CSA Week Ten

News from the field:

A few days of sun is better than nothing! But last night we had a ton of rain again. However, we have it better than most. We hear from other growers that they are laying off their crews because they have lost so many crops to the rain. Our yields are down, but at least we are still in business for the season. It is just a little surreal because we are used to having big, big harvests this time of year, but this year the pickings are sort of slim.

People have asked for corn and melons. The corn should be coming. Our first planting got in late and has been hampered by weeds due to the rain. But our second planting was timed for a Labor Day harvest, and that one seems to be doing well. So look for sweet corn in September. The melons, on the other hand, are here now, but our yield is waaaay down. As soon as the fruits ripen they turn to rot due to the rain. So we have a few melons available for trade out, but we probably won’t have them for the baskets this year.

One last thing. We have had more eggplant this year than ever before. It has been a banner year for eggplant. We were curious about this, and so was one of our interns, Anna, who did some research on eggplants. It turns out that eggplants do best when it is between 70 and 80 degrees, and when the soil is consistently moist. That sounds like this summer to me! So even if some things are failing, other things do well!

In the Basket:

The quoted ideas are from Mark Bittman’s article 101 Fast Recipes for Inspired Picnics.

Potatoes – “Make potato salad with mayo and crumbled bacon, and add grated Cheddar, celery, onion and chopped egg. You don’t have to pack much else except blood thinner.”

Eggplant – “In a blender or food processor, combine ginger, a half cup or so light miso, a little more than that of walnuts, and enough soy sauce to make a sauce. Toss with cooked green beans or eggplant.”

Carrots – This idea from Anna, our intern. For a yummy carrot dip: grate carrot, sauté with garlic and generous amount of olive oil until carrot is falling apart and runny, add yogurt to pan, combine, cook like 30 seconds.

Lettuce and tomatoes – A little salad for late summer.

Cherry tomatoes – I’m out of space so I say just eat these in the car on the way home!