"Love is fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand." ~Mother Teresa
FULL SHARE DELIVERY TO ALL LOCATIONS; HALF SHARE DELIVERY TO FREDERICK, SILVER SPRING, TAKOMA PARK AND DC
Fruits of Summer
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Summer in is full fruition now, with the first tomatoes being pulled from the vine this week. The days are full of picking. We are picking green beans every other day, which is a timely job. The zucchini and cucumbers get a run through everyday, and if you miss one, chances are it will be twice the size the next day and much harder to miss! If one of these larger zucchini show up in your bag, I would recommend them for zucchini bread. Any size zucchini will do, but the larger ones are less tender and therefore are great for baking. Stuffing them works well too! The green peppers are in full fruition, but it's ok to let them sit and pick on harvest day. We leave many of them on the plants to turn into red and orange peppers, with plenty of green ones still to share. The eggplant have been multiplying as well and will be harvested in the morning fresh for your shares. The tomatoes are weighted down with an abundance of green fruit, with dozens ripening this week. You will get a small share of tomatoes we hope by tomorrow, with pounds to come, God willing. I haven't been up to the field yet this rainy morning to ask Jesse how the tomatoes fared with the downpours we had all day yesterday. I would guess they are harvesting them before their skins burst with all that rain water.
While all this summer fruit is upon us, the melons are growing in size and the young winter squash plants are sending out early leaves. Beds of pumpkins, butternuts and other varieties are full of beautiful young plants, interlaced with young green bean plants as well, all for the fall harvest. I used to think of seed sowing as more of a spring activity, which is far from our current truth. Jesse seems to sow seeds about year round. In January he was planting them in the solar seed shed, February and March too. I believe he put some root crops right in the ground in his new low tunnel in February as well, all of which has long since been eaten. We began onions, radishes, carrots, beets, and peas outdoors in April, followed by warmer weathered summer squash and beans in May, along with all the transplants from the seed shed. June, more rows of green beans and summer squash for a longer harvest, along with more beets and carrots. In early July, all the pumpkin seeds were planted, and more green beans! The seed shed in July is full of young cabbages, asian greens, broccoli and more to be transplanted for the fall harvest as well. I am not sure yet what he has in store for August, but I am sure more beets, carrots, sweet white turnips, winter kale, and other greens will still be going in the earth for later harvest. We have plenty of garlic to replant this fall as well and hope to fill up that low tunnel to keep greens and some roots growing through the winter.
The garden is always changing, along with the seasons, the weather, the days... It always greets us with a new surprise, a new flower unfolding, a new bird building a nest, a new patch of weeds to pull, a ripe fruit on the vine. An endless gift, and always a new adventure. You don't have to travel far to see a new sight, you just have to look closely and appreciate the view, the mystery unfolding before you at every moment.
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Sunrise from the garden
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The Guest House
This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they're a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. ~ Rumi ~
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Thank you for joining us this season to share in the harvest and all of it's beauty, nourishment, and healing.
Please contact us any time with questions. You are always welcome to come visit!
Peace and Blessings~
Halima Willett
halima.willett@gmail.com
717-573-2956
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Fall CSA
September 22nd thru November 10th
We are inviting new members to join us for the Fall season!
If you have a Spring/Summer membership and would like to continue through the fall, we are now accepting enrollments.
Please share with others this opportunity to support local agriculture while receiving the healing nourishment it provides.
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This Weeks Harvest
First Tomatoes!
Beets
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Green beans
Long Purple Eggplant
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Raw Lasagna
This recipe has many steps, but if you enjoy playing in the kitchen, it sounds delicious!
Lemon-Filbert "Ricotta"
2 cups nuts (raw filbert, soaked in water for at least 1 hour)
2 tbsps lemon juice
2 tbsps nutritional yeast (health food stores optional)
1 tsp sea salt
Place the filberts, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and salt in a food processor, and pulse a few times, until thoroughly combined. Gradually add 6 tablespoons water, and pulse until the texture becomes fluffy, like ricotta. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside
Tomato Sauce
2 cups sun-dried tomatoes
1 tomato (ripe, diced)
1/4 onion (chopped)
1 garlic clove
2 tbsps lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tsps honey (raw)
2 tsps sea salt
1 pinch pepper flakes (hot)
Place all ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth.
Basil-Pine Nut Pesto
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2 cups basil leaves (packed)
1/2 cup pine nuts (raw)
6 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt (taste)
1 pinch black pepper (fresh ground)
Place all ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth.
Lasagne
3 zucchini (ends trimmed)
3 tomatoes (ripen, type)
2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp fresh oregano (finely chopped)
1 tbsp fresh thyme (leave)
1 basil leaves
Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, shave zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices, then cut in half crosswise. Cut the tomatoes in half, and each half into thin slices. Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with two layers of zucchini slices. Brush the zucchini lightly with olive oil, spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce over it, and top with small dollops of "ricotta" and pesto, using 1/3 of each. Layer on 1/3 of the tomato slices, and sprinkle with 1/3 of the oregano and thyme. Add another double layer of zucchini and repeat twice more with the tomato sauce, pesto, ricotta, tomato slices, and herbs. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. Garnish with basil.
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