In Your Box
Cucumbers:
Zucchini and Summer Squash-
Rainbow Carrots
Tomatoes- heirloom, beefsteak, and/or cherry tomatoes.
Garlic –
Sweet Onions – these should be stored in the fridge for longer term storage. Cured onions will start in several weeks.
Melons (small shares only)- muskmelons, baby watermelons, or sun jewl (yellow)
Snap Beans
Fennel – holy moly it is perfect and big and beautiful
Cilantro
Green Peppers (full shares only)
Next Week’s Best Guess: salsa packs (tomatillos, onions, hot peppers), broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, kale, basil, peppers, sweet corn
Important Reminders
The Athens fair is this weekend. We will have our annual float on Sunday at 1pm. If you want to be on the float call or text us!
Upick snap beans continue. You can come pick this week (today through early next week). Call or text to set up a time
News from the Farm
Only 2 months of CSA left – how did summer get away! Sorry to everyone about last week’s newsletter and lack on online newsletter/reminder- we are back online and have a working computer. We had another great productive week. We finished a lot of tasks and continued big harvests and see the end (in 2 weeks) of weeding. In crop news sweet corn is coming next week (as long as the Schultz-Becker children can be kept from eating 100 times their body weight in corn this weekend). Melons are here this week for small shares and next week for fulls. The crop looks fine but the continued very wet weather has not been ideal and left us with a lot of rotting L Fall cabbages, brussels sprouts, winter squash, sweet potatoes, storage carrots, beets… all look amazing. The warm summer has put us almost 3 weeks ahead with some crops but we are expecting an earlier frost. And this week our fennel is amazing! Enjoy these huge bulbs in the great recipe! It is also Athens Fair Weekend. You can come visit Friday for pizza and then head to the fair, can join us at the 5K on Saturday or see us in our fair float Sunday (or dance with us on it) at 1pm. If you are enthusiastic and want to wear a costume call/text us for a spot on the float. Last but not least we plan to start upick tomatoes in a week. We will update you in the newsletter and online.
Have a delicious week – Kat, Tony, Ted, Riley and Maple
Recipes from Kim Casey and Heather Busig’s Kitchens
Grilled vegetable sandwiches: Serves 4-6. INGREDIENTS: 1 cup balsamic vinegar, 1-2 TBSP honey, ciabatta buns, sliced fresh tomato, sliced fresh mozzarella (provolone and/or goat cheese would also work well), basil leaves, an assortment of grillable veggies including: summer squash, sweet peppers, eggplant, carrots, beets, onions etc., 1 TBSP olive oil (plus extra for the buns), salt and pepper. PREPARATION: Make the balsamic glaze by combining balsamic and honey in a small sauce pan. Heat on low and simmer until the combination becomes a thin syrup. Remove from heat and set aside. Cut the softer grilling veggies into slices about half an inch thick, or into wider slices, firmer veggies should be cut into thinner slabs of about 1/4 inch. Toss the grilling vegetables in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat grill to medium and grill the vegetables for approximately 10 minutes, stirring every 4-5 minutes, until vegetables are beginning to soften. A grill basket works great for this. Remove from heat. Brush the buns with a bit of olive oil and grill for 3-5 minutes per side. Assemble the sandwiches on the grilled ciabatta buns with a slice of cheese, fresh basil, fresh tomato slice, a drizzle of the balsamic glaze and a pile of grilled vegetables.
Fennel Cream Sauce: 2 tbs olive oil, 2-3 garlic cloves chopped, 1 cup fennel bulb trimmed, cored and finely chopped (fronds set aside), 1 Tbs butter, 1 Tbs Flour, 1 cup veggie, seafood, or chicken stock, 1 cup cream, ¼ cup fresh parsley (or basil/fennel fronds), salt and pepper. Heat Olive oil over medium heat, cook until soft about 5 minutes. Add butter and let melt. Stir in the flour (this will form a roux). Allow roux to cook out a bit (about 3 minutes) then stir in the broth releasing the bit from the bottom. Bring to a gentile boil and reduce by half. Add cream, again bring to a gentile boil, reduce by half and add chopped fronds or parsley. Add salt and pepper. Serve over pasta, seafood, chicken or roasted/steamed veggies.