July - CSA Box #3
It’s Week #3 and July is here! Though summer storms have been tearing through the Midwest lately, we have been missed with most of that much-needed water. Things are growing, blooming, and flourishing nonetheless. We are getting ready to harvest and cure our garlic and onions, and the dahlias have started to form flowers!
Gourmet Lettuce Mix - Some people say you can’t grow lettuce in the summer. We are putting that to the test. Although challenging to keep lettuce happy in the heat, we have seen some successful harvests so far this year. This gourmet lettuce blend is tender and delicate. Enjoy as soon as possible.
Sage is an herb we are used to looking forward to in fall comfort foods, but our plants were ready for a trim. It’s begging to be a tasty cocktail/garnish, or in a compound butter that can be used on grilled meat, bread, or in pasta. There’s plenty of inspiration out there on the internet but we liked some of the ones here.
Basil - Genovese is a classic and should also be used up quickly as it doesn't have much of a shelf-life. Some more exotic versions will be coming up in later boxes so get ready to see some basils you’ve never seen before.
Garlic - This is green garlic's final week, so savor the flavor! Cured stuff is coming soon and will be prepared for more extended storage in the coming weeks.
Caraflex Cabbage - Shaped like a teardrop, these compact cabbages took over 130 days from seed to harvest! Originally we intended to use these primarily for sauerkraut but thought we’d share the bounty because they were too pretty to slice, shred, and salt right off the bat. Highly recommend sauteeing these with a little butter, black pepper, and salt. We also whipped up a slaw that was killer as a side or on tacos.
Chantenay Carrots - Carrots are one of Derek’s favorite things to grow and harvest. We were hoping these would be further along, but below the soil’s surface is incredibly dry due to the lack of rain. They are still delicious, crunchy, and sweet, but don’t compare to a later-season carrot. We chopped the tops off to save on space, but let us know if you ever want the greens. They are tasty and edible so we are happy to leave them intact by request, but we prefer knowing they go to good use in our compost pile. We have another round of these still in the ground that we are aggressively watering. Our hope is that these will be a little larger the next time around.
Onions were started from seed back in February and are on the cusp of being pulled from their rows very soon. We have a variety of types and we are pretty sure this is Yellow of Parma which hails from northern Itlay and has a mild, sweet taste when fresh. We will definitely be curing the majority of our onions for storage for the remainder of the year so you can taste the difference.
Dino Kale is back, back again! Honestly, we are thrilled with the voraciousness of this round of harvesting from these plants. There was almost no pest damage which is rather remarkable considering cabbage moths are everywhere and love to wreak havoc.
Broccoli - Covina is the first variety that made it this year for us (vermin be damned!) and although it provided us with a variety of tasty heads we were hoping for more uniform large crowns. Some of you wound up with a few smaller heads instead. We had to act fast and pull some early due to high temperatures not allowing them all to mature before bolting. We should have another variety this fall if all goes according to plan.
Chioggia Beets are the joy of this box. Slice into these beauties and you will see the magic of these Italian heirlooms. They are beautiful and great raw. When cooked they lose some of their amazing coloration. We highly recommend adding these to a slaw with the cabbage as matchsticks or sliced thin on a mandolin. These have a less “beety” flavor and are pleasantly sweet.
Cipollini Onions (fresh) - These onions have an exceptionally strong flavor that actually sweetens with cooking. In particular, these are great for grilling, pickling, and roasting. Use the tops if you need scallions.
This week’s bouquets featured: Snapdragons, Queen of the Prairie, Dahlias, Bergamot, Bells of Ireland, Brown Eyed Susans, Cress, Mignonette, Purple Cone Flower, ‘Blue Monday’ Sage Salvia, Bachelor Buttons, Mint
