CSA for Tuesday, July 24th

It's so nice to be back in the land of the World Wide Web!  Computer problems have plagued us for about a week so we've been kind of out-of-touch, both on the blog and on Facebook/Twitter.  Today however, I managed to connect with my techie 'knight in shining armour', and Doug of HelpTek made it out to the farm to straighten everything out for us!  Doug professes not to be an Apple/Mac guy but (once again) he took care of all the problems with both the Mac and the PC,  and the printer!  Thank you, Doug!

Crazy day!  Our lovely CSAer Deborah had volunteered to help pick raspberries again but had transportation issues: when she hadn't arrived after I'd already been in the raspberries over an hour - I figured something was wrong!  We thought we had a new staff member starting, who also failed to arrive so things got a little crazy!  When our garden helpers Derrick and Henry arrived they got pressed into service: Derrick found himself in the raspberry patch with me!  Henry found himself in the beans!  'Cause yes!  Beans are ready to pick!  And peas!

First, a word about raspberries: this may be the last week for the raspberries.  They're still cropping, but we're past the abundant first flush and, as the picking gets more time consuming, it becomes less worth our while to invest the time.  Especially with so many other labor intensive veggies coming on strong, like beans.  So, if you're a raspberry fan and would like more next week, we could really use your help picking.  You could come the evening before or the morning of CSA!  You could also pet a baby goat, hear a kitten purr, meet Rocky the Rooster!  And volunteers always go home with bonuses!  So, email us if you can help!

First pick today on beans and peas!  It's not an abundant harvest today, so it will be a mixed bag!  Peas are also cropping, in a small way.  We've got a little pick of shelling peas for the Part Shares, enough to just sit on the deck and have a wee snack.  We also got a little pick of edible pod peas for the Full Shares.  These edible pod peas are lovely, and some are a little large and could be shelled.  If you do want to shell them keep the pods: awesome in stir fries and sautes, super in veg packs on the barbecue, and also great chopped into a pasta for fresh, sweet pea flavor!  Or just crunch them like candy!

The summer squash is kickin' in big time!  For your reference, all summer, please check out our Summer Squash Primer Part 1 and Summer Squash Primer Part 2!  Today everyone is getting one of our favorites: Papaya Pear!  This squash is firmer and denser than zucchini, with a nice nutty flavor.  It is absolutely awesome on the barbecue: won't get mushy like zucchini.  Our fav method is slicing into rounds about 1/2" thick, soaking in balsamic vinegar and a little oil then on to the BBQ!  You can grill it and get nice grill marks, without the mush.  Other than that, anything you do with a zucchini you can do with this guy: slice, dice, raw, sauteed, veggie packs, grated.  It may take longer to cook than you're used to, especially in a stir fry or saute!  We also got a wee pick, in the Part Shares, of crook neck squash - the Southern States delicacy!  In the Deep South, they bread or batter thick slices and then fry/deep fry slices.  It's a delicate, buttery squash that comes out like pudding in that sort of cooking method!  Farmer Man does cornmeal/cajun spices and then fries it up! Yummy!  Again, anything you would do with a zucchini you can do with a crook neck, but it is more delicate!  As we hope to do all summer, green zucchini is available as an 'extra' if you'd like one - we don't want to overload you and we grow soooo many more interesting styles.  You know how easy it easy to freeze zucchini for winter use, right?  For muffins, bread and the ever-awesome chocolate zucchini cake just grate now, store in ziplock bags or small containers in 1 Cup packets and take out as you need it!  If you freeze it in bigger sizes it comes out of the freezer in big lumps so you must defrost the whole lump to get your cups worth so easier to freeze in the portion you need for muffins or zucchini bread!

So, for the FULL SHARES:  3 lbs. Carlton potatoes, 1/2 lb mixed green and golden wax beans, 1/2 lb green beans, edible pod peas, pint Red Mammoth raspberries, Papaya Pear squash, Patty Pan squash, Gold Rush zucchini, onions.

PART SHARES: 2 lbs. Alladin potatoes, 1/2 lb. mixed green and purple beans, onions, wee bag shelling peas, pint of Red Mammoth raspberries, Crook Neck squash, Papaya Pear squash, Gold Rush zucchini.

SINGLE SHARES:  1 lb Norland potatoes, 1/4 lb purple beans, onions, pint of Red Mammoth raspberries, Papaya Pear squash, Gold Rush Zucchini.