Hey CSA Members!
Sorry this email is coming to you a little later than usual, we were in Red Wing yesterday afternoon spending time with family. It was so lovely to spend quality time away from the farm and soak in some summer memories with our family!
I can’t believe we’re already on week #6 of our CSA! That means only 10 boxes left! Just a reminder that you’ve paid for 16 boxes in an 18 week CSA program. This means you are allowed two vacation weeks. If you don’t want to use those vacation weeks, that is totally fine! You are welcome to purchase boxes #17 and #18 at the end of the season when the time comes.
PLEASE keep returning your wax boxes each week. Thank you so much to those of you who do this every week! At this point in the season, we have enough boxes in circulation that we should be able to reuse boxes every week, provided they are returned to us. Each wax box costs about $2.50 to purchase, so the upfront cost to purchase new boxes each week can add up. We can be flexible and we totally understand if you forget one week, but we have purchased enough where we should be able to receive 23 back to us each week. Thank you for your cooperation!
On the farm…
We spent some time with our potato plants earlier this week, and they are looking GOOD. Some beds are a little weedy, but the rain we had in the early season has really given our potatoes a big boost. They still need some time to fully bulk up, but provided all goes well, we should be right on track for a nice fall potato harvest.
Each week we attend the Stillwater farmers market on Saturdays. It has been so fun to connect with that community and share food in this way. I love direct to consumer markets. The CSA and the farmers market are absolutely how I want to run our farm as we grow and change. There is something so special about being able to talk about the food you raise and know exactly who will be preparing it in their kitchen. Thank you for being a part of that! If you ever need extra veggies, you know where to find us on Saturday mornings 🙂
In the box….
Large Share
Gold beets, carrots, chard, green curly kale, a big zucchini, lemon cucumbers, tomatoes, cilantro, thai basil.
Small Share
Gold beets, carrots, a big zucchini, kohlrabi, green curly kale, cilantro, and thai basil.
Inspiration….
Just a note from last week… Here is an example of how I dry and store my tulsi basil (or any dried herb). I use my food dehydrator to dry the herb, then I let it cool and tuck it in an airtight jar right away. I always label my herbs so I don’t forget what they are! I hope you enjoyed the Tulsi basil last week.
On another basil note, this week everyone received a bunch of Thai Basil. Yes, different than Tulsi basil. Thai Basil is more like traditional basil, with a twist. I love making sausage patties with thai basil chopped in them. Thai Basil also tastes really great in asian cuisine, like homemade pad thai, or ramen.
The gold beets are so sweet and delicious. They have all the flavor of an awesome beet, but won’t turn everything you cook red! You can use them in stir fries, or just eat them fresh in salads!
The Kohlrabi (small shares only) is an awesome veggie. I recommend peeling the skin off the bulb, then eating the inside flesh cooked or raw, for a snack.
The tomatoes (large share only) are the first of the season!! We planted these in our greenhouse and they’ve just started to ripen up. Hopefully next week we’ll have enough for all our CSA members!
I know you’ll have no problem using your carrots, but those tops! They are so lush and beautiful and actually edible! Below is a recipe for carrot top pesto. If you have any left over basil from last week, or want to throw the thai basil into the pesto, that would be really tasty!
See you tomorrow!
Your farmers,
Eleanor and Pearce