CSA week 7 and Farm Stand updates

It is summer squash and cucumber season and we are enjoying bountiful crops of both! In fact, we have already began to harvest our second planting of summer squash and zucchini and the next cucumbers are on their way. This is a great time for squash grilling, refrigerator pickle making, and general enjoyment of these summer veggies at their height. While extreme heat can cause problems on the farm such as blossom drop in eggplant and peppers, the hot temperatures this weekend did help speed up ripening of some crowd favorites such as cherry tomatoes and eggplant which will make their debut in the CSA and slicing and heirloom tomatoes which will be available in the farm store. We are continuing to weed, protect, and cultivate future crops such as winter squash (in the photo above Sarah driving our Farmall 140 with pumpkin knives attached to cultivate the winter squash), fall beets and carrots, fall brassicas, and another favorite, watermelon! All these crops on the horizon are looking good now but this is a precarious month for them as we race to clear the weeds so they don’t choke out the crops, hope for rain but steadily work to set up irrigation when needed, and protect late summer and fall crops from animal pests to the best of our ability (turkeys, rabbits, coyotes, crows, oh my!).

This week in the CSA:

• Eggplant

• Red Potatoes

• Fresh Onions - both Ailsa Craig (white) and Red Long of Tropea (red). They should be stored in the refrigerator.

• Cucumbers

• Zucchini

• Summer Squash

• Beets

• Carrots

• Celery

• Mini Cabbage - Green, purple and Caraflex

• Kale

• Swiss chard

• Arugula - The planting we are picking from this week has some holes from flea beetles but it is tender and tasty!

• Salanova - the last planting until fall.

• Lettuce - summer crisp, panisse, and red leaf

CSA Pick-your-own:

• Cherry tomatoes! Sungolds, cherry bomb, yellow mini and others have begun to ripen so we will have the first taste in the CSA this week!

• Sunflowers

• Green and purple snap beans

• Herbs: basil, cilantro, parsley, dill flowers, thai basil, chives, peppermint, thyme, spearmint
  

  CSA Hours:

Tuesday and Thursday 11am-6pm

Saturday 9am-3pm

PYO Flowers

We’ll have snapdragons, bachelor’s buttons, calendula, orlaya, gomphrena, cosmos, strawflower, statice, rudbeckia, scabiosa, celosia, sunflowers, decorative basil, zinnias, and more this week. Picking is open to PYO Flower CSA members as well as to the public for purchase by the bouquet (we provide the a jar for measuring your bouquet size and you fill it with the flowers you’d like to take home!).

This week in the farm stand:

We will have all of the veggies listed in the CSA available in the farm store, as well as our own blueberries, tomatoes (slicing and heirloom), peppers, flower bouquets, as well as eggs from Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds and mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm.

Pasta With Green Beans And Potatoes With Pesto

 by Nancy Harmon Jenkins from from NY Times Cooking

·       2 cups packed tender young basil leaves

·       ¼ cup pine nuts

·       1 teaspoon salt

·       2 plump garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with flat blade of a knife

·       ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more to taste

·       ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, or more to taste

·        Salt to taste

·       ½ pound small potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/4-inch thick

·       ¼ pound tender young green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths

·       1 pound trenette, or other long, thin pasta

Make pesto: in bowl of food processor, add basil, pine nuts, salt and garlic. Pulse until mixture is coarse and grainy. With motor running, add oil in slow, steady stream. Add cheese; process just enough to mix well. If sauce is too dry, add a little more oil. Taste; add more cheese or salt, if desired. Bring 6 quarts water to rolling boil. Add at least 2 tablespoons salt and the potato slices. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until potatoes have started to soften but are not cooked through. Add green beans, and continue boiling another 5 minutes. Add pasta, and stir. Start testing pasta at 5 minutes. When it is done, and when potatoes and beans are tender, drain and turn pasta and vegetables immediately into preheated bowl. Add pesto, and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately.

Homemade Refrigerator Dill Pickles By Jennifer Segal

• 1-1/4 cups distilled white vinegar (5% acidity)

• 3 tablespoons kosher salt

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 2 cups cold water

• 1-3/4 to 2 pounds pickling cucumbers (about 6), cut into halves or spears

• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds

• 6 large garlic cloves, peeled and halved

• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 16 dill sprigs (or flowers)

Combine the vinegar, salt and sugar in a small non-reactive saucepan (such as stainless steel, glass, ceramic or teflon) over high heat. Whisk until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Transfer the liquid into a bowl and whisk in the cold water. Refrigerate brine until ready to use. 

Stuff the cucumbers into two clean 1-quart jars. Add the coriander seeds, garlic cloves, mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, dill sprigs, and chilled brine into jars, dividing evenly. If necessary, add a bit of cold water to the jars until the brine covers the cucumbers. Cover and refrigerate about 24 hours, then serve. Cucumbers will keep in the refrigerator for up to one month.

CSA Week 6 and Farm Stand updates

We have another hot week in the forecast (it is July after all!). If you are picking in the CSA PYO fields this week, be sure to wear sun protection and bring a water bottle with you! We have seating in the shade in front of the farm stand, so feel free to rest there if you need. Our field crew will also be taking precautions, which includes saving “lighter” duty tasks like tractor work, bin washing and hand weeding for the hotter afternoon hours. We’ll also likely be taking some popsicle breaks to stay cool!

This time of year we spend a lot of time tending to both our favorite summertime crops, as well as many of our fall crops. We’re working on fencing off our watermelon (to protect the melons from coyotes and crows), trellising our tomatoes, irrigating our summer squash and zucchini, and weeding our peppers. We’re also weeding and thinning fall carrots and beets, transplanting our last fall broccoli succession, and cultivating our winter squash and fall brassicas (Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale and broccoli). All in all, we’re feeling pretty good about what’s coming up on the farm for the rest of the season. In the near future our summer crops are looking healthy and promising, and in the slightly further distant future, our fall crops are off to a great start!

This week in the CSA:

• Potatoes - this week we’re harvesting Dark Red Norlands, a delicious potato with red skin and white flesh. Great for potato salads ( see recipe below) or for roasting!

• Fresh Onions - both Ailsa Craig (white) and Red Long of Tropea (red). These are fresh onions and have a milder and sweeter flavor than cured onions. They should be stored in the refrigerator.

• Mustard Greens - these spicy greens are great cooked or you can add a little bit raw to your salad if you like an extra kick!

• Cucumbers

• Zucchini

• Summer Squash

• Beets

• Carrots

• Celery

• Mini Cabbage - Green, purple and Caraflex (cone shaped!) to choose from.

• Kale

• Swiss chard

• Arugula or Red Russian Kale

• Salanova

• Lettuce

CSA Pick-your-own:

• Sunflowers!

• Green Beans - we enjoyed the first of the green beans at the end of last week, and they should continue producing again for this week!

• Herbs: basil, cilantro, parsley, dill flowers, thai basil, chives, peppermint
  

  CSA Hours:

Tuesday and Thursday 11am-6pm

Saturday 9am-3pm

PYO Flowers

We’ll continue to have snapdragons, bachelor’s buttons, calendula, orlaya, gomphrena, cosmos, strawflower, statice, rudbeckia and more this week. Expect more varieties like zinnias soon! Picking is open to PYO Flower CSA members as well as to the public for purchase by the bouquet (we provide the a jar for measuring your bouquet size and you fill it with the flowers you’d like to take home!).

This week in the farm stand:

We will have all of the veggies listed in the CSA available in the farm store, as well as our own blueberries, peppers, eggplant, scallions and flower bouquets, as well as eggs from Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds.

Elena’s Potato Salad

from our good friend Elena Colman of Small Farm in Stow!

Ingredients

• 1 quart potatoes

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• about 1/4 cup olive oil (or in Elena’s words “a few glugs”)

• 1 tbsp spicy mustard

• about 1/4 lb salanova

• 2-3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

• 1 head celery, stalks chopped

• parsley, chopped

• dill, chopped

Boil the potatoes until you can easily stick a fork in them and drain. Mix the water, vinegar, salt and pepper and pour over the potatoes while still hot. Next add oil and mustard to the potatoes. Put in the refrigerator for an hour or more. When it is closer to time to serve, add the salanova, hard boiled eggs, chopped celery stalks, parsley and dill.

Cucumber Lime Popsicles

from everydaymadefresh.com

Ingredients:

• 1 lb cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped

• 1 lime, zest and the juice

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Instructions:

Mix together all the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until nothing but juice remains. Pour into popsicle molds, and freeze for 6 hours, or until solid. Overnight is best.

CSA Week 5 and Farm Stand updates

While the official first day of summer was a couple weeks ago now, the recent heat, decrease in rain, and incoming cucumber and summer squash harvest all make it feel like summer has now really arrived at the farm! We are relieved to have the longest day of the year behind us and with it the most challenging time for keeping up with the rapid weed growth. Last week we were able to hill the leeks, put down landscape fabric in-between tomato, sweet potato, and pepper pathways, trellis field tomatoes, and cultivate and hoe our winter squash, strawberries (for 2020!), and upcoming lettuce planting so the fields are looking good! However, there is still more weeding to do as well as an increased harvest list and the start of our every other day harvest of squash and cucumbers. When we aren’t harvesting this week we will finish up planting our fall brassicas, set up more irrigation, continue trellising tomatoes, put up a fence around the watermelon plants to protect them from coyotes, and of course continue to cultivate, weed and hoe our upcoming late summer and fall crops. Let’s hope we all also make it out for some evening swims as it’s going to be another hot week!

On another note, we are looking for an additional Saturday Shopkeeper to help on Saturdays thru October in our farm stand. If you know anyone who might be interested in working with us feel free to send them this link to the job description and have them get in touch with us directly to apply!

This week in the CSA:

• Cucumbers - It must be summer!

• Celery - Great for adding flavor for cooking! Our celery has a stronger flavor and is denser than store bought so it is best used in recipes rather than eaten as celery sticks.

• Mini Cabbage - Green, purple and caraflex (cone shaped!) to choose from.

• Zucchini

• Summer Squash

• Beets- We will have golden and chioggia beets to choose from this week.

• Carrots

• Collards

• Kale

• Swiss chard

• Garlic Scapes

• Fennel

• Curly Kale - green and purple

• Salanova

• Lettuce

CSA Pick-your-own:

• Sugar snap peas

• Herbs: basil (pesto time!), cilantro, parsley, dill flowers, thai basil, chives, peppermint

  Coming soon for pick-your-own in the next couple of weeks: beans and sunflowers!
  

  The CSA is back to regular hours this week:

Tuesday and Thursday 11am-6pm

Saturday 9am-3pm

This week in the farm stand:

We will have all of the veggies listed in the CSA available in the farm store, as well as scallions, salad turnips, baby bok choy, and eggs from Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds.

Pick-Your-Own Flowers:

Picking begins this week for Flower CSA members. Check-in with the shopkeeper when you arrive for supplies and directions! We will also have flowers open to the public for picking (sold by the jar full) in future weeks when more varieties have begun to bloom. This week flowers available for picking include: snapdragons, rudbeckia, cosmos, bachelor button, statice and calendula.

Farm store and Flower picking hours:

Tuesday thru Friday 11am-6pm

Saturday 9am-3pm

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Arugula, and Pistachios

from chowhound.com by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup champagne or white wine vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1 small shallot, minced

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 1 1/2 pounds (about 4) medium beets (red, Chioggia, or golden, or a mix), tops removed and washed well

• Olive oil

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 6 cups wild or baby arugula

• 1/3 cup toasted pistachios

• 4 ounces fresh goat cheese

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the beets in an 8-inch square baking dish and add just enough water to cover the bottom of the dish (about 1/3 cup). Drizzle the beets with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until a knife can be easily inserted into the center of the beets, about 40 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes (for small beets start checking after 40 minutes; large beets may need even longer than 70 minutes).

1. To make the vinaigrette, in a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, shallot, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Let sit for 15 minutes, then whisk in the olive oil in a slow and steady stream; set aside.

2. When the beets are ready, carefully remove the foil and let them sit until cool enough to handle. Peel and the beets. Cut them into wedges, place them in a bowl, and drizzle them with a little vinaigrette. Season with a little salt and pepper.

3. Add the greens to a shallow serving bowl. Drizzle with a little vinaigrette and toss to coat. Top with the beets, pistachios and cheese. Serve.
   
   

Farm stand closed July 4th and CSA Week 4 info

An important reminder to everyone that we will be closed this Thursday, July 4th for the holiday. For CSA members, we are offering an alternative CSA pick-up on Wednesday, July 3rd, 11am - 6pm.

The wet and cool June weather kept things looking fresher and greener than usual at this time of year. As a result, we haven’t had to devote much time to irrigation, but that looks like it’s about to change this week with the hot forecast! Getting irrigation onto our field tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and sweet potatoes, which are all planted across the street, will be a focus. Normally by this time of year, we would have had to have set up irrigation on these crops immediately, but we have been able to put it off thanks to the rain, which freed us up to keep up with our massive June field prep and planting list!

There aren’t many positives to 90 degree weather on the farm, but the two major benefits are that summer crops grow and ripen faster, and it is ideal conditions for tractor cultivation and hoeing. We have managed to squeeze in as much tractor cultivation as we can on the one or two dry days per week up until now, so fortunately, the weeds haven’t been able to get out of control! We’ll keep those tractors running most afternoons this week, and we’ll also have large crews out in the fields after harvest hoeing and hand weeding our winter squash, flowers, and next year’s strawberries.

This week in the CSA:

• Zucchini - We didn’t put zucchini on the list last week, but we ended up with a surprisingly large harvest, so everyone got some last week! They should be even more abundant this week with the hot weather forecast.

• Summer squash - Just in time for Fourth of July grilling!

• Mini Cabbage - We’ll have mostly green cabbage this week. If you don’t want to turn on your oven in the heat this week, there are many great ways to prepare cabbage raw in slaws and salads, or as a taco filling!

• Beets- We’ll have some chioggia beets available this week. These are striped pink and white.

• Carrots

• Baby bok choi

• Collards

• Kale

• Swiss chard

• Garlic Scapes

• Scallions

• Fennel

• Curly Kale - green and purple

• Mini daikon

• Salad turnips

• Salanova

• Lettuce

CSA Pick-your-own:

• It is the end of strawberry season, but we will continue to have them open this week as long as there are still enough berries to pick!

• Sugar snap peas - To pick, gently hold the plant in place while you snap the stem just above the pea pod. Lift up plants to look underneath for the biggest pods. After removing the top the entire pod is edible - they make a great raw snack! New plantings open this week.

• Shell peas - Select the plumpest pods. Remove entire outer shell before eating the peas inside (these are generally cooked).

• Snow peas - Located next to the shell peas. These are flatter pods even when mature so just pick the largest one. Remove the top and the rest of the pod is edible either raw or cooked.

• Herbs: parsley, dill, cilantro, basil, dill flowers and peppermint
  

CSA pick-up hours for the week of July 1st:

Tuesday and WEDNESDAY 11am - 6pm

Saturday 9am - 3pm

This week in the farm stand:

We will have all of the veggies listed in the CSA available in the farm store, as well as green garlic, arugula, honey, mushrooms from Fat Moon and pullet eggs from Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds.

Farm Store Hours:

Tuesday-Friday 11am - 6pm*

Saturday 9am - 3pm

*CLOSED Thursday July 4th for the holiday

Grilled Fish Tacos with Cilantro Lime Cabbage Slaw

from feastingathome.com

Ingredients

• 1–2 lbs grillable white fish ( tilapia, red snapper, mahi-mahi) or 1 pound extra firm tofu

Spice Rub:

• 1 ½ teaspoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon coriander

• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic

• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon sugar (optional)

• ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder (or sub cayenne and a little smoked paprika)

• for more smoky flavor, add ½ teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)

Cabbage Slaw:

• 1 pound thinly sliced or shredded cabbage ( green and purple is nice)

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

• ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion, more to taste

• ½ cup chopped cilantro ( packed), ½ of a large bunch

• ¼ –½ of a jalapeño, finely chopped, more to taste

• ¼ cup fresh lime juice, more to taste

• 2 tablespoon olive oil

Garnishes: Lime wedges, Avocado slices

Instructions

Preheat grill to medium high heat. ( See notes for oven or stove top version)

Rinse and pat dry fish. ( For tofu, read notes below) In a small bowl, stir fish rub spices together. Sprinkle all sides of fish with the spice rub (you most likely will not need all). Set aside.

Place the shredded cabbage in a medium bowl. Toss with the salt. Add the onions, cilantro, jalapeño, lime juice, olive oil and toss well. Adjust lime, salt and jalapeño- you want this to taste tangy and flavorful.

Grease the grill  well before placing fish on it. Turn heat to medium. Grill each side a few minutes, letting grill marks develop and use a metal spatula to flip. Cook until desired doneness and squeeze with a little lime juice.

Then quickly grill the tortillas on the grill, brushing with olive oil if you prefer.

Assemble tacos by placing fish in the tortillas, top with cabbage slaw and optional avocado slice.  Garnish with lime and cilantro.

Notes:

If using tofu, place block of tofu on paper towels and press down gently to release more liquid, patting dry. Cut into 1 inch thick,  3 inch long strips for easier grilling. Coat strips lightly with spice rub, grill on well greased grill or pan-sear the tofu, until crispy, in a little olive oil.

Zucchini/Summer Squash Ribbons

From Uncommon Gourmet, All-Occasion Cookbook

• 2 Medium-size zucchini

• 2 Medium-size summer squash

• 4 Tablespoons butter

• 1 Medium-size clove garlic, crushed

• ½ cup finely chopped walnuts or hazelnuts

• salt and pepper to taste

• ½ cup grated Parmesan

Using a vegetable peeler, cut long ribbons of the zucchini and summer squash, reserving the seed core for another use (like soup). Heat butter in a large skillet. Add garlic, squash ribbons and nuts. Season with salt and pepper and stir-fry over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until vegetables are tender-crisp. Sprinkle with the Parmesan. Stir well, remove from the heat and serve.

CSA Week 3 and Farm Stand updates

Happy Summer! Last week was the solstice and we experienced all the weather that summer has to offer - rain, sunshine, and even a short-lived hail storm! Sunny days are great for cultivating to control the weeds - we used the tractors, hoes and hand weeding to cover all our bases in the few dry sunny moments last week! Rainy days were largely planting (it rained right after this watermelon planting photo). We got our last winter squash varieties in the ground as well as lettuce, herbs, cucumbers and melons. Our main planting season is starting to wind down and the greenhouses are emptying out but we aren’t quite done seeding yet! This past week we seeded fall crops like kale, broccoli, and golden beets in the greenhouse as well as future successions of lettuce and salanova of course! The hail surprised us but did not seem to do any damage - phew! The strawberries seemed to survive rain last week and look like they will continue producing this week for both the CSA and farm store - we’ll enjoy them while they last!

This week in the CSA:

• Garlic Scapes - These are the stem and flower of our garlic plants! We snap them off this time of year because they are tasty to eat and their removal increases the growth of the garlic bulbs below ground that we will harvest next month for fall eating! Chop and use any way you would garlic, cooked or raw, one scape is equal to about one garlic clove in flavor intensity.

• Beets - This sweet vegetable is great roasted or grated in salads. Don’t forget to eat the greens! They are delicious sautéed with garlic scapes and olive oil!

• Fennel - Our spring fennel is small but tasty! Use in cooking or grated in salad. Both the bulb and fronds are edible.

• Purple Haze Carrots - Why purple? Just for fun!

• Collards

• Swiss chard

• Scallions

• Curly Kale - green and purple

• Kohlrabi

• Mini daikon

• Radishes

• Salad turnips

• Salanova

• Lettuce - butterhead, romaine, panisse and red leaf

• Yukina Savoy - A salad green that makes a great substitute for spinach for raw or light cooking uses.

CSA Pick-your-own:

• Sugar snap peas - To pick, gently hold the plant in place while you snap the stem just above the pea pod. Lift up plants to look underneath for the biggest pods. After removing the top the entire pod is edible - they make a great raw snack!

• Shell peas - Select the plumpest pods. Remove entire outer shell before eating the peas inside (these are generally cooked).

• Snow peas - New this week! Located next to the shell peas. These are flatter pods even when mature so just pick the largest one. Remove the top and the rest of the pod is edible either raw or cooked.

• Strawberries - They are hanging in there! Depending on the weather this might be the last week for picking.

• Herbs: parsley, dill, cilantro, basil and mint
  

CSA pick-up hours:

Tuesday and Thursday 11am - 6pm

Saturday 9am - 3pm

This week in the farm stand:

We will have all of the veggies listed in the CSA available in the farm store, as well as zucchini, green garlic, arugula, honey, mushrooms from Fat Moon and pullet eggs from Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds.

Farm Store Hours:

Tuesday-Friday 11am - 6pm

Saturday 9am - 3pm

Carrot and Kohlrabi Slaw

By The Spruce Eats

Ingredients

• 2 bulbs kohlrabi

• 4 carrots

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard (or Dijon-style mustard)

• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

• Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Steps to make

1. Trim and peel the kohlrabi and the carrots. You can use a vegetable peeler on the carrots, but to properly peel kohlrabi, you'll have better luck with a paring knife: Trim the tops and bottoms of the kohlrabi and set the flat bottoms on a cutting surface; use a sharp paring knife to cut down from top to bottom, removing the thick, tough peel (with this method you'll easily be able to see where the tender white-ish inside ends and the green or purple peel begins, working around the vegetable until all the peel is removed). Set the peeled vegetables aside.

2. In a salad bowl or large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, and salt until well blended. Add pepper, if you like.

3. Using the large holes on a standing box grater or a mandoline set up for fine julienne, grate the kohlrabis and the carrots into the salad bowl.

4. Toss everything together until the kohlrabi and carrot are evenly coated with the dressing. Taste and add more salt or pepper, if you'd like.

5. Serve immediately or know that this salad holds up quite well to be made a few hours ahead of time and kept covered and chilled.

Cold Peanut Noodles

adapted from a recipe by Parsley on GenuisKitchen.com
NOODLES

• 1 lb spaghetti, or you can use linguine

• 1 cup shredded carrot

• 1 cup chopped scallion

• 1 cup chopped sugar snap peas

• ¼ cup chopped cilantro

SAUCE

• 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter

• ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 3 tablespoons sesame oil

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

• ¼ - ½ teaspoon ground ginger

• ¼ - ½ teaspoon hot sauce, I use red pepper flakes

• sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Bring a large pot of boiling water to a boil. Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions; drain; rinse in very cold water and drain again. Place cooled noodles in a large bowl and toss with the carrots, scallions, sugar snap peas and cilantro. In a small bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients until smooth. Drizzle the sauce over noodles mixture; toss to coat well. Serve room temp or cold. Garnish with sesame seeds if desired.

Beet Greens and Feta Pasta

from chowhound.com

• Kosher salt

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1/2 medium white onion, finely chopped

• 4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped (4 garlic scapes would work great!)

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 2 pounds beet greens, washed, ribs removed, and coarsely chopped (about 11 cups)

• 1 pound penne pasta

• 5 ounces crumbled feta (about 3/4 cup)

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. When shimmering, add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the vegetables are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the beet greens and cook until just wilted, about 3 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper, remove from heat, and reserve. 

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water Return the pasta to the pot and place over low heat. Add the reserved pasta water and the beet green mixture, then sprinkle in the crumbled feta. Stir until thoroughly combined and heated through. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

We were surprised by hail on the farm Saturday afternoon!