“There is no enlightenment outside of daily life.”
~Thich Nhat Hanh
Summer Share Box 4 Crop List
Clockwise, starting with Romaine:
- Romaine Lettuce – All shares
- Green Cabbage – All shares
- Green Kale – All shares
- Basil – Full and Single shares
- Broccoli – All shares
- Popcorn – Full Shares
- Shelling Peas – Full and Single shares
- Summer Squash/Zucchini – All shares
- Cilantro – All shares
- Kohlrabi – All shares
Not pictured:
- Radishes – Half shares
- Garlic Scapes – Single and Half shares
- Raspberries – Full Twin Cities shares
Farmer Notes
- It finally looks to be drying out in the fields after 31” of rain this year so far when the normal is 14”!
- The shelling peas this week and next week you need to remove the peas from the shell before eating them. We will have some Sugar Snap peas later in the summer where you can eat the entire pod.
- Raspberries are just getting started so everyone will get some over the next several weeks.
- Last of the broccoli for the spring, cauliflower is up next week.
- The cilantro is starting to flower, but there are plenty of good leaves and stems to season several meals.
- Basil is a decent bunch to make some pesto, keep it in a glass of water on your counter.
- Welcome to summer squash and zucchini – grill it, slice it and put it in a pan to sauteé, have it in a cold salad, or just eat it raw like a carrot. Make zoodles or bread or whatever your heart leads you!
- Garlic scapes are like green garlic and can be sliced thinly to season most any dish.
- Cabbage is the ‘crop of the week’ and will be seen in the next several deliveries. Put it into a pan with butter, salt and pepper, make some sauerkraut, put it in a crock pot with some meat, or slaw it up!
- Always wash the produce before you eat it and please return our boxes and ice packs. 🙂
This is part of an article by Rebecca Bratten Weiss that I read this week. I hope you enjoy it. ~Norm
“What I do, by contrast, is eco-gardening. This is like organic gardening, but distinct in several ways. Organic growing has become regulated to the extent that growers are often obliged to worry about rigorous guidelines, not all of which take into account ecological impact. Thinking ecologically about my gardening means dwelling less on the letter of the law, more on sustainability and the long-term relationship between grower and garden, garden and ecosystems, ecosystems with the world. Imagine a set of concentric rings rippling outward, rather than a list of regulations.
The debate over organic versus conventional often skips over the crucial importance of local. An organic tomato may be nutritious and pesticide-free, but it may also have traveled hundreds of miles to arrive on your table, leaving a considerable carbon footprint. And it may have passed through several market intermediaries, so the grower gets less and the buyer pays more. And the final product? You get a fruit variety developed for durability, not flavor. It was picked early, under-ripe, so as not to spoil on its journey. And its nutritional value will have been depleted, depending on the length of time between harvest and consumption.
Locally grown food means that bonds of community are formed between the grower and the buyer. You know where your food came from, and whom you are supporting when you buy it. Eating locally creates unity on a biological level, too: when I and my customers are all, in our respective homes, sitting down to meals made from the same produce, from the plants in my garden, the same nutrients from the same organism are becoming a part of our own cellular structure. The plants we eat literally bind us together.
But it is also crucial to consider how local events and conditions influence the broader global community. It is impossible for me to draw a circle around my immediate community and say “us only.” Our global connectivity is evident in something so simple as the heirloom crops we grow: peppers from Thailand and Mexico, tomatoes from Russia and Italy, cucumbers from France and Israel. I have access to these seeds because of the labor of growers across the world, in eras long past, and remote cultures. My harvest connects me with people far away and long dead. The only language we share, in most cases, is the language of the garden, the silent communion with earth and all its living things.”
Crop of the week – Green Cabbage
Green Cabbage is a leafy green crop that is well known for its dense-leaved heads. This veggie is part of the brassica family and is a descendent of the wild cabbage. It ranks high in nutritional value, containing a good supply of vitamin K, vitamin C, and dietary fiber. The heads typically weigh somewhere between 1 to 9 pounds! Cabbages can be prepared in many different ways for eating; they can be pickled, fermented (made into sauerkraut), steamed, stewed, sauteed, braised, or eaten raw.
Some recipes to try:
- Rinse the cabbage in cool water. Remove the coarse outer leaves and discard. Remove and rinse a few unblemished leaves and set them aside.
- Using a large knife, quarter the cabbage and remove the core. Thinly slice the cabbage with a knife or mandoline slicer then transfer cabbage to a large bowl. Make the thin slices as uniform as possible so it will ferment evenly.
- Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and, with your hands, massage it into the cabbage. When the cabbage starts to look wet and shiny, taste it. You should be able to taste the salt without it being overwhelming (in other words it should be a little salty but still taste good). Add more salt, a little at a time until this is achieved.
- Continue to massage until the cabbage becomes wet and limp and liquid (aka brine) begins to pool in the bottom of the bowl. The brine should run freely when you squeeze a handful of cabbage in your hands.
- Transfer the cabbage to a clean 1 quart mason jar (or whatever jar(s) you have on hand) a few handfuls at a time, stopping to press the cabbage into the bottom of the jar using your hand to work out any air pockets before you add more cabbage. Repeat this adding and pressing until all of the cabbage has been packed tightly into the jar. You should have some brine on top of the cabbage once it’s all been pressed into the jar. Leave 2-3 inches of headspace.
- Top the packed cabbage with 1 or 2 of the reserved leaves, gently tucking them down along the sides to keep little bits of cabbage under the brine. Pick out any cabbage pieces that are floating at the top of the brine. Exposure to air increases the chances of the kraut developing mold.
- Place a zip-top freezer bag into the jar and use your fingers to spread it out so that it covers as much of the cabbage leaf as possible. Fill with cool filtered water and seal while pressing out as much of the air as possible. Tuck the top of the bag into the jar and very loosely screw a lid onto the jar (so that gases created during fermentation can escape) or cover with a clean kitchen towel.
- Place vessel on a baking sheet or pan out of direct sunlight and cool (55-75℉) to ferment for 4-14 days. Dark is best but it needs to be somewhere where you won’t forget about it! Check your ferment daily to be sure everything is under the brine.
- Taste test your kraut starting at Day 4 by carefully removing the bag with clean hands. Use a plastic or wooden fork to gently push the cabbage leaves aside and remove a small taste. It’s ready when it has a pleasing pickle-y flavor without the strong acidity of vinegar, the cabbage has softened a bit but retains some crunch and the cabbage is more yellow than green and slightly translucent.
- If it’s not ready, rinse the bag under running water and carefully place it back in the jar so that all of the cabbage is below the brine. Wait another day or two then taste again to see what you think.
- When it’s pleasing to your tastebuds (and/or less than a pH of 4.6 as measured with a pH strip), skim off any scum from the surface and transfer your finished kraut into clean glass jar, tamping it down with your clean hand, a tamper or the handle of a wooden spoon. Pour any leftover brine into the jar. Tighten the lid then refrigerate for up to 6 months to 1 year.
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
|
- 2-3 tablespoons bacon grease or olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 4-5 summer squash cut into circles
- 1 medium sweet onion sliced
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme or tarragon or a few basil leaves, chopped
Ingredients
|
|
- In a large pan, preferably cast iron, heat bacon grease and butter. Add squash and onion.
- Sprinkle sugar over squash and onion. Cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in salt, pepper, and herbs and serve.
| Prep Time | 1 minute |
| Cook Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
cup
|
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1 cup Demerara sugar or granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
Ingredients
|
|
- Add the raspberries, sugar, and water to a small heavy bottomed saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the raspberries have begun to break down and the mixture has reduced slightly, about 10-15 minutes.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl or large measuring cup, preferably with a pouring spout. Discard the raspberry solids and let the syrup cool to room temperature. Transfer to a bottle (or other airtight container) and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
- Alternatively you can include the raspberry solids, or blend them with the syrup to create a thicker consistency.
