In Your Share (Aug 31st edition)

IMG_1994Beautiful Blooming Buckwheat! This is one of my favorite summer cover crops. It grows super fast, suppresses weeds, feeds the soil and the flowers provide pollen & nectar to all kinds of beneficial insects. This particular field of buckwheat was planted mid July, started blooming  in late August and will be tilled in soon so we can plant garlic in that field in early October. We use many different types of cover crops on the farm, but in general they all help us feed the soil, interrupt pest & disease cycles, suppress weeds, reduce compaction & erosion and provide habitat for beneficial insects. We try to grow a cover crop on the farm in between every vegetable rotation. It is challenging, but in the long run the benefits are tremendous!

You won’t find any recipes for buckwheat greens, but everything else we grow on the farm has recipes at Cook With What You Have. CSA members will find the password to the site in your email – enjoy your 24/7 access to recipe inspiration!

This week your share may include…

  • Beets: Big red beet bunches with nice greens on them too. Try my Beets 101 tips if you’re looking for something simple to do with them or one of the 18 different recipes that comes with your subscription to Cook With Want You Have
  • Cabbage: Time for summer slaw!
  • Cucumbers: Sweet & tasty slicers
  • Eggplant: Some of these japanese eggplant are almost big enough to make eggplant parmesan! There are also a few green heirloom globe eggplant in the mix.
  • Garlic: Pretty purple heads of the variety Music have nice big easy to peel cloves.
  • Lettuce: These summer crisp lettuce varieties are beautiful & tasty this time of year.
  • Anaheim Peppers: These are traditionally used for chile rellenos. They usually have just a mild amount of heat, but occasionally they’re hot so I’d advise tasting them first if you’re wary of too much heat.
  • Parsley: This Italian flat leaf parsley makes a nice tabbouleh or roast it with some fresh tomatoes for a quick pasta sauce.
  • Summer Squash: Nice mix of green & yellow zucchini, crookneck and patty pan.
  • Tomatoes: Both slicing & heirloom tomatoes.

Coming soon… Sweet Italian Peppers!