This week’s share:

broccoli
cauliflower
cucumber
wax, purple & green beans
musk melon
red onion
summer squash
tomatoes

This Past Week…


Our vacation to South Dakota was very memorable, and we sincerely THANK YOU for your flexibility. We cannot thank you enough!

This week’s share includes a mix of tomatoes in various stages of ripeness. The green tomatoes will ripen in a few days if you let them sit on your counter.

The ripening of the cauliflower doesn’t seem to happen when we need it to happen. For today, the cauliflower heads have been cut and portioned out so that everyone gets some. You’ll need to refrigerate it promptly.

The musk melon is here! And it is super sweet when ripe. It is likely that yours is not ripe right now. All you will need to do is put it in a brown paper bag on your counter over night, or maybe two nights. Enjoy!

There will be some containers of extra food - cucumbers, squash, and sweet corn. Take as much as you can use or give away. The sweet corn was given to us with instructions that “it must be eaten or frozen by Tuesday.”

The peppers have been appearing, as are the eggplant, and we hope to have some for next week’s share. The watermelon is huge, but are not showing any signs of ripeness yet.

Not to put a damper on things, but signs of fall are also showing up. The pumpkins are huge, and some are turning colors already. The acorn squash have magically appeared while on vacation, and the corn is starting to turn brown.

Speaking of corn, the popcorn is ripe! It will be picked this week and left to dry out so that it will be ready for you to pop this fall. The sweet corn is almost ready, but the ears seem small to me. That doesn’t seem to matter to the raccoons, who have been snacking on it.

As we head toward fall, we have been making plans for next year. One thing we would like to add is a worker-share program. If you have any experience or knowledge of worker share programs, we would love to hear from you. Specifically, what worked well and what did not work so well. Kathy is looking forward to having some help next year!

Cucumber Freezer Pickles

Submitted by Mary Jo, CSA Member

3 ½ cups unpeeled, thinly sliced cucumbers
2 T. sea salt
Salt cucumbers and set aside for 2 hours
Rinse off salt
Add 1 medium onion slice
½ green pepper – sliced or chopped
Add brine to cucumber, onion, and pepper. Mix well and put in freezer containers.

Brine

1 cup sugar
½ cup cider vinegar
¼ tsp celery salt
1/3 tsp mustard seed

Mix all ingredients until sugar is dissolved



Fried Green Tomatoes
From equinoxcommunityfarm.com

4 large green tomatoes
2 eggs
½ cup milk
1 cup all purpose flour
½ c cornmeal
½ cup bread crumbs
2 tsp course kosher salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1 quart vegetable oil for frying

Slice tomatoes ½ inch think, discard the ends. Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium-size bowl. Scoop flour onto a plate. Mix cornmeal, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper on another plate.

Dip tomatoes into flour to coat. Then dip the tomatoes into milk and egg mixture. Dredge in breadcrumbs to completely coat. In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil (enough so that there is ½ inch of oil in the pan) and heat over a medium heat. Place tomatoes into the frying pan in batches of 4 or 5, depending on the size of your skillet. Do not crowd the tomatoes – they should not touch each other. When the tomatoes are browned, flip and fry them on the other side. Drain on paper towels.

This week’s share:


Chioggia beets
carrots
cauliflower
chard
cucumber
green beans
kale
kohlrabi
lettuce
rutabaga

This is IMPORTANT:


Pickup the first week of August will be on Sunday, August 1 from noon until ? because we will be going on vacation that week. If this will not work out for you, please let me know and we will work something out. Thank you for your understanding.

This Past Week…


So many things are starting to show up in the garden. The eggplant is getting larger, the pepper plants are blossoming (so slowly!) and there have been two ripe tomatoes.

There have been a few squash, a few purple beans, some melons & pumpkins forming, and a sunflower opened up.

I’m having problems with the broccoli. Two weeks ago I had four heads that were the size of a baseball. This week there were just a handful of sideshoots. I’m not sure what’s happening, but keep your fingers crossed for some broccoli quick!

There is purple cauliflower in your share this week. However, I was short one, so if you didn’t get any cauliflower this week, please let me know. There are a few more coming along and I’ll make sure to get you one.

If you would like to view previous newsletters, I post them on the blog at:


columbusurbanfarm.blogspot.com

A Tip from one of our members:


“we haven't been wasting any of the veggies. Whatever doesn't get eaten or gets wilty we put into a gallon ziploc baggie in the freezer. When I have a ham bone or rotisserie chicken bones I add it to the ziploc and use the contents to make a wicked broth for soup.” I love this idea!


Swap Box
Starting next week, I will have a separate cooler labeled SWAP BOX. If there is something in your bag you don’t like, you can swap it with something someone else has placed in the box.

Recipe Section


Sauteed Chard with Parmesan from Allrecipes.com

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

• 1/2 small red onion, diced

• 1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and center ribs cut out and chopped together, leaves coarsely chopped separately

• 1/2 cup dry white wine

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• salt to taste (optional)

Melt butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and onion, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the chard stems and the white wine. Simmer until the stems begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chard leaves, and cook until wilted. Finally, stir in lemon juice and Parmesan cheese; season to taste with salt if needed. Nutritional Information



Spice Asian Green Beans
From the Willly Street Co-op Reader, July 2010

1 lb of green beans

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp peanut oil

1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled & minced

1/16 tsp red pepper flakes

½ tbs soy sauce

2 tbs water

1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted

Cut off the ends of the green beans, unless they are very fresh and thin. Lightly steam the beans while frying the garlic and ginger in the oils over low heat. You want the garlic to turn a golden color and become very aromatic – at this point you can add the red pepper flakes, green beans, soy sauce and the water. Cover and cook everything together over high heat for a few minutes until the water evaporates and the beans look shiny from the oil. Shake the pan and stir occasionally while cooking. Garnish with sesame seeds and enjoy! Yields 4 cups.

Enjoy your week! ~ Kathy