THE BEET: VOLUME 20; WEEK 8
FULL SHARE & YELLOW HALF SHARE PICKUP TONIGHT
218 Gates Avenue between Classon and Franklin
(IMPACCT Brooklyn at the Gibbs Mansion)
5:00 to 7:30 pm
Tonight, we'll have deliveries from Lewis Waite Farm, mushrooms from Two River Mushroom (here's a video highlighting their growing operation) and bread from Maison Flèche, for those with shares. We'll also be joined by Union St. Honey, who will be selling jars of their hyper-local (the hives are in Park Slope!) honey during distribution. If you can't be here tonight, they may be returning soon - stay tuned!
This week's share
Green leaf and butterhead lettuce
Lacinato kale
Tomatoes
Squash or cucumbers
Beets
Eggplant or cabbage
Yellow onions
Basil or cilantro
Fruit: apricots
The News from Windflower Farm
Distribution #8 - Week of July 26, 2021
Hello from a very wet Windflower Farm! Rain and mud and more rain: a test of one’s foul weather gear and tolerance for wet socks and mosquitos. Jan, Nate and I stopped in at the farmers’ market today, where the consensus among farmers was that a wet year is preferable to a dry one, even if it means more foliar diseases and weedier fields. Not a one enjoys dragging irrigation pipe around the fields. I’m with them so far, especially because our soils are well drained, but I’m worried by the prospect of more rainfall. We are not vendors at farmers’ markets - all of our produce goes to the CSA - but we do like to visit for mushrooms, maple syrup, tree fruit and sundry other items and to exchange gossip with our fellow farmers. And on this occasion, we had the additional treat of hearing a musical performance by a young man who works here and his trio. (He also produces organic grains on his family’s farm. More on that in a future newsletter.)
Eggplant is the new item in this week’s box [editor's note - we might get cabbage instead]. Quick ideas: You might bread and pan fry slices to go on pizza or, with bruschetta and a dollop of ricotta, on toast. If you are feeling especially bold, you might try ratatouille. Fennel will come next week. The wet weather has slowed development of our corn crop, but you can expect the bicolor variety ‘Vision’ two weeks from now. Our peppers and garlic should also start at about that time.
A couple of notes on our tomatoes: Roads in and out of NYC are very poor, which is especially hard on ripe tomatoes. Some bruising is inevitable. Our goal is to send mostly fully ripe fruits, but we’ll also mix in tomatoes that are not quite ripe so that you won’t have to consume them all immediately. Your tomatoes will finish ripening on your kitchen counter.
Your fruit shares will be Yonder Farm’s apricots. The rain has made harvesting and the prediction of what’s available difficult. Pete tells me not to expect his stone fruit to arrive fully ripe. If he put fully ripe apricots or peaches on our truck, they’d be ruined in transit. Like tomatoes, they’ll ripen by sitting in a bowl on your counter.
By the way, if you have a comment or complaint about the contents of a share, please feel free to share it with me. Your feedback helps us become better farmers, and welcome thoughtful, constructive criticism. We all want you to have a good CSA experience, so we really will pay close attention to what you have to say and the team and I will make improvements where we can.
I hope you have a great week, Ted
Community Highlights
The Clinton Hill Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library (on Washington & Lafayette) is now open for more hours and has summer programming for all ages! They have open hours each day of the week except Sunday. Visit their website or follow them on Facebook for more information, including upcoming events!
Recipes
Here's an easy but impactful tomato tart (made even easier with a premade pie crust), a spicy garlic eggplant, and a classic French apricot and almond tarte.