In Your Box:
- Broccolini
- Cabbage
- Cucumber
- Head lettuce
- Kale, “Curly Roja”
- Scallions
- Summer squash
- Tomatoes
Farm News
This week I’ve been busy harvesting all of our garlic from the field. We grow nearly 2,000 bulbs, and each one has to be pulled from the ground and spread in our greenhouse under fans to dry out and cure for storage. It’s a lot of wheelbarrow trips across the field and leads to a very strong odor from the greenhouse! The garlic will be drying out for a few weeks, but we’ll start offering that in the boxes as soon as it’s ready.
Just a reminder that we’re coming up on our family vacation. There will be no CSA delivery on August 5th and 7th as we enjoy some time away from the farm. We’ll be off to Bayfield, Wisconsin, and the Apostle Islands area. After enduring the heat and humidity this week, jumping into Lake Superior sounds mighty tempting! Regular delivery will resume on the 12th and continue weekly into October.
This week’s box
Summer squash are coming along nicely. We grow six different varieties, including traditional green and yellow zucchini. My favorite is a yellow squash with a green bottom called “Zephyr,” and we also grow a striped green variety called Mexicana.
To use a summer squash, first rinse off the outside (unlike with most winter squash, there is no need to peel). It can be eaten raw, broiled, steamed, fried, grilled, sauteed, or stir-fried. We enjoy summer squash as a pizza or pasta topping or in a stir-fry with a peanut sauce. If you end up with more squash than you know what to do with, it’s easy to freeze. It can be pureed in a blender and frozen directly for use as a soup base, or grated and frozen for use in bread or muffins.
Our cucumbers are ripening as well. Cucumbers should be kept in the fridge and generally keep well for 7-10 days. Last year we started growing “Silver Slicer,” a white/yellow offering. It’s a little surprising to see a pale cucumber, since most cucumbers turn this color when they are past ripe. But they are supposed to be this color, and we’ve been impressed with their taste and production.
Finally, we have our first cabbage this week. This variety is “Caraflex,” a green offering with a pointed, almost triangular top. Even though it doesn’t look like any cabbage in a grocery store, this pointy variety can be used like any other cabbage. I’ve tried growing several different varieties, and this one is the most reliable on our farm. And if it looks weird, all the better! Cabbage keeps well in the fridge for a couple weeks. We do have a red variety that has the more traditional shape, and it should be ready in a week or two.
Red Lentil Coconut Curry
From Simply in Season
Ingredients:
- 1 large onion or scallions, minced
- 1 TB garlic or garlic scapes, minced
- 1 TB ginger root, peeled and minced
- 2 tsp curry powder
- ½ tsp each turmeric, cumin, pepper
- ¼ tsp each red pepper, cinnamon
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 13.5 oz. Can coconut milk
- ¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1 c. tomato sauce
- 2 c. dried red lentils
- 5 c. water
- ½ head cabbage
- 1 head broccoli or cauliflower
- 1 large sweet potato or gold potatoes
Directions:
- Heat oil in a large pot or wok. Add the onions, garlic, and spices and stir for three minutes.
- Add the coconut milk, soy sauce, and tomato sauce and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring often.
- In a separate cookpan, cook the red lentils in the 5 c. water for 15 minutes. Add, with remaining liquid, to the main pot.
- Add the veggies and cook over medium heat until just tender. Serve over rice and top with sunflower seeds or yogurt.
Serves 8-10
Coming up
We are expecting carrots, basil, scallions, beans, head lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, zucchini, cabbage and broccolini.
Fox & Fawn Farm 