Remember to collect Tomatoes in paper bags with your name on it! - (We don't put them in cold storage with the other vegetables that we keep in our walk in cooler for the night before your pick up day.) They are in a crate right beside the green boxes/cold vegetables. (Same for breads, flowers, and a cooler for fermented vegetables, and eggs...)
This weekend marks the official beginning of summer, and the transition is apparent on our farm. Spinach and Arugula are now done for the spring. We'll welcome them back in the fall. We'll do our best to keep harvesting Salad Mix and Lettuce through the summer, as long as the weather cooperates. Our Curly Kale will be around for 3 more weeks, and then it too will take a break until the fall. Love it while we have it! Remember Kale Chips (pictured below from our farmhouse kitchen this weekend) are a fantastic and easy thing to make to have as "snack" type food during this time of year. Rainbow Chard is the work horse of the greens and will (weather and plant disease willing) stay alive in our fields for most of the summer. Treat it like Spinach and celebrate seasonal eating with us!
We are now harvesting Cabbage and Carrots and Garlic, while most of the "real" summer fruits in our fields are still a ways away from ripening, with the exception of Summer Squash which grows to maturity faster than all the other summer crops. (Summer "fruits" on our farm are summer season vegetables that have seeds inside: Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers, Eggplants, Okra, etc.)
And...we have so many varieties of fresh herbs available for you! We love making our meals more flavorful by using lots of different culinary herbs. Whether you are making dressings, marinades, or simply a green salad, fresh herbs add a huge boost of flavor and nutrition. Dive in and give them a try!
Harvest update: We harvested more than 2,000 pounds of onions last week! We'll offer them to you once they have cured (dried). We're harvesting green Scallions for you this week to use in your meals that need alliums (and for our family that means EVERY meal).
There are some very delicious and sumptuous herbal options for you in the "Extras" section today! Our friend Katherine at Gathered Threads has prepared the following Herb kits for you that you can purchase as a one-time, a la carte option:
:: Tea & Wellness Box: Mint Blend (for tea or to make simple syrup), Winding Down tea, 2nd Chakra Tea, Milky Oat Tops (for tea or as infusion to use as liqued when making rice, etc.), White Chocolate Vegan Fudge Kit (herbs to combine with cocoa butter, cashews, and sweetener to make your own fudge).
:: Herbs for the Kitchen Box: Asian Salad Dressing (herbs provided - you combine with oil and vinegar), Lemon Basil Mojito, Cornbread Seasoning, Rose Sugar, Salt-Free Seasoning
:: Herbs for the Body & Soul Box: Moisturizing Rose Body Oil, Calendula Oil Kit, Sunburn Soak - Herbal Bath Salts, Rosemary Hydrosol, 3rd Chakra Tea
---> An informational sheet is included in each box to provide you with details and instructions. Adding herbal diversity to your life is so enriching!
The delicious fermented vegetable options listed here are also from Katherine at Gathered Threads. We've been making our own fermented/cultured vegetables for years, and hers are the most delicious we've ever tasted! Give them a try. Your taste buds and your gut flora will thank you.
A note about Eggs - We offer them to you when our egg farmer friends (Steve Ault and/or Robert Hutchins) have enough available for us to list them here. It is often unpredictable and erratic, but Steve Ault is increasing his number of hens (he has plenty of pasture room!) in order to make more available soon.
Enjoy your options this week! Our fields are so full of deliciousness for you!
Blessings on your meals ~
