CSA Week 6

Vegetable List

Conehead Cabbage
Romanesco Caulifower
Cucumborama
Fairy Tale Eggplant
Lacinato Kale
Pint 'o' Peas
Bell Peppers
Aji Amarillo Hot Pepper
Iceberg Onions
Sungolds
Tomatoes
Zucchini


Notes from the Farm

We are consistently inconsistent... and I've come to embrace that.
I am an inconsistent farmer, inconsistent community member, inconsistently involved parent,
inconsistent partner... and I don't blame it on anything or anyone, but I defnitely can explain it.
Seasons, seasonal weather, seasonal day length, seasonally based work... it's the seasons that most
greatly explain my inconsistencies.
In summer, I can be up, have coffee and breakfast, work a couple hours and be back in the house
before anyone else it stirring... in winter, I'm lucky to make it to the bus stop to see my kids off, and
when I do, it's often in outfts that don't do them any social favors.
It's a yearly mania cycle that I've come to embrace... go hard when I go hard, go light when I go light...
and don't mix the two. It can be hard to ramp up in the spring, to get into farming form... and even
harder to settle down in the fall of the year, let my adrenal glands come back from the brink of
exploding.
And that seasonal cycle defnitely carries over to the function of the farm... the food that's available, the
food we choose to favor... the farm is a great wagon being rocketed off into the stars by the intensity of
our enthusiasm. The hyper-exhausted, pure joy enthusiasm, we power this farm ship with has a way of
tunneling our vision... in such a way that we can be surprised by our own well laid plans...
Take the Conehead Cabbage... I forgot we even planted it... but what do you know, we did, and it's
cooler than I remembered. We forgot to check on the Romanesco Caulifower... just didn't look at it
for a month or so... and what do you know... it's amazing, producing better than we could have hoped.
In a lot of ways, we're super terrible farmers... we don't keep good records, make decisions based on
emotion, grow food no one is asking for... we don't take this all that seriously... but we're having fun,
and we're getting some food, and we're surprising ourselves, and we can rely on the comfort of our
inconsistencies to carry us through to the next week.

Recipes

Roasted Cabbage Wedges

1 tablespoon plus 2 more tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium head green cabbage, cut into 1-inch-thick rounds
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 teaspoon caraway or fennel seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil.
Place 1 medium head green cabbage, cut into 1-inch-thick rounds, in a single layer on sheet and brush
with 2 tablespoons oil. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon
caraway or fennel seeds. Roast until cabbage is tender and edges are golden, 40 to 45 minutes.


Pan-Roasted Romanesco Caulifower with Peas

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds baby Romanesco cauliflower, cut into 1/2-inch slices through the stem
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup edible pod peas, roughly chopped.

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Place cauliflower, flat side down, in pan, and cook
until golden on underside, about 8 minutes.
Flip cauliflower, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender and golden brown, about 3
minutes. Add lemon juice and peas, and cook until peas are tender. Serve immediately.


Cucumber Lemonade

2 cucumbers, cut into chunks
1 quart homemade or store-bought lemonade

Puree cucumbers with 1/2 cup water in a blender. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve; discard solids.
Combine cucumber juice and lemonade. Serve over ice.


Zucchini, Bell Pepper, and Curry Paste

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large zucchini, sliced 1/3 inch thick on the bias
1 bell pepper, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick strips
2 teaspoons Indian curry paste
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Saute zucchini and bell pepper until tender, 5 to
6 minutes. Stir in curry paste and salt. Serve warm, cold, or at room temperature.