Chatfield CSA E -news July 15 -19

Dear Shareholders,

Summer squash is here! Onions are coming in nicely while cucumbers and melons are coming on gradually. The rainbow chard has been a classic iconic summer beauty, hasn’t it? Our flowers are just about ready for fresh bouquets to be sold at distributions. We hope you have enjoyed the distributions this year, but please feel free to send in suggestions to make your experience smoother. Please note, when you’re having friends pick up your shares regularly it is up to you to communicate all pertinent information they may need. 

Things to discuss: are there any location changes for distributions? Do you need to forward the emails with the appropriate distribution address to anyone? Also, please tell your friend what type of share you have. By now we hope everyone knows that the peck is a small single share and the bushel is a double share. Please let everyone know if they are doubling the amount of produce they take or not.

You can add additional emails to your account information simply by going to our website homepage, where you will see the ‘membership actions’ box. Click through to update your account.

Upcoming Event: CSA Salad No-Cook Off! July 26 (5:30- 8:30 p.m.)

That’s right - our first CSA potluck is coming up and we are so excited to have everyone out on the farm. We will have a no-cook off salad theme utilizing any CSA produce you want to bring (or not – fruit salad may be great!). Please look for an email invitation.

Weekly Produce List for July 15-19

Carrots
Hakurai Turnip (trust us, they’re different)
Summer Squash!
Onion
Basil
Arugula
Parsley
Kale or Chard

Bread Share: Garlic Rosemary or Sourdough

Weekly Wild Food: Purslane

Featured Recipe: swiss chard or kale pie

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Chop and sauté (3-4 minutes) together:
Greens (kale or chard) with olive oil, CSA onion, garlic (or CSA scapes),
One small CSA summer squash (small cubes)
Fresh chopped basil

Set aside the sauté mixture and then mix in a bowl:
6-8 CSA eggs 
2 cups milk or milk alternative
2 cups any cheese you like
(Add what other ingredients you like – bacon, smoked tofu or mushrooms)

In a large pie shell, line the bottom with the greens sauté and then pour the milk and eggs mixture over the top.

Add a small layer of fresh herbs like dill or oregano and parmesan. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the center is not wiggly. The great thing about this pie is you can let it cool and serve it cooled or fresh out of the oven! This makes a great weekend brunch item use your CSA mushrooms and serve this with your CSA bread and coffee!

Green Smoothies

1-2 bananas (freeze it for a while if you want)
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
1 cup soy almond or coconut milk
3 cups of any leftover mild greens from the CSA (pursalane leaves would be great here, too)
3-4 ice cubes (optional)

Put the banana and peanut butter into the blender and puree until smooth. Then, one cup at a time, add the spinach, blending until smooth each time. Scrape down the sides of the blender with a spatula between blends and add a tablespoon or so of water if you need to get the spinach blending. Then add the ice cubes, if using, and pulse until smooth.

Grower’s Perspective: The Colorado Sun 
Phil Cordelli, Head CSA Grower

The heat is different here. The intensity of the sun is potentially destructive, as I found out with our first two rounds of transplants, left uncovered in mid-April. With everything else that gets transplanted from the greenhouse into the field we use a floating rowcover to shelter the small plants until they establish themselves enough to survive. We also keep the rowcover on fulltime for tender plants such as basil. We just picked basil this morning and I was thinking back to how spindly, yellow and dry the basil looked when we first transplanted it in late May. Josie told me we grow some fantastic basil here, and looking this morning at a basil leaf as big as my hand, I see she’s right. The basil is now knee-high in some places, and sets me at ease that the cinnamon and Thai basil we just planted, and which is now looking stressed and almost fried even under the rowcover, will come through just fine. 

There’s a leap of faith taken every time you sink a seed in the soil. We can try to control the circumstances for that little plant as much as possible, with good bed preparation, rowcover and soil amendments, but the basic fact is that we farmers and we eaters are only spectators to the growing of food. I’ve had a lot of fun adapting to the quirks of Colorado growing, from May snow to blazing sun to hail. Thanks everyone for rolling with us as the crew and I keep adapting, trying out new techniques and approaches. Thankfully the rich soils of our floodplain are extremely forgiving of relative novices such as us.