In your box

• Head lettuce
• Kohlrabi
• Komatsuna or bok choy
• Red Currants
• Salad Mix
• Scallions
• Summer squash or kale

Farm News

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend! I ended up working through the weekend, but I am closing in on the middle of the season when I no longer have to work 80 hours a week. The weeds are largely under control, most of the plants are now out in the garden, and after another week or two I can start to think about taking a day off once in a while. Or a couple hours, at least…

Don’t forget– we’ll be participating in the Co-op Farm Tour this coming Saturday, July 10th. I’ll be leading tours every hour from 10am-3pm, and there are some other farms participating in our area if you want to make a day of it. For more information, please visit www.coopfarmtour.com. The weather looks a little iffy, but we’ll try to work around the raindrops for anyone who can make it out. We’re also planning a work day in August and a year-end party in September, so there are other opportunities to visit the farm if you can’t make it Saturday.

This week’s box

This week brings the first summer squash of the year. We don’t quite have enough to go around, but these have a long season and we expect many more to come.

Kohlrabi is the baseball-shaped green vegetable with kale-like leaves coming off the top. The leaves can be snapped off and used like kale. The ball itself needs to be peeled and can then be shredded like cole slaw, chopped fine and eaten raw with a dip, or added to a stir fry.

This week finally brings us some fruit, as our red currants are ripening nicely.  I grow white and red currants and I plan to add some black ones next spring.  Currants are a great source of vitamins C and B as well as flavonoids.  They are great raw–just wash them off and eat them fresh or mixed into your morning cereal or oatmeal.  I didn’t have enough time to sort through them thoroughly, so I’ll leave it to you to wash them up and remove any damaged berries.  I personally enjoy flossing with them–just pop the whole thing in your mouth and use your teeth to pop the berries off of the stem (called a “Strig”).

I’ve become a huge fan of currants, and I highly recommend them if you have a small garden space available.  They grow well in partial shade and can bear a strong harvest in just a few years.  My 6-year old plants yielded as much as 18 pints each this year, so you don’t need a lot of plants to have enough for making jam.

Red Currant Clafoutis

from ACozyKitchen.com

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon, milk or non-dairy milk
• 1/2 cup fresh currants removed from their vines, plus more for garnish
• Powdered Sugar for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Liberally grease a 9-inch round baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, white sugar, brown sugar and salt. Mix in the eggs and milk. Whisk until completely combined. The batter will have a few small lumps and be very thin. Allow to rest on the counter while picking off the currants from their vines.
3. Pour the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle the currants on top, being sure to spread them out evenly. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the center is set and firm. The clafoutis will puff up slightly in the oven, but will deflate as it sits–not a big deal. Garnish with a few more vines of fresh currants and dust the clafoutis with powdered sugar. Serve with whipped cream, ice cream or enjoy it all by itself.
4. This recipe also works with white currants, blueberries, blackberries, etc.

Coming up

Next week we are expecting basil, green onions, head lettuce, red or white currants, summer squash, salad mix, and bok choy.