September 26, 2024 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Broccoli

 

What's In The Box

Italian Garlic: If you want to take your next batch of mashed potatoes to the next level, boil the potatoes with a few cloves of garlic and then mash the cooked garlic in with the potatoes. Alternatively, you can roast a whole head of garlic and add the roasted garlic to the cooked potatoes when you mash them.

Yellow Onions: Our yellow onion varieties are selected both for long-term storage potential as well as flavor. We like a pungent onion that also has some natural sweetness to help create a more balanced flavor. Thus, these onions serve as a “multi-purpose” onion that is appropriate for pretty much any cooked or raw application.

Orange and/or Red Italian Frying Peppers: These sweet peppers are in their prime right now and are a tasty treat eaten both raw and cooked. Add them to egg dishes, stir-fry, soups, stews and chowders, salads, and slaws. You can also roast them and use them to make a tasty roasted pepper sauce for pasta or chicken.

Mini Sweet Peppers: There is a half-pound portion of these sweet mini bell peppers in this week’s box. These are the perfect grab-n-go snack as they need no prep! They are also great for roasting and stuffing with fillings of your choice.

Tomatoes: The tomatoes in our second planting are almost finished for the year, except for the Roma tomatoes that are still ripening! Now is the time to savor the final BLTs of the season, make a few more batches of fresh salsa and savor the last few weeks of fresh tomatoes. We’ll continue to pick Roma tomatoes as long as we can but know that the end is in sight.

Salad Mix: Fall is our preferred time of the year to grow these delicate salad greens. This mix is a flavorful blend of spicy Asian greens mixed with several different varieties of lettuce. The key to longer shelf life is to keep the bag refrigerated.

Baby Spinach: Our fall spinach will be limited this year. Enjoy this week’s spinach as the base to a fresh salad or wilt it into soup or pasta.

Purple, Yellow and/or White Cauliflower or Broccoli Romanesco: We are in the peak of fall cauliflower right now! Enjoy cauliflower raw or cooked, add it to mashed potatoes, use it to make cauliflower “rice,” or even incorporate it into baked goods!

Green Romaine Lettuce: These heads of crispy romaine made it just in time to make one more Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato sandwich! Of course, you might choose to use it to make a traditional Caesar salad as well. Wash leaves well and pat dry before using.

Broccoli: This week has been a HUGE broccoli harvest week! By the end of this week, we will likely have harvested over 2,500 pounds of broccoli! Check out this week’s featured recipes for a few ideas for putting this item to use.

Leeks: This is our final week of leeks. If you haven’t made the traditional Potato Leek soup yet, now is your chance!

Orange Carrots: We’re moving into soup and stew season, and this is the perfect vegetable to include in any soup base. You can also make it the star of the show and make carrot soup. Suggestions below!

Russet Potatoes: This year we tried a new variety of russet potatoes, which have proven to have strong yields and great flavor! Russet potatoes are a dry, starchy potato. They are a great option for making mashed potatoes, deep fried French fries, or a simple baked potato. Of course, they would also make a tasty potato leek soup!

Recipe Suggestions & Inspiration For This Week’s Box Contents

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Make-Ahead Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Cider Braised Short Ribs with Caramelized Onions

Caramelized Onion & Broccoli Quiche

Creamy Roasted Pepper Pasta

Sweet Pepper Stir-Fry with Basil & Tofu

Taco Stuffed Mini Peppers

Hummus Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers

Mixed Green Salad with Goat Cheese, Maple Glazed Pecans and Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

Spinach Salad with Apples, Walnuts & Feta

48 Spinach Salad Recipes You’ll Love To Eat

How To Make Cauliflower Rice

Foolproof Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Cauliflower Biscuits

Mashed Cauliflower & Potatoes

Best Chicken Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons

Vegan Caesar Salad with Crispy Chickpeas

Broccoli Pizza

Baked Broccoli Mac & Cheese

15 Minute Creamy Leek and Mushroom Pasta

Carrot Ginger Soup with Crispy Shallots

Hungarian Carrot Stew

Vegetable Feature: Broccoli

Broccoli is in the Brassica family, along with cauliflower and cabbage. This green vegetable often looks like a tree when you find it in the grocery store, but in the field (and in our boxes) it sports collard greens like leaves that are also edible. We grow broccoli in the spring, summer and fall, starting some of our plants out in the greenhouse, but planting the later crops directly into the soil in our fields.                                                                                                                                                  Preparation & Usage: Broccoli should be washed prior to use. It can be eaten raw, boiled, steamed, roasted, or sautéed. Recent studies show that steamed broccoli is the best way to cook it in order to retain the most nutritional value. The edible leaves have a more mild broccoli flavor than the stems and florets.  You can use these leaves similar to how you would use kale or collards, as a cooking green, in smoothies, in salads, or roasted into chips!

Storage Tips: Broccoli should be stored, unwashed, loosely wrapped in plastic or a perforated bag, and in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Health & Nutrition: While oranges are the most common thing that come to mind when looking for Vitamin C, half a cup of broccoli contains 84% of the daily recommendation for this vitamin.  It is also loaded with fiber, antioxidants, Vitamin K, iron and potassium.                                                                                                                                Additional Fun Facts: The word broccoli comes from an Italian word that means “the flowering crest of cabbage.”

Broccoli Slaw

Broccoli is a versatile vegetable that can be used in a myriad of dishes, both cooked and raw. This week we are featuring two simple recipes that you can prepare and have on the table in very little time!  The first is for a simple, creamy broccoli slaw, complemented with sweet cranberries and dressed with a creamy, slightly tangy dressing. The second recipe for Soba Noodles with Sesame Chicken & Broccoli is an application requiring short cooking of broccoli. This recipe calls for Soba noodles, but you can use any other long, thin noodle you have available. This is a quick recipe that will allow you to have a healthy dinner on the table in short order!

Photo from www.smittenkitchen.com

Yield:  8 cups of slaw

¾ to 1 pound broccoli

½ cup thinly sliced almonds, toasted

⅓ cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

½ cup buttermilk, well shaken

½ cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

½ small red onion, finely chopped

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Trim the broccoli head and cut the florets into large chunks; then cut each chunk into thin slices.  Peel the outer skin from the broccoli stem. Cut the stems into thin slices lengthwise, then cut them in the other direction to yield thin matchsticks. 
2. In a large bowl, toss the sliced broccoli with the almonds and cranberries. In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk, mayo, vinegar, sugar, and table salt until smooth. Add the dressing to the broccoli mixture, along with the onion. Stir the salad until the broccoli is evenly coated with the dressing. Seve immediately or keep covered in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Recipe borrowed from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman.

 

Soba Noodles with Sesame Chicken & Broccoli

Yield:  4 servings

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, about 1 pound

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Black Pepper, to taste

2 Tbsp sesame seeds

12 oz dried soba noodles

1 pound broccoli, stems and florets chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 scallions, chopped 

3 Tbsp soy sauce, plus more to taste

2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it. Turn on the broiler and position the rack 4 inches below the heat.  Spread the chicken pieces on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and coat with the vegetable oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle on both sides with the sesame seeds. Broil, turning the thighs once or twice to prevent the seeds from burning, until the chicken is cooked through and golden in places and the pan is almost dry, 10-15 minutes total.
2. Add the noodles to the boiling water, cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, then start tasting when the noodles are pliable but not quite ready. Add the broccoli and cook until it turns bright green, another minute or 2. Drain the noodles and the broccoli, rinse with cold running water to stop the cooking, then shake the colander and drain again.
3. Slice the chicken into narrow strips and put in a large serving bowl with any pan juices and the scallions, soy sauce and sesame oil. Toss to coat, add the noodle mixture, and toss again. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and serve warm or at room temperature. 

June 18, 2020 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Garlic Scapes!

Cooking With This Week's Box

Baby Arugula: Icebox Salad; Arugula and Nectarine Salad with Yogurt Dressing

Potato Onions or Green Scallions: Pea Vine Cream Cheese; Fresh Turnip Salad with Curry Vinaigrette; Icebox Salad

Garlic Scapes: Garlic Scape Beef Satay with Garlic Scape Peanut Sauce (see below); Grilled Naan with Garlic Scape Chutney (see below); Garlic Scape Herbed Cream Cheese

Red Oak Head Lettuce: Strawberry and Goat Cheese Fritter Salad with Poppyseed Dressing; Fresh Turnip Salad with Curry Vinaigrette; Icebox Salad

Rhubarb: Rhubarb Poppyseed Dressing; Rhubarb Yogurt Cake

Kohlrabi: Kohlrabi Custard; Kohlrabi Slaw with Cilantro, Jalapeno & Lime

Baby White Turnips: Fresh Turnip Salad with Curry Vinaigrette; Creamy Turnips Grits & Greens

Italian Parsley: Garlic Scape Herbed Cream Cheese; Swiss Chard and Mushroom Galette

Lacinato Kale: White Bean and Kale Quesadillas with Creamy BBQ Dip; Kale Feta Egg Bake

Pea Vine OR Baby Rainbow Chard: Pea Vine Cream Cheese; Swiss Chard and Mushroom Galette

Strawberries: Strawberry and Goat Cheese Fritter Salad with Poppyseed Dressing; Strawberry Basil Foccacia

Chef Andrea roasting A LOT of garlic in the HVF kitchen

This week I want to kick off the Cooking With the Box Article with a huge “Welcome!” to all of our Peak Season vegetable share members who are joining us for the first time this year!  If you’re totally new to HVF and are looking for ways to use all of the items in your CSA box each week, you’re in the right place!  My name is Andrea and I am both a farmer and a professionally trained chef who has worked in restaurants, but also understand what it means to balance making healthy meals at home along with all the other responsibilities life may send our way.  Each week I share ideas for ways you might use the vegetables in your box, including links to recipes.  Sometimes I link to websites and blogs, while other times I share a recipe from our archives.  The goal of this space is to inspire you to find ways to make meals you and your family enjoy while maximizing the use of the vegetables you receive each week!

Lets jump into this week’s box and take a look at the crazy, curly garlic scapes!  If you’re encountering these for the first time, take a minute to read this week’s vegetable feature information below.  I’ve included several more links to recipes and ideas for putting this unique vegetable to use.  I also have two recipes to share with you, perhaps one of these may spark your interest.  The first recipe we’re featuring this week is for Garlic Scape Beef Satay with Garlic Scape Peanut Sauce (see below).  You need to plan ahead to marinate the beef, but aside from that and preheating a grill, this recipe comes together very fast and it’s full of flavor!  In fact, Richard went back for another serving….peanut sauce is also one of his favorites.  The second recipe is for Grilled Naan with Garlic Scape Chutney (see below).  This recipe does involve making a dough, but it’s very easy and fun to make.

Kohlrabi Slaw with Cilantro, Jalapeno & Lime
Photo from feastingathome.com

Last week we featured kohlrabi, another very unique vegetable with an “out of this world” appearance.  Check out last week’s vegetable feature article to learn more about how to use this vegetable.  If you haven’t tried the Kohlrabi Custard recipe featured last week, consider trying it this week.  Several members in our Facebook Group tried it and gave it positive reviews!  In my journey through food blogs over the past week I came across this recipe for Kohlrabi Slaw with Cilantro, Jalapeno & Lime. This is a refreshing salad using lime and orange zest along with the juice to make a light, refreshing citrus dressing.

Speaking of salads, a member in our Facebook Group made a salad using Rhubarb Poppyseed Dressing which led me not only to a recipe for this dressing, but also this Strawberry and Goat Cheese Fritter Salad with Poppyseed Dressing.  Just substitute the Rhubarb Poppyseed dressing for the regular dressing in the recipe.  This is a perfect salad to make with the Red Oak lettuce in this week’s box!

Strawberry Basil Foccacia
Photo from howsweeteats.com

There’s been a lot of activity in our Facebook Group with some awesome pictures, recipes and dialogue!  Another member shared this recipe for Strawberry Basil Foccacia.  I never would have thought to use strawberries to make focaccia, but this looks delicious!  This recipe for Rhubarb Yogurt Cake was also recommended in the group and I think I’m going to have to give it a try as well!  Since it has yogurt in it maybe I can pass it off as “breakfast cake!”

This week some boxes will receive pea vine and others will receive Swiss chard.  If you get the pea vine, I invite you to join me in my obsession with Pea Vine Cream Cheese. This year’s obsession actually struck me this past Sunday and I made a double batch.  I added some fresh dill which was quite nice.  You could also add parsley, basil or cilantro if you like.  We’ve been using it on tortillas stuffed with chopped lettuce, radishes, turnips and kohlrabi.  Richard likes a little meat, so we added some cooked bacon bits as well.  My next cream cheese recipe to try is Garlic Scape Herbed Cream Cheese using the garlic scapes and Italian parsley in this week’s box.  Of course you could also use dill if you have that remaining from last week or really any other fresh herb you have access to.  Put it on your morning bagel, use it to make a wrap, or spread it on crackers for a little afternoon snack.

Swiss Chard and Mushroom Galette
Photo by Christina Holmes for bonappetit.com

If you receive the Swiss chard instead of the pea vine, check out this recipe for Swiss Chard and Mushroom Galette.  I love galettes because they are easy to make and I like the rustic feel of them.  This recipe calls for lots of fresh parsley along with the chard, mushrooms and fresh ricotta.  This is a good brunch item or would be good for dinner along with a salad such as this Arugula and Nectarine Salad with Yogurt Dressing.

This is our last week for the sweet little baby white turnips.   I highly recommend trying the recipe for Creamy Turnips Grits & Greens that was featured in last year’s newsletter.  Even if you aren’t a hot sauce person, make the hot sauce vinaigrette that you drizzle on just before serving.  It’s so delicious!  If you want to go with a raw concept, check out this recipe for Fresh Turnip Salad with Curry Vinaigrette.  This recipe was created by Chef Boni who worked at the farm one summer.   There’s one more salad recipe I wanted to share here this week.  Actually a member shared this recipe for Icebox Salad in the Facebook Group last week.  Growing up back in Indiana we had a less healthy version of this type of salad called “7-Layer Salad” that was a frequent flyer at church potlucks.  All we had in Indiana was shipped in iceberg lettuce, so I trust that this recipe will be much better than anything I’ve ever had from the past!  If you don’t have the radishes, sugar snap peas and cucumbers the recipe calls for, substitute chunks of kohlrabi and diced baby white turnips instead.  This recipe calls for romaine lettuce as the base.  You can use the red oak or any other head lettuce you have.  In fact, you could also mix in some of the baby arugula.  Basically, use the recipe as the base and make it work for what you have in your refrigerator!

Smashed White Bean and Kale Quesadillas
with Creamy BBQ Dip
Photo from runningtothekitchen.com

We’re getting close to the bottom of the box, and I just realized I almost missed the lacinato kale!  This is my favorite kind of kale, which is part of why it’s the first kale we’re sending your way this year.  Actually the entire kale and collard field looks beautiful right now.  Last year a member shared this recipe for Smashed White Bean and Kale Quesadillas with Creamy BBQ Dip.  Quesadillas are one of those versatile things to make using whatever vegetables are in season.  On this same blog there is a simple recipe for Kale Feta Egg Bake that you can make in individual ramekins.  If you prep the kale portion of the recipe in advance, you can bake the egg into the dish in only 12-15 minutes.  Perfect for a vegetable-centric breakfast with little time commitment!

Ok, I think that’s a wrap for this week.  Have a great week and remember, have fun cooking and never be intimidated by a vegetable!---Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Garlic Scapes

By Chef Andrea

This week we’re featuring one of the craziest, curliest vegetables we grow…Garlic Scapes!  One thing I absolutely love about vegetables is how unique they can be, and garlic scapes are definitely unique.  So lets start with the basics like “What the heck is a garlic scape?!”  There are two main types of garlic—softneck and hardneck.  We grow hardneck garlic and the way this type propagates itself in nature is by producing this scape which grows up from the center of the garlic plant.  It starts out straight, but the more it emerges it starts to form a curl.  You’ll notice a little bulb that is lighter in color at the tapered end of the scape.  This is actually called a bulbil.  If you want to do something fun, cut it open and see what it looks like on the inside.  If our garlic were growing wild in nature, these bulbils would drop down to the ground and plant themselves thereby propagating a new plant.  We’re cultivating garlic, so we plant a clove of garlic from a full sized bulb and use that as a means of growing the plant.  Since we don’t need the scape to produce another crop, we go through the field and cut them off the plant so the plant can focus its energy into producing a nice sized bulb instead of a scape.  We used to throw them on the ground, but after a market customer asked us to save some for her so she could make garlic scape pickles, we realized we were losing something valuable!  Many years ago we did an experiment and planted the bubils.  The first year they formed a single ball of garlic.  We planted that and the next year we actually got bulbs with divided cloves of garlic!

Garlic Scape Herbed Cream Cheese
Photo from farmfreshfeasts.com

Ok, so what do you do with this crazy vegetable?  Well the basic answer is “Use chopped garlic scapes anywhere you would use a clove of garlic.”  Yes, you can do that, but you can also do so many other fun things with them.  The flavor of garlic scapes is very mild in comparison to green garlic or a clove of garlic.  They are very tender, so you don’t need to peel them.  You might see a milky, white residue on the scapes which is garlic juice the plant exudes when the scape is cut.  Just give them a quick washing and they’re ready to use.  Sometimes the tapered end can get a little tough, so you might want to cut that part beyond the bulbil off.  You should keep them in the refrigerator, although if you want to put the cut end in a vase or glass of water and enjoy their beauty as a centerpiece at room temperature for a day or two until you’re ready to use them, they’ll do just fine.

There are some basic go-to ways to use garlic scapes and if you’re not sure where to start, start with one of these ideas.  Pesto—you just can’t go wrong with making garlic scape pesto.  There are many different versions you can make, so take your pick and dive in.  Check out FarmFreshFeasts.com where you’ll find 28 Recipes Using Garlic Scapes, including NINE different links to recipes for versions of garlic scape pesto!

Pickled Garlic Scapes

Pickled Garlic Scapes is another popular way to use and preserve scapes.  You’ll find a simple recipe for these in our recipe archives on our website.  You can keep a jar of these in the refrigerator for up to 8 months and use them as a condiment with tacos or anywhere you need a pungent, tangy pickle to brighten up a meal.  Using garlic scapes in dressings and dips is another easy way to capture their flavor, such as a creamy Yogurt Garlic Scape Dressing that you can drizzle over a lettuce salad or use to make a creamy kohlrabi slaw.  Garlic Scape Herbed Cream Cheese is another delicious way to use this vegetable along with any herb you have, be it dill, cilantro, parsley, basil, etc.  Put it on your morning bagel, use it to make a wrap, or spread it on crackers for a little afternoon snack.

Garlic Scape Green Gazpacho
Photo from veggieobsession.com

I pushed myself to research a little further to see what else I could find and stumbled on a couple more ideas.  Check out this article entitled “Recipes That Make the Most of Garlic Scapes” at HuffPost.com.  The author includes links to 20 interesting recipes for garlic scapes including the two recipes we’re featuring this week!  There are some other good ones highlighted in this article such as Bacon Wrapped Garlic Scapes and Garlic Scape Green Gazpacho.  I also want to mention that you can also use garlic scapes as an actual vegetable as opposed to just a seasoning.  Garlic scapes are delicious tossed or brushed with oil and grilled or roasted, then served with a little sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon.  I also like to cut them into bite sized pieces and cook them any way you would cook a green bean or asparagus.  They also make a flavorful base for a creamy pureed soup and are a nice addition to pasta sauce.

Ok, I’ve done my best to convey to you how awesome and versatile this vegetable can be!  We’ll only have them for a few weeks so have fun and if you can’t eat them all right now, make an extra batch of pesto and freeze it or make a jar of garlic scape pickles so you can enjoy this fresh, delicious garlic flavor in the deep of winter!

Garlic Scape Beef Satay with Garlic Scape Satay Sauce

Yield:  6 skewers

Skewers:

16-20 ounces tender cut of beef, cut into evenly sized 1-1 ½ inch cubes (eg, tenderloin, Sirloin or Sirloin Tip) 

3 garlic scapes

½ inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

1 lime, juiced

½ cup chopped cilantro leaves and stems

10 mint leaves 

3 Thai basil or basil leaves (optional)

¼ cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp sesame oil

1. Cut the scapes into smaller pieces and roughly chop the ginger.  Put both in a blender or food processor and coarsely chop.  Add the lime juice, cilantro, mint and basil leaves and the soy sauce.  Blend until a paste forms.  Scrape down the sides of the blender.  With the blender running, drizzle in the sesame oil and blend until smooth.  Pour the marinade into a zipper plastic bag or a glass container and add the beef cubes.  Mix the marinade and the beef well.  Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
2. When ready to cook, heat the grill or a grill pan to high heat.  Thread the beef onto skewer sticks.  Grill the skewers until the beef is cooked to desired doneness.  Serve with the Garlic Scape Satay Sauce.

Garlic Scape Satay Sauce:

2 garlic scapes

¾ cup creamy peanut butter

¼ cup coconut milk or cream

1-2 Tbsp water

1 ½ Tbsp fresh lime juice

1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce

1 ½ tsp Tbsp fish sauce

1-2 tsp Hot sauce or chili garlic sauce, to taste

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp honey

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro

1. Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2. Cut the scapes into small pieces and place in a blender.  Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.  Adjust the consistency of the sauce by adding more water to thin it if necessary.  Adjust seasoning with additional salt, pepper, lime juice, etc.  Serve at room temperature with garlic scape beef satay skewers.

Recipe adapted from www.Food52.com.

Grilled Naan with Garlic Scape Chutney

photo from feastingathome.com

Yield:  10 pieces

Dough:

5 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

3 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp kosher salt

1 tsp sugar

½ cup plain yogurt

1 large egg

¼ cup olive oil and more for brushing

1 ½ cup water

Garlic Scape Chutney: 

¾ cup chopped garlic scapes

½ cup fresh mint, packed

½ cup roasted almonds

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ jalapeño pepper (optional if you want a little kick)

1 Tbsp lime juice 

⅓ cup olive oil

1 cup melty cheese, such as mozzarella or queso fresco (optional) 

Olive oil or Melted butter for brushing

1. Make the dough: Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.  In a medium bowl, whisk the yogurt, egg and 1 ½ cups of lukewarm water and the oil.  Pour the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture and mix on low speed until a soft, sticky dough starts to clump around the hook, about 5 minutes.  If the dough seems too wet, add more flour, 1 tsp at a time. (Note, if you do not have a stand mixer, just mix by hand.)
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment and dust lightly with flour.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 10 equal pieces.  Form each piece into a ball and arrange them on the baking sheet.  Lightly brush the dough with oil, cover with plastic, and let sit 1 hour before shaping.
3. Make the chutney: Place all the chutney ingredients (garlic scapes through ⅓ cup olive oil) in a food processor and pulse until uniformly granular.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll a dough ball into a 5-inch circle.  Spread 1 Tbsp of the chutney in the center, leaving a ½-inch border.  Sprinkle 1 Tbsp of cheese over the chutney.  Gather the borders to form a pouch pinching it to seal in the filling.  Turn the pouch pinched side down and, using very light pressure, roll it into a 6-inch circle.  Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Layer rolled out naan with parchment until ready to grill.
5. Prepare a medium charcoal or gas grill fire and wipe grates with a lightly oiled paper towel.  Grill the breads in batches pinched side down, covered, until they puff up and the undersides brown lightly in places, 2 to 3 minutes.  Turn over and cook the other side, covered, until grill marks form and the breads are cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.  Just before taking them off the grill, turn the breads pinched side down and brush lightly with butter or olive oil.  Serve warm.
6. These are best, right off the grill but leftovers can be refrigerated and saved for another time.  Just place them in a toaster or warm oven before serving.

Recipe sourced from www.feastingathome.com

June Farm Update—Welcome to Summer!

Gorgeous Potato Field under blue skies, HVF 2020

Here we are, just past the halfway mark in the month of June.  The first day of summer is approaching at the end of this week on Saturday, June 20.  So, as we do an official transition from spring into summer we thought it fitting to do a farm update so you know what’s happening in our valley!  This Sunday, June 21, is also the day we were scheduled to host our annual Strawberry Day event.  When the pandemic infiltrated our world back in March we hoped for a quick resolution and return to “normal,” however we quickly realized we had to be realistic that this wasn’t going to end as quickly as we hoped it may.  So, as the pandemic continues to persist we are cancelling Strawberry Day for the first time in HVF history!  While we’re still doing our best to minimize contact with the outside world, continue to wear masks and practice social distancing, continue daily cleaning and sanitizing, etc, we also continue to farm and do what we know how to do best—grow vegetables.  So while we can’t invite you to join us on a wagon tour to experience our fields and valley views for yourself, we’ll do our best to take you on a virtual tour through this week’s article, complete with pictures Andrea and Richard have been taking over the past few weeks!  So, get comfy and claim your seat on our virtual wagon as we take you through the fields and update you on farm happenings!

May 2020:  HVF CSA Box # 3

As we write this article we’re preparing to pack our 7^th CSA box of the 2020 season and this week we’re welcoming our Peak Season Vegetable share members.  While our early season boxes were filled with a wide variety of greens, radishes, ramps and asparagus, we’re just starting to see the transition from spring crops to summer crops.  We started picking strawberries last week and while they taste quite delicious, we have to be honest with you that we are not going to see prolific yields as we have in previous years.  When we pulled the field cover back early this spring, and loosened the straw mulch, we found that some of the plants had not survived the winter.  What exactly was the cause?  It’s hard to say, but likely a combination of a warm March followed by a cold April.  This is our first year to harvest from this planting.  While it’s a bit disappointing, we’re hopeful that the plants will shoot out runners to help fill in the gaps.  If we manage the field correctly after we’re done picking this year, we may be able to establish more plants for next year’s’ harvests.  So, while we will still have strawberries, there won’t be as many as in past years.  Now that we have that bit of news out of the way, lets move on to some other fields!

Look closely and you'll see the cutest little Green Zucchini!

By the end of this week we’re hoping to start picking the first zucchini and in just one more week we’ll add cucumbers to the harvest list!  We had a field cover on these plants after we transplanted them back in May, with hopes that a little extra heat gain would encourage their growth.  We didn’t intend to take the cover off, but Mother Nature had a different idea when she sent high winds our way a few weeks ago!  So, we let her do her thing and once the cover was off we were pleased to see nice, healthy plants!  Right next to these crops we planted our first planting of melons and watermelons.  The plants are still small, but they look very healthy.  Manuel Morales and Jose Antonio have been working hard irrigating many crops.  Crops such as zucchini and melons are planted on beds covered with plastic mulch and have drip lines running underneath the plastic to deliver not only water but also nutrients and beneficial microbes to support the plant’s growth and fruit development.  Before the melon vines grow too much and extend into the wheel tracks in between the beds, we are trying to maximize every effort to control the weeds that seize every opportunity to grow in open spaces. 

Jamie & Felix running the Kult Cultivator
through the melon field

Last Saturday Jamie and Felix used our Kult cultivator set up to clean up this field. They are doing a great job as a 2-man weed killing team!  Thanks to the efforts of all these guys, we’re hopeful we’ll have some delicious melons to send your way in July and August!

We are very thankful all of our crew members remain healthy and well.  At the end of May we greeted two more crew members who returned from Mexico after receiving their visas! Juan Pablo and Alfredo are brothers and have worked at our farm for many years.  They had to take last year off, but were ready to come back this year and we are so glad they did!  Once they arrived we greeted them from a distance at the airport where we left a vehicle for them along with keys to a house we had kept vacant and reserved for “quarantine” needs.  With a tank full of gas, a cell phone so we could communicate with them, and a fully stocked kitchen, they quarantined themselves away from the rest of the crew and the community.  

Juan Pablo & Alfredo spending time together
as brothers weeding our onions!

They did have a very productive quarantine spent going between their house and whatever weeding mission they were assigned to for the day.  Over the past two weeks they have spent a lot of quality time together bonding as brothers and as yet another 2-man weed killing team!  They have managed to hand weed horseradish, early beets and carrots, parsnips and the entire onion field!  Thankfully they reached the end of their quarantine healthy and well, still thankful to be brothers, and they by no means put themselves out of a job—the weeds continue to grow!

Saturday, June 13--Mulching and Transplanting Tomatoes!

Summer isn’t summer without tomatoes and basil!  We’re happy to report we now have two fields of tomatoes planted!  The first planting has already been staked and tied to keep the plants growing upright both to keep the fruit clean as well as to allow airflow through the foliage.  Pretty soon we’ll need to add another string to the stakes and will continue to weave the plants into place as they grow upward.  Last weekend the mulching crew had the transplanting crew right on their heels as we worked hard to achieve our goal of getting the second tomato field planted.  We had some rain the week before as well as about 2 inches earlier in the week.  The fields were too wet to work in, but the tomato plants were growing quickly in the greenhouse turning from small plants to tomato trees right before our eyes!  They really needed to get to the field before they got much bigger or we would risk breaking them when we tried to plant them.  The crew pulled it off and the field looks great! 

Basil Planting #1 looking quite beautiful
after the cover was removed!

As for the basil, we have planted two of our five plantings in the field and have a third one in the greenhouse that will be ready to take to the field in a week or so.  The early plantings of basil also get covered with a field blanket to protect the delicate leaves from chilly spring nights, but also to trap heat to accelerate growth.  We pulled the cover off at the end of last week and were pleased to see beautiful basil plants underneath!  If you look closely at the plants you can see them smiling, now fully exposed to the sun and emitting a sweet, herbal fragrance in the air all around them!  We should also mention the pepper and eggplant fields look quite nice and we’re hopeful they’ll produce well come late summer.

While we’re just beginning summer, we’re already looking ahead to fall.  After a two week delay in getting our sweet potato slips from North Carolina due to poor weather conditions, we were able to get the last shipment of plants last week and by the end of the week the sweet potato field was completed.  The winter squash field has also been planted and we’ll be transplanting and planting the first of our fall broccoli, cabbage, rutabagas, etc later this week.  We also have a gorgeous field of celeriac that the guys have done an excellent job of cultivating and hand weeding.  I have a feeling summer is going to fly by and fall will be here before we know it!

Precision cultivating of cilantro

Cilantro, dill and red radishes are pretty important crops for our farm, not only because we like to include them in CSA boxes from time to time, but also because they are important wholesale crops for us.  We’ve had some very abundant crops this spring which we’re very thankful for!  Our harvest and washing crews have been bringing in about 15,000 bunches or more of cilantro each week for the past few weeks.  In order to keep a constant supply of these crops we have to plant them every week, which means Amy stays busy keeping the seed containers filled and managing inventory.  Tomas, Manuel, Luis and Rafael have helped not only plant the crops, but also have been doing a good job with timely flame weeding and mechanical cultivation to kill weeds.   Did we mention the weeds continue to grow?

One thing we can hardly wait to eat are freshly dug new potatoes!  It won’t be long before those tender-skinned new potatoes with red skin and creamy white flesh are ready for harvest.  If you’ve never eaten a freshly dug potato, you are in for a special treat!  The potato field looks quite nice and we spotted the first potato blossom at the end of last week!  What else goes nicely with fresh potatoes?  How about some of those tender little carrots with their green tops still attached?  Or maybe the first beets of the season?  Yes, those are all coming within the next few weeks as well.

Immature Broccoli head hidden amongst the leaves

In the meantime, we have our eyes on the second half of our first crop of broccoli and there are three more very nice crops coming up behind it!  Within the next week or two we’ll be cutting one of our favorite early season cabbages, the beloved sweetheart salad cabbage.  Cauliflower will also be coming soon.  We anticipate we’ll need to tie the first planting by the end of this week.  Why would we do that?  When we “tie” cauliflower we wrap a rubberband around the leaves to hold them together.  This keeps the plant closed in order to keep the head of cauliflower from being exposed to the sunshine thereby blanching it so it’s snowy white.

Lupe planting Ginger in the cold frame greenhouse

You asked for ginger, and you will get ginger!  On last year’s survey this was one of the most frequently requested crops you asked us to grow this year.  Last weekend Jose Antonio, Simon, Tomas, Lupe and Jorge worked hard to get the ginger planted in our cold frame greenhouse.  Hopefully we’ll have some nice baby ginger to send your way in October or November!

We can’t give a field report without mentioning garlic!  Can you believe we’ll be harvesting this year’s garlic crop in less than one month!?!  Yikes!  We’re hopeful that we’ll have a bountiful harvest and so far things are looking good.

We hope you continue to enjoy this journey through the seasons with us, embracing each week and the bounty in each box.  We have so many more delicious things to share with you, so get ready to have some fun!   Thus concludes our virtual wagon tour.  We hope you enjoyed the fresh country air, the wind in your hair, blue skies and a little time in nature.  Until the next time…….Farmers Richard, Rafael and Andrea