week six of csa

well lets not beat around the bush, last week we began by talking about the change of the weather and how cool it was going to be, slowing the growth of our warm season plants. this week, that has not been an issue! All along the east coast its been hot and dry and we aren't done yet, at least tomorrow will continue to cause us to swelter! it wouldn't be so bad to be so hot if it weren't so dry. Things would be growing like crazy if we had had a big rain before things heated up. But instead, we have been watering by irrigation mostly, but a few newly planted things by hand and hoping to get a good soaking rain sometimes soon.

we've decided that we should just have a fun event on july 17th, we'll be hosting an evening of fun on the farm! We'll have a picnic dinner (bring a dish to pass) and we'll have games like badminton, bocce ball, Frisbee, a bean bag tossing game (good for little kids) and a collection of games and challenges that take a minute to play. this will be a great event for those who want to see the farm and meet other members, but don't feel that they can do a farm work type event. Know someone who would like to see the farm? Invite them along! We'll have dinner at six, arrive as early as five on saturday, july 17th.

In pick-up news, we've decided to try giving one pound of dry beans or small bags of flour as items that you can choose in the shares, at first it felt odd to give something that we had not grown, but we thought we'd give it a try. (sorry ithaca pickups, we do not bring these items to the market there as the rules do not allow it.) We have been bringing whole wheat bread flour and all purpose flour both locally grown and ground and certified organic from Farmer Ground Flour in trumansburg as well as black beans all from cayuga pure organics in brooktondale (which is one of the two farms that grows the wheat for farmer ground flour). We have begun bringing these items to the markets because we really feel that to have a strong, vibrant local food system, we need farmers to grow staple food items like these, and we need them to be successful doing it, and bringing these items to markets that they otherwise wouldn't get to is one way that we can help make the local food system stronger. don't know how to use dry beans? see recipe below, it includes both the flour and beans!

things you may see this week:
chard and kale
lettuce and lettuce mix
new potatoes
patty pans and zucchini
cucumbers are new!
raspberries
fresh onions
fresh garlic, last few scapes
cherry tomatoes first few


coming soon:
green beans!

recipes for the week:
hummus with garlic scapes
one can of chick peas
olive oil start with 1/4 cup
1-3 garlic scapes
splash of lemon juice
T of soy sauce
pepper

mix all in food processor until smooth, adjust seasoning to taste.


here's a favorite of ours, Burritos with homemade tortillas:
1 lb flour, about 3 cups, can use some whole wheat (i often use one cup)
2 pinches of salt
1/4 cup oil
1 T baking powder
about a cup of water, add a little at a time

mix flour, salt, and oil then add water in increment. knead dough and add flour if needed to get a doughy consistency. cook on a hot, dry skillet until brown bubbles form, flip and cook other side.


we make burritos with any number of fillings- but especially greens, rice, beans, cheese, and salsa (tomato, tomatillo, or peach).

to cook beans, soak several hours or overnight, drain and simmer until tender. flavor as desired, we use onions, garlic, and hot peppers. wrap in tortilla and enjoy!

have a good week, hope to see you at the picnic!
liz and matthew