Summer 2024
Hi Everyone!
Just a reminder that this week IS an add-on week. If you ordered a flower add-on, please remember to look for your flowers near the boxes at your drop site. Your jar will have your name on the tag. Thanks!
Thanks for tuning into yet another week on the farm. This one was a HOT ONE! We finally got some of the summer heat and humidity we’ve been waiting for. The veggies are thriving! But so are the weeds….. I am beginning to feel a little bogged down this week about weed pressure. So much so that I spent the whole day on Sunday in the field with a friend, and with Pearce cleaning up the peppers and weeding thistle out of the broccoli and cabbage. Pearce is on the tractor as we speak working on knocking out some of the smaller weeds before they take over. Unfortunately our winter squash patch needs some saving and the onions are ready for weeding round #2. Not to mention the celery!
Weed pressure, as a farmer, is my biggest weakness. I thrive at seeding, transplanting, harvesting, attending markets, deliveries, emails, you name it! But when it comes to weeding, my timing is always a little bit off. I am not the biggest fan of weeding, so if something else becomes a bigger priority, I tend to put it off until the weeds truly become a problem…. Well, we can’t all be perfect at everything!
Lucky for me, our first CSA volunteer opportunity is this THURSDAY! If you want to get your hands in some soil and save some winter squash, Thursday is your day. I will be hosting CSA member volunteers from 2-6pm. Please text or email me if you want to come out.
If you decide to come here are some things to note: Please wear long pants and close-toed shoes. Bring lots of water and wear a sun hat and sunscreen. If you have garden gloves, they are helpful for pulling thistle. Here is the farm address:
14220 Ostlund Tr. N Marine on St. Croix, MN 55047
When you enter the farm you can enter the gate code: 2738# and it will open for you.
Here are some photos from the field this week. The chard and the snapdragons have stollen our hearts this week and we stayed cool by filling up the splash pad and getting wet!
This week really felt big and I did not have time to finish the ever-promised CSA member bingo board. It’s on deck for next week, so get ready to engage in the first member game of the season!
As a reminder, please keep sharing recipes with me and engaging with each other. I can’t wait to hear what else you decide to cook with your veggies!
In your box….
Here are photos of what you’ll find in your box this week!
Large CSA
Small CSA
Some Inspiration…
I really got cooking in the kitchen this week and made a few things that I wanted to share with you! I made my own veggie cream cheese, and it was truly amazing. We pounded through it on sourdough toast for snacks through the week. Here is what I did to make it:
Veggie Cream Cheese:
1 block softened cream cheese
2 small carrots (or one medium one)
1 kale leaf
2 green onions
1/2 teaspoon salt
Grate the carrot on a cheese grater, or shred in the food processor, add to a bowl. Chop the green onions and kale super fine (using a sharp knife) and add to the bowl. Add the softened cream cheese and salt and combine. Top with fresh or dried dill and cracked pepper.
This was just my rendition of the veggie cream cheese, but you could use other ingredients such as minced garlic, diced peppers, grated radishes, diced onion, and more!
This week I also made chicken, fennel, sage sausages that were absolutely divine! I would love to share the recipe with you:
Sage, fennel, chicken sausage
1 lb ground chicken (or turkey)
1/2 fennel bulb
1 fennel frond (leafy green part)
4 big sage leaves
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Start by dicing up the fennel bulb into small pieces, mince the sage and fennel frond. mix into ground chicken and add the feta and salt. Heat a frying pan to medium heat. Add a generous amount olive oil to the pan and use a spoon to scoop the ground chicken mixture into the pan. Use the spoon to flatten to make little sausage patties in the pan. let cook on one side until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes then flip over to cook the other side. Adjust the heat on the pan as necessary to prevent burning. We ate these as snacks all week. Enjoy!
Finally, I wanted to share a favorite recipe with you that uses the pea shoots and the beets from this week’s box.
Here is the recipe: Roasted Beet Salad with Vegan “Goat Cheese” – Minimalist Baker
We used regular goat cheese on our salads, instead of the vegan version.
I hope you enjoy all this inspiration!
Please let me know if you plan on coming to the farm on Thursday. We would LOVE you help and we would love to share a little bit of our farm with you!
Soil and sunshine,
Eleanor