Hello, July
Dear Members,
It is hot as the fourth of July out there, isn't it? I don't want to go anywhere near the stove so I'm leaning into the big salads until the heat dome passes. Do not miss the romaine hearts - they are so crisp and cool and delicious. We are buying some cucumbers from Juniper Hill this week so we can hold them up and say cool as a... We have 200 lbs of cukes coming, which means we will need to limit them. Please check the signage! This is a taste to hold us until our field production starts rolling. We also have some really beautiful scallions this week. You can go hard on those lovely green alliums, they are plentiful, and a delicious alternative to the remainder of last year's onions and shallots which are starting to soften now.
My favorite moment in the kitchen this week involved a lot of garlic scapes, a pound of ground lamb, a quantity of escarole, and a little low key subterfuge. My girls think they are not huge lamb fans, and they definitely do not like escarole. They are wrong about both things, as long as one doesn't mention them by name. For the burger, I blended a big handful of roughly chopped garlic scapes with oil (note: you should not use a blender with olive oil because it turns bitter - I got away with it this time for some reason but safer to use avocado oil) and mixed a huge dollop into the raw ground lamb, along with salt and cumin. The resulting burgers were eaten with great appreciation. Another big dollop of the garlic scape paste went into the pan with more oil for a gentle saute, to which I added the escarole until it wilted. Guess what? Everyone in my house LOVES escarole. I did smell like garlic for the next twelve hours because, I confess, I also ate multiple spoonfuls of the pesto on its own. It was too delicious to resist.
I ordered extra bread and pastry from Crown Point this week, as I know you all have guests to feed this holiday weekend. The delivery should be in the store around 5pm on Friday and for sale all weekend. Yannig has been making a terrific potato/black olive focaccia, which we are selling by the slice. Selfishly, I am hoping that will be a regular item - it's great to have a ready meal option at the end of a long week. He's also experimenting with a rugelach recipe, and is supposed to be sending us some for the weekend. Let's see how that goes.
This week, we are asking you to choose fresh cream OR butter but not both. We expect a very busy distribution, given how many guests are in town, and while production is coming up, we should hedge so everyone gets a fair share.
Strawberries are winding down and the heat dome will not be good for them. There are still berries out there for picking as I type but I think we are in the end days. If I am wrong on my heat dome doomsaying I'll update you.
We are hosting a farm tour this Sunday July 5 from 11am to 1pm, focused on the plant side of the farm this time. We would like to introduce new people to our bountiful vegetable production. Since this summer is gearing up to be an absolute bonanza of produce, we're going to try a vegetables-and-grains only membership for our seasonal residents, and see how it goes. Help us spread the word! Anyone interested can reach out to us via the farm phone or email: 518-963-4613 and info@essexfarmcsa.com.
Huge thanks to Don Knoll this week for making a Fourth of July cookout for the whole Essex Farm team. Don is a regular dropper-off of farmer treats like doughnuts and big giant dishes of ziti for lunch plus cool old tools he finds at auctions and he outdid himself for this and we love him.
With gratitude,
Kristin
PS, If you are picking up over the weekend and notice we're out of or critically low on something, would you please send me a text at (518) 645-4658 so I can refresh it? Thank you!
Estimated Availability for Members This Week
Green = abundant, eat with abandon
Yellow = Somewhat limited supply, enjoy but don’t go nuts
Red = Limited supply, take just enough for one meal
Vegetables
Green group, abundant, eat with abandon
Beets - Red and Gold
Cabbage - Green, Red
Carrots
Celeriac
Fennel
Garlic Scapes
Head Lettuce - Red Butter head, green Butter head, Romaine
Salanova Lettuce Mix
Onions, Red
Parsnips
Potatoes - Gold, Red, White
Rainbow Chard
Rutabaga
Scallions
Shallots
Herbs:
Chives
Cilantro
Dandelion
Dill
Oregano
Sage
ThymeYellow group, somewhat limited supply
Basil
Peppermint
Curly Kale
Cucumbers from Juniper Hill
Red group, limited availability this weekIceberg Lettuce
Value-Added Products
Kimchi
Kraut
Hot Sauce
Frozen Tomatoes
Eggs
Unlimited and abundant
Farmer Only Raw Dairy
Our raw milk does not provide the protection of pasteurization.
Buttermilk
Skim Milk
Whole Milk
Yogurt
Fresh Cream OR Butter
Sour Cream
Grassfed and Pastured Meat
Meat:
Pork - shoulder steak, ground, shoulder roast
Lamb - ground and assorted cuts
Chicken - whole frozen
Beef - ground, assorted cuts
Bones - beef, lamb
Offal - pork, chickenGrains, Beans & Dry Goods:
Everything not grown by Essex Farm is certified organic.
Note: we have more products than we have room for on the grain table so check the buckets under the table if you're looking for something. Cornmeal and Pancake Mix are back!
Beans- Black and Pinto
Chickpeas
Steel Cut Oats
Rolled Oats
Essex Farm Popcorn
Sea Salt (Cargill)
White Bread Flour (Sutton)
White Pastry Flour
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
Whole Wheat Bread Flour
Buckwheat Flour
Cornmeal
Pancake MixPlease be advised that consumption of raw or undercooked foods including meats, poultry, dairy, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.
This Week's Share is Brought to You By: Seth Allen, Anne Brown, Gracie Broughton, Beth Davis, Will DeHaven, Catherine Eskilstark, Nicholas Johnson, Kristin Kimball, Mark Kimball, Barbara Kunzi, Joanie McMahon, Will Glaser Wilson. Thanks to Ted, Ken, Ben, Jackie, Will, Harmony, Sergei, Kathleen, Gwen, Charlie, and Barb for the help this week!
