7/7 pickup — we survived!

We made it!

The heat has queued up the tomatillos and tomatoes. The tomatillos are all tented in their paper lanterns and filling out nicely, and the tomato plants are covered in either a sea of yellow flowers or solid green globes just waiting for the heat to drop a bit so they can start to ripen.

We irrigated as much as we could in the 25-acre and kept things as perky and happy as possible. We must have succeeded, because we did it! The corn is knee high by the 4th of July. (Which, by the way, is very hard to take a picture of by yourself.)

But, even with irrigating the heck out of some stuff, we also turned the water off of the wheat this past week. The hot temperatures definitely hastened the planned drying out process of the wheat. Wheat needs to dry completely before it can be harvested. So, if you do a drive-by of the farm, don’t be alarmed by the beautiful sea of waving grain near the road!

And most exciting, we moved our dairy cows onto the cover crop this week. They are enjoying the fresh greens to munch on and the shade pockets along the perimeter. We are doing a little experiment this year and measuring the difference in cream content, color, and taste over the course of the transition to see if our hunch is correct: that cover crop grazing really does increase quality and quantity of milk. The science never ends around here.

Harvest List

We think our core vegetables this week will be: Radish, Hakurei Salad Turnips, Kale, and beets. We will let you know on Wednesday how many other items you will get to select.We have been keeping an eye on the hoops and 2-acre garden and have a pretty good idea of what is out there and ready to be harvested, but this is a Sunday estimation of what we will be harvesting on Tuesday. Also, because we have a market style CSA, this isn’t a guarantee of 1 of all these things for everyone. Instead, this will be the variety of what will hopefully (fingers crossed) have for you to choose from this week.)

Recipes

This week I took home some of that fresh sockeye salmon! Oh my gosh, so delicious. Below are the two things I made for dinner on Thursday. So fresh, and so tasty!

Grilled Salmon Filet

INGREDIENTS

1 side of sockeye
seasoned salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat grill up to medium high.
2. Turn heat down to medium and place fish skin side on the grill and sprinkle with seasoned salt.
3. Cook until desired doneness and enjoy!

Stir-Fried Brown Rice with Yod Fah

Adapted from “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”, Deborah Madison
(This was a great side for the grilled salmon!)

INGREDIENTS

2 bunches Yod Fah
3 tablespoons roasted peanut oil
1/2 cup Spanish peanuts, skinned (I used regular cocktail peanuts)
1 bunch green onions, including half of the greens, sliced
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
1 jalapeño chile, seeded and finely diced (I pulled frozen ones from my freezer from last summer)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (I used basil because I had a lot of it)
3 cups cooked brown rice
Salt
1 or 2 eggs
2 tablespoons soy sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Remove the larger leaves from the Yod Fah and drop the whole bunch into a boiling pot of salted water.
2. Cook for 5 minutes, then drain and chop coarsely.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok and fry the peanuts over medium-high heat until golden. (This goes quick, I found out the hard way.) Scoop them out, leaving the oil behind.
4. Add the green onions, ginger, chile, and half the cilantro and stir-fry over high heat for 1 minute.
5. Add the rice and the Yod Fah, season with a few pinches salt, and stir-fry until the rice is hot throughout.
6. Lower the heat a little and make a well in the middle.
7. Mix the egg with the soy sauce, add it to the well, and stir it up to distribute the egg. You want to stir a lot and continuously because it will cook quickly. Add more soy sauce if needed.
8. Add the remaining cilantro and the peanuts and serve. Sometimes when I start looking into recipes for this email, I get inspired. I don’t have much experience cooking fennel, so I have made it a goal to try some new fennel recipes this year.

Tonight I am going to make this fennel salad recipe to pair with the BBQ ground beef burgers. The combo of the two seems fitting for a hot summer 4th of July!

BBQ Burgers

adapted from the “Taste of Home” Barbecue Sliders Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground beef
1 pound pork sausage
1 cup barbecue sauce, divided
Buns

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl, mix beef and sausage lightly but thoroughly. Shape into eight 1/2-in.-thick patties.
2. Grill patties, covered, over medium heat or broil 4-5 in. from heat until a thermometer reads 160°, 3-4 minutes on each side.
3. Brush with 1/4 cup sauce during the last 2 minutes of cooking.
4. Serve on rolls with remaining barbecue sauce; top as desired. (Some fun farm options include: Magenta lettuce leaves, sliced green onions, quick pickled Daikon radish or cucumbers.)

Garlic Herb Grilled Potatoes in Foil

Adapted from the “Diethood.com” blog

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds mini Yukon gold potatoes, rinsed, dried, and halved (I am going to use some of my leftover Purple Viking potatoes)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder (I’m going to use minced pickled garlic from my winter CSA garlic)
1 teaspoon dried thyme (I’m going to use fresh)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (I’m going to use fresh marjoram)
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
chopped fresh parsley for garnish (I’m going to use basil because we have a lot of it)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat grill to medium-high.Cut 4 large pieces of foil and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine potatoes with olive oil, garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.
3. Divide potatoes between foil pieces and fold the sides of the foil over the potatoes, covering completely; seal the packets closed.
4. Place foil packets on the grill and cook until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes, turning once. Pierce with a fork to check for doneness.
5. Remove from grill and carefully open up each packet. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Fennel with Tarragon Vinaigrette
From “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone,” by Deborah Madison

INGREDIENTS

2 small fennel bulbs, 3 to 4 ounces each
1 tablespoon crème fraîche (made from farm milk)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 to 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1½ teaspoons minced lemon zest
2 teaspoons chopped tarragon or fennel greens
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
Salt and freshly milled pepper
2 cups watercress, frisée, or mixed small salad greens

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Trim the fennel bulbs and slice them paper-thin.
2. Whisk the crème fraîche, oil, and 2 teaspoons lemon juice together; add the lemon zest, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Toss with the fennel. Taste and add more lemon juice if needed.
4. Serve mounded on a plate, over or surrounded by the greens.

Veggie IDs

Add-Ons

Email us if you would like us to pack you anything extra from the store for pickup with your CSA. You can pay when you pick up at the Farm Store or our Farm Stand at the Bend Farmers Market.

Flours and Wheat Berries:

• 2 lb bags hard red, hard white, soft white flour: $5/bag
• 2 lb bag buckwheat flour: $7/bag
• 2 lb bag corn flour: $12/bag
• 2 lb bag rolled Tibetan black barley: $5/bag
• 3 lb bag hard white or hard red wheat berries $5/bag

Meat:

•  $5/lb: beef liver
• $8/lb: ground beef
• $10/lb: chuck roast, brisket, and short ribs
• $11/lb: cubed round steak$14/lb: Rib Steak

Honey:

• Pint: $10/jar
• Quart: $20/jar

Were you stumped by a vegetable option in last week’s share?
Did you try a new recipe last week?
Did your greens last for less time than you feel they should?

Bring your questions, successes, and puzzles to our Members Only Facebook group and see how the hive mind can help!

We can’t wait to see you on Wednesday. We will be returning to normal Bend Farmers Market hours this week, 2-6 pm. Thanks for rolling with that change last week.

Please email us let us know if you can’t make Wednesday or if someone else is picking up for you. We can’t wait to see you on Wednesday!