CSA Newsletter – Week 5 – July 13, 2016

WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
carrots
beets or chard
sweet onion
garlic
shell or snap pea
green zucchini
patty pan or yellow crookneck squash (large shares only)
lettuce
fennel or kohlrabi
potatoes-red thumb
dill, cilantro, or parsley

Weeding is the name of the game these days. The crew has been valiantly rescuing baby carrots from the carpet of unwanted vegetation that threatens to overtake them. The recent rains have allowed the weeds to sprout and thrive like nobody’s business. We were down several workers last week for various and sundry reasons, so we were treading water there for a bit. Now nearly all hands are back on deck and tomorrow promises to be another sunny day. I know what we’ll be doing….

You will notice a smaller amount of peas this week. Hopefully you are thinking “phew” instead of “awww”. The patch we were picking from is winding down and the new one is not quite ready. In my wanderings around the field I see that beans are almost ready. We hope to have enough for you all in a few weeks.

Everything in your box should be pretty familiar by now. The only thing to mention is the Red Thumb potatoes. I think you got them once already. They are a great roasting potato. A little olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary if you have it, perhaps some crushed garlic and you’ve got yourself a nice side dish (or main dish.) You can also use them for potato salad, shish-ka-bobs on the grill, or simply steamed.

As for fennel, hopefully your googling from a few weeks ago yielded a bunch of good ideas. One of our market customers said she loves to par boil the bulb, then braise it in the oven, smothered in olive oil, salt and pepper of course.

The lettuce is super lush and sweet this week. Be sure to whip up a nice salad with some of your fresh herbs.

Speaking of herbs, I found this awesome herb reference chart that offers suggestions of what veggies pair well with what herbs. Check it out.

I could go on and on about the weeds, but I’ll leave you to your dinner and me to mine.

Enjoy your veggies-
Jen, Jim and the Rising River Farm Crew