Dracut CSA Newsletter

Last week's mid-summer full moon in the early evening was a sight of beauty. It was also a reminder that from a growing perspective we are now at the peak of the season and that our exhaustion from the long hours in the fields will soon wane as we slide from summer into fall. While the plants do need the sunlight to photosynthesize and grow, they also grow at night. Just as the light and temperature determine the rate of growth during the days, it also affects the nighttime growth. A warm, moonlit night will push the plants to ripen overnight and bring on even more abundance for that week.

While we strive to have a nice balanced CSA share each week by planning the plantings carefully, Mother Nature inevitably takes some control away from us. The early corn has been suffering from the dry summer but the corn we should be harvesting in the coming weeks was planted in a less sandy field that we have been irrigating every week. Most of the crops prefer dry, sunny weather as long as they receive enough water. The crops we irrigate with our drip irrigation system- tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, melons, peppers and eggplant- are producing bumper crops.

With such an abundance we are offering bonuses at the CSA pick-up. Please take what you can use of these crops and be proud to hear that last week alone we provided more than 15,000 pounds of fresh vegetables to area food pantries. Please pat yourselves on the back because by being a CSA member, you are not only feeding yourselves but you are also improving the nutrition of many of those who are less fortunate.

Thank you for your support in feeding so many,

Farmer Dave

In Your Vegetable Share - Week 9

The following items will most likely make an appearance in your share this week (and as always, the contents of your share is ultimately determined by Mother Nature's harvest conditions):

Lettuce
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Bok Choy, Kale or Swiss Chard
Corn
Bell Peppers or Cubanelle Peppers
Eggplant
Carrots
Cucumbers
Assorted Squash
Scallions
Garlic
Herbs
And likely more, depending on harvest conditions!

In Your Fruit Share:

In the fruit shares this week:

Peaches
Nectarines
Cantaloupe (most likely)
Blueberries
And possibly more, depending on harvest conditions!

Member Tip of the week!

This week, our members submitted so many good tips on our Facebook page that it was hard to choose just one! We asked what people did with their cucumbers, and here's what they said:

Cucumber Salads:

A la Kendra: cucumbers, sugar, salt, vinegar, and dill
A la Marjie: cucumbers, radishes, kohlrabi, tomatoes, sliced jalepeno, lime juice and grated garlic.
A la Rachel: cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions and avocados, olive oil, salt and pepper

Blended:

A la Sarah: a smoothie of cucumbers, yogurt or kefir, blueberries, lavender, and honey
A la Shayn: beet-cucumber gazpacho! (We found this recipe)

Tzatziki:

A la Kathy: cucumbers, garlic, dill, greek yogurt, low fat yogurt, salt and pepper

Thank you to everyone who submitted tips this week. Got a tip to share? Send it on over!

Storage Notes

Some tips for storing your share this week:

Greens do best when in the fridge and kept cold. If you find your greens are not lasting as long as you would like, try turning your refrigerator a degree or two colder - it makes a big difference!
Corn tastes sweetest the day it is picked. Each day thereafter, it will lose some sweetness. Eat what you can for dinner, or blanch and freeze (either on the cob or off, as you like). If you must store it fresh, keep it in the refrigerator and eat soon.
For root vegetables, such as beets, radishes and turnips, cut the greens off and store them separately from the roots. The roots will keep much longer, and you can cook the greens separately (just like you would spinach or Swiss chard!)
Tomatoes will keep their flavor best at room temperature - store them on your countertop! Refrigerators rob tomatoes of their flavor. The flavor does not usually return when they are brought back to room temperature.
If you run out of space in your crisper drawers, try using some large tupperware-like containers. You'll find your veggies last a long time in those!
If you're looking to wash your lettuce ahead of time and eat it over a few days, check out this video to learn how to store your washed lettuce.

Recipes of the Week

Cantaloupe Basil Agua Fresca
Adapted by Farmer Dave's from Bon Appetit

Serves 4

Ingredients:

flesh from one chopped cantaloupe
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (or more, to taste)
1/4 cup cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup cold water or seltzer
Ice, for serving

Directions:

Working in batches if needed, purée cantaloupe in a blender until smooth.
Set a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl; line sieve with cheesecloth. Strain purée into bowl; gather cheesecloth into a bundle and squeeze any remaining juice into bowl. Repeat process with fresh cheesecloth, straining into a large pitcher.
Add lemon juice, basil, and 1 cup cold water or seltzer to pitcher. Let steep at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Fill glasses with ice. Divide agua fresca among glasses.

Slow Cooker Ratatouille

Adapted by Farmer Dave's from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 teaspoons salt, divided
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 medium onions, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large cubanelle pepper, chopped
1 can (6 ounces) pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1/2 cup minced fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Place eggplant in a colander over a plate; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and toss. Let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse and drain well. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker coated with cooking spray.
Stir in the tomatoes, zucchini, onions, green and yellow peppers, olives, tomato paste, basil, garlic, pepper and remaining salt. Drizzle with oil. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or until vegetables are tender. Yield: 10 servings.

Get to Know Your Farmers: Balazs

This week we're highlighting one of our newest summer interns. Balazs arrived two weeks ago from Hungary and has quickly settled in to life here at Farmer Dave's.

Balazs is studying agriculture and economics in Hungary. His family has a small farm where they grow potatoes, apples, onions, carrots and cucumbers for local markets. He was eager to join us at Farmer Dave's because he's not only interested in gaining new agricultural skills but learning about the business and marketing side of running a small farm. Between school and farming, Balazs stays very busy. He enjoys spending his free time with his family, traveling and playing sports. He says, "My work is my hobby!"

Like Victor, Balazs also says that going to the Farmers Markets and CSA pickups are a highlight of his week. Like most of the interns, he want to be able to practice English while meeting our members and customers and to experience American culture. When you see him at the pickup or farmers market be sure to ask Balazs how he prepares his favorite vegetable: tomatoes!

Groundwork Share-A-Share™ Update

Thanks to generous donations by you (CSA members) to the Groundwork Share-A-Share™ fund, we were able to subsidize the cost of shares in 2012 for over thirty individuals and families, as well as shares for local food pantries.

We'd love to be able to subsidize late fall shares as well. Please consider helping us in our efforts to make the CSA accessible to more families by donating to Groundwork Share-A-Share.

To learn more about the program, click here.

Thank you all for helping us keep this program going in 2012!

Contact us:

Farmer Dave's

437 Parker Road

Dracut, MA 01826

farm@farmerdaves.net

www.farmerdaves.net

(978) 349-1952