Greetings Country Valley Farm Members,
This is week 6 of the season. For 30 week members this week is 20% of the way into the season, and for 20 week members it is 30% of the way into the season. Pickups and deliveries will be at the normal times.
This week was Summer Solstice and the season is off to a great start. We hope everyone is getting some to enjoy the warm weather and sunshine.
A bit about what is going on the farm:
- We are into garlic scape harvest time – this is one of the shortest season specialty items around. Scapes will be in the shares this week and next week and perhaps 1 week after that and then that is it until next year. Garlic bulb harvest is looking like it is about a month out at this point. We’ve been focusing on our garlic field and are looking for a strong finish to this year’s crop.
- Once we harvest the garlic bulbs, we refresh those beds and immediately plant late summer and fall crops like beans, greens, lettuces, root veggies etc. .
- We will be planting tarragon this weekend as well as Red Russian kale.
- We’ve been rotating watering through all of our beds to help maximize the benefits of the sunshine and warm weather. Most crops are responding very favorably and overall looking great.
- Looking ahead in the coming weeks to rainbow chard, purple curly kale, turnips, yellow sweet onions, fresh coriander seed, peppermint, sage, thyme, basil and dill. Our mini sweet pepper plants are growing and starting to set some fruit. The tomatoes have lots of blossoms and a few small green tomatoes hiding here and there. Our potato crop is looking very healthy – we planted 5 kinds of specialty potatoes this year.
- We checked in with Cinzori Farm today to get a crop update. Many items that we have gotten from them in past years were not available this Spring for a variety of reasons – some local farmers would say this has been a tough season so far. However, the summer crops are looking great and will start soon enough in great abundance. We are expecting for the shares – new potatoes in a few weeks, with cucumbers, summer squashes, varietal peppers, tomatoes, fresh beans and more to start soon after.
This week’s small shares contain the following items:
- Garlic scapes – 1 big bunch from our farm
- Green curly kale – 1 big bunch from our farm
- Tender lacinato (dino) kale and collard greens – 1 mixed bunch from our farm
- Leaf lettuce – 1 nice size head of from our farm
- Red salad onions with tops – 1 big bunch from our farm
- Oregano – 1 big bunch from our farm
- Daikon radish sprouts – 1 package from Gardenworks farm
- Medium shares will receive an extra head of lettuce, extra bunch of green curly kale, an extra bunch of garlic scapes, and an extra bunch of red salad onions
- Large shares will packed as 2 small shares.
Some preparation and cooking tips:
- Garlic scapes – this is the easiest and mildest garlic one could ever use. The entire scape is edible. They are great raw or cooked. Excellent on the grill. They also make a legendary pesto – included in this week’s recipe.
- Green curly kale – a standard kale type. Excellent and easy to make into kale chips. A great all around healthy green. We love to cook them following the callaloo recipe from our website and improvising and changing it up a little each time. Recipes | Country Valley Farm
- Tender lacinato/dino kale and collards – these can be used raw or cooked. Collard greens actually make a great wrap if you are cutting back on bread or just want a light and healthy change. If you don’t include greens in your weekly menu, now is a great time to make the change. Greens can be used in a salad, they can be steamed, sauteed, stewed, cooked in a soup, even made into baked chips. Included in this week’s recipe.
- Leaf lettuce – we finally have some nice size lettuce heads we can be proud of. This will be it for lettuce until the weather cools down a bit and then we hope to have it through much of the fall. You will want to triple wash this lettuce and make sure to get any soil removed.
- Red salad onions with tops – these go by many names like spring onions, knob onions, fresh onions etc. These are very mild and are excellent in a salad. We made a salad with them and the lettuce and added a few chopped fresh strawberries to balance it all out and it was delicious.
- Oregano – this is Greek oregano which is prized for its aroma and flavor as well as a truly medicinal food. You can use it liberally atop anything that you normally like oregano in, raw or cooked. Great on pizza, homemade or even a frozen pizza. Also included in this week’s recipe.
- Daikon radish sprouts – these have a nice peppery flavor and really add zest to anything you use them in.
Most everyone is familiar with pesto made from basil. Did you know that can make pesto with many different herbs? It can also be made with a variety of nuts and seeds – and you can add greens or veggies to it to make it a super tasty raw food dish to enjoy during the summer months. The key to good pesto is to have some bold flavors and balance the oil and salt with the garlic, herbs, nuts/seeds, and veggies. We will include some different pesto recipes throughout the season. Pesto is easy to make and can really help lift a menu. It can be used as a sauce for pastas or pizza, it can also be a simple dip for a nice crusty bread or crackers, you can even mix it with cooked veggies, top your favorite meat or tofu/seitan etc. Our pesto recipes don’t include cheese, but it is traditional to use a nice dry cheese in pestos – like a parmesan. Feel free to add cheese to your pesto recipe and just reduce the amount of nuts proportionately.
Country Valley Farm Garlic Scape Oregano Pesto
1 bunch of garlic scapes (about ¼ lb)
1 bunch of fresh oregano (1-2 ounces)
½ bunch of lacinato kale or tender collards
1 cup of olive oil
1 cup of walnuts (pine nuts, sunflower seeds, pistachios, or pecans also work great in this)
Salt and black pepper to taste (we encourage lowering the salt and letting the herbs and veggies carry the flavor)
Wash the scapes, oregano and greens, remove most of the stems from the oregano and the large stems from the greens. Add to the food processor or blender with the oil, nuts/seeds, and salt and pepper. Cover and puree slowly. You may have to add a bit of water or extra oil if it is too thick – we often do that and just add a bit of water and oil slowly until we see the pesto is blending well. Serve while fresh. Any portion not being eaten now will store well if it is in a nice container with not a lot of air space and a good lid, and refrigerated ASAP after making. You can also add a bit more olive oil to the top before putting the lid on to help preserve it. Oftentimes the top of pesto gets a dark color, that is totally okay if you know you refrigerated and covered it correctly.
Check out our website and peruse old newsletters for additional cooking tips and recipe ideas: Newsletter | Country Valley Farm
That’s all for now. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon.
Adam Mitchel
Country Valley Farm