Good Afternoon Farm-ily!
Staying cool? Feeling good about your CSA membership? Remembering to return your cooler bags with the label intact?
For all you newbies to CSA please remember it takes some time to get the hang of it. All the fresh vegetables to wash, prep, and meal plan with can become overwhelming. You feel guilty if you waste something...and feel uncertain whether you're maximizing your share. Please know our goal is to help you use ALL your produce. We're here to help. Your confidence will increase, you'll build a toolbox of clever tips and tricks for utilizing your share. Someday soon you'll pull a bunch of scallions out of your bag and know exactly where they will be used and when. But it takes some time. We're also here to tell you that if something goes soft or yucky before you get to it GIVE yourself a break! It's ok if you can't get it all eaten every week. Progress, not perfection. Your patronage and support of the local food movement is HUGE. Not only do we value you as a member of Oak Spring, you are valued for your participation in the local food movement. Do not underestimate your importance. Each and every one of you is hugely important to the success of our farm and all the farms and small businesses we work with. We're in this together!
Wether you're new or a seasoned CSA member please check out the FB Farmily page and read through some of the helpful documents and posts. Check out the challenge we're having-it will be fun and maybe you will push yourself to try something new!
I get stuck in ruts myself. I make a lot of the same old recipes over and over again. I'll be honest; if I've griddled and grilled yellow squash 5x I've done it 100x! I do love it but I need to break out of the same old 'go-to'. This year's member contributions have inspired me to try new ways of preparing the standard vegetables and new ways to freeze them for later dates. The Harvie recipes and the other Harvie recipe groups are super inspirational as well. Take the leap and reach out for some new inspiration!
Pat Flynn and I chatted about veggies and veggie prep for a good 20-30 minutes the other day at CSA pick up. She has some fantastic ideas and has posted some to the Farm-ily page. Check them out!
I will say that having a plan or making a plan when you get your share home is hugely important. Eat it up! Make salads for lunch, prep a cucumber salad in advance for the next couple of nights dinners. We just slice ripe tomatoes and pass a plate of them around at dinner and lunch. If we're grilling you know there will be some squash, eggplant and/or fennel on our grill....Burritos? You can guarantee to see some chopped up and sautéed veg in with the beans ;)
Fruit share: Shaw Orchard Peaches!
And PLEASE PLEASE return your cooler bags with your label intact! We are running low.
Recipe of the week:
Grain Salad with Tomatoes and Cucumbers (from Bon Appetit)
2 c semi-pearled faro or spelt, Kosher salt
1/3 c pine nuts
3 medium cucumbers, peeled, cut into 3/4" pieces
3 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved crosswise
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 c extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Freshly ground pepper
2 c torn basil leaves
Preheat oven to 350F. Cook farro in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown and toasted about 4 minutes. Remove pot form heat and pour cold water to cover grains by 1"; throw a healthy handful of salt. Set pot over medium-high heat and bring water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, skimming foam occasionally from surface, until grains are tender but still have some bite, 25-35 minutes. Drain and transfer farro to a large bowl.
Meanwhile, toast pine nuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Let cool. Add pine nuts, cucumbers, both kinds of tomatoes, red onion, lemon juice, oil, and vinegar to bowl with farro and toss everything together to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top salad with basil just before serving.
Storage tip of the week:
Keep your basil on the counter in a glass of water! Do not wash it or refrigerate.
Here's more of a challenge!
Pick 1 veggie that you will clean, chop and package up -recipe ready for dinner-as soon as you get home with your share. Pick 1 veggie you will freeze. Be realistic and decide which one you might not get to this week and save it for later. I've shared lots of storage tips in these newsletters and given you the OSF veggie storage guide-check them out!
Thursday folks come see us at the Hereford Farmer's Market on Saturday from 9-12pm. We will have Sun Gold cherry tomatoes, lots of tomatoes ready to eat, 5 kinds of cucumbers, the first of the hot peppers, scallions, Tomatillos, poblano peppers, summer squash, potatoes, Thai and Italian basil, rosemary, salad and spicy salad mix, baby arugula, 3 types of eggplant and MORE!
Are you interested in buying in bulk? Want to can some tomatoes or make homemade pickles? Talk to Lisa about bulk pricing and pick up!
Have a great week,
