Week 19 ~ Sept.27 – Oct.3 CSA Newsletter

This Weeks Share: Kale, Broccoli/Cabbage, Cucumber, Summer Squash, Peppers, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Beets and Beans.

THIS WEEKS VEGETABLES~

• Kale: Big greens are coming at you nice and farm fresh this week with some kale. We thought that was you who missed your vitamins over the weekend….dig in!
• Broccoli/Cabbage: More Brassicaceae goodness for you this week  in the form of our delicious broccoli or cabbage. The broccoli is mostly pup and side-shoot heads of our ultra vigorous plants that continue to produce for us. This is in no way any less superior of a vegetable, in fact it is the ultimate in flavorful, sustainable resources! Also mostly the cabbage we have for you this week is a green type of Savoy with crinkled leaves and a nice, sweet flavor.
• Cucumber: Yep…more, never bitter, fresh and crisp cucumber for you. We hope you are enjoying the extended life of cuc’s in the farm share. Rarely is cucumber a crop that lasts for weeks and weeks. What a crazy year it’s been.
• Summer Squash: Same story here as with the cucumber….the plants are still producing and the fruit still tasting fresh and delicious. I think it might be time for some more zucchini muffins this week!
• Pepper Medley: Again we have the lovely summer crop of peppers for everyone. You should get a larger bell pepper or two, with an assortment of medium size and heat Anaheim, Banana, Relleno’s and/or some spicier Jalepeno’s, Serrano’s or Thai chili’s. Time for fresh salsa!
• Tomatoes: We are still being blessed by the Tomatoe gods! Thankfully our bushes are slowly producing more red hues of fruit as the days go on and this ever lovin’ sunshine is a definite help! We still gratefully pass them on to you. How many cucumber-tomato sandwich’s have you had by now?
• Eggplant: Oh the joy of this fabulous purple vegetable! I made some tasty eggplant Parmesan last weekend and friends really enjoyed it. It’s a very easy dish, especially if you have a ton of cheese and your already made farm fresh marinara to throw in! If you’d prefer to go middle Eastern rather than Italian, you cannot lose with Baba Ghannouj! This recipe sounds very similar to how I make it when I do….roasting the eggplants is key. http://www.greenprophet.com/2009/01/baba-ganoush-recipe/.
• Beets: Fabulous root beets are back for this week, keeping us long-living and youthful! Most of you will get deep red beets or perhaps some albino white ones. Please don’t underestimate these flavorful gems roasted with olive oil or butter…delicious!
• Beans: Wow, finally we bring to you beans! This great summer crop can now grace your tables. You should be getting, great Blue Lake greenies, some purples or some golden yellow beans. They all have fabulous summer-time flavor and this is a nice sunny week to have them for you. We enjoyed them steamed and then added to a light onion, garlic sautee with butter last night. That was really good!

FARM NEWS: Are we all glad to see the sunshine, or what? There’s nothing quite like sunshine to put a nice smile on our faces out here at the farm. The grass is all greened up thanks to the mist and clouds, but now we get the sun back to beg us out to play in it as well! Thank-you! What a great forecast…..and it WILL save the tomatoes!! The bees and bugs are just as active today as they would normally be in July. The hummingbirds are humming, doves cooing, chickens clucking and at least for today, it really feels like summer again. How goofy that it is actually, officially Fall and Oregon’s sock and sweater weather….NOT. Well, we will take what we can get when it comes to the sun and grin and bear it regardless. We hope you all are finding the merit in this season of strange weather and building true grit otherwise when unfavorable times are bestowed. We are back to our regular nest of four now after 3 weeks with the addition of my sister and her daughter. Oh how we loved the time we had with them, and how much we miss them now that they have gone. Until the next wave of loved ones comes by…cheers 🙂

About the crops, things are looking good. We are pleased to have enough beans for you all. It would not have been the case, save for this spurt of sunshine. Also, this helps with our Fall/Winter squash which we we worried would fail us as a predominate crop for you all. Things are looking better there. We may even have tomatoes and peppers for you til near end of our season! The despair has dissipated and none will be starving who is affiliated with the Love Farm! Hope you enjoyed the plums last week. That sweet little addition was from very generous friends down the road who have completely abandoned old trees and left them to come what may…. we came and you may. Our daughter Zoe has found them her new favorite and is up to about 4 a day!

So about our Harvest Party 2010….We hope to see you on the farm! It’s Sunday, October 17th. We want to welcome anyone willing to get their hands dirty, to come out at 10am for an hour or two of planting garlic. Around noon we will gather down at our woods until whenever! Here we will have a fire pit going and will have tables, some chairs and canopies if it is rainiy. If you have a chair, please bring it. This is a potluck, so please bring your favorite dish or beverage to share. We will have all the plates, cups and utensils. The more things made with farm food, the better! Everything from meats or hearty dishes to savory sweet muffins or bread and home brew, wine or cider is most welcome! I always grill some meat and have some snacks and salads available.  During the afternoon we are happy to assemble farm tours or hikes around the place. Also the woods has an open meadow for Frisbee or ball or whatever. We will have outhouse facilities and tables and water on hand. We have limited chairs. We welcome all children of course! It’s best to leave your young, exuberantly playful dogs at home, as we have a young, vivacious dog of our own who rules the roost, so to speak. Older, slow pets that stay with you are welcome. So come on out and join us for a work day and/or potluck party on YOUR FARM! We are so very appreciative of YOU, our members, and want to spend time with you on the farm. Come relax and enjoy!!

Thanks  for your support!

Your farmer’s and all at Love Farm Organics!