Dear Country Valley Farm Community,
This is week #15 of the 2023 season. This is the half-way point in our 30-week season.
We hope that participation in the CSA farm share program is a positive in your life. It is our intention to expand access to local organic food, and help spread the good word about eating healthy and celebrating the culinary arts. Your membership is a big indicator that you share in the commitment to making changes in our food system and daily menus. Each week we harvest and pack produce for the shares, and then deliver it to your homes. We think of each of you and how you are helping to make this all possible. We are proud to be your farm of choice. Additionally, the farms we source from also greatly appreciate being able to provide produce for the CSA shares and are also part of our wider community.
Thank you for your support and participation. It means a whole lot and makes a big difference.
This week’s shares contain the following, some preparation inspiration is below:
- Ronde De Nice Summer Squash – 1 nice one from our farm
- Shishito Peppers – 1 pint from our farm
- Garlic – 3 bulbs from our farm
- Green Bell Peppers – 2 jumbos from Sunnyside Produce in Homer, MI
- Heirloom Tomatoes – 1 Marvel Stripe and 1 Pruden’s Purple from Sunnyside Produce
- Fennel Bulb with Tops – 1 head from Cinzori Farm in Ceresco, MI
- Bok Choy – 1 head from Cinzori Farm
Medium shares contain the above listed items, and:
- Heirloom Tomatoes – 1 extra of each variety
- Fennel – 1 extra
- Bok Choy – 1 extra
A note about the other farms that we source from for our CSA shares:
We only partner with certified organic farms that are local and are run by small families. We do not include any produce in our CSA shares that is not certified organic and we do not source product from large corporate farms. We are a small family farm and we are certified organic. It is our intention to continue to grow our farm in a manner that is aligned with our intentions and goals; which includes community connections and sharing the bounty of the land with other folks in our area. By partnering with other farms the way we do, we not only help make our shares as great as they can be each week for our members, we also help those families that we are sourcing from by getting their produce to consumers in the area. This also can alleviate stress if there is a crop failure at our farm or if we get bogged down with certain farm chores, because no matter what we want the CSA shares to be awesome and exceed expectations. 
Some preparation inspiration: Remember to wash all produce thoroughly.
- Ronde De Nice Summer Squash – this is a French heirloom variety that is known for it’s tender flesh and skin, combined with sweet and nutty flavor. They are best eaten raw or cooked at a high heat for a short time (grilled, broiled, seared, air fryed, etc.)
- Shishito Peppers – a wonderful mild Japanese pepper. They have no heat generally. It is said that 1 in 10 may have very mild heat. As we’ve been getting ample rain and cool nights, the chance of getting a hot one is even less. They are best when blistered; cooked in a cast iron pan, or air fryed or broiled, they are also delicious breaded and fried. They make a nice appetizer all on their own, salt to taste. You eat the entire pepper including the seeds, except don’t eat the stem just use it as a handle.
- Hard Neck Garlic – as we dry farmed the garlic this year, and it was a drought Spring, the flavor is very concentrated. You can eat it raw, the flavor mellows and develops when cooked. Even the cloves in the small bulbs are a good size and easy to work with in the kitchen.
- Green Bell Peppers – these jumbo peppers would be great to stuff. They also go good on the grill. Pair with the bok choy and fennel for a nice stir fry.
- Heirloom Tomatoes – the marvel stripe variety is a beautiful yellow and orange type with some streaks of read. It is has few seeds and is known for a mild and sweet flavor. The pruden’s purple variety is a brandywine type that is a purplish-pink with a tender skin and a flavor that has some dark red wine notes.
- Fennel Bulb with Tops – The entire thing is edible. We like to chop the bulb into big chunks and air fry in a cast iron pan. It is amazing on the grill. You can shred it or dice it into a salad. Don Cinzori likes to use the tops in his pasta sauce for a tasty summer delight. Don’t be shy – give the fennel a try!
- Bok Choy – famous in stir fry. It is a versatile and healthy vegetable. We like to mix it with other greens and cook it as part of our weekly greens rotations. You could cut it length wise and throw it on the grill too for a tasty and simple side dish.
What is going on at the Farm:
We will include a detailed farm update next week.
Here is the plan for deliveries:
Route:
8-10AM Ypsilanti and Milan
9AM-1PM Ann Arbor
12PM-2PM Canton, Plymouth, Northville, and Novi
1PM-3PM Farmington, Farmington Hills and Bloomfield Hills
2PM-5PM Troy and Hazel Park
We understand that there may be weeks that folks want to skip their share. That is okay so long as you confirm with us at least 7 days in advance of the skip week. In those cases, you can let us know if you want to add a share to the end of your season, or receive double shares some weeks etc. We encourage members to find a friend, family member, or neighbor to pick up your share from your porch and share the bounty of the harvest, instead of skipping weeks – if that is a viable option for you. Some members opt to notify us of skip weeks and ask that we donate the shares – we are happy to do that. We don’t donate to a food bank in those instances, we give the food directly to our neighbors or folks in the community that would benefit from it.
Email is the best way to communicate with me. My phone number is (831) 706-1237. You can call or text if it is the day of or day before delivery if you have anything urgent to communicate. I don’t usually check emails much over the weekend but I do have my phone on me if you need to touch base.
There is lots of good info on our website www.countryvalleyfarm.com
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions at all.
Thank you for sharing this message and our contact info with anyone who you know who may be interested. We appreciate the community support.
Kind regards,
Adam Mitchel
Country Valley Farm
Follow us on Instagram @ countryvalleyfarm