CSA for August 26th!

We do have some lovely tomatoes! Just all green still!

Did you see the picture on our Facebook page of the corn all knocked over?  It's been a tough weekend!  First, we had to cancel Thursday's CSA pick up due to wet weather.  And the wind and rain didn't stop!  Lots of damage over four days of storms: corn and sunflowers knocked over, tree branches down, plums blown off the tree, some of the tomato plants broken.  It was chilly-willy when we started out with chores this morning: just 5 C (about 42 F) but it has warmed up nicely as the day has gone along. It is, however, still mucky in the garden and lots of the veggies are dirt-splashed!

The Patty Pan summer squash are coming on strong.  As the sizes get larger think about stuffing them!  Eye-catching as well as yummy.   Farmer Man has a favourite recipe involving crab meat, cream cheese and onion.  How about cheese and bacon stuffed Patty Pan?  Here's a great link, with good photo instruction, on sausage stuffed Patty Pans.  If you've got a large one, stuff it and serve slices.  If you've got a few mediums, stuff and serve as individual portions - looks good on a plate!  You can stuff them with anything you might stuff a pepper or tomato with: rice mixtures, quinoa, left-over mashed potatoes all mixed with veggies, meats, cheeses and even fruits!  We've done this recipe for stuffing with dried cranberries!

All of the summer squash are pretty much interchangeable in recipes.  You've all got Crookneck today and it is a bit more tender and buttery.  It is awesome in something like zucchini fritters.  We have a soft spot in our hearts for battered and fried Crookneck: here's a link with a beer batter for Crookneck!  Here's basic instructions for a crunchy coated squash.  We quite often do them in Panko and Cajun spice!  You all know summer squash is excellent for dessert, too, right?  Do try these zucchini brownies  or these cinnamon frosted zucchini bars

While they are abundant, are you going to get some veggies frozen?  Here's some quick and easy instructions for freezing fresh vegetables.  We always save some freezer bags of summer squash - grated, drained a bit then stuffed into freezer bags in one cup portions: perfect for winter muffins or zucchini bread.  The Patty Pans, Papaya Pear and Moroccan types aren't as 'juicy' and we usually don't have to drain them.

We've got a pick on pole beans today: either a green bean type or a Romano (flat pod) type.  The pole beans are late, after the bush beans.  They are a bit more fibrous and all have a string along the spine so remove it as you top-and-tail the beans!  These big, meaty beans are awesome for soups and stews, and do quite well in tin-foil packs on the BBQ, although not quite as tender as Dragons Tongue!  Beans are a little prone to rust and we're surprised at how much rust developed over this wet weekend!  We were 'editing' in the field as we picked, but some may have made it into your bags with some rusty ends.  It's largely cosmetic, but eliminate the end and the rest of the bean is fine!

For the FULL SHARES:  A couple of large Crookneck, assorted medium to large Patty Pans, Blue Lake pole beans, beets, an Armenian or Long English cucumber, slicing cucumber, small bag mesclun mix, large bag All Red potatoes, small bag either Sangria red or Yukon Gold potatoes, onions.

PART SHARES:  Crookneck squash, assorted medium Patty Pan squash, Romano pole beans, Armenian or Long English cucumber, slicing cucumber, medium bag Sangria red potatoes, medium bag Yukon Gold potatoes, herb, onions.

SINGLE SHARES:  Crookneck squash, Patty Pan, slicing cucumber, small bag All Red potatoes, herb, onions.