I don't know about you, but 99 degrees in the forecast is never something we look forward to. We're doing our best to beat the heat, starting at 6:00 AM in the "cool" of the morning. This week will most likely see the end of the blessed broccolini until the fall cool-down, but the heat means the eggplant, okra, sweet potatoes, peppers and even the tomatoes to some point are growing quickly (as long as we water them). We should have ample cherry tomatoes this week for everyone, so don't be shy about grabbing extra and if we temporarily sell out, check back in at on the availability Monday afternoon/evening in case we are able to add more to the list.
The very first of the slicer tomatoes are going out this week, but don't feel too left out if you don't get any because these are just the very first fruits and we don't have very many ripe ones yet (as farmers, we haven't even sneaked our own farmer tax to eat any of these yet, but a few are turning pretty red on the vines, so that means it's time to share!). Including the cherry tomatoes, we have approximately 3,500 tomato plants in the ground, so we fully anticipate having literal truck loads of tomatoes for you later in the season, but right now we'll be just beginning to harvest from less than 5% of our plants, so this week, it's really quite a tiny amount compared to future harvests. Give us a few more weeks for the various plantings to mature and more fruit to set and ripen. My guess is that by mid to late July we'll be at the Tomato peak with tomatoes for anyone who wants them and 25lb bulk boxes of tomatoes available for any of you who wants to make salsa/freeze/can/overindulge/etc.
One thing I've learned from farming is that part of life is living in gratitude and contentment in the moment and enjoying the blessings that we have at any particular time rather than always looking toward the next thing we desire. Life is just more fun when we cherish our little ones (diapers and all) while they babble, toddle and spill their cheerios rather than looking longingly toward the time when they can buckle themselves in their carseats or can have meaningful conversations with us. I'm sure retirement can be an enjoyable time but I'm pretty sure we will be disappointed with retirement if we pin all our hopes of 40+ year careers on the freedom we'll eventually have in that "someday-things-will-be-amazing" mindset. Sure, we are supposed to look and plan toward the future, but we don't want to miss out on the good gifts God has given us at the present time. Trust me, the gifts are there. Just search them out a little bit.
What does that have to do with CSA shares? I promise, you'll have more than enough tomatoes in a few weeks, but now is the time to enjoy the last of the broccolini and the garlic scapes, the kohlrabi, beets, turnips, radishes, salad, green onions, cherry tomatoes etc. Some of these will be gone soon, so we'd better enjoy them while we can. What's funny is every year, people are super desperate for those first tomatoes, but by late August, they are sick of them. I hope you don't get sick of them, and I hope you'll still be enjoying tomatoes when they are in prime season late July through the end of August and all the way until the frost kills the plants off in the beginning of October and makes us move on to the next crop in the ever-changing seasonality of local produce.
To everything turn, turn, turnThere is a season turn, turn, turnAnd a time to every purpose under Heaven...A time for eating tomatoes and a time for refraining.
Quick meals with Veggies: Sheet Pan Meals, Salads, cooked greens
For those new to the CSA, sometimes the quantity of veggies can be overwhelming. This is a growing experience, so don't feel bad if you think it's hard. There are some amazing folks in the CSA that are in the Private CSA Facebook group that are happy to answer questions and give advice.
Sheri is a master at whipping up amazing meals and dishes with our produce (eating it is what got us hooked on growing all this food in the first place). But when she doesn't have much time (which is all summer long) some of her best ways of making quick and healthy meals and dishes are the following.
The Sheet Pan Meal: Cut root vegetables (carrots, turnips, radishes, kohlrabi, sweet potatoes, etc) into uniform pieces (I like 1/2 inch pieces), distribute on 1 or 2 sheet pans, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and and roast at 400 or 425F for about 30-45 minutes or until tender. I also crumble raw sausage on the veggies before roasting and let the sausage cook and season the meat during cooking. Serve with Quinoa and cooked greens for a healthy meal.
The salad: Salad mix, lettuce heads, arugula or kale (tear into bite sized pieces, massage with a little oil and salt to tenderize) make a good base, top with thinly sliced radishes, salad turnips, kohlrabi, and the typical tomatoes and cucumbers. Also try topping your salad with roasted veggies, grilled meat, hard boiled eggs for a substantial meal.
Cooked Greens: Kale, chard and Bok choy are all excellent cooked. Kale leaves should be pulled off the stem, chopped, and sautéed in olive oil until tender (sometimes I add a couple tablespoons water or broth to tenderize, or chopped tomatoes, to tenderize). Chard can be chopped keeping the stems and leaves separate and first saute the stems for a couple minutes, then add in the chopped leaves and saute another minute or two until tender. Bok choy: chop and very quickly stir fry with chopped garlic in a little olive oil until just wilted, season with salt and pepper or soy sauce.
What about you? Please share on the Facebook group your ideas for quick veggie-rish summer dishes.
Bread and Cheese
Farm to Market 8- Grain Sliced Loaf
Hemme Brothers Garlic Dill Curds
Have a blessed week,
Dave and Sheri
