Week 10 CSA Newsletter (August 23-29, 2020)
The week 10 box
CSA Newsletter Week 10
August 23-29, 2020 | “B” Week
BUNCHING ONIONS ~ Store these in a glass of water, about an inch deep on the countertop or fridge. Cover tops with a plastic baggie. Change the water periodically. These will store for about 3 weeks. You can use the tops for cooking too — you can even chop them and freeze them for later!
FENNEL ~ Remove the stem and fronds from the white bulb. Store the white bulb in the fridge crisper in a plastic bag. Use within 2 weeks. The fronds have a licorice taste, and can be chopped and frozen for later use in seasoning. The stem is also edible. Chop it up finely for cooking, or flash freeze it.
CHERRY TOMATOES ~ You can store them on the countertop if you plan to eat them within a few days. For longer storage, put them in your fridge in a plastic bag. You should try to eat these within a week. They can be roasted or turned into sauce too!
GLOBE TOMATOES (4) ~ You can store them on the countertop if you plan to eat them within a few days. For longer storage, put them in your fridge in a plastic bag. You should try to eat these within a week. They can be roasted or turned into sauce too!
BELL PEPPERS (4) ~ The peppers are starting to come on strong! Get ready for an onslaught of them over the next few weeks! Store in the fridge in a Green bag. Use within 2 weeks. You can also easily flash freeze peppers whole or chop them first.
JALAPENOS (5) ~ Be careful when slicing these, as some people react strongly to their spiciness. Consider wearing gloves OR wash your hands as soon as you are done. The heat of the pepper resides in the seeds and the lining of the pepper, so if you want less heat, just remove those. Store in the fridge in a Green bag. Use within 2 weeks. You can also easily flash freeze peppers whole or chop them first.
EGGPLANT ~ Store in the fridge in a Green bag. Use within 7 days. Cut the skin off and chop into rounds or cubes.
GARLIC ~ Store on the countertop, away from potatoes. These are cured so they should hold for several months.
SWEET CORN (NOT ORGANIC) ~ These will be passed out as an “extra” in a special plastic bag along with your bin. Store sweet corn in its husk in the fridge. Corn will turn starchier the longer you store it, so try to enjoy it in the first 3-5 days.
Danielle Kuhl, our resident cocktail specialist, shares a weekly cocktail in our Facebook group! This one included canary melon (and frozen melon balls).
FRUIT SHARE – PS: It’s “B” Week!
APPLES – store these in a bag in the fridge
PEACHES — from Quarry Hill Orchard – if they are still hard, you’ll need to leave them on the countertop for a few days to soften up. THEN put them in the fridge to slow the ripening.
SPECIALTY MELON: HONEYDEW — from Bench Farms, Cut these down the middle, scoop out the seeds, and slice into the creamy interior. These would make a great cocktail too.
We got some disheartening news this week from one of our former fruit share partners — Eshleman Orchards in Clyde will be closing their doors after this season. This orchard has long been one of the local community’s supplier of apples, cherries, and peaches. They sold their orchard, and the new owner will likely be tearing out the orchard trees. It’s normal to feel a sense of outrage or loss, especially if you have positive memories associated with going to the orchard. It’s also easy to pass judgment and think, “They sold out! How could they do it?” As if they owe us the protection of this natural resource.
The truth is, this kind of thing happens more and more, as farmers get to retirement age, and their kids do not want to take over the farm. What’s a farmer to do?… Wait around for years until the “right buyer” finally comes along (which may never happen?) Pass on a good offer that brings them financial stability, just so they don’t let down their community? In the meantime, who farms the land when they can’t physically do it anymore? Who pays the bills as it sits idle? I feel for Rich and his family — and I understand the decision. All organizations have a natural life cycle, and they will eventually morph and change — even stop existing.
Liz Tore volunteered this week to clean onions!
I’ve been reflecting a lot on legacy this week — what will become of Shared Legacy Farms in 15 years? When will I be ready to say “I’m done.” And what does it look like to close up shop? What if my boys don’t want to continue the farm? Isn’t that okay? Will someone be there to take my place? Even as I think about the next 5 years… what if I want to change the way we do things here?… will our customers understand? Do I owe my community continuity, even if it no longer benefits us? These are important conversations to have with Corinna. And it’s important to have them with YOU — to help you realize we are all on a journey together, and that things will fluctuate and change as circumstances arise (aka COVID), and as our customers mature too.
I got my fall crops seeded this week. The transplants are out of the greenhouse! I’ve got stacks of onions curing in multiple places. It’s now high tomato season. I’m also managing my mom’s roadside stand production, so we’ve got tons of tomatoes moving off the farm every day now. You’ll notice lots of tomatoes showing up in your box this week as a result. We anticipate lots of demand for these canning tomatoes, so if you want to get some, be sure to get your name on a list with Corinna here shortly, so I can be sure to meet your needs.
The boys helped me cultivate (aka “weed”) this week. I decided to take a weekend off from the Toledo Market, so I could get ahead at home. We haven’t left yet, but I’m hoping we can get away and drive to my buddy’s house for a dip in the pond. We’ll see!…
~Your Farmer, Kurt
Tammy Koepler shared how to make dried celery salt in the Facebook group this week!
WEEK 10 ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Beginning THIS week, August 23rd through Sept. 6th, we are running the Air Fryer Challenge! I bought an Air Fryer last year based on the recommendations of members of this group, and I have yet to really master it. So I wanted to run a 14 day challenge to help myself (and you) learn how to use this machine. The goal is to try and make something with your air fryer 4-5 times a week, and to experiment with it — even if it means a failure! I will choose ONE person at random to be our champion at the end of the challenge, who will win a fabulous foodie gift package that I get to put together for you! So if you don’t have an air fryer yet, and you want to learn how to use one, join us and go grab yourself an appliance before August 23rd! I’m counting on all of you to help teach our tribe the ropes! So if you have an air fryer and you have a clue… please participate and teach us all!!
- To be eligible for the prize, you must post at least 3 pictures of meals you’ve made in your air fryer in our private Facebook group. You must be either a full-season or Sampler veggie member of our CSA.
- They must include some element of fruit or veggies to “count” towards the challenge. Be sure to tell us in the post what the veggies are, and help us out by teaching us how you cooked it. (setting, minutes cooked, prep, etc)
- Hashtag your entry #slfarmsairfryer so I can find it in the Facebook group. You can also send me 3 pictures via email if you do not use Facebook.
- Perrysburg Customers: Farmer Kurt has requested that some of you make BIG NAME SIGNS with CLEAR, BOLD LETTERING that can be seen by the site hosts from several cars away. We are trying to move the pickup lines through quickly, and it helps a lot if the team can see your name from far away. Also, if you can space yourselves out over the 5-6:30 PM time frame, we’d appreciate it. Right now, about 75% of the customer base is arriving within the first 30 minutes. So if you can come a bit later, you won’t have much of a line! That would help!
Canning tomatoes can be pre-ordered. We’ll fill them as we are able each week. Email Corinna to save one.
BULK TOMATO CANNERS for pre-order. If you want to order a hamper (25 lb) of globe or roma tomatoes (30 lb), please place your order in the facebook post thread, OR via email at sharedlegacyfarms@gmail.com. Cost is $25 for the globes, and $30 for the Romas. We will fill them as we are able over the next 3 weeks. We anticipate a HIGH demand for this product, so we cannot guarantee that we can fill them. Plus, we want to make sure we can give our CSA boxes first dibs on tomatoes. Please let us know how many you want, which types, and your last name and pickup site. You will pay when you pickup your order.
- You can order additional items from the Shared Legacy Farms online store. Our store link is super easy to remember: www.sharedlegacyfarms.com/store. Just be sure to select the right pickup site that coincides with your pickup location. If the pickup option is greyed out or not available, it means you missed the window to order. You need to place your order 2 days before your site. I reload the store and set new pickup dates on Sunday afternoon.
- TRYING TO GET SOME BULK CORN? We sell our sweet corn by the 5 dozen bushel for $30. We can only put in about 15 orders per week right now, due to space limits on the truck. Just keep trying each Sunday/Monday to order in the online store. If you are willing to drive to Elmore on Saturdays, space isn’t an issue! Just email me at sharedlegacyfarms@gmail.com and be able to come on Saturday from 9-10:30 AM.
Laurie Knueven showed us how to make this jalapeno corn bread!
WEEK 10 CSA RECIPES
Members: To save time each week, I’m now publishing the recipes only as a PDF. You can download these recipes here. This week’s recipes are:
Karen Ayers Famous CSA Freezer Marinara Sauce
Peperonata
Broiled Top Blade Steak with Herb-Flecked Tomato Salad
Roasted Chicken with Clementines and Arak (uses Fennel)
Orange Fennel Salad
Collard Greens Dip
Grilled Eggplant with Cherry Tomatoes
Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers
Corn Salad with Jalapeno Cilantro Dressing
Iced Cantaloupe Soup with Jalapeno and Basil
Apple Muffins
Apple Peach Crumb Bars