THIS WEEK’S HARVEST
The first taste of shishito peppers heralds the approach of the fruity bounty of summer
Arugula, Mustard Mix, Bel Fiore Chicories, Red Butter Lettuce, Cegolaine Little Gem Lettuce, Collards, Green Magic Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Celery, Fennel, Bunched Chioggia Beets, Patty Pan, Costata & Dunja Summer Squash, Lemon & Persian Cucumbers, Corinto Cucumbers, Fresh Torpedo Onions, Loose Mokum Carrots
U-PICK
Albion Strawberries | 3 pints per share
Sugar Snap Peas | Gleanings (1 pint per share max)
Shishito Frying Peppers | 1/2 pint per share (A first taste: This limit will increase as the plants mature)
Herbs: Cilantro, Dill, Italian Basil, Thai Basil, Tulsi Basil, Chamomile, Parsley, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Oregano, Marjoram, Culinary Sage, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Shiso (Perilla), Culinary Lavender, French Sorrel, Borage, Violas, Calendula, Nasturtium (Thyme and Mints are taking a break to regrow a bit.)
Flowers!
HARVEST NOTES
Shishito Frying Peppers: These Japanese frying peppers are long and wrinkled with delicate, thin walls. Best picked between 3-4” long, they are almost never spicy, and will eventually ripen to a sweet red. They are incredibly delicious fried in hot olive oil until browned, sometimes with a dash of lemon or smoked paprika, and always with a liberal sprinkle of salt. A plate of just-off-the-stove frying peppers is an irresistible appetizer or snack. Shishitos also make incredible tempura.
Bel Fiore & Sugarloaf Chicories: This is our first (and not last) harvest of chicories as whole heads. Chicories (which include Frisee, various Radicchios, Dandelions and Escarole) are like the cooler, edgier, tattooed cousin of lettuce. People are sometimes intimidated by their bitterness — but fear not, properly prepared, chicories contain a world of deliciousness. Chicories pair beautifully with rich fats. One simple way to prepare them is to roast them in the oven. Try cutting a Bel Fiore or Sugarloaf head into quarters, coat the quarters completely with olive oil, rub on some garlic, and then broil them until the outer leaves are slightly crisped and blackened the leaves are melted and soft. Then top with salt and grated parmesan and eat as a side. For a raw chicory salad, check out CSA member Sarah Kate Benjamin’s simple and masterful recipe below.
Fresh Torpedo Onions: A favorite in Italy and France, these beautiful, pink, elongated onions are similar to Cipollinis — mild, delicate, and delicious raw. We recommend incorporating them into whatever fresh salads you’re making this week or topping a pizza or sandwich.
Herb Inspiration: This is probably the last week to pick from our abundant cilantro succession before it begins sending up its white flowers (later coriander seeds!). To take advantage of it before it goes, we highly recommend making a green sauce that’s a play on chimichurri, chermoula, or pesto. While you can use any combinations of herbs from the garden, we’ve been enjoying equal parts parsley and cilantro, with a little bit of mint, chopped or blended with raw garlic, lemon and lemon zest, olive oil and salt. Use as a zingy topping on any hearty food — roasted Cipollini onions or grilled summer squash for instance. This sauce will keep one week in the fridge, so if you make a big batch it’s best to freeze some for later use.
SARAH KATE’S RADICCHIO SUMMER SALAD
On days when it’s just too hot to cook, a big salad usually does the trick for dinner. While crisp lettuce is a mainstay for all of your salad needs, its bitter cousin chicory is worth giving a try. Yes, chicories tend to be on the bitter side, but that bitter is actually good for you. Bitter greens are cooling to the body and help you digest and assimilate your foods better. So, if you’ve been wondering what to do with the Bel Fiore or Sugarloaf Chicory, you’ll want to make this quick and easy salad. And don’t be shy with the fresh herbs either. Grab your favorites to toss into the dressing or sprinkle on top just before serving.
Ingredients
For the dressing
1 cup yogurt
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
1 clove garlic, grated
¼ cup freshly chopped dill
1 tablespoon freshly chopped fennel fronds
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
For the salad
1 head Bel Fiore or Sugarloaf Chicory (Little Gems work too)
½ cup breadcrumbs
2 radishes, thinly sliced
Add all of the dressing ingredients to a blender or food processor and combine until smooth. Taste and adjust for more honey or vinegar.
Gently tear the salad greens into large pieces and add to a mixing bowl.
Toss the greens and radishes with a few tablespoons of the dressing, depending on how dressed you like them.
To serve, add half of the dressed salad to a serving bowl and top with half of the breadcrumbs. Repeat and finish with a drizzle of dressing and a sprinkle of fresh herbs if you’d like.
For more recipe inspiration, check out Sarah’s weekly recipe newsletter here and get access to over 45 seasonal recipes.
FARMER’S LOG
WORK SONG
This Friday harvest was a triumphant one — both trucks overflowing with the bulk of longer growing vegetables like celery, beets, and broccoli. Indeed, some Friday harvests are so full we resort to a poem in the Farmer’s Log.
* * * * *
Work Song Part II - A Vision (Epilogue)
by Wendell Berry
If we will have the wisdom to survive,
to stand like slow growing trees
on a ruined place, renewing, enriching it…
then a long time after we are dead
the lives our lives prepare will live
there, their houses strongly placed
upon the valley sides…
The river will run
clear, as we will never know it…
On the steeps where greed and ignorance cut down
the old forest, an old forest will stand,
its rich leaf-fall drifting on its roots.
The veins of forgotten springs will have opened.
Families will be singing in the fields…
Memory,
native to this valley, will spread over it
like a grove, and memory will grow
into legend, legend into song, song
into sacrament. The abundance of this place,
the songs of its people and its birds,
will be health and wisdom
and indwelling light.
This is no paradisal dream.
Its hardship is its reality.
* * * * *
See you in the fields,
David & Kayta
CSA BASICS
What time is harvest pick-up?:
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
When can I u-pick?: Oriented members can come to the farm any time, 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset, to u-pick and enjoy the farm.
2023 CSA program dates: Our harvest season will run this year from June 24th - December 19th
Where is the farm? The member parking lot is located at 1720 Cooper Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472.
Where should I park?: Follow our sign on Cooper Rd. down a short gravel driveway. Please find a parking spot under the solar panels to your left, or up against the straw bales further down. Please do not park behind the solar panels.
Where’s the bathroom!: Under the big solar panels in the parking lot.
What should I bring?:
Your WCCF tote bag
Pint baskets or small containers for measuring your allotment of u-pick crops like strawberries
A vase, bucket, or water bottle to keep your flowers and herbs happy
Clippers or secateurs to cut flowers (if you have some), we also have some in the barn
Water / sun hat / picnic supplies if you plan to stay awhile!
Friends and family!
Newsletters & email communication: All our important CSA communications are through this email address, which seems to be getting spam blocked a lot. Please make sure this email address is in your address book so you get important CSA communications. All newsletters and important updates are also posted on the Newsletters page of our website weekly.
