Happy first day of summer!! The rain has left yet again and here we are hustlin' around the farm trying to keep up with it all! I had my first pint of blueberries yesterday and boy was that exciting. Looks like we are going to open our u-pick blueberries on Saturday, July 1st (we'll also be loading up your CSA bag with them soon!) We've almost finished construction on our farm headquarters as well as the pizza oven area which is really exciting. just in time for Friday pizza nights (like this Friday!)
In other news we have our final round of summer squash in the ground, have planted more basil, our tomatoes are starting to fruit, the peppers are growing (and even flowering in the hoop houses) and things are coming alive. Your shares are going to get more and more bountiful as the season goes along!
ALSO, big note, THANK YOU to those that return their bags weekly but PLEASE REMEMBER TO RETURN YOUR BAG if you haven't been, we don't want to have to purchase more for many reasons but mainly to keep the cost of CSA down!
In other news we have our final round of summer squash in the ground, have planted more basil, our tomatoes are starting to fruit, the peppers are growing (and even flowering in the hoop houses) and things are coming alive. Your shares are going to get more and more bountiful as the season goes along!
ALSO, big note, THANK YOU to those that return their bags weekly but PLEASE REMEMBER TO RETURN YOUR BAG if you haven't been, we don't want to have to purchase more for many reasons but mainly to keep the cost of CSA down!
COLLARD GREENS: First of the season to CSA! These hearty greens are full of nutrients (fiber, vitamin A, B, C and iron) and although more often used in fall/winter are a great routine switch from kale or chard. Collards can be braised, sautéed, boiled and more. I love eating them for breakfast with eggs and toast. One of our old farm crew folks, Martha, gave me this great pasta and collards recipe here.
SALAD MIX: A lovely salad mix instead of lettuce this week. We grow salad mix year round and right now it is buttery and tender. This salad mix goes great with pretty much any additions and any dressing. We make seasonal vinaigrettes here at the farm (as well as sell them in Portland at Providore, Alberta Coop, World Foods and Peoples Coop) and they are available through the online store! Like all of our produce, it is a good reminder to note that we do not wash our greens though we do give them several field rinses and spin them.
PEA TENDRIL MICROGREENS: WE ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT THESE. Elise and I have been working in our spare time (haha) to get our microgreen program back up and running! We really want everyone to feel they are getting their shares worth for CSA and especially in these hard shoulder times we are constantly trying to figure out how we can grow and harvest more with ya'll especially in mind!! We started with one of our favorite specialty crops, pea tendrils. These tendrils are packed to the brim with nutrients, are super tasty, tender and just plain adorable. They are great added to salad, eaten by themselves (woops) or served with a protein (a bed of pea greens anyone?) Please, please note that these haven't been washed to preserve their quality so make sure you give them a good rinse!!
MIXED BEETS: Gold, red, white and chioggia (the candy stripe, pronounced key-oh-jah) all with their greens on. Another first of the season, we really love our beets here. Some received mixed bunches while others all one variety but we'll be rotating through a lot this season. These beets are sweet and earthy. The greens can be cooked much like chard is (same family) and roots have a ton of versatility...beet salad, pickled beets, roasted beets, shaved beets, candied beets and more. Our kitchen loves to make beet hummus! Beets store really well so if you decide to keep them longer than a couple days just trim the stems off!
CILANTRO: A lovely cilantro bunch. For me this is one of the markers of summer actually being here! I love to garnish everything with cilantro (stir fry, tacos) or make a cilantro pesto to use for soups, fish, et cetera. The best way to store cilantro is to put it in a glass of water in your fridge (you can even put a bag over the greens). Change the water out every couple of days for best keep, less stink.
SUMMER SQUASH: Tromba d'Albegna or Zucchini! Roast it, sauté it, make a raw shaved squash salad.
SCAPES: A nice bunch of scapes! Grill, use as garlic, roast, you name it! I know I already mentioned pesto but scape pesto is super tasty!!
SAVORY: This variety of savory is "winter savory." I know it seems like the wrong season but this variety of savory grows year round and is great to cook with. Winter savory is a perennial herb that comes from the Mediterranean much like thyme and rosemary. I'd put this in the "hang in your kitchen to dry" category. By the end of the year ya'll are going to have a lot of herbs in your kitchen toolbox! It mixes wonderfully with thyme, sage and rosemary, and can be used for all sorts of dishes. I might suggest using it with meat, bean dishes, herb marinade and more.
SALAD MIX: A lovely salad mix instead of lettuce this week. We grow salad mix year round and right now it is buttery and tender. This salad mix goes great with pretty much any additions and any dressing. We make seasonal vinaigrettes here at the farm (as well as sell them in Portland at Providore, Alberta Coop, World Foods and Peoples Coop) and they are available through the online store! Like all of our produce, it is a good reminder to note that we do not wash our greens though we do give them several field rinses and spin them.
PEA TENDRIL MICROGREENS: WE ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT THESE. Elise and I have been working in our spare time (haha) to get our microgreen program back up and running! We really want everyone to feel they are getting their shares worth for CSA and especially in these hard shoulder times we are constantly trying to figure out how we can grow and harvest more with ya'll especially in mind!! We started with one of our favorite specialty crops, pea tendrils. These tendrils are packed to the brim with nutrients, are super tasty, tender and just plain adorable. They are great added to salad, eaten by themselves (woops) or served with a protein (a bed of pea greens anyone?) Please, please note that these haven't been washed to preserve their quality so make sure you give them a good rinse!!
MIXED BEETS: Gold, red, white and chioggia (the candy stripe, pronounced key-oh-jah) all with their greens on. Another first of the season, we really love our beets here. Some received mixed bunches while others all one variety but we'll be rotating through a lot this season. These beets are sweet and earthy. The greens can be cooked much like chard is (same family) and roots have a ton of versatility...beet salad, pickled beets, roasted beets, shaved beets, candied beets and more. Our kitchen loves to make beet hummus! Beets store really well so if you decide to keep them longer than a couple days just trim the stems off!
CILANTRO: A lovely cilantro bunch. For me this is one of the markers of summer actually being here! I love to garnish everything with cilantro (stir fry, tacos) or make a cilantro pesto to use for soups, fish, et cetera. The best way to store cilantro is to put it in a glass of water in your fridge (you can even put a bag over the greens). Change the water out every couple of days for best keep, less stink.
SUMMER SQUASH: Tromba d'Albegna or Zucchini! Roast it, sauté it, make a raw shaved squash salad.
SCAPES: A nice bunch of scapes! Grill, use as garlic, roast, you name it! I know I already mentioned pesto but scape pesto is super tasty!!
SAVORY: This variety of savory is "winter savory." I know it seems like the wrong season but this variety of savory grows year round and is great to cook with. Winter savory is a perennial herb that comes from the Mediterranean much like thyme and rosemary. I'd put this in the "hang in your kitchen to dry" category. By the end of the year ya'll are going to have a lot of herbs in your kitchen toolbox! It mixes wonderfully with thyme, sage and rosemary, and can be used for all sorts of dishes. I might suggest using it with meat, bean dishes, herb marinade and more.
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