Three cheers for the TWO incredible volunteer groups that came to harvest garlic with us in one million degree heat today. One was a staff team from a medical marijuana dispensary (above) and the other were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (below). They weren’t just smiling during the popsicle break—both groups were enthusiastic all day, which was impressive considering the withering weather.
│ Announcements │ This Week’s Share │ U-Pick │ Recipe │ Coming Soon │
Announcements:
We’re back! CSA share pickups resume this week, July 7, 8, and 10.
Got any great farm photos? Send them to us in a reply to this week’s email or tag us on Instagram #clagettfarm. We’d also love to get your recipe suggestions!
Flower Garden Pollinator Video
Check out this wonderful footage taken by our very own farmer Jared Planz highlighting the native pollinators busy in our flower garden!
This Week’s Share:
A baby melon!
Small fennel bulbs with the ferns, probably as a choice with Genovese basil (the classic Italian type for pesto)
Either red shallots or red bulb onions
Cucumbers
Green cabbage (one head)
Summer squash (a few)
Kale and collards
Garlic bulbs (when they’re this fresh they really pack a punch!)
U-Pick:
In the fields:
Kale and collards
In our herb and flower garden behind the washing station:
Anise hyssop (licorice flavor; makes a nice tea)
Basil (Genovese, Greek, Thai, Round Midnight, Lemon, and Tulsi)
Coriander
Garlic chives
Onion chives
Lemon balm
Mint
Nasturtium (peppery, edible leaves and flowers)
Oregano
Sage
Shiso
Sorrel
Thyme
Lilies (their fragrance is as gorgeous as their looks!), Echinacea, Yarrow, and other flowers
Blackberries (a few short rows to the right as you approach the CSA pickup)
In field G2, which is beside the parking area at the washing station:
Parsley
More basil of various types (This is a great time to pick basil—freeze pesto for your winter pasta and dry Tulsi for tea.)
Zinnias, Cosmos and Cleome flowers
Recipes:
Fennel, Cabbage, and Zucchini
These three items can seem tricky but in fact they are so versatile! I bet you could incorporate any of them into the dinner you’re planning to make tonight. The roasting pan with your chicken? The sauce on your pasta? Your salad or sandwich? Definitely.
The fennel we grow has a smaller bulb than the ones you see in the grocery store, but they have the advantage of being fresher and tastier—the bulb is less woody and the ferns fluffier and more delicate. If you like the taste of licorice or anise, then this is a great vegetable to add to your repertoire.
Try slicing the fennel diagonally into 1/2-inch pieces, toss them with olive oil and salt, and roast them in a hot oven (or toaster oven, if your kitchen is like mine and feels like one of the circles of the Inferno) until soft and lightly browned. Roasting caramelizes some of the sugars to bring out the sweetness a bit.
Slice the bulb very thin and add to salads or sandwiches the way you would add celery. Garnish with the chopped fennel leaves.
Fennel is a close cousin to dill, and you can chop the ferns and add them to dishes that normally call for fresh dill leaf.
The cabbages are remarkably sweet and juicy right now. If you’re not used to cooking with cabbage, or you think cole slaw is the only thing it’s good for, this is a great time to try something new.
Cut the cabbage in half through the stem, and then in half through the stem again. Now you can see where the tough core is, and slice it away from your cabbage quarters. (If you want a visual, here’s a one-minute YouTube video.) I usually slice it into thin ribbons for most recipes.
Those cabbage ribbons make a great base for your salad—better than the boxes of lettuce for sale in the store. It matches well with just about any dressing, especially thick and creamy dressings or vinaigrettes with mustard.
Or you can try sautéing your ribbons of cabbage with some olive oil and salt until its soft and buttery. I recommend including your shallots and fennel (the sliced bulb and chopped green leaves of both) in the sauté. This is a terrific bed of greens for whatever protein you’re serving (chicken, fish, tofu, etc.).
Thanks to CSA shareholder Dale Rubenstein for passing us this Milk Street recipe for a tahini and tomato paste dressing for roasting vegetables, such as zucchini (the recipe is for roasted cauliflower, but really it works for all kinds of vegetables). I combined it with cabbage, fennel and shallots in an attempt to put together a meal with as many of our CSA share ingredients as possible. I thought it was delicious, but you decide.
Roasted Zucchini and Tofu on a Bed of Cabbage with Fennel
Dressing for tofu and zucchini:
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 Tablespoons tahini
1 Tablespoon hot sauce
2 teaspoons corn starch
For roasting:
A few fennel bulbs, sliced 1/2-inch thick (save the ferns for later)
A block of extra firm tofu, cut or torn into approximately 1-inch pieces
About a pound of zucchini, chopped into 3/4-inch pieces
A little olive oil and salt for the fennel
For the bed of sautéed cabbage:
A half a head of cabbage, sliced into ribbons
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt, more to taste
1 shallot or red onion, bulb thinly sliced and green leaves chopped
Ferns from one fennel, chopped
Instructions:
Heat the oven to 500 degrees F
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil or just coat the pan with oil.
Combine the dressing ingredients in a jar, put the lid on tightly and shake vigorously until well combined.
Put the tofu and zucchini into a bowl and pour enough dressing over it to give it all a thick coating. (If you have leftover dressing, use it for your next salad or future roasting.)
Spread the tofu and zucchini onto the pan in a single layer. Save a little space for the fennel.
In a bowl, toss the fennel with a little olive oil and salt. Spread the fennel on the pan if you have space. If you don’t, you can add it to the sauté pan with the shallots.
Roast the vegetables about 25 minutes until tender and browned.
While the vegetables are roasting, heat a large pan and add the tablespoon of olive oil.
When the oil is hot, add the sliced shallot or onion bulb and, if necessary, the fennel bulb.
Shallots don’t need to cook long. You’re just infusing the flavor into the oil. Cook until the shallots have softened.
Next add the cabbage and salt and shift it around in the pan until the cabbage has softened.
Add the shallot or onion greens and the fennel ferns. Stir frequently until the cabbage is tender and buttery but still vibrant green. Add more salt if needed.
Plate a bed of cabbage topped with roasted vegetables and tofu.
Coming Soon:
These are the melons we seeded in the order that we’re likely to pick them (we’re picking the first three varieties this week and the cantaloupes as soon as they’re ready). You should see them over the next few weeks. Some varieties are sweeter than others, but none of our melons so far has been knock-out-of-the-park sweet. Expect them to be pleasant, fruity, and refreshing.
Mini love watermelon
Torpedo Korean melon
Diplomat honeydew
Sarah’s Choice cantaloupe
Trifecta cantaloupe
We’ll continue for at least three more weeks to have various types of onions—shallots, red bulb onions, and yellow bulb onions.
The kale, collards, and chard are holding up remarkably well considering the heat. We’ll continue offering them as long as we can.
Garlic bulbs from now until the end of the season!
A steady but modest supply of squash and cucumbers for the foreseeable future.
Green beans return beginning next week.
We think your first tomato might be next week! Come on tomatoes! Also some tomatillos.
Potatoes soon—maybe week 10?
Peppers, eggplants, and okra are still pretty small. I wouldn’t expect those until the end of July.
Thank you for Supporting our Farm!
CLAGETT FARM
Wednesdays, 3:00-7:00 P.M.
Saturdays, 1:00-4:00 P.M.
DUPONT CIRCLE DC
Wednesdays, 5:00-7:00 P.M.
ANNAPOLIS
Thursdays, 4:00-6:00 P.M.