Week Four: Heat Wave

At the Membership Meeting on Saturday Anne told us that with the solstice (which was on Sunday) comes a change. High summer arrives and the hot nights ripen the summer crops as spring crops come to an end. We begin to seed and plant the fall crops. Well, with these hot days I'd say we're seeing that pattern! Work continued this week at the farm despite the heat. We workers tried to stay cool by dipping our arms and heads in buckets of water (cold water on the inside of the elbows can cool you down so quickly!). On Tuesday we planted Brussels sprouts and weeded chard and picked peas. On Wednesday I was glad to get the work done early in the day before the heat really kicked in. We harvested a great crop of fava beans as well as the first beets and carrots of the season. Everything at the farm is looking great, though the strawberry beds need weeding to ensure that they thrive for next year--call the farm to volunteer for that important task. While you're there you should check out the *awesome* work that got done on the leek beds--leek weeding is important because the leeks stay in the ground all season and get big so slowly it's hard for them to keep ahead of the weeds.
Also this week I've been enjoying reading a collection of essays, The Gift of Good Land by Wendell Berry. I'm not sure whether to be encouraged or discouraged that we're still facing many of the same problems 30 years after he wrote these essays. But he's a great writer and can really capture the nature of a situation, so I find his writing

Preview

very interesting.
So, this week's BOUNTIFUL share--note the new summer-y crops!:
Sugar snap peas - 1 lb
Carrots - 1 bunch
Beets - 1 bunch
Garlic scapes - 26
Swiss chard - 1/2 lb
Green onions - 5
Parsley - 1 bunch
Cilantro - 1 bunch
Lettuce - 2 heads
Fava beans - 1 lb

Menu
Fava bean Guacamole from The Boxing Clever Cookbook p. 102. After I made this unusual guac last year it has become the standard thing to make with fava beans at the farm--Anne even sent the recipe to the seed catalogue! I hope you enjoy it too.
Quick and Delicious Borscht from Greens, Glorious Greens p. 25 Another favorite from last year. This is more of a vegetable-soup-with-beets type of borscht.
Blair's famous Garlic Scape Pesto - Blair's own creation. Another yummy green spread!
Chard Chickpea Balti from The Boxing Clever Cookbook p. 47 This British interpretation of Pakistani food was popular last summer (read about what Balti is here)
Longest Day Salad with lettuce and maybe some grated carrots or something like that.

See you Friday!
Peace
Mary
Photos: 1. Mary picking up greens in the barn. (Photo by Nikki P.) 2. Blair and Mary planning the week's menu at Cafe Verde (photo by Michelle H.) 3. Mary's cookbooks at Cafe Verde (Photo by Michelle H.) 4. Farmer Paul and the bees (Photo by Nikki P.)