CSA Week 8

Vegetable List
Booya Broccoli
Delectable Corn
Fairy Tale Eggplant
Poblano Peppers
White Russian Kale
Musk Melon
Red Bull Onions
Ailsa Craig White Onions
Flat Leaf Italian Parsley
Green Peppers
Sungolds
Tomatoes
One Measly Summer Squash or Zucchini

Notes from the Farm

The thing about corn is that it's the best... it really is, it's the staff of life.
Corn is one of those things that even if you don't like it, you likely have some sort of cherished memory featuring corn. It shows up at all the best times... cookouts, family gatherings, holidays, in early winter (when winter is still exciting) as chowder... corn is frigging everywhere... it has fully occupied all of our happiest moments, an Overlord of sugar, Commander of joy, General of our most intangible familial comforts.
And the love of corn isn't just an American phenomenon... everybody everywhere loves corn. It might be the most agreed upon, beloved, whole unprocessed food.... everywhere. Corn simply spreads joy.
Now, there are some sobering downsides to corn... the commodity world is weird and hard to totally understand, and I'm not well situated here, in this little space, to get into the complex repercussions of a world willingly bound to chemically produced corn... what I'm interested in here is sweet corn, people corn, joy corn.
Just about half of our growing space at the HFF is taken up by corn. It's not super profitable, it uses a lot of resources to produce, is one of the most intensive crops to manage... but it brings the most joy. We're into our 5th block of corn... 5 of 6... so we're getting to the nearly done stage of corn... another 10 days to two weeks, and that'll be it for 2018. Looking out over the mowed corn, the finished corn, it stands as a significant gap in our field... this funny scar across our midsection that reminds us that summer is nearly over.
Yesterday, we had our first corn gap, one day without corn in the stand, and we might as well have told folks that they now needed to eat glass... they were so horrifyingly disappointed. We knew it was going to happen, we're fortunate to have a lot of support here at the farmstand, and when we don't have corn, or our own corn, it is very disappointing to us, the customers, everybody... because corn is joy... the act of buying corn is joyful, of thinking about eating it, the eating, the immediate post mastication ecstasy... corn is joy... and part of the magic is that local corn season is so short... something to love and long for..
you can't really ask a whole lot more of a vegetable...

Recipes

Onion Focaccia

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds homemade or store-bought pizza dough
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Place dough on sheet, stretching to fit (if dough springs back, let rest 20 minutes and repeat). Drizzle edges with 1 tablespoon oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high. Add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender and golden brown in spots, 12 minutes. Add vinegar and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, 1 minute.
3. Remove plastic from dough. With your fingertips, poke dimples all over dough, then top with cheese, browned onions, and red-pepper flakes. Bake until golden brown around edges, about 30 minutes. Let cool on sheet 5 minutes. Cut into 20 pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.


Onion Jam

3 large onions
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Olive-oil cooking spray
1. Cut onions in half lengthwise; peel. Cut off ends; cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces.
2. Coat a 13-inch skillet with cooking spray, and set over medium heat. Add onions, and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 15 minutes.
3. Add sugar; re-cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are deep golden, 20 to 30 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water; stir with a wooden spoon to dislodge any brown bits.
4. Cover, and cook until dark brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and another 1/4 cup water. Continue cooking until liquid has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Store, refrigerated, in an airtight container up to 1 week.


Rum Punch with Melon Balls

1 melon (honeydew or cantaloupe)
2 1/4 cups fresh pineapple juice
1 1/2 cups light rum (optional)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 4 limes)
2 tablespoons Angostura bitters
2 liters ginger ale
1. Make melon balls (about 3/4 inch each) using a melon baller. (You should have about 2 cups.) Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet, and freeze, about 1 hour.
2. Stir together pineapple juice, rum, lime juice, and bitters in a punch bowl. Slowly add ginger ale, being careful not to disperse the bubbles too much. Add frozen melon balls. Serve immediately.