Week 13

While Alison and I are by no means flower farmers, we grow a small patch of flowers and make a handful of bouquets to take to market each week. We're loving these colorful additions to our table of veggies at market! — While Alison and I are by no means flower farmers, we do grow a small patch of flowers and make a handful of bouquets to take to market each week. We’re loving these colorful additions to our table of veggies at market!

Hi all, Alli here.

Can you believe it’s the last full week of August already?! The season seems to be flying by. We’re just over halfway through the CSA season and in the midst of enjoying tons of summer veggies! But now is the time of year when we really start to look forward to the slower pace of the fall. It’s beginning to feel like fall is just around the corner, especially with the (slightly) cooler temperatures we’ve been enjoying, the sun setting earlier each day, and people heading back to school.

You've been getting shades of purple, yellow, and green peppers, but we're hoping to add some red soon! We have a few of these beautiful Corno di Toro peppers just starting to ripen. — You’ve been getting shades of purple, yellow, and green peppers, but we’re hoping to add some red soon! We have a few of these beautiful Corno di Toro peppers just starting to ripen.

Harvesting seems to consume much of our time these days. While this means we struggle a bit to stay on top of our weeding and other tasks right now, we know that the slower pace of September and October also mean slower growth of the weeds and the end of planting new crops. Prepping for the fall continues at full speed right now, as we continue to clear out veggies from earlier in the season and rush to plant our final successions of greens and roots for you to eat. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed the mixture of refreshing summer veggies and hearty fall veggies that September has to offer, so I’m looking forward to the coming months (in case you couldn’t tell)!

We never tire of the wonderful sunsets here at Four Winds!

For now though, we should definitely savor what’s left of the summer, so here are some of the things you’ll find in your share this week:

Tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes

Tomatillos or Okra

Beans or Shishito Peppers

Sweet and Hot Peppers

Garlic

Kale or Chard

Carrots

Cucumbers

Squash

Summer Savory

Edamame (probably just 1 or 2 plants per person this week–we tried to give it all out last week, but our estimate when harvesting was just a bit off!!)

A farmer's dinner: half a pint of okra, 1 sweet pepper, 1 hot pepper, 1 summer squash, 1 garlic clove, and a really old napa cabbage (I found it in the back of the fridge--they last a long time!!). I sauteed these all up with some salt, cumin, curry, and ginger before tossing in some leftover pasta and a bit of milk to make it creamy. A simple and delicious use of last week's share! — A farmer’s dinner: half a pint of okra, 1 sweet pepper, 1 hot pepper, 1 summer squash, 1 garlic clove, and a really old napa cabbage (I found it in the back of the fridge–they last a long time!!). I sauteed these all up with some salt, cumin, curry, and ginger before tossing in some leftover pasta and a bit of milk to make it creamy. A simple, colorful, and delicious use of items from last week’s share!

This is a great link to a page that can give you more ideas for what to do with all the summer savory you’ve been getting (seriously, it’s the herb that keeps on giving!). I’m particularly interested in the marinated tomato recipe and the black bean soup recipe, but there are also simple recipes for green beans with savory and a savory butter:

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/life/food/2015/06/03/savory-winter-summer-herb-year-recipes-kate-lawson/28439305/

Enjoy, and have a great week!