Week 9 CSA Newsletter (Aug 1-7, 2021)
CSA Newsletter Week 9
August 1-7, 2021 | “A” Week
Fennel is our featured veggie of the week
What’s in the Box this Week?
FENNEL — There are two parts to this vegetable, and they are both edible — the frondy stem and the white bulb. Trim the stems off the bulb (to save space). Chop the stems and add to dishes (or freeze). The fronds add add a licorice taste to anything you season them with. These can be stored in a plastic baggie, but use them within a few days. The white bulk should be well washed and then stored in the fridge in a plastic bag. To use, slice it into desired size and add to dishes.
RED SKINNED POTATOES (quart) — These are a buy-in from our partner organic farm Mile Creek outside Cincinnati. (We don’t have good luck growing potatoes, due to the infestation of Colorado Potato Beetles). Store these on your counter (away from onions). They should last for a couple weeks. Peeling is optional. High in moisture and low in starch, red potatoes hold their shape well when cooked. That makes them great for roasting and skillet cooking.
GARLIC (cured) ~ This garlic has been dried/cured, so you can store this on your countertop. It should last for several weeks!
CUT LETTUCE — Store these in a Debbie Meyer Green Bag in your fridge and use within 5 days. Wash just before using; it will be a little gritty.
zucchini and cute shoes
SWEET CORN (bi-color) — Sweet corn should remain in its husk until you’re ready to eat it. Shuck the outer leaves and remove the silks/threads, as well as any wormy tip. You can cut the kernels off with a sharp knife or you can boil the corn in hot water for 6 minutes and eat it off the cob. Sweet corn should be stored in the fridge. Its sugars turn to starch in a few days, so the sooner you eat it, the sweeter it will taste! I like to try and eat it within 3 days, but it will last up to 8 days.
KOHLRABI — Remove the leaves and tough outer skin with a paring knife. Slice the crisp white inside flesh with a knife into slices on a veggie tray, or grate it raw for a cole slaw. You can also roast it with other veggies, or boil it and mash it with some potatoes.
SWEET BANANA PEPPER — Use it in a salsa, as a topping for fish or steak, for pickling, or roasted. Store it unwashed in a plastic bag and use it within 7-10 days. To prepare, cut off the stem and pull out the seeds in the center. Then chop or slice as needed for recipe.
This week’s hard cheeses come from a new dairy — Blue Jac
THIS WEEK’S ADD-ON SHARES:
It’s “A” week (for all our bi-weekly shares)
Fruit Share: Japanese plums (Eshleman Orchard), blackberries (Niese and Maag), and peaches (Quarry Hill orchard)
Coffee: Ethiopia Harrar – bright blueberry, wine, hint of cocoa
Bread share (week 4, final week for Elmore): Semolina sourdough
Cheese share: Bokengehalas, Gretna Grillin’ (from Blue Jacket Dairy in Logan County, OH); black garlic chevre from Turkeyfoot Creek Creamery. This week’s hard cheese comes from a new local dairy, Blue Jacket Dairy. We will include a brochure in your bag to tell you a little bit about them!
Knueven Ice Cream Share: Rocky Road
Volunteers showed up Friday and Saturday to help us catch up on the farm!
FARMER KURT’S FIELD NOTES
Hi everyone! We just finished up our Volunteer Work day at the farm. Wow! We got so much done. I think I counted 26 people that showed up during our 4 hour stint. We had 3 main jobs — pull out 5 beds of yellow onions, harvest the aronia berries, and start processing the cured garlic. The onions were the main priority, and truthfully I didn’t think we’d finish. But we were able to pull 5 beds of onions (in very weedy beds), and that was enough to fill 9 bulk bins! That will help me immensely this week, getting that job off our plate. Those onions can now cure over the next few weeks, and we’ll be able to pull from them all summer and fall.
Aronia berries are a fairly new fruit for us. They won’t be in the fruit share — partly because they are very tart, and I’m not sure most people are ready to know how to use them yet. So I’m going to put them into the online store the next two weeks, and see if some of you brave foodie folks can show off how to use them. Maybe Danielle will make a simple syrup out of them and use them in a cocktail!
This is what aronia berries look like! Do not be fooled by their blueberry appearance! They are tart!!
As you heard in this week’s email, we lost 4 of our crew members. The Morins decided to head back to Texas. This was an unexpected departure that definitely surprised us. We wish them well, and we will miss them. We are now working on filling out our skeleton crew. Our thanks to all of you who have volunteered to show up over the next few weeks to harvest on Mondays and Wednesdays — until we have a more permanent solution. We are confident that we will figure it out. We always do.
Kathy Pietrowski loaned us their big van so we could do our Port Clinton pickup. Thank you for helping us out!
The white pickup truck is finally back! We had it out of commission for 2 weeks, getting the transmission fixed. A big thank you to our friends the Pietrowskis, who donated their 12 passenger van to help us transport our CSA shares to Port Clinton last Thursday. Kathy even joined Corinna for the ride and was able to pass out boxes. There have been so many examples like this of CSA members coming through for us in small ways to keep this operation running like a smooth machine. We’ve also had a handful of members preparing our burlap weed matting — cutting the Maddie and Bella coffee bags for us. Thanks to Joan Eckerman, Joan Gamble, Patty Rodgers, Ann Black, and Tara Baranowski (and her girls!).
Ann is just one of 5 CSA members who donated their time this week to cut up old coffee burlap bags. We’ll use this for weed mat.
The chickens have slowed down their egg production big time the last 2 weeks. This is pretty normal. All chickens get broody and/or lose their feathers periodically — which means they stop making eggs. The downside is, we’re not making enough eggs! Luckily, the Webers have been able to step in for us and supplement our egg production. We are grateful.
Noah weeds tomatoes this past week. Our crew is filing in some big gaps!
Catalina, Shalese, and Noah helped me plant cauliflower and fall cabbage this week on Wednesday. That was a LATE night for them — I pushed them to get it in because there was rain coming, and I needed to get it planted. On Friday, we hoed about 4 beds of tomatoes — I still haven’t staked them all, and now I’m paying for it. Try tying tomato plants that have grown out pretty huge and are lying on the ground. We also cleaned up the kale beds — they were full of weeds and needed their lower leaves stripped. I’m still debating whether I should weed the chard.
Shalese transplants cauliflower and cabbage
Jed disk-ripped the pathways between the daikon radish beds. Jed watered the radishes with the water tank. Next week’s job is to set up the irrigation lines so we can be ready to turn on the water when needed. I have a feeling we’ll need it soon.
The Bench family went swimming at Round Lake this Wednesday.
The quest for white space… Corinna was able to get away with the boys on Wednesday after an early morning harvest, to spend a day at Round Lake with our friends, the Cummings. With everything going on and being short-staffed, I wasn’t able to go. I’ll have to revisit my goals of personal time, under these new circumstances. I was reflecting this week how the one thing I’d change about farming (which I love to do) is the intensity. It’s hard to find balance. I’m either super intense, sprinting like a racehorse in the season, filling every second of daylight. Or I’m taking it easy in the off-season. If only I could find a way to spread it out more. Maybe one of these seasons, I’ll figure it out.
~Your Farmer, Kurt
These creamy popsicles look amazing!
WEEK 9 ANNOUNCEMENTS
- LAST BATCH OF BULK BLUEBERRIES WILL ARRIVE TO SITES THIS WEEK. If you ordered a 10# box, you will get yours this week.
- Bulk corn is now for sale in the online store. Due to space limitations, we are only offering a few bags per week right now. We’ll eventually ramp this up. Go to our store to place your order. You can also email Corinna (if it’s sold out) to get on a wait list at sharedlegacyfarms@gmail.com. Elmore customers especially should do this, as I can likely get your order filled right away.
- Now taking reservations for the Sept. 17th Field to Table Farm Dinner. Price is $75 per ticket. Arrive at 6 PM, and dinner will begin around 6:30 PM. This event is limited to 75 people, and we will set up tables in a giant horseshoe in the field near the pack shed, with a beautiful view. 5 course meal provided by Chef Joseph Jacobsen of Cork and Knife Provision (formerly the head chef of Degage Restaurant). To reserve your spot, head to this Google Sheet link to place your reservation. Payment is made via check or cash (to Shared Legacy Farms). If you can’t make the link work, then email Corinna at sharedlegacyfarms@gmail.com.
- BULK PEACHES? We’re starting to take names of people who want a half bushel of peaches for canning. These are the Red Havens that everyone loves for canning. They are not organic. Price will be around $30-35. I will know more for sure soon. If you are interested, please email me at sharedlegacyfarms@gmail.com and tell me what site you are and how many you’d be interested in.
Stephanie McBride helped us pack boxes last Wednesday. This is one way you can help us out this summer!
- Want to volunteer for a couple hours, packing the CSA bin? If you’d like to help out during a CSA Pack night (Mondays and Wednesdays from 4-8 PM), or help us harvest on a Monday or Wednesday morning (8 am to noon), please email me at sharedlegacyfarms@gmail.com.
- You can order additional items from the Shared Legacy Farms online store. This week we have: bulk sweet corn, sweet corn by the half dozen, head lettuce, softneck garlic, red long tropea onions (no tops), red cabbage, honey, maple syrup, purple kohlrabi, aronia berries (by the pint), and rye flour. Our store link is super easy to remember: www.sharedlegacyfarms.com/store. We reload and open the store inventory on Saturdays, around 6 PM. Just be sure to select the right pickup site that coincides with your pickup location. If the pickup option is greyed out or not available, it means you missed the window to order. You need to place your order 2 days before your site, because we harvest the product early on Monday and Wednesday mornings.
Cory Wolin shared this beet salad.
WEEK 9 CSA RECIPES
Members: You can download these recipes as a PDF here. These recipes are designed to inspire you to use your box this week! Please check inside our private Facebook group to find your fellow members sharing ideas for what to make with their box! Share a photo and you might be featured in next week’s newsletter!
- Roasted Chicken with Clementines and Arak (uses FENNEL)
- Orange and Fennel Salad
- Chili Lime Corn
- Grilled Parmesan, Garlic and Basil Corn on the Cob
- Cold French Lentil and Kohlrabi Salad
- Kohlrabi Slaw
- Creamy Potato Salad with Lemon and Fresh Herbs
- Rosemary Potato Skillet with Bacon and Fresh Corn
- Grilled Parmesan Potatoes and Carrots
- Pickled Banana Peppers
- Pickled Peach Salad
- Grilled Balsamic Peaches
- Peach Blackberry Crumble