CSA Week Six

News from the field:
Hot, hot, hot. While that is good news for most veggies, it is not so great for others. For example, you will notice your basket is missing mesclun and lettuce this week. The heat makes lettuce bitter, then pushes it to seed too fast, and then prevents the next generation of plants from germinating properly. I have even had calls from wholesale buyers who have other rock-solid, regular sources for local lettuce, wanting to know if we can fill in for a bit. We can’t. It seems to be a problem almost all the growers up here are having right now.

But the heat means we do have lots of other stuff for you. The cucumbers have arrived with a vengeance. We made our first batch of Old Shaw Farm bread and butter pickles this week, and if anyone out there is interested in making pickles, give us a call to arrange for a half bushel of cukes.

In the Basket:
Beets - CSAer Emma Forster loves beets, and we hope you do too. We harvest them small so they’re tender and flavorful. The greens are wicked good too.

Cucumbers - Cool and good eating in hot weather. We’ve given you a lot. I’ve attached a cucumber salad recipe. Other ideas: tabbouleh, cucumber salsa, cold cucumber soup. Cucumber sandwiches make any lunch an elegant tea party!

Garlic - This is hardneck variety that we harvest fresh. It’s got more flavor and less fire than supermarket garlic. It won’t keep as well though, so eat it relatively soon.

Sweet colored peppers - Sweet, crunchy, colorful. Spruce up a salad or just munch them. Or roast and peel them. Roasted ones freeze well too.
Gold rush potatoes - These are a yellow-skinned, white fleshed, delicate, early season russet. Great for roasting, baking, and mashing.

Red norland potatoes - These have a moist, firm flesh that makes them great for boiling. Leave the skins on for a pretty potato salad.

Tomatoes - Based on feedback that CSAers were really enjoying getting lots of tomatoes, we gave you lots again. Enjoy!

Yellow Squash - CSAer Zoë Gascon recently suggested a recipe we tried and loved! Layer sliced summer squash in a casserole dish with tomatoes, onion, a little garlic, some fresh herbs and chedder and parmasan cheese and then bake. Yum.