CSA Week 7 and Farm Store updates

We hope everyone is holding up okay in this oppressive heat! It’s not easy farming in this weather, especially while masked, but we try to plan our days so that we do harder tasks in the morning and have less strenuous ones later in the day. There isn’t a lot of work that takes place in the shade in farming (what with plants loving sunshine!) so bin washing and seeding greenhouse trays are coveted activities on hot days. Fresh onion harvesting is also a great hot weather activity (see photo above), as you can periodically sit down while bunching (and you can sit on straw mulch rather than hot sandy soil!). Regardless of what we’re doing, we also try to have crew popsicle breaks on really hot afternoons to keep everyone energized!

This week we will enjoy the first potatoes of the year. Potatoes are one of those staples that seem like they should be easy to grow based on their price point in the grocery store, but are actually quite challenging on an a small organic diversified vegetable farm. They are particularly susceptible to moisture and nutrient deficiencies, as well as to several pests. With our sandy, well-drained soils, moisture and nutrient deficiencies are perennial problems. We have also in the past struggled with Colorado potato beetles. They evolve so quickly that they rapidly develop resistance to organic pesticides, which means we have resort to some more “hands-on” control methods. Proper control requires going through the fields once a week and picking bugs off and crushing egg clusters by hand, which can take a crew of 8 or 9 people 3-4 hours in our fields. This year we also tried out planting strips of cover crop in the potatoes to create beneficial insect habitats (lady beetle larvae love eating potato beetle larvae).

Once the plants get bigger, it is too time consuming to hunt for beetles and larvae under every leaf, so we break out our flame weeder and have two crew members knock bugs off the plant while another person follows behind and burns the bugs that have dropped to the ground (this is a crew favorite activity!). This year we finally had enough crew members to properly manage the annual Colorado potato beetle invasion - all of our efforts paid off, and we had the least amount of pest pressure we’ve seen since we moved onto the farm! However, it seems that the drought earlier this summer combined with more recent potato leafhopper pressure have led to us ending up with only marginally better potato yields than previous seasons. We are encouraged by our potato beetle control success, though, and we hope that maybe in another season or two we will have dialed in our potato growing techniques enough to justify purchasing a mechanical harvester to save us many hours of time forking and digging potatoes by hand. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the potatoes during the weeks that we have them - they were grown with a lot of effort and love!

In the CSA this week:

• Potatoes - We are harvesting Dark Red Norlands right now (red skin with white flesh).

• Fresh onions - Ailsa Craig (white) and Red Long of Tropea (red). Store in the fridge.

• Peppers - green and purple.

• Eggplant - we are now harvesting 3 types of eggplant: Asian eggplant, Italian eggplant and Beatrice (a bright violet colored Italian eggplant)

• Cucumbers

• Zucchini

• Summer Squash

• Carrots

• Beets

• Mini cabbage -Green “Farao,” green cone shaped “Caraflex,” and some red “Omero” heads

• Kale

• Lettuce - We will have a mix of summer crisp varieties.

• Yukina Savoy

• Mustard greens

CSA PYO:

We hope to begin picking cherry tomatoes next week but for this week we will enjoy two new pick your own items this week- green beans and hot peppers! Basil is still particularly nice, great for a small batch of pesto! Please bring scissors from home for your herb picking. We do have some you may borrow but quantities are limited each day due to necessary sanitizing measures.

• Herbs: basil, cilantro and parsley, thyme, sage and mint

• Green beans - Pick the biggest ones! We have 6 rows open so be sure to check them all!

• Hot peppers - jalapeño and Hungarian hot wax

Pick-your-own Flower CSA

Starting this week the flower field will be open not only to Flower CSA members, but also to the general public. For the safety of everyone, there are capacity limits in the flower field and everyone over the age of 2 must wear a mask in the PYO fields. Flowers available for picking this week include: zinnias, bachelor’s buttons, cosmos, snapdragons, rudbeckia, dill flowers, decorative basil, strawflower, gomphrena and verbena. Don’t forget your pruners and scissors from home and water for your jar! Check in at the farm stand before picking.

In the Farm Store:

In addition to most of the items listed in the CSA we will also have the first tomatoes from the high tunnels and cherry tomatoes from the field. We’ll also have blueberries a few days this week (we will try to have them for Wednesday and Friday, and there will be customer limits). There will also be sweet corn from Verrill Farm, mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm and eggs from Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds available this week. Online pre-orders continue to be available for quick pick-up at the farm store, and walk-up sales are open for all Tuesday-Saturday. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering opens at 2pm the day before pick-up.

Farm Store Hours

Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm

Saturday 9am-3pm

Please wear a snug fitting mask with multiple layers when approaching the farm stand. If you cannot wear a mask, simply order online and include a note in your order letting us know what car you will be driving (as well as roughly what time you will arrive) and we will bring your bag out to your car when you arrive. Thank you for your understanding!

Summer Greens with Mustardy Potatoes and Six-Minute Egg

by Alex Lau from Bon Appetit, May 2016

• 4 large eggs

• 2 ounces sliced or slab bacon, cut crosswise into ¼-inch strips

• ¾ pound tiny potatoes, halved if larger than a ping pong ball

• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

• 1 small shallot (or half of a fresh Red Long of Tropea onion would work great!), finely chopped

• 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

• 1 tablespoon (or more) white wine vinegar

• 4 cups (lightly packed) summer greens, such as arugula, baby romaine, and/or mustard greens

• 2 cups mixed herb leaves, such as parsley, chives, and/or chervil

Recipe Preparation

• Carefully lower eggs into a medium saucepan of boiling water and cook 6 minutes. Drain and transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water; set aside.

• Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is starting to render but bacon is not yet crisp, about 4 minutes. Add potatoes; season with salt and pepper. Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until potatoes are tender and cooked through, 8–10 minutes. Remove from heat and add shallot, mustard, and vinegar; toss to coat.

• Toss greens and herbs in a large bowl, add warm potatoes and toss again to coat; season with salt, pepper, and more vinegar, if desired. Peel and halve eggs; arrange over potatoes and greens.

Marinated Zucchini Salad

by Martha Rose Shulman , NYTimes Cooking

• 1 pound medium or small zucchini, preferably a mix of green and yellow

• Salt to taste

• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, mint, chives, dill or a combination

  Preparation

• Slice the squash as thinly as you can. Sprinkle with salt, preferably kosher salt, and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes. Rinse and drain on paper towels.

• Mix together the lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. Toss with the zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for four to six hours.

• Remove from the refrigerator, and remove the garlic clove. Add the fresh herbs, and toss together. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve.



Grilled Zucchini Ribbons with Pesto and White Beans

from Smitten Kitchen

• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds zucchini, thinner longer ones are ideal here

• Olive oil

• Coarse or kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 lemon

• 1 3/4 cups (from 1 15-ounce can) small-to-medium-sized white beans, drained (I used – Goya’s Great Northern beans)

• 1 garlic clove, peeled

• A 2-ounce bundle of basil (this is the small clamshell size at most groceries)

• 1 to 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

• Coarsely grated parmesan, to taste

Prepare the zucchini: Trim ends and cut zucchini the long way into 1/4-inch strips. I use a mandoline for this (I have this one but will soon replace it with this) but a knife works too. Spread out strips on a large tray and brush lightly with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.

On a grill (I use the full heat, but have a dinky, small grill; you might find a more moderate heat better here) or a grill pan, grill zucchini in a single layer until grill marks appear underneath, then flip over and repeat the same on the other side. Transfer zucchini back to platter and squeeze lemon juice over it.

Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, combine basil and garlic with a few good pinches of salt and a few grinds of black pepper until chopped. Drizzle in olive oil until it blends smoothly; you’ll want about 4, sometimes 5, tablespoons. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar and blend until well-mixed; taste and add more vinegar, up to 1 more tablespoon, to taste. Season to taste.

Combine beans with about 2/3 of the dressing in a small bowl. In a larger bowl or serving platter, pour half of dressed beans in the bottom. Arrange grilled zucchini on top, twisting and turning it so that it looks extra ribbony. Spoon remaining beans in the spaces. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the platter, to taste.

Finish with a light blanket of parmesan and eat whenever you’re ready. As assembled, it keeps well at room temperature for an hour, giving you time to do everything else.

CSA Week 6 and Farm Store updates

More summer crops are coming in, making it a great time for grilling. The first fresh onions, green and purple peppers, as well as the first eggplant are being added to the mix. Soon we’ll also have potatoes and celery, so your summer barbecues will be complete with potato salad! Cherry tomatoes are also just around the corner (perhaps next week), and the slicing tomatoes from our high tunnel shouldn’t be too far behind.

We are also busy taking care of later fall crops like the winter squash pictured above. Even when things start to seem under control and you feel like you’ve hit your stride, there is always something new to keep us on our toes. This time it was a brave woodchuck (or two) that climbed up on our greenhouse table and ate some of our broccoli seedlings last week! Enough were rescued in time so there won’t be shortage this fall and they are now happy and growing safely out in the field across the street from the woodchuck den!

In the CSA this week:

• Fresh onions - Ailsa Craig (white) and Red Long of Tropea (red). These fresh onions are a little sweeter than cured onions and are great raw, pickled or caramelized on top of a sandwich or burger. Or just use them as you would any

• Peppers - green or purple. You will have a choice between either peppers or eggplant.

• Eggplant - It’s still early, so while the first eggplant are coming in, you will have a choice between eggplant or peppers.

• Slicing cucumbers

• Pickling cucumbers

• Zucchini

• Summer Squash

• Carrots

• Beets

• Mini cabbage -Green “Farao,” green cone shaped “Caraflex,” and some red “Omero” heads

• Kale

• Lettuce - We will have a mix of red leaf and green summer crisp.

• Salanova lettuce mix - We thought last week would be the last week of salanova until the fall, but it is still hanging on for one more week. Will likely be limited.

CSA PYO:

If possible please bring scissors from home. We do have some you may borrow but quantities are limited each day due to necessary sanitizing measures.

• Herbs: in addition to basil, cilantro and parsley, we have reopened the perennial herb beds by the farm stand, so you will also have chives, oregano, thyme, sage and mint to choose from.

• Sunflowers!

Pick-your-own Flower CSA

The PYO Flower CSA opens this week for Flower CSA members (both Small and Large memberships)! In a couple of weeks when the flower field is in full bloom we will also have pick-your-own flowers available for anyone to purchase by the jar. PYO Flower CSA members, look for an email today with more details about how it will work. Flowers available for picking this week include: zinnias, bachelor’s buttons, cosmos, snapdragons, rudbeckia, dill flowers, decorative basil, strawflower, gomphrena and verbena.

In the Farm Store:

In addition to most of the items listed in the CSA we will also have the first blueberries (there will be customer limits), golden beets, purple carrots, scallions, yukina savoy and red Russian kale. We’ll also have mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm and eggs from Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds available this week. Online pre-orders continue to be available for quick pick-up at the farm store, and walk-up sales are open for all Tuesday-Saturday. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering opens at 2pm the day before pick-up.

Farm Store Hours

Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm

Saturday 9am-3pm

Please wear a snug fitting mask with multiple layers when approaching the farm stand. If you cannot wear a mask, simply order online and include a note in your order letting us know what car you will be driving (as well as roughly what time you will arrive) and we will bring your bag out to your car when you arrive. Thank you for your understanding!

Quick-Pickled Onions

from Cookie + Kate

This tangy and crisp pickled onion recipe is ready in 30 minutes. These onions are the perfect condiment for tacos, burritos, nachos, burgers and more.

Ingredients

• 1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced (you can also use the white fresh onions - they are seet enough!)

• ½ cup water

• ¼ cup distilled white vinegar

• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar or additional white vinegar

• 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup or honey

• 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt

• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, for heat)

Instructions

1. Pack the onions into a 1-pint mason jar or similar heat-safe vessel. Place the jar in the sink, to catch any splashes of hot vinegar later.

2. In a small saucepan, combine the water, both vinegars, maple syrup, salt, and pepper flakes. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then carefully pour the mixture into the jar over the onions.

3. Use a butter knife or spoon to press the onions down into the vinegar and pop any air bubbles in the jar. Let the pickled onions cool to room temperature (about 20 to 30 minutes), at which point they should be sufficiently pickled for serving.

4. Cover and refrigerate leftover pickled onions for later. Quick-pickled onions are best consumed within three days, but they keep for 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

Crunchy Cucumber Cabbage Salad with a Sesame Dressing

from Flourishing Foodie

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 small cabbage (2 1/2 cups), chopped

• 2 green onions, sliced (or use a small amount of diced fresh onion)

• 1 tbsp chopped parsley

• 1/2 cup sliced cucumber

• 1/4 cup shelled edamame

• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

• 1/4 cup dry chow mein noodles

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 2 tbsp rice vinegar

• 2 tbsp mirin

• 1/2 tsp grated ginger

• 1 tsp black sesame seeds

• salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl combine the cabbage, green onions, parsley, cucumber, edamame, almonds, and chow mein noodles.

2. In a jar with a tight fitting lid, add the sesame oil, rice vinegar, mirin, and grated ginger. Shake to combine.

3. Pour the dressing over the salad and combine. Add the sesame seeds and salt to taste.

4. Serve.

CSA Week 5 and Farm Store updates

The silver lining of farming in the midst of a pandemic has been the great crew we have on the farm this year. Because of COVID-19 we were faced with a need to hire additional help to to accommadate the changes in the farm store and CSA distribution this season. However, the pandemic also ended up changing the plans for several crew members from last year, making it possible for them to return to the farm for another season and giving us an unexpected boost (and reprieve) in the hiring process. We now have 11 returning crew members (out of 17 total employees)! Having a knowledgeable, friendly, reliable crew has helped ease the burden of the increase in workload - as well as stress levels - from the current pandemic. They make each CSA and farm store day happen from morning sanitizing, to harvest, distribution, and clean up. The first crew member starts at 6:30am (rockstar Sarah!) to sanitize and prepare for the field crew’s arrival, and the last crew members leave the farm after 6:30pm, with lots of bagging, sanitizing, stocking and bin washing in-between of course! While it has been a challenging season in many ways, our crew has remained upbeat, cheerful and hardworking throughout. With faces covered under masks the farm doesn’t always look as friendly as in the past but know they are smiling under there and happy to help!

In the CSA this week:

• Purple Haze Carrots- These carrots are purple on the outside and orange on the inside. We grow one planting a year because they are fun! They taste similar to the carrots you are used to.

• Slicing cucumbers - We are enjoying this early harvest from our high tunnel! The field slicing cucumbers are just beginning to produce.

• Golden beets - These beets are sweet, pretty, and don’t turn your kitchen red when you cook them! Golden beet seed is less dependable and more expensive then that of red beets so we grow just one planting in the spring and one in the fall.

• Scallions - Field scallion harvest has begun! The tops are slightly damaged by thrips but they still taste great.

• Zucchini

• Summer Squash

• Pickling cucumbers - These cucumbers are known for being good for pickling but are also great for eating raw any way you would slicing cucumbers!

• Mini cabbage -Green “Farao,” green cone shaped “Caraflex,” and some of the first red “Omero” heads

• Kale

• Lettuce - The last of the spring lettuce before we move on to summer crisp varieties.

• Salanova lettuce mix - Likely the last week of this spring favorite! Weather in July gets too hot for us to grow lettuce mix so we take a break and start back up in the early fall.

CSA PYO:

If possible please bring scissors from home. We do have some you may borrow but quantities are limited each day due to necessary sanitizing measures.

• Basil - To harvest pinch or cut plants at the stem. Cut above the lowest branching leaves.

• Dill - Use scissors to cut about 2” from the ground

• Cilantro - Use scissors to cut about 2” from the ground

• Parsley - Cut or pinch outer leaves, leaving interior leaves to grow.

Pick-your-own Flower CSA

The PYO Flower CSA will likely begin next week (July 14th) for Flower CSA members (both Small and Large memberships)! The first flowers available will be snapdragons, zinnias, and bachelor buttons. The Flower CSA is separate from the Main Season CSA but the Main Season CSA (including Flex and Extended memberships) does include pick-your-own sunflowers and the first planting will hopefully be ready next week! In a couple of weeks when the flower field is in full bloom we will also have pick-your-own flowers available for anyone to purchase by the jar. We will email Flower CSA members additional details about your membership next week and continue to post updates about variety availability here on the blog.

In the Farm Store:

In addition to most of the items listed in the CSA we will also have mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm and eggs from Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds available this week. Online pre-orders continue to be available for quick pick-up at the farm store, and walk-up sales are open for all Tuesday-Saturday. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering opens at 2pm the day before pick-up.

Farm Store Hours

Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm

Saturday 9am-3pm

Please wear a snug fitting mask with multiple layers when approaching the farm stand. If you cannot wear a mask, simply order online and include a note in your order letting us know what car you will be driving (as well as roughly what time you will arrive) and we will bring your bag out to your car when you arrive. Thank you for your understanding!

Warm Golden Beet Salad with Greens and Almonds

By Faith Durand at the Kitchn: https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-warm-golden-beet-salad-116139

Ingredients

• 1 bunch beets, both tops and roots

• Olive oil

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

• 2/3 cup toasted almond slivers

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan or cake tin with a big square of foil, large enough to complete enclose the beet roots. Lightly rinse the beet roots to remove any really clumpy dirt and pat them dry. Place them in the foil square and lightly drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Fold up the foil and crease to seal. Bake the beets for 60 minutes or until they can be just pierced with a fork. Set aside to cool.

2. Meanwhile, chop the beet greens into bite-size ribbons. Discard the stalks between the roots and where the leaves start, but chop the leaf ribs along with the leaves. Rinse thoroughly to remove all traces of dirt and grit. In a large skillet, heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic. Cook on low for about 5 minutes or until the garlic is golden and fragrant. Add the chopped leaves and stir to coat with the garlic. Cook on medium-low for about 10 minutes or until the leaves are soft and tender. Remove from the heat.

3. When the beets are cool, rub them with a paper towel to remove the skin. Then chop into bitesized pieces and toss with the cooked greens, goat cheese, and almonds. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or cold. (This also makes an excellent pressed sandwich filling, especially with some extra goat cheese.)

Our crew has been chatting in the fields about their recent culinary exploits and scallion pancakes have been on the top of the list! They are a little more involved than our usual recipes but here is a “how to” from the kitchn website in case you want to join in the fun with this week’s scallion harvest!

How To Make Scallion Pancakes

by Faith Durand

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-scallion-pancakes-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-107405

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups

  white flour

• 1 cup

  warm water

• Oil for the pancakes, such as vegetable, sesame, or shortening

• Coarse kosher salt

• 1 bunch

  scallions

• High smoke point oil for the pan, such as vegetable, canola, or peanut oil

Equipment

• Spray oil or cooking spray

• Rolling pin

• Baking sheet or pastry board

• 10-inch heavy skillet or sauté pan

• Thin spatula

• Kitchen scissors

Instructions

1. Make the dough and let it rest: Mix 2 1/2 cups flour with 1 cup water until it forms a smooth dough. Knead by doubling the dough over and pressing it down repeatedly, until the dough is even more smooth and very elastic. Coat this ball of dough lightly in oil and put it back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.

2. Roll out the dough: Cut the dough into 4 equal parts. Lightly oil the back of a large metal baking sheet (or a smooth stone countertop or pastry board). Roll out one part of the dough on the back of the baking sheet. Roll until it is a thin rectangle at least 12 x 9 inches.

3. Chop the scallions: Finely chop the bunch of scallions. (I usually use the green tops and just the very top of the white parts.) Set them on your work surface along with a small bowl of kosher salt.

4. Top the dough: Lightly brush the top of the dough with oil, then sprinkle it evenly with chopped scallions and kosher salt.

5. Roll up the dough: Starting from the long end, roll the dough up tightly, creating one long snake of rolled-up dough.

6. Cut in half: Cut the dough snake in two equal parts.

7. Coil the dough and let it rest: Take one of these halves and coil into a round dough bundle. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes and ideally longer, while you repeat this process with the rest of the dough.

8. Roll out the coil: Pat a coiled dough bundle into a flat, smooth, round pancake. You can do this with a rolling pin or with your hands.

9. Cook the pancake for 2 minutes: Heat a 10-inch heavy skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat, and oil it with a drizzle of canola, vegetable, or peanut oil. When the oil shimmers, pick up the pancake dough and lay it gently in the pan. It should sizzle, but not burn. Cook for 2 minutes on one side.

10. Flip and cook for an additional 2 minutes: Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook for an additional 2 minutes on the other side, or until golden brown. Repeat steps 9-11 with the rest of the pancake dough coils.

11. To Serve: Cut the pancake into wedges with a pair of kitchen scissors, and serve immediately with soy sauce or another dipping sauce.

Recipe Notes

Oils: This recipe calls for oil in two different places: Once to make the filling, and once to fry the pancakes. For the filling, any neutral oil will do, but commenters (and I!) prefer sesame oil. Other recipes call for shortening. For the pan, use a high smoke point oil such as peanut.

Make ahead: If you would like to make a few pancakes but save the rest for later, you can save the dough in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just make sure the dough is oiled and well-covered. You can also roll out individual pancakes and stack them between well-oiled layers of wax paper.

Reminder: Farm Store and CSA closed Saturday, July 4th

Just a reminder the farm store and CSA will be closed this Saturday, July 4th. Friday farm store hours will remain the same, 11am-6pm. CSA members who are signed up for Saturday pick-up in July will have a pick-up tomorrow, Friday July 3rd, during their regular time slot 9am-3pm. If you can’t make it during your time slot email Melissa to make arrangements (after hours pre-packed bag options are available Friday). We hope everyone has a great weekend!

CSA Week 4 and Farm Store updates

Summer officially began last week and the harvest shows it! We have transitioned from lots of greens to the bulky vegetables of summer like summer squash, mini cabbage, and the first of our cucumbers. This is actually the earliest we have ever had cucumbers thanks to one of our newest high tunnel built early this spring! The protected growing environment of the high tunnel provides more warmth during the early spring, regular watering through drip irrigation, and blocks strong winds and (and rains although not a factor this year until today!). Landscape fabric covers the ground to prevent weed competition and each plant is carefully trellised and pruned to maximize production. The variety, Corinto, is one of our favorite varieties for field growing so the result is the same great taste, just an earlier (and we hope longer) season! We are still growing cucumbers in the field to make sure we have the volume we want for later summer harvests.

Field work right now is focused largely on planting fall crops! We seeded our first fall beets and carrots as well as planted Brussels sprouts and Romanesco cauliflower for the fall. This week we will move on to planting fall cabbage, then kale, all while working to protect the potatoes from the ongoing Colorado Potato Beetle invasion (or should I say picnic?), and constructing our fence across the street to protect it all from hungry deer. Irrigation on the fall crops also continues to be on our mind but we are very happy for the respite that today’s rain gives us from the watering rotation!

In the CSA this week:

• Cucumbers - These slicing cucumbers are grown in our high tunnel, which is why they are so early this season!

• Zucchini

• Summer Squash

• Carrots

• Red beets

• Garlic scapes

• Fennel

• Mini cabbage - We are harvested our green variety called “farao”this week! The other two varieties of small spring cabbage we grow - green cone shaped Caraflex and red round Omero - are still maturing.

• Kohlrabi

• Kale

• Lettuce- oakleaf (a variety called “panisse”), red leaf, and green leaf lettuce

• Salanova lettuce mix

• Mustard greens - These spicy greens can be cooked to soften the spice or eaten raw in salads and sandwiches for those who like the kick!

• Baby bok choi

CSA PYO:

If possible please bring scissors from home. We do have some you may borrow but quantities are limited each day due to necessary sanitizing measures.

• Basil - To harvest pinch or cut plants at the stem.

• Dill - Use scissors to cut about 2” from the ground

• Cilantro - Use scissors to cut about 2” from the ground

• Parsley - Cut or pinch outer leaves, leaving interior leaves to grow.

In the Farm Store:

In addition to most of the items listed in the CSA we will also have pickling cucumbers, mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm, and eggs from Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds available this week. Online pre-orders continue to be available for quick pick-up at the farm store, and walk-up sales are open for all Tuesday-Saturday. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering opens at 2pm the day before pick-up.

Farm Store Hours

Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm

Saturday 9am-3pm*

*The CSA and farm store will be closed this Saturday July 4th

Please wear a snug fitting mask with multiple layers when approaching the farm stand. If you cannot wear a mask, simply order online and include a note in your order letting us know what car you will be driving (as well as roughly what time you will arrive) and we will bring your bag out to your car when you arrive. Thank you for your understanding!

Summer Squash and Basil Pasta

Recipe by Chris Morocco published by Bon Appetit: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/summer-squash-and-basil-pasta

Ingredients

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 8 garlic cloves (or scapes), thinly sliced

• 2 pounds assorted summer squashes and zucchini, quartered lengthwise, sliced

• Kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon Aleppo-style pepper, plus more for serving

• 12 ounces paccheri, ziti, or other large tube pasta

• 2 ounces Parmesan, grated (about ½ cup), plus more for serving

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• ½ cup basil leaves, divided

Recipe Preparation

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook garlic, stirring occasionally, until very lightly browned around the edges, about 4 minutes. Add squash and increase heat to medium high; season with salt. Cook, tossing occasionally, until squash begins to break down. Turn down heat once it begins sticking, and continue to cook until the squash is jammy and soft, 12–15 minutes. Toss in 1 tsp. Aleppo-style pepper.

• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente.

• Transfer pasta to skillet with squash using a slotted spoon or spider and add ½ cup pasta cooking liquid. Cook pasta, adding 2 oz. Parmesan in stages along with more pasta cooking liquid as needed, until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente. Toss in lemon juice and most of the basil.

• Divide pasta among bowls and top with more Parmesan and Aleppo-style pepper and remaining basil.

A CSA member recommended this recipe they tried last week as a great use of leftover fennel tops:

Fragrant Fennel Fronds Pesto

from https://www.wholefoodbellies.com/fragrant-fennel-fronds-pesto

Ingredients

• 1 cup toasted walnuts

• 3 cups loosely packed fennel fronds

• 1 lemon juiced

• 1 clove garlic or garlic scape

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1/2 cup olive oil (plus extra)

Instructions

• Toast the walnuts over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes, or until they start to turn a nice golden brown color. Set aside to cool.

• Add the walnuts, fennel fronds, lemon juice, garlic and salt to a food processor. Add in half of the olive oil and pulse or blend until incorporated. Continue blending while slowly pouring in the rest of the olive oil and desired consistency is reached (you may need to add in a little more olive oil or water 1 tsp at a time if you prefer it thinner)

• Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze for later use