2023 CSA Farm Update: Week 8
Misty Morning
Hello Everyone, and welcome to week 8 of the Katchkie Farm CSA. Summer has been in full swing here on the farm. Our summer crops have started ripening, fall crops are being planted and seeded and the fields that produced the crops in the early part of the season are getting ready to be cover cropped. This week also looks to bring a break in the heat and humidity that seems to be such a part of July.
I can’t say that every August has been like this, but when I think of August it seems like such a dreamy month. We are surrounded by lush plants that have grown in the heat of July and are now just beginning to bear their fruit. A walk around the farm is met with wafts of ripening tomatoes and peppers, sweet corn that is tasseled above our heads and a jungle of winter squash vines soaking up the sun. The clouds in the sky also seem to change to large puffy “panetti” that float leisurely across the sky. In the days of old, this would be the month that many crops on the farm were “laid by.” Meaning, those crops have received their final cultivation and now the only thing to be done with them was to wait for them to reach full maturity and harvest. That picture is not quite the way of life on a diversified vegetable farm, but for me it does carry an essence of August.
This week brings the first addition of sweet corn to the CSA bags. We learned from some mistakes last year. The two most prominent being that sweet corn will readily cross pollinate with milling and popcorn, the other being to plant sweet corn away from the forest. I recall seeing nearly every woodland creature making their way out of last year’s corn patch at some point! Woodland animals are not the only ones hungry for sweet corn. It must have been about six years ago, but one morning when my son was three, he got up early and headed out to the fields with me. This one particular morning was our first sweet corn harvest of the season. I can remember him making his way down the rows of dew-covered plants that towered over him as he picked off ear after ear and filled his bucket. We then took our breakfast break, pulling back husks and enjoying the milky sweet kernels in the cool morning air. There are a plethora of ways to enjoy this crop, but this one has to be my favorite.
Until next time,
Farmer Jon
WEEKLY HARVEST INCLUDES*
Basil
Leeks
*We try our best to provide the most accurate CSA list in the newsletter! However, there’s always a chance of last minute substitutions in some bags if we don’t harvest enough of a vegetable.
DELICIOUS RECIPES TO TRY
Chef Andrew's Recipe Corner
Onion & Leek Tart
Ingredients
3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 medium white onions, thinly sliced
2 medium leeks, sliced lengthwise and thinly sliced (white part only)
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh marjoram leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup crème fraîche
1 recipe basic tart pastry, blind-baked for 10 minutes
Preparation
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pan over medium heat. When it foams, add 1/3 of the onions and leeks. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook until onions and leeks are caramelized and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Season again with salt and pepper. Remove from the pan and reserve in a mixing bowl. Cook remaining onions and leeks in two more batches, using 1 tablespoon of the butter per batch.
Combine herbs and crème fraîche with onion-leek mixture and check the seasoning. Add more salt and pepper as necessary, and let the mixture rest until it has cooled, about 5 minutes.
Fill prepared tart-shell with mixture and bake for twenty minutes at 400° F.