The farm is in need of pint baskets! If you have an abundance at home, please bring some back to the farm so that they can be reused throughout the season.
THIS WEEK’S HARVEST
Rouxai Red Oakleaf Lettuces, Escarole, Assorted Zucchini & Summer Squash, Assorted Slicing Cucumbers, Rainbow Carrots, Fresh Candy Sweet Onions, Fennel, Celery, Italian & Asian Eggplant, Poblano Peppers, Early Tomatoes, Bicolor Sweet Corn, Assorted Melons, Caraflex Cabbage
U-PICK
Check the u-pick board in the barn for weekly u-pick limits.
Albion Strawberries: ✨5 pints per share✨ There are still beautiful berries languishing in the back right side of the patch. We recommend making the journey out there!
Cherry Tomatoes: 3 pints per share
🌟 Dragon Tongue Beans: No limit — take what you’ll eat! | These flat beans are cream-colored with purple speckles, which fade when they’re cooked. Please be mindful not to walk on the base of the plants as you pick so that they can keep producing!
Frying Peppers:
Padrons: No limit — take what you’ll eat!
Shishitos: No limit — take what you’ll eat!
🌟 Jalapeños: 5 peppers per share
Herbs & Edible Flowers: Husk Cherries, Lemon Bergamot, Dill, Cilantro, Purple Basil, Thai Basil, Lemon Basil, Italian Basil, Tulsi, Parsley, Chamomile, Calendula, Nasturtium, Pansies/Viola, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Shiso/Perilla, Catnip, French & Culinary Lavender, Sorrel, & Assorted Mints
Flowers galore!
HARVEST NOTES
Fresh Candy Sweet Onions: Fresh out of the soil, these sweet, fresh-eating onions are a delicacy. Similar to the famous Walla-Walla sweets, try them in a way that you can show them off: lightly grilled on a good burger, raw in a salad with a delicate dressing, or as onion rings. They are so sweet and mild, some people even eat them raw like an apple! (We haven’t tried that yet! If you do, let us know how it goes!)
All hands Caraflex cabbage harvest this morning
roasted eggplant pasta with parmesan breadcrumbs
By Alison Roman
Serves 4–6
The genius of this recipe is that the eggplant is roasted to achieve a rich color and umami flavor, and then mixed with roasted cherry tomatoes and pasta water to create a perfectly creamy sauce with the most decadent eggplant flavor.
INGREDIENTS
1 ½–2 pounds globe eggplant (about 2), sliced ¼–½” thick
½ cup plus 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup Parmesan or Pecorino, plus more for grating
½ cup chopped parsley, chives, oregano, or a combo of all
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
8 oz. sungolds or cherry tomatoes, halved if large
1–2 tablespoons tomato paste, harissa paste, or gochujang
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
12–16 oz. dried pasta such as calamarata, rigatoni, ziti, paccheri, or any short, tubular shape
In August, our most abundant and newest flowers are mostly in the Northeast section of the garden.
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Arrange eggplant in an even layer on a sheet tray (two if you have them), season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with ½ cup of the olive oil. Flip the eggplant, and season with salt and pepper on the other side. Roast eggplant for 30–45 minutes, flipping the eggplant halfway through cooking, until everything is deeply browned on both sides.*
*Roasting eggplant isn’t hard, but it is inconsistent—more so than any other vegetable maybe. Depending on your oven, the eggplant itself, and what your definition of ½-inch is, it could take anywhere from 40 to even 60 minutes. I’ve roasted eggplant at “425°F” in several different ovens and somehow, it is never the same. The only tip I have is to really roast it until it’s very, very browned, adding more oil if you think it needs it (this will help it brown vs. look white and dehydrated). Well-roasted eggplant is the single most important, make-or-break part of this recipe.
2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper. Toast, tossing occasionally, until the breadcrumbs are golden brown, like individual little pieces of toast, about 5–7 minutes. Add ¼ cup cheese of your choosing and toss to coat, letting it melt into the crumbs (don’t worry if it clumps up) and toss another minute or two. Remove from heat and transfer to a small bowl. Add two or three tablespoons of chopped herbs, toss and set aside.
3. Wipe out the pot or skillet of any crumbs and add remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and nicely toasted, 3-5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and crushed red pepper flakes, if using. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes burst and the tomato paste turns dark brick red, another 3–5 minutes. Remove from heat and wait for your eggplant to finish roasting.
4. Once your eggplant is where you want it, add it all to the skillet, stirring it in so it melts into the tomatoes. It will look a little dry at first, but know you’re going to add a bunch of pasta water which will give you more of a “sauce.”
5. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta of your choosing until just before al dente. Save 2 cups of pasta water and drain the rest.
6. Add the pasta and 1½ cups pasta water to your pot or skillet and cook over medium heat. Keep tossing and stirring, until the sauce goes from watery to thick and almost creamy (it happens quickly), 3–5 minutes. Each piece of pasta should be beautifully coated and perfectly cooked. Add more pasta water if you need it, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.
7. Divide pasta among bowls and top with breadcrumbs, more herbs, and more cheese to serve.
FARMER’S LOG
FIELD POEM
I think we develope friendships with the plants we live and work with.
It can be hard to notice. It’s quieter than the din of modern life and the volume of human speech and it can catch you by surprise.
Farmers might feel it when they haven’t been in a certain field in a long time and then they return — the smell; the feel of the leaves on their skin; the sound of the leaves; a vibration, dare I say, of their intangible personalities.
You feel a certain way — maybe a little more calm, maybe a little cocky.
Or you might you feel a certain way leaving a field after a long day in it.
I love this poem by Gary Soto, I think it speaks to that moment abruptly and clearly…
* * * * *
FIELD POEM
By Gary Soto from Selected Poems
When the foreman whistled
My brother and I
Shouldered our hoes,
Leaving the field.
We returned to the bus
Speaking
In broken English, in broken Spanish
The restaurant food,
The tickets to a dance
We wouldn’t buy with our pay.
From the smashed bus window,
I saw the leaves of cotton plants
Like small hands waving good-bye.
* * * * *
Plant friendships go deeper than we often realize. They can be healing. They’re often unconditional.
Try and close your eyes in the garden this week next to your favorite flowers. Take in the smell, feel their leaves… and say hello to an old friend.
See you in the fields,
David & Kayta
CSA BASICS
Check out our Brief Membership Guide: A quick-reference on the essentials of being a member.
Harvest pick-up times:
Friday harvest pick-ups run from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Saturday harvest pick-ups run from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Tuesday harvest pick-ups will run from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
U-pick hours: Oriented members can come to the farm any time, 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset, to u-pick and enjoy the farm.
2026 CSA program dates: This year’s harvest season will run from Friday, June 12th through Tuesday, December 8th this year.
Where is the farm? The member parking lot is located at 1720 Cooper Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472.
Slow on Cooper Rd. Please drive slowly on Cooper Road — 20 mph. It's a neighborhood with lots of kids and animals who generously share the road with us.
