Farm Notes

Well friends, it's been quite a roller coaster of a few days over here! Over the past week, our family weathered COVID just fine and we are officially negative again… but as soon as we all got over that, I got really sick with an infection that completely knocked me out. Thankfully we’ve addressed the infection and I’m taking all the necessary steps + medicine to get back on my feet soon… and once again, our village has stepped up this week to pull off our CSA with me on the sidelines! I’ll be honest that May is usually my favorite month of the year, but this time around everything has just felt… hard. I'm hopeful that as we head into a new month, things will start looking up, get a little easier, and everyone will stay healthy!

Despite the tough few days around here, this week’s CSA (our last week of the 8-week Spring session) is one of our most beautiful + bountiful yet. While the early weeks of our Spring CSA are dominated by greens, greens, and more greens – this time of year, we’re harvesting a way wider variety of veggies like carrots, cabbage, broccoli, sugar snap peas, beets, and the first itty bitty zucchini!

Next week we will take “off” the CSA, and then our Summer CSA starts the week of June 6th. Our cherry tomatoes are already ripening, so I have a good feeling tomatoes will find their way into the first Summer shares! Local friends – if you are signed up for our Summer CSA, I will be in touch next week to confirm your pick up day and location. All of our small shares are sold out, but if you know anyone who might be interested in a Full Share this summer, please point them to my website!

In another exciting piece of news for our local friends, you get first dibs on our next workshop hosted here at the farm – Eat Like a Farmer Workshop on Saturday, June 25th! This is one of our most popular Farmbelly classes, and it’s perfect for anyone looking to sharpen up their knife skills and learn more about growing, sourcing, preparing, and cooking with seasonal and local produce. This workshop is part demonstration and part hands-on, and everyone will help harvest veggies from the farm and make two vibrant seasonal salads that we will enjoy together. More details and tickets HERE.

Okay, last but not least… it’s time for our May giveaway! This month is a GOOD one… I’m giving away my favorite chef knife from Victorinox. This is an awesome everyday chef knife that is light, easy to use, lasts forever, and is hands down my most used kitchen tool.

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY – There are two ways that you can enter this giveaway (just choose 1):

Comment on this post in our private Facebook Group and share what kitchen tool you couldn’t live without! If you aren’t already a member of our private Facebook Group, just request access here.
OR Click the “Comment” button at the bottom of this journal entry and share what kitchen tool you couldn’t live without.

You have until Thursday, June 2nd @ midnight to enter, and I’ll announce one randomly selected winner on Friday, June 3rd.

Kitchen Notes

This week we harvested the very first of our zucchini/summer squash, which was a major relief for me! Earlier this spring I had pretty much given up on our zucchini crop (as the young plants just looked terrible) – but low and behold, they have bounced back and now the zucchini is pumping out heaps of gorgeous fruit.

This is a quick, colorful salad made for hot summer days and you don’t feel like turning on your oven or stove! For this recipe, it’s best to use small to medium sized squash, as larger squash will have tougher skin and larger seeds. This recipe is lightly adapted from the cookbook 'Ruffage' by Abra Berens.

Shaved Summer Squash With Herbs, Lemon & Parmesan

INGREDIENTS

2-3 summer squash, shaved thinly into 1/8" slices (I like to use a mandolin)
1 cup assorted coarsely chopped herbs
4 oz Parmesan cheese, peeled into ribbons
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Between 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice

PREPARATION

Toss together the shaved squash, chopped herbs, Parmesan ribbons, salt + pepper, 1/4 cup of the olive oil, and the lemon juice.
Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more olive oil and/or lemon juice as needed to make it well dressed and flavorful.
Serve within the next 30 minutes. If serving later, shave the zucchini in advance but dress just before serving (as the salt will cause the zucchini to release a lot of moisture).

Today’s Stats

Low temp: 60F
High temp: 76F
Sunrise: 6:03am
Sunset: 8:25pm
Moon phase: Waning Crescent
Additional notes: Cool and rainy