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Dear Common Thread CSA Members,
 
We are participating in the Madison County Open Farm Day this coming Saturday July 2 from 10 am to 4 pm.  We'll be giving guided tours of the farm, so if you'd like more information about how we grow your food, etc., please come join us.  There is more information on Open Farm day at this website.

Lots of food pantry and facebook activity today!  The Grace Episcopal Church of Syracuse Food Pantry posted a picture of our vegetable delivery on their facebook page today!  (We have grown collards before but weren't going to this year until their request).  We also brought a big food donation to Hope House in Utica, who later liked us on facebook.  
 
You can find out what the vegetables for the week are by going to our
"What's In" page on our website and checking out the
 
We've been having fun growing different color carrots and beets.  In addition to red beets, this year we are growing golden beets, chioggia (red on the outside, white with red rings on the inside), and white beets.  These varieties are all a bit more mild and stain the rest of the food it touches less.  Our daughter Klara doesn't like red beets but she is "willing to eat" the other types.  For carrots, in addition to orange, we are growing the variety "Rainbow" which is all one variety with color variability which range from orange to yellow to white and we are growing "Deep Purple" which are are dark purple with a yellowish-white core.

A few cooking ideas from CSA members:

Cooking cauliflower in coconut oil.

Making vegetable burgers (I'll try to get more info on this one).

Jasmine Bailey says:
"The smitten kitchen blog published this recipe for pickles that is dead simple and so delicious--I'd never made pickles before this week, and now I'm just so excited to have so many pickling cukes... (I add garlic)"

We have a LOT of cucumbers right now.  We've passed on Asher's cucumber salad recipes... here are a few from Martha Stewart's website that look interesting:

Cucumber-Blueberry Smoothie
Blend together:
  • 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1 cup white grape juice or pear juice
  • 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt

Chilled Cucumber, Basil and Mint Soup
INGREDIENTS
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint
  • 1/4 cup sliced scallion
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 English cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
  • Salt
  • Optional: Thin cucumber slices
DIRECTIONS
  1. STEP 1

    Puree sour cream, basil, mint, scallion, and water in a blender. Addcucumber. Pulse until just combined but still slightly chunky.

  2. STEP 2

    Stir in lemon juice and hot sauce, and season with salt. Chill soup at least 3 hours (soup is best served the same day). Top each serving with thin cucumber slices if desired.

Korean Cucumber Pickle
INGREDIENTS
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 3 Israeli or Kirby cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
  • 1 scallion, white and light green parts, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
DIRECTIONS
  1. STEP 1

    In a shallow dish whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, salt, and cayenne. Add the cucumber, scallion, and garlic. Stir to combine. Press down and spread out cucumbers in dish. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour but up to 2 days.


Yours in the field,
Wendy and Asher