With the first week of the CSA and the second week of the staffed farm store behind us, we can breathe a little sigh of relief. But not for too long! The larger and more time-consuming greens harvests that start in early June also coincide with some other critical farm tasks. The longer and warmer days mean that both crop and weed growth take off, requiring trellising of our vining crops and timely mulching and cultivation to keep down weeds. Our most hated nemesis - the Colorado potato beetle - also flourishes this time of year, requiring hours on end of crushing eggs and picking bugs off of our potato, eggplant and tomato plants to avert a complete crop failure. Although we just pushed past the heftiest planting block of the season, we still have plenty more to go. Fortunately we had decent precipitation this past week and could take a break from irrigation set-up. We’re hoping this continues for a few more weeks (and preferably all the rain happens at night!) so we can keep up with our planting, weeding, trellising and potato beetle squashing responsibilities!
In the CSA this week:
Cucumbers - The cukes we’re harvesting right now are grown in the ground in our high tunnel. Cucumbers grown outside of the protection of the high tunnels usually aren’t producing until mid-July! It will be a limited amount this week, but production should ramp up soon.
Carrots - These carrots are a little earlier than usual. Later carrots will size up a bit more, but these early carrots are tender and sweet!
Green Garlic
Kohlrabi
Radishes
Salad turnips
Mini daikon radish
Spinach - This is probably the last week of spinach until the fall, as it does not hold well in the field in the heat.
Lettuce
Salanova lettuce mix
Arugula
Baby bok choi
Yukina savoy - This is a mild green that can either be eaten raw or cooked.
CSA Pick-Your-Own:
Sweet William flowers
Herbs - In addition to sage, thyme and chives, we now also have parsley, dill and cilantro.
Strawberry update: The PYO strawberries are showing signs that they are ripening, so we hope to have them next week!
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA, we will have seedlings, flowers, scallions and bok choi heads. We will also have mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm and Double B honey.
We accept credit card, cash, check and EBT in the farm store. The farm store is open Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. We also continue to take online pre-orders for Wednesday and Friday pick-up. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering currently opens at 6pm on Tuesday for Wednesday pick-up and 6pm on Thursday for Friday pick-up.
Mushroom CSA:
Now that the farm store is staffed you may come to pick up your mushrooms anytime the farm store is open (Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm). Your mushrooms will be kept in the cooler and retrieved by the shopkeeper when you arrive at the store. It is week 6 of the 8-week Spring Mushroom CSA. This week is Lion’s Mane and Blue Oyster mix.
Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce
from Cookie + Kate
Ingredients:
Spring Rolls
2 ounces rice vermicelli or maifun brown rice noodles*
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup torn butterhead lettuce, ribs removed
1 cup very thinly sliced red cabbage
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks or sliced into strips with a julienne peeler
1 small cucumber, thinly sliced or sliced into strips with a julienne peeler
2 medium jalapeños, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced
¼ cup thinly sliced green onions
¼ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup roughly chopped fresh mint
8 sheets rice paper (spring roll wrappers)
Peanut Sauce
⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced (you can use green garlic!)
2 to 3 tablespoons water, as needed
Instructions
To make the spring rolls: Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the noodles just until al dente, according to package directions. Drain, rinse them under cool water, and return them to the pot. Off the heat, toss the noodles with the sesame oil and salt, and set aside.
Fill a shallow pan (a pie pan or 9″ round cake pan works great) with an inch of water. Fold a lint-free tea towel in half and place it next to the dish. Make sure your prepared fillings are within reach. Combine the green onion, cilantro and mint in a small bowl, and stir.
Place one rice paper in the water and let it rest for about 20 seconds, give or take. You’ll learn to go by feel here—wait until the sheet is pliable but not super floppy. Carefully lay it flat on the towel.
Leaving about 1 inch of open rice paper around the edges, cover the lower third of the paper with a few pieces of butter lettuce, followed by a small handful of rice noodles, some cabbage, and a few strips of carrot, cucumber and jalapeño. Sprinkle generously with the herb mix.
Fold the lower edge up over the fillings, rolling upward just until the filling is compactly enclosed. Fold over the short sides like you would to make a burrito. Lastly, roll it up. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
To make the peanut sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, rice vinegar, tamari, honey, sesame oil, and garlic. Whisk in 2 to 3 tablespoons water, as needed to make a super creamy but dip-able sauce.
Serve the spring rolls with peanut sauce on the side. You can serve them whole, or sliced in half on the diagonal with a sharp chef’s knife.
