Good evening, folks! It is hot, dry, and dusty but I am invigorated by the bounty that unfolds each week. Harvests have been heavy and we really need some rain, but we're producing anyways. We don't have irrigation setup on the farm so I have been out watering newly seeded beds by dropping water in the row with our transplanter. It's slow and not what it is meant for, but it works to help with germination in direct seeded crops. We're lucky that our soil is high in organic matter and retains moisture well because we haven't a drop since the start of August and we didn't get much in July. Mature crops can access soil moisture deeper down so they'll grow through the dry spell. Nothing is growing very fast, though.

Lots of good stuff coming for the CSA, store, and markets this week. More on CSA below. Hope to see you around!

CSA Week 7 of 20!

Pickup Wednesdays in the Barn 1-7pm

Deliveries By 7pm

We've got an awesome lineup of produce for this week. Joe picked over 500lbs of Tomatoes today and members will get a generous portion of the harvest! For pickup members that are interested in canning we'll be offering 4 share units for 25lbs of tomatoes this week. Cantaloupe and Watermelon are ready! They are on the smaller side but very sweet. I'm hoping the next round sizes up a bit more, but we need some rain for that! Spaghetti Squash is also making its debut this week. They are delicious and shockingly similar to spaghetti. I had never had one, but we've had members ask about it before and I liked how they slot into our picking schedule as an early winter squash option. We'll definitely be growing them next year. Zucchini and Summer Sqash grew quite a bit over the weekend which I was surprised about without any rain but they are slightly larger than normal this week. I've cut into a few and they are still tender and not seedy, just a bit bigger. No Lettuce Mix this week although there are Lettuce Heads. I think the mix will be back next week but in general lettuce could be in and out over the next few weeks until the fall crop comes in. It doesn't like the heat and we're trying the keep the wildlife off it as much as possible.

For pickup members I think there was a slight miscommunication with garlic last week. We put out the seconds garlic post harvest for our members to take as much as they please, but it was written down as take two. For one, the garlic quality from our harvest is great so don't worry if you thought thats what our crop looked like this year, and secondly we'll have seconds on the swap table this week as well as our regular crop available for pickup.

PYO is expanding again this week to include basil, parsley, thyme, sage, and oregano as well as PYO beans and flowers. If you want to grab a big bag of basil for pesto this is a good week for it.

PLEASE NOTE: If you can bring your own scissors for picking flowers that would be very helpful! We have some, but I'm not sure we have enough for everyone if its busy. Also, a jar to transport flowers is helpful!

Delivery Shares

▪Basil

▪Carrots

▪Cherry tomatoes

▪Sweet Corn

▪Garlic

▪Lettuce

▪Onions

▪Tomatoes

▪Watermelon

▪Zucchini/Summer Squash

Market Style Pickup

Members Pick 8

▪Beets

▪Cabbage

▪Cantaloupe

▪Carrots

▪Chard

▪Cherry Tomatoes

▪Corn

▪Cucumbers

▪Eggplant

▪Kale

▪Lettuce

▪Microgreens

▪Onions

▪Peppers

▪Spaghetti Squash

▪Tomatoes

▪Zucchini & Summer Squash

▪2 Head Garlic

▪Basil, Thyme, Parsley, Sage for herbs

▪PYO beans, herbs and flowers

Baked Feta Spaghetti Squash -- CLICK FOR LINK

Ingredients

▪1 medium spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded

▪3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

▪Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

▪8 oz. cherry tomatoes (about 1 1/2 cups)

▪3 Tbsp. pesto

▪2 garlic cloves, minced

▪Pinch of chili flakes

▪2 (2-oz.) wedges feta cheese (from a block of feta)

▪Fresh chopped basil for garnish

Directions

▪Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place the squash halves on a rimmed baking sheet and scoop out the seeds and stringy insides. Brush the cut side of each squash half with 1 Tbsp. olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

▪In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, pesto, garlic, chili flakes, remaining 2 Tbsp. olive oil, and a pinch of salt.

▪Place a wedge of feta cheese inside each squash half, followed by the tomato-pesto mixture, divided equally between each half.

▪Bake until the squash flesh is tender and the tomatoes burst, about 55 minutes. Use a fork to scrape the squash strands into the feta and tomato mixture, and continue mixing until everything is combined. (If your squash boats are overflowing and it's hard to mix, transfer everything to a large bowl to mix, and then place back into squash boat.) Garnish with fresh basil and extra cracked black pepper.

Summer Vegetable Pesto Pasta -- CLICK FOR LINK

Ingredients

For the Pesto:

▪1 cup fresh basil

▪2 tablespoons hemp seeds

▪2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon

▪1 ½ tablespoons nutritional yeast

▪1 clove garlic

▪¼ teaspoon salt

▪¼ cup olive oil

For the Pasta:

▪½ tablespoons olive oil

▪½ yellow onion sliced

▪1 small zucchini, halved and sliced

▪1 small yellow summer squash, halved and sliced

▪1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped

▪1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

▪½ teaspoon sea salt

▪freshly ground black pepper

▪8 ounces short pasta (fusilli, penne, farfalle, rigatoni, etc.)

▪¼ – ⅓ cup prepared basil pesto

Directions

For the Pesto:

(skip this step if using store-bought pesto) Place garlic a food processor or blender and pulse until roughly chopped. Then add the basil, hemp seeds, lemon juice, salt, and pulse into a rough paste. Turn on the food processor, and drizzle in the olive oil through the opening in the lid of the food processor. If your food processor doesn’t have an opening add the olive oil to the container with the rest of the ingredients and let the food processor run until you reach your desired consistency. Depending on the size of your food processor, you may have to scrape down the sides of the food processor.

For the Pasta:

Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. While the water heats up, start your veggies. Once the water boils, cook the pasta according to package instructions. In a medium pot, add water and set over high heat. When pasta is done, reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Drain pasta.

In a large skillet add olive oil and set over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot add the onion, zucchini, yellow summer squash, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Saute about 5-8 minutes just to soften the squash. Set aside till pasta is done cooking.

Place the pan of vegetables back on low heat, add the cooked pasta, pesto, and ¼ cup of reserved pasta water. Add more water to reach the desired consistency of the pesto. liquid. Toss to coat. Taste and adjust the seasoning, garnish with nutritional yeast parm, Parmesan cheese, hemp seeds, and more basil leaves if desired. Serve warm.

Store leftover pesto pasta in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Pesto will keep in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for 3-6 months.