CSA For Tuesday, August 7th!

Free labour! Visiting niece Meg got put to work,
helping us prepare for CSA today! 

Our growing partners Amanda and Ed stepped up to the plate today!  The bad news:  their carrots and beets suck, too.  We've heard it from our garden renters and other vendors at the Global Market; germination was very poor for many people.  Amanda and Ed got absolutely no, zero, zilch germination on their first seeding of carrots and very little on a second seeding of re-purchased seeds.  They've just enough for personal use and nothing to share.  We've gotten some germination - probably enough for just one share for all our families.  What a disappointment!!!  The question is: would you like them in smaller sizes soon or larger sizes later?

However, the good news - Amanda and Ed have grown beautiful cabbage so it's a cabbage fest today!  Here's a link to a slew of links for cabbage salads.  Here's a super simple butter braised cabbage side dish.  Cabbage is awesome in a stir fry - add it in with some summer squash.  Here's an Asian inspired version.  Of course, cabbage soup, cabbage rolls......the heads should stay very nice in the fridge for a couple of weeks!  Amanda and Ed also supplied the lovely burpless cucumbers today!

I'm surprised by the number of people that don't think of eating zucchini raw.  Zucchini sticks used to rule the veggie tray - well, in the '80's perhaps!  Here's a lovely recipe for a raw zucchini salad from food writer Michael Ruhlman.  Here's a neat link to raw spicy zucchini chips - they sound yummy!  How about zucchini carpaccio?  And this raw zucchini pasta with vegan curry cream is one we're going to try really soon!  We like to keep Thai red curry paste in the fridge....should be good in this pasta!  Here's another link with multiple zucchini recipes: the Parmesan encrusted zucchini sticks sound awfully good!

Final pick on the shelling peas - we know that for sure 'cause we were pulling the plants as we went.  They are typical of the last of the seasons' ripening: some little, funny pods with only a couple of peas, but good peas!  There's some great peas, some slightly older and some very young - may as well take them all in the last picking!  Also, today is the first dig of Yukon Gold potatoes, one of our favs!  This is golden skinned, golden fleshed, crisp potato, awesome for fries, great mashed or boiled, good in foil on the BBQ!

Keep in mind please, that we're going to try to keep a few extra goodies on the trading tables...while supplies last.  We know you're getting a lot of summer squash right now, so do feel free to trade.  We're going to try to stock with things that we're not getting a lot of: today we'll have a few bundles of our little beets, and some Swiss chard, as well as extra cucumbers and beans!

So for the FULL SHARES:  2 large cabbage, cucumber, onions, 'Goldrush' zucchini, 'Sun Green' zucchini, a Romanesque squash, 'Papaya Pear' squash, Kousa or Mediterranean squash, 1 lb. yellow beans, 1 lb. 'Dragons Tongue' beans, wee bag shelling peas, 3 lbs. 'Yukon Gold' potatoes.

For the PART SHARES:  2 med. cabbage, cucumber, onions, 'Goldrush' zucchini, 'Sun Green' zucchini, Romanesque squash, 'Papaya Pear, squash, 1 lb. yellow beans, 1/2 lb. 'Dragons' Tongue' beans, 2 lbs. 'Yukon Gold' potatoes.

For the SINGLE SHARES:  2 small cabbage, cucumber, onions, 'Goldrush' zucchini, 'Sun Green' zucchini, Romanesque squash, 'Papaya Pear' squash, 1 lb. yellow beans, 1/2 lb. 'Dragons Tongue' beans, 1.5 lbs. 'Yukon Gold' potatoes.