CSA Week 8!

Vegetable List

Oh Boy! Beets!
Napa Cabbage
Red Cabbage
Mokum Carrots
Romanesco Cauliflower
Rainbow Chard
Champion Collards
Cucumbers
Eggplant'o'rama
Lacinato Kale
Muir Lettuce
New Red Fire Lettuce
Ailsa Craig Sweet Onions
Bell Peppers
Aji Amarillo Hot Peppers
Serrano Hot Peppers
Sungolds
Tomatillos
Tomatoes
Patty Pan and Eight Ball Zucchini
PYO Flowers
PYO Herbs
PYO Husk Cherries

Notes from the Farm

August really is the most fun time of the year on the farm.
I mean, I love it here year round, but in August there's this crossover that happens... we're done planting, the food we have is the food we're going to have... there is only a minimal amount of stewardship needed at this point, the tomatoes are tied, the weeding is weeded.. we also haven't really started cleaning up just yet... all we do right now, starting in the Ides of August, is pick food.
There is a mercy to mid-August. We're all exhausted, it's been a long season, and a great season, but there aren't enough hours in a day or days in a week to muscle in the rest needed to recover from the farm. And so here we are, bleary, not able to finish conversations or thoughts, sun burnt, dust driven, just loving the life of the farm in August...
It's all the tomatoes, all the corn, it's all the eggplant and all the peppers... its cauliflower and carrots, it's all the flowers and faces of the people who stroll in and out through the days.
It's not just the mercy of August, it's the sweetness... and it's only here for a minute... but I'm forever grateful that, every year, we get a taste of August on a Maine farm... it's high on the great list of reasons why farming is worth all the work.

Recipes

Taco Truck-Style Guacamole

2 ripe but firm avocados
2 cups chopped tomatillos
¼ cup chopped white onion
¼ cup chopped jalapeno
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Peel, pit, and chop the avocados.
In a food processor, combine avocados, tomatillos, onion, jalapeño, cilantro, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 cup water.
Puree until smooth. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
Stored in an airtight container, this guacamole will stay fresh for up to three days. The acid from the tomatillos will help to preserve the bright green color.
For a spicier condiment, leave the ribs and seeds in the jalapeño or swap in a serrano chile instead.
For more tanginess, add a splash of lime juice when pureeing the mixture.
You can also add a clove of garlic for a more complex flavor.

Avocado-and-Boursin Sandwiches

1 carrot, peeled
1 cup shredded red cabbage (from ¼ head)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
8 slices pumpernickel bread, lightly toasted
5 ounces Boursin, room temperature
½ English cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds (about 1 cup)
2 ripe but firm avocados, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1 cup pea shoots or sprouts

Using a vegetable peeler or mandoline, shave carrot into ribbons. Toss carrot and cabbage with lemon juice and oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread 4 slices of toast with Boursin and shingle with cucumber rounds. Season lightly with salt. Lay slices of avocado on remaining 4 slices of toast; mash lightly with a fork. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil. Layer pea shoots, cabbage, and carrots over avocado. Close sandwiches, slice, and serve.

Kale Slaw With Red Cabbage and Carrots

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon apple-cider vinegar
Coarse salt and pepper
3 cups mixed shredded kale and red cabbage
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
¼ cup fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons diced red onion
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons hemp seeds

In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, mustard, and apple-cider vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.
In another bowl, combine kale, cabbage, carrot, parsley, and red onion with sunflower, pumpkin, and hemp seeds.
Save a pinch of each type of seed for sprinkling on top as a garnish.
Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with dressing, and toss to coat.