July 7, 2016 Common Thread CSA

Dear Common Thread CSA Members,

We went to the planning picnic for Madison County Open Farm Day yesterday and it's looking like it will be an exciting day! Open Farm Day is on July 30. Dozens of farms with many different types of products will be open for visitors, including us. We'll give tours and have a small farmstand. You can find out more at the Open Farm Day website.

The peas are in and ready for picking! We have snow peas and sugar snap peas available for pick your own for members. The picking is great now and will probably continue to be good for about another week, but they won't last too much longer than that, so now is the time to pick! There are still a few strawberries out there, although the season is drawing to a close. Above is a cute picture of Julia enjoying picking strawberries with her mom at the farm over the weekend. The early flower patch has filled out nicely so its easy to get a beautiful bouquet now. We have also opened the parsley and edible flowers for picking.

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 PYO page on our website.

Fennel is in! Fennel bulb, which has an anise flavor, is great in salads. The key is to slice it very thin. Asher made a very nice cucumber and fennel vinaigrette (dressed with just vinegar, salt and a little sugar) the other day with both sliced quite thin, along with a bit of mini onion. It is also delicious sauteed or roasted. I like to cut it into small pieces, toss it with olive oil and salt and roast it on a cookie sheet until they are the perfect mix of soft and crispy and then sprinkle it on top of whatever I am eating.

The cucumbers have come in but you may have noticed they are a bit scarred up this year. That is due to striped cucumber beetles. They are usually around but don't cause a lot of damage after the plants start to mature but this year they are around in especially high numbers, so some of the cucumbers will be a bit ugly but still tasty.

We have a number of herbs in the pick your own area and try to put an herb into the boxes each week. Often a dish just requires a bit of herb and there is still part of a bunch left over, but many herbs can be easily dried. Mint, oregano, thyme, sage and dill can be hung by a rubber band in a dark space with some aeration. Basil and parsley dry better in a dehydrator (they can be done without one but are more likely to discolor). Cilantro doesn't dry well but can be frozen in ice cube trays.

Escarole is a cooking green in the chicory family. I made a delicious escarole soup, adapting a recipe from foodnetwork.com:

White Bean and Escarole Soup

Ingredients

2 Tb olive oil

2 oz pancetta or prosciutto cut into 1/4 inch cubes (I used local sausage but it could also be omitted for folks who don't eat meat)

1/2 cup onions (I used scallions, mini-onions would also work)

4 cloves garlic (I used garlic scapes)

1 tsp rosemary or thyme

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 head escarole (about 1 lb) trimmed, washed, and coarsely chopped

Two 15 oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup chopped tomato (I used red peppers from the freezer)

5 cups chicken broth (can also use vegetable stock)

1 tsp salt

Freshly ground pepper

Directions

In a soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat, add the meat and saute for about 5 minutes. Remove meat with slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onions and saute until golden (I throw in the green scallions or mini-onion tops towards the end). Add the garlic, rosemary and pepper flakes, saute 3 minutes more. Add the escarole, stirring two minutes more. Add the beans, tomato, broth, and salt to taste; bring to a boil. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the reserved meat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook's note: Swiss chard is a welcome substitute for the escarole.

Yours in the field,

Wendy and Asher