JULY
CSA
N E W S L E T T E R
29 -31
G O R M A N FA R M T H E H A RV E S T
Bringing in the Harvest Summer is fully here on the farm in regards to harvest. It’s an exciting time when all the staple crops like potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe & watermelon begin to come in. With the high heat and each of these crops just starting to ripen up I scout the Aields on sometimes an hourly basis. I am scouting for the main indication of what we call the “GLUT”. Each crop when starting to ripen up will give a few fruits here and there. This requires very scrupulous scouting deep with in the rows and not just a slow drive by with good eyes. The Airst half dozen to dozen harvests throughout each week we bring in small quantities to make sure we are not wasting anything. My moment to moment checking in is to see if I can determine the time frames when the GLUT will take place. The GLUT is when most or a huge amount of the crop becomes ready all at once. This means the harvest crew must be very organized, other important jobs can be Ainished or put to rest for a bit. Picking buckets and melon bins are available, clean, and ready for the go. The harvest crew is organized into teams for maximum efAiciency and making sure harvest doesn’t sit around in the sun but gets carefully moved to the fridge and CSA distribution Aloor.
O NIO NS EG GPLANT POTATO ES WATERMELON AS SO RT ED MEL O NS L ETT UC E C HI VES SQ UA SH CUC U MBER PEPPE RS TO M ATO E S Q pigs tail like tendril at where the stem of the melon connects to the vine, and when this is dried dead and brown that’s indicator #2. The third is the sound is should have a hollow “PLUNCK – DUNK – BUNK” sound not a “PLANK – DANK – BANK” sound. For the last 10 days I have been cutting into melons as some had the indicators. We pick a full harvest when everything we cut into is excellent. Today’s harvest we probably cut open 20-‐30 melons which you don’t want to do because there is only 8 of us here today and that’s a lot of melons to eat. I have been eating watermelon all day, the harvest trucks are Ailled with half watermelons rolling around. I keep bringing in Sarah half watermelons to eat as she organizes your CSA shares. I feed the crew watermelon while picking tomatoes and peppers. It makes for a happy bunch of people. You see more smiles, laughing and good times in the Aield when chins are dripping with sweet juice. No body seems to mind the bending over and tossing of 10-‐20lb fruits.
When you show up in the morning and the crows have eaten a dozen since last night you know they are ready. The crows are indicator #4 and by far the most reliable as they know better than any expert farmer or Picking a good watermelon is tricky. Usually watermelon grower when a melon is ripe. Crows always when they are ready all the large and medium sized pick the best melon to poke holes into and when several melons are ready at once. There are 3 indicators we look have holes it means they had a great breakfast and we for and feel great when all three are in alignment at once. better get them out of the Aield before they tell their The white spot where the melon sits on the ground friends that farmer Dave is catering a crow picnic in Aield should turn partially or fully yellow from white, this 4B and it’s all you can eat melons! happens at the very Ainal hour of harvest. There is a curly
Breakfast Stuffed Peppers - Paleoleap.com
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4 bell peppers, sliced in half, core and seeds removed 8 eggs, beaten 1 cup mushrooms, sliced 1 onions, diced 3 cups baby spinach 1 tomato, diced ½ tsp. garlic powder Bacon, ham, and/or sausages, pre-cooked (optional) 1 tbsp cooking fat Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
S A LT, F R U I T M E E T Using salt on both ripe and unripened fruit should be your new kitchen trick. Though there's almost nothing better than perfectly ripened fruit adding a pinch of salt actually amplifies the fruit's natural flavor—making it essentially a more enhanced version of itself—while sprinkling a pinch of salt to unripened fruit can actually reduce its bitterness.
Preparation Preheat your oven to 375 F. Melt some cooking fat in a skillet placed over a medium-heat. Sauté the onion until soft, about 4 minutes, then add the mushrooms and tomatoes and cook about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until witted, about 1 or 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Divide the vegetable mixture equally among the bell pepper halves Top off each bell pepper half with some of the beaten eggs, and add the meat of your
choice, if using. Place the stuffed peppers in the oven, on a baking sheet, and bake for 40 minutes.
COLD THAI WATERMELON SOUP 5 cups seeded watermelon, coarsely chopped (from a 4-lb piece, rind discarded)
1 fresh lemongrass stalk 3 tbsp shallot, finely chopped 1 1/2 tbsp peeled fresh ginger, finely chopped 1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil 1 small hot green chili, such as Thai or Serrano, finely chopped (including seeds) 2 tbsp fresh lime juice, or to taste 3/4 tsp salt, or to taste Make soup:Purée watermelon in a blender until smooth and transfer to a bowl (Don't wash blender.) Discard 1 or 2 outer leaves of lemongrass and trim root end. Thinly slice lower 5 to 6 inches of stalk and then mince, discarding remainder. Cook lemongrass, shallot, ginger, and garlic in oil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, until aromatics are pale golden, about 5 minutes. Add about one third of watermelon purée and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 5 minutes. Remove watermelon mixture from heat, then transfer to blender along with chile, lime juice, and salt and blend until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids).
Add remaining watermelon purée and blend briefly. Season soup with more chile, lime juice, and salt if desired, blending if necessary. Pour soup through a sieve into a bowl, pressing on and then discarding any solids. Chill soup, uncovered, about 2 hours if serving cold, or reheat in cleaned saucepan.
Variation: Prepare crab: Toss crabmeat with cilantro, oil, and salt.