Wednesday, July 27, 2011

CSA Harvest! And, ripening tomatoes

A few scenes from the farmer's market, my greenhouse, and this week's CSA:

 This past Saturday, one of the few sunny market days so far this season.

 Ha!  I finally found a sungold tomato with color last week in the greenhouse... there are more like this...

 There's also plenty of this: heavy fruitset that is solid green.  Someday these will make luscious slicers.  Someday.

CSA HARVEST
1/2 lb. salad greens
1/2 lb. snap peas
3/4 lb. summer squash
1/2 lb. broccoli sideshoots
1 lb. Copra onion
1 bunch kale or chard
1 bunch herbs: oregano and summer savory
1 half-pint raspberries

Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

CSA Harvest! And, simultaneous garlic harvest

1/2 lb. salad greens
1/2 lb. squash
1/2 lb. broccoli
1/2 lb. snap peas
1 bunch kale
1 bunch chives
1 onion

Today's theme seemed to be "things in quantities of half a pound" and "alliums."  I pulled a few of my spring-planted Copra onions for today's share.  While this variety is technically a storage onion, the fact that it has been sending up scapes makes me doubt it's long-term storage capacities.  So enjoy the fresh onion this week!  Pungent but not too spicy, it can be sliced raw into cole slaw or slowly cooked as a base for sauteed kale or broccoli.

My CSA harvest also coincided with the rest of my garlic harvest, which I started yesterday afternoon.  These days of long rain mean I needed to take advantage of dry weather while it was around - it is preferable to pull garlic when it has "dried down."  Thankfully the farmhands, Sara Joy and Owen, were able to pull, bundle, and hang the last six beds of garlic while I harvested for CSA customers.  I am deeply grateful for their help.

A sunny afternoon also meant I was able to mow; the grass just hasn't stopped growing.  Tomatoes look strong and healthy, and also still hard and green.  Sometimes I fear they will never ripen, but maintain their teasing presence in the greenhouse.  I know I just need to be patient.  Snap peas, however, continue to grow up and above my head; the zucchini and summer squash are starting to take off; raspberries set ripe fruit on the canes.  I can wait for tomatoes.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

CSA Harvest! And, it's July already?

Today's harvest:
1 head lettuce
1 bunch beets
1 bunch kale
1/2 lb. onion scapes
1/2 lb. snap peas
1 lb. shelling peas
a petite summer squash

Recent weather has been balmy and overcast.  I must continually remind myself that we are almost halfway through July.  This time last year I was eating tomatoes, with the first Early Girl picked on the 4th.  Now, however, I am just entering into full-swing of my pea harvest (usually considered a spring/early summer crop) while tomatoes sit stubbornly hard and green on short, bushy vines.  I am just starting to pick zucchini and yellow summer squash, so today's bag includes a taste of what will be more to come.  For dinner tonight I sliced a handful of the tender little squash on the diagonal, heated butter in a cast iron pan, and tossed the rounds in.  Cooking them over medium-high heat and flipping them just once with a spatula means a little browning without mushy squash.  I shelled a basket of peas and threw everything together in a bowl with salad greens and grated carrot.  I love summer salads!

As for beets, they also make a lovely addition when grated fresh into salads.  Or one could try my mom's roasted beet salad, which is how I first remember eating these deep, earthy vegetables.  Trim and cube each beet, and oven-roast until easily pierced with a fork.  Dress with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt.  Sprinkle with toasted walnuts and chevre.  I could eat mountains of beets prepared this way.  Mountains.

Enjoy!