What a week! What a box! We have so much great food to share with you! It’s very close to July and that is just what it feels like running around the farm trying to gather up all this bounty for the boxes. This week we picked peas for the third time from the first row of snaps, and for the first time from the second planting of three rows, for a grand total of 48 pounds of snap peas. This week the snaps go to the CSA members who pick up at the Bethel and Thomas St. locations. By my calculations, that leaves only those who pick up at the farm on Wednesday who need to get peas next week. After that we will be picking snow peas, shell peas, and rotating those through all the shares. It seems nicer to give a whole pound of peas in rotation than to give a quarter pound to everyone all at once. That’s what I would like if I were you. We also dug our first potatoes this week, some lovely Yukon Golds. The term “New Potato” refers to any potato dug at an early stage of growth when the skins are still very delicate and the flavor matches the skins, sweet and light. It’s a tough choice for the farmer, to sacrifice total weight/yield in favor of early treats, but we like early treats, too. We can’t wait to eat those tasty spuds!

Chicken harvest on Monday went well, the smoothest ever. We just keep getting better with practice. It’s nice we still have the egg laying flock to keep us company, so we don’t get as lonely as we sometimes do after the big day. Chickens are truly delightful to have around, companionable. Colin is so happy to be back in his own bed again with no one out there needing guarding. The egg layers go inside their house each night and sleep safely there. We get our next batch of chicks on Friday, and turkey chicks, too! They will live happy and safe in the barn for about three weeks. So that’s how long we have to devise a super security system for them outside so that Colin might not have to sleep out with them again. But if need be, he’s prepared. He loves those birds a lot. He also loves the barn swallows and so do I. One pair has made a nest right over the door to our walk in cooler in the packing shed. There are three hungry babies in there now, we can hear them talking all the time. It makes it nice to work late when you can watch the nature show of parents feeding their young in the nest right there.

Collards
I bet you would like some ideas for how to use Collards. Almost any recipe you have for Kale, you can substitute Collards. The stem takes a little longer to cook than the leaf, so you may want to separate them. Bacon or ham or pork bits of any sort are totally best friends with collards. If you are vegetarian, stick with olive oil, garlic, vinegar and soy sauce for added flavors. Making wraps using the collard leaf as the wrapper is a good idea. In fact, someone started a business locally making just such a product that you can buy at the Co-op, and that is the main reason we grow them now. FYI, if you are a local restaurant or food business of some sort and you need some high quality ingredients, you can ask us for help and we will make you what you need.


I was just searching high and low for a recipe for collard greens that did not involve bacon or ham hocks, and it was like looking for a unicorn. I found a recipe for garlic greens on the magical internet. They wanted you to boil then greens first, then saute some garlic and add salt and pepper and hot sauce. I think that this week, you can make garlic scape greens without boiling anything. Separate the stems from the leaves of the Collards. Cut the stems and the garlic scapes into two inch pieces, and saute all these in some olive oil. After about five minutes they should be tender, then you can add the rest of the collard leaves, chopped and continue to saute until tender. Then, sure, add some salt and pepper and hot sauce if you like. Adding a little melted butter at the end adds a nice soft touch to the dish. Whenever someone else makes greens for me and I think they taste so much better than mine, it often involves butter. You can add in the bok choy in this saute dish, between the stems and the leaves in the timing of the cooking. You can even add in the arugula at the end. It would only take a moment to wilt. Most people don’t think of cooking arugula, as it is so tender and so special for salads, raw. But arugula wilted with pasta or bacon is great. Wilted arugula sandwiches on crusty rolls with special cheese and salami is nice for lunch or dinner.

We were so glad to get our boys back from summer grandparent vacation! We weren’t pining for them or anything like that, but we just felt so much better when they were home. We like having them around, and if we are careful what we ask for, they are generally willing to help out. Jonas, our giant 15 year old helped Colin move irrigation pipes and Nigel helped bag salad and potatoes for the shares this week. Chicken customers may have noticed Jonas running (literally) to get your chickens ready for pick up. And Nigel helped pick peas enticed by the option of eating as many as he wanted. Jonas made us some simple pasta for dinner, and we are feeling so grateful for our two sweet boys.