What beautiful weather we are having . . . it feels more like late August, but I’ll take it. Cool nights aren’t the best for our hot crops, like tomatoes, cucumbers, winter squash . . . temps in the 50’s slow their growth and also increase morning moisture which can lead to an increase of fungal disease. Luckily, despite some disease pressure in the fields, our harvest is going to be bountiful for the foreseeable future.
And believe it or not, we’ve only got 7 weeks left of the summer share (including this one). If you haven’t signed up for a Fall Share, now is the time to do it, because the price goes up on Sunday! The fall share is ten weeks long, and is my personal favorite. Pick up is every other week, but lots of the produce keeps for more than two weeks, so you get a great variety, and its cooler so using the oven is an enjoyable experience.
So far it looks like its going to be a great fall. We’ve been on time with all of our plantings, the rain has watered them all in very well, and we’re trying to increase the amount of salad mixes, spinach and other greens based on conversations with members last year. Fall is a great time to be eating local in New England.
Want to sign up? Just email me (make sure to include the name you used to register for your summer share) and I will save you a spot, no need to fill out the form. OR you can fill out the registration form and make my life a tiny bit easier 🙂
Today we are harvesting the last of the fresh onions and trying to get as many of the storage onions into the greenhouse before the potential rain tomorrow. We’re having a great onion year. I’m going to put onions in the share this week just to get some of them into your homes and away from the farm since we are running out of places to put them. The onions you are getting in the share are still fresh onions, so they should be stored in plastic bags in the fridge, but they will keep for a while (like a month at least) that way.
If you haven’t just cut an onion in half, brushed it with oil and then grilled it until tender, now is a great time. Just sprinkle a little salt and eat it. Onions are NOT just for adding flavor to other vegetables!!
I also need to get some beets out of the cooler, so we are putting beets in the share as well. This is another one that is great on the grill. I cube mine, toss in a little oil then wrap them in tin foil and put on the grill as soon as it comes to temp. Beets want about 30 minutes on the grill, so put them on first and take them off last. You don’t have to eat them right away, you could put them in the fridge then mix them with some lettuce, sprinkle a little goat cheese and walnuts and have a great salad the next day!
The rest, you know what to do with. Montauk corn this week which is a personal favorite. Tomatoes are coming in hot! Lots in both shares. Tomato salads, tomato sandwiches, eating them like apples . . . we’ve got heirlooms too, so give some crazy tomatoes a taste this week.
I’m writing this email during Harvey’s nap so he and I can go back to the farm and help pick onions. He helped last year when we were hauling them in until 7pm (we got a pizza to eat in the field!!) so we’re hoping for a repeat. He’s been doing so great just hanging with us on the farm while we work. It’s really cute.
What’s in the Share
· FRESH ONIONS (The red variety is ‘Red Long di Tropea’ an Italian Heirloom and the white is ‘Ailsa Craig’, a spanish heirloom. Both have sweet and complex flavors, and don’t cure down like other storage onions, so we’ve only got a few more weeks to enjoy them!)
· BEETS
· TOMATOES
· CORN
· LETTUCE
· CHERRY TOMATOES/TOMATIOLLOS/SHISHITO PEPPERS/MINI SWEET PEPPERS/HOT PEPPERS (pint choices)
· CARROTS/CUCUMBER/ZUCCHINI/SQUASH/KALE/CHARD/RADISH/ARUGULA/KOHLRABI/SCALLIONS/FENNEL/PARSLEY/BUNCHING CELERY/CILANTRO? (choices)
· GARLIC
Jess’s Recipes
Brittany’s got loads of onions, so I thought I’d start by sharing a few winning onion recipes this week:
CHICKEN SAUSAGE, ONION AND FENNEL PIZZA
I don’t think I would have ever thought to put fennel on pizza but trust me, it works. The gouda cheese is a fantastic and the sprinkle of chives on top gives it a splash of color.
The next time you’re camping, or just using a charcoal grill at home, give these beauties a try! You place the whole onion in the spent coals and let it slow-cook for a few hours until it turns into a smoky puree that is amazing in sandwiches, soups, dips, salad dressing or on your burgers and hot dogs.
MAPLE-MUSTARD CEDAR-PLANK SALMON WITH ONION CRUST
My mom is camping with us this week, so I thought I’d share one of her recipes. It also happens to be loaded with onions! If you’ve never used a cedar plank to cook your salmon you are missing out. This recipe is a HUGE crowd pleaser and has been in my family for years. It comes from Yankee Magazine so you know it’s going to be good.
What is summer without a good tomato galette recipe? This one has a super simple flaky crust and only a handful of ingredients that you probably already have on hand.
This is another great stand-by recipe if you’re feeling overwhelmed with tomatoes. Slice, drizzle, roast and enjoy!
CREAMY CUCUMBER, RADISH & TOMATO CHOPPED SALAD
Chopped salads are my favorite. I love the crunch factor and they’re different from the same old lettuce salads. This one uses lots of things you’ll find in your share and has a scrumptious feta-lemon-dill dressing situation going on.
GRILLED CORN ON THE COB
My absolute favorite way to do corn on the cob is to grill it. Some people grill it with the husks on but I shuck them and put them right on the hot grill rack. They only take a few minutes, just turn them as they start to blacken slightly or when you hear them popping. If you really want to gild the lily, smear some sour cream on them and sprinkle with chipotle powder and a squeeze of fresh lime. PERFECTION.
No recipe needed – you’ve got this.
SUMMER PASTA SALAD WITH GRILLED ZUCCHINI, CORN AND CILANTRO PESTO
Here’s another quick weeknight meal you can make almost exclusively with bounty from share (and some noodles).
BROILED FENNEL WITH PARMESAN CHEESE
I made these the last time we had fennel in the share and they were fantastic! Super quick and surprisingly tasty.
Upswing Farm 