm up in the microwave if desired. Glaze before serving.  (from www.sallysbakingaddiction.com)

Pesto

1 cup packed fresh basil
1-3 cloves fresh garlic
1/3 cup walnuts, or pine nuts
3-6 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
2 sprigs parsley (optional)
Finely chop in food processor
Gradually add 1/3 – 1/2 cup olive oil while the food processor is running. Once it is a thick paste you’re done!
Freezes well in ice-cube trays. Once frozen, pop out and freeze in baggies. Take  out one or two at a time to use in your recipe.

(based on a recipe from Simply in Season cookbook)

A few pictures from Saturday’s market in Georgetown. It’s a beautiful, bountiful & colourful time of the year.

Here’s a picture of our tractor & sprayer.

I used to spend more time on this equipment, back when we grew peaches, pears, cherries … and all the other tender fruit. Now that we are concentrating on vegetables, I don’t use the sprayer much. We try to grow our crops without the use of pesticides, whether organic or chemical. Now I mostly use the sprayer for watering – transplants when we put them in the ground, or crops when it gets really dry (like last year – not this year!).

However, we will use the sprayer for its intended purpose – to spray pesticides – when we feel it is necessary. After our first 2 hail events earlier this season, I did apply a fungicide on our tomatoes to try & prevent or at least slow down blight & other diseases.

We also spray our blackberries.

For many years we did not. That was one of the good things about growing blackberries – no spraying necessary!

Then along came the spotted wing drosophila. Spotted wing drosophila is an invasive vinegar fly that has the potential to cause extensive damage to many fruit crops (especially soft fruits like berries and dark coloured fruit like blackberries). In the last few years it has been found throughout much of southern Ontario along with most of the fruit-growing areas of North America. It has become a chronic pest in berry and tender fruit crops in Ontario. Effective biological controls are not yet available. There are cultural practices that we use to help reduce the insect populations, but the only effective control right now is chemical.

And so we spray regularly to try to kill the spotted wing drosophila and protect our blackberries (and elderberries). We would rather not! But then again, we would rather not have worms in our blackberries – would you!?

(not sure why I only remember to take pictures of the blackberries after picking, and not before?)

What’s in the box?

Blackberries, kohlrabi, green beans, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic.

• The blackberries are great again this week! We harvested a huge amount today – which means another couple pints in your share this week. In the unlikely event that you cannot eat them all, remember that they freeze very well. Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze overnight. Then scoop them into a bag. That way you can grab as many as need this coming winter, for using in smoothies, on ice cream, yogurt or pudding, or for baking …
• Two weeks ago I posted that the new planting of kohlrabi was ready but the rain had cracked & rotted them. It was disappointing to say the least, so I ignored them for a while! But this week you will find a kohlrabi in your box.  While some rotted or were cracked & misshapen beyond use, many are still salvageable. Most do have a crack or 2 and will require a bit of extra peeling & cutting  – which is why we let them get bigger before harvesting them. You will still get a lot of good eating out of them. I know I did when I picked them today!!  (If you have forgotten what to do with kohlrabi, look back at the CSA newsletters of weeks 4 and 5 for suggestions.)
• A new row of green beans is ready. The quality is great – the quantity not so much. For years we have grown the same variety of green beans, but this year we tried a new kind that promised to be easier to pick with most of the beans held on stems above the leaves. Indeed they are a treat to pick, but unfortunately they don’t produce as heavy a crop. For our next planting, which should be ready in a week or 2, we have returned to our old faithful green beans – harder to pick, but better production. Live & learn!
• A new crop of lettuce mix is also ready. Enjoy it in a fresh salad along with the other contents of the box – peppers, tomatoes, onions & garlic.

________________

– new zucchini planting

– tomatoes struggling to outgrow the blight.

– last week’s box.

What’s in the box?

Green peppers, Swiss chard, blackberries, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, garlic.

• The peppers are hanging thick on many of our pepper plants – but they sure are slow to change colour! So rather than wait for them to turn red, orange, yellow … we’ll pick some green peppers this week.
• Swiss chard is a beautiful & delicious leafy green – but not that well-known. The stems come in a rainbow of colours – white, red, pink, yellow & orange. The wrinkled leaves can hold a lot of dirt & grit so they may need several washings. The simplest way to prepare them is to just wilt them in the saute pan then season with oil, butter and salt & pepper, and enjoy.

I have included several simple recipes using Swiss chard below.

• After a pleasant & warm weekend, we had an amazing pick of blackberries today. Enjoy a larger taste of these sweet & tart berries in your share this week. Store them in the fridge uncovered and eat them within a day or two.
• We’re finally picking some larger beefsteak tomatoes along with the cherry types. Tomato sandwiches anyone? Find all sizes of tomatoes in the box this week.
• Lettuce, onions & garlic continue to be a part of the share again this week.

Quinoa with Swiss chard, garlic & tomatoes 

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup Swiss chard stems, finely chopped (about 4-6 stalks)
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 medium size tomatoes diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups Swiss chard leaves, roughly chopped
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions. Set aside on a serving platter.
2. In a large saute pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil.
3. Saute the Swiss chard stems and shallots until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and saute until they have lost their firmness.
4. Add the garlic and Swiss chard leaves and continue to saute until the leaves have softened.
5. Remove from heat and slide on top of the cooked quinoa and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.  (recipe from myhalalkitchen.com)

Swiss Chard stalk Hummus

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add 2 cups chopped chard stalks and boil for 5-10 min.
Drain well, squeezing out any excess water, and add the stalks to a food processor, along with 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup tahini, 1/2 tsp salt and juice of one lemon. Pulse continuously until dip is slightly chunky. Serve with a generous swirl of oil on top and sprinkle a handful of chopped parsley if desired.

Some newer plantings of vegetables including beans, cabbages, Swiss chard …

… carrots, lettuce, spinach, Chinese cabbages, bok choy.

You know it’s wet when …

… the puddles on the farm never seem to dry up,

… the vegetables are growing – but not as well as the weeds (find the onions to the right in the picture!),

… you have not had to water the pots of herbs in the yard for almost a week,

… the new patch of kohlrabi is ready to pick – except it is mostly cracked & rotting,

… the tomatoes are just starting to produce, but the plants are already dying,

… 5 days out of the last week had rain (and it hailed twice)!

You know it’s wet … when you no longer lament all the vegetables that are diseased, rotting & dying, but instead are amazed (and thankful) at those vegetables that are still looking healthy & doing well.

What’s in the box?

Blackberries, tomatoes, beans, beets, garlic, onions & zucchini.

• The first taste of blackberries is in the box this week. We only have 2 rows of blackberries – but they are one of our most important crops. This season especially, we are hanging our hopes on the blackberries. They look outstanding so far & we’re optimistic that the harvest will be long & fruitful!

• As mentioned above, the tomato plants are failing rapidly even though we have barely begun the harvest. Fingers crossed that their growth outpaces the diseases and they keep producing – at least for a while. Find some cherry tomatoes in your share & perhaps a larger slicing tomato as well.
• The beans this week will be mostly dragon’s tongue – a flat, yellow bean with purple stripes. We started growing these beans years ago, because of the name & their beautiful looks. We continue to grow them for their great taste – better than any green bean in my opinion!
• We are cleaning up the first planting of beets. The size might be varied, and the greens are not too good anymore but the beets still taste good. The next patch is ready & will have some yellow beets too. The final planting – we just transplanted them last week – is growing well. It includes dark red beets, yellow beets & the candy-striped beets. So there should be beets on & off for the remainder of our CSA program.

• How was the fresh garlic? We are including another bulb this week. Remember – it is not yet dried. Store it at room temperature in a spot with good air circulation.
• Onions grow best in sunny, moist, weed-free conditions. We’re doing really great with the moisture, so-so with the sun but very poorly with the weeds. The result is that the onions are not getting much bigger. But we have lots of this very useful & delicious vegetable.
• The zucchini plants continue to amaze me. While they are producing very few zucchini – most plants have wilted & are dying – many are throwing out new vines with fresh green leaves and even blossoms. Will they turn into fruit or will disease overtake them first? We’ll find out! But we do have several new plantings of zucchini coming soon.

Please remember to return all containers – big & small – so we can reuse them.

Here’s hoping for a warm, sunny (rain-free) week!

Harvest is always the high point of our day.

And when we can pick something that is a favourite of our CSA members & market customers, and a crop that is eagerly awaited – well, that’s even better!

Something like …. garlic!

Garlic scapes are good, as is green garlic, but everyone awaits the new crop of those pungent, tasty bulbs of deliciousness.

We pulled much of the crop today – mostly large, firm, beautiful bulbs of garlic. They are now spread on the drying racks in the barn, filling the air with their perfume.

Another favourite crop – or at least one that brings a big smile to people’s faces – is sunflowers.

Our sunflowers are blooming! The first few that we brought to market on Saturday were snapped up in a hurry. People love sunflowers!

We will have lots of sunflowers for sale at market this week and at CSA pick-up.

What’s in the box?

Fresh garlic, beans, tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, cucumbers, onions.

• Why wait? Enjoy a fresh bulb of new garlic. Because it is not dried, it should be kept someplace with good air circulation, and out of the sun. Do not put in plastic or in the fridge. Once the bulb has been started, try to finish using it within a few days.
• Our new rows of beans are healthy & producing well now, and back in the box this week.
• Every time we pick tomatoes, more varieties are ripe. There may even be a few large tomatoes by the end of the week.
• Last week the zucchini plants looked poorly. They still do, but at the same time they’re putting on new, fresh growth with lots of new blossoms. We got a nice pick today. Here’s hoping it continues. Today we transplanted a new batch of zucchini plants into the field. They should be producing in about a month.
• Onions & (the last of the) cucumbers round out your CSA share this week.

Saturday at market, a friend brought us some zucchini dip to try. The recipe comes from the summer edition of Food & Drink, the magazine put out by the LCBO. I have included the recipe below. It’s delicious!  (This is a large recipe. You may want to try just half)

Zucchini Dip

6 cups grated zucchini (about 4 medium zucchini)

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp chopped garlic

½ cup yogurt

¼ cup tahini

¼ cup lemon juice

1 tbsp chopped dried mint

Salt & pepper

Garnish – 1 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1. Toss zucchini with salt. Transfer to a strainer & set over a bowl. Drain off excess water for about 15 minutes. Pat dry.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini & sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant & zucchini is beginning to turn golden, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely.
3. Stir in yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, & dried mint. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Heap into a bowl and garnish with cumin and fresh mint.

Brothers Flynn & Flynn enjoying the summer sunshine!

There are some weird & wonderful things growing on the farm this season.

For example …

** (None of these vegetables will appear in our CSA shares, as we are not growing quantities of any of them. They will only be available at our farmers’ markets – or not at all if they don’t turn out successfully.)

Cucamelons aka mouse melons, Mexican gherkins or sandiita. Sandiita means little watermelon which is exactly what they look like. The size though is slightly smaller. For comparison …

Cucamelons don’t taste like a watermelon, but rather like a tangy cucumber. They can be eaten out of hand or in salads, stir-fries, salsa or pickled.

These little guys are turning out great. We had a few to sell at market last week & they were snapped up in a hurry.

Growing nicely & spreading out on the straw are bitter melons – 5 kinds. We’ve tried growing them before with little success. Maybe this year is our year? While even the name bitter melons does not sound appealing to me, but they are a staple in many cultures & I would really like to be able to offer them to our customers.

Our artichokes were seeded, transplanted into the field and are growing well – but not as well as the weeds. The overwhelming crop of weeds this season, thanks to the abundance of rain, forced us to make choices as to where we would direct our weeding energies. The artichokes were not chosen!

Other less common vegetables that we are growing (or attempting to grow) include fava beans (total crop failure), radicchio (on course for a fall harvest), winter radishes & Asian radishes (to be seeded this week). Some seeds never even made it out of their packages (amaranth, quinoa, sesame, and huauzontle). Maybe next year!

Some crops we have not mentioned lately but are doing well.

We have made 4 seedings of sunflowers this year. Looking forward to these cheerfully bright blooms!

Our new raspberry rows were rescued from the weeds today.

What’s in the box?

Tomatoes, lettuce, onions, zucchini, cucumbers, kale, (beans).

• There are finally enough tomatoes being harvested to include them in our CSA share this week. Not a lot, but a hint of what is to come.
• We are still planting lettuce – varieties that are supposed to be able to take the heat. Our hope is to have lettuce off & on for much of the summer. Enjoy your fresh salad again this week.
• Onions, zucchini & cucumbers are becoming a regular part of the box. A CSA member shared a recipe for zucchini fritters that I have included below. She claims they are great – and she’s right! We made them & loved them. Thanks Rachel!
• Farmers love kale – easy to grow, dependable, waiting in the field until we need it. Most members love it too. Kale is always a favourite.
• Beans are a big disappointment this week! We were anticipating big picks all week. However the plants have succumbed to rust & today’s harvest was small & of poor quality. The next planting should be mature for harvesting later in the week. Perhaps Friday pick-up will have beans again?

Speaking of disappointments … other crops are showing signs of stress from all the rains. Zucchini, cucumbers, broccoli, tomatoes, even onions & kale are all becoming diseased & declining. New plantings of many of these vegetables are growing, but there may be shortages in the next few weeks. More sunshine & less precipitation would be a big help right now!

Two views from our market stall last Thursday. Not a customer to be seen! We had almost 2 hours of heavy rains. Bad weather means lots of time to visit with the other vendors & share stories of the difficult season. Most growers have lost crops to the rain & some are not able to replant because the ground is so wet. I guess misery loves company – it’s oddly comforting to know we are not alone in our struggles with mother nature!

Zucchini Fritters

3 cups grated zucchini

2 eggs

¾ cup shredded cheese

½ cup panko bread crumbs

½ tsp basil

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Grate zucchini and squeeze to remove some of the water

Mix in rest of the ingredients

Scoop out onto parchment lined baking sheet (each fritter about 2 tbsp)

Bake at 425 for about 20 mins (until lightly browned).