Crop Talk July 31, 2017
CSA Week 9

   We're packing slicing tomatoes this week. We try to pick them relatively green so they'll survive the journey to your door, but they are a climacteric fruit, which means they will continue to ripen off the vine, so you can leave them on your counter for a couple of days if they need to soften up. Don't refrigerate them unless they're soft already or the skin is broken.

   Here are some thoughts about the humble potato from Katherine at Cook With What You Have:

   "Potatoes from the CSA or farmers’ market are a treasure. If you need a quick meal and have a couple of potatoes, maybe some herbs, a heel of bacon, an egg or two, or any random vegetable in need of use, you have a meal, whether in a frittata or soup or gratin or hash or salad… Potatoes of course keep well though it’s nice to eat new potatoes, with their thin, papery skins, as soon as possible. Never refrigerate potatoes. It breaks down their sugars and they actually spoil more quickly and just don’t taste as good after being refrigerated. It is best to keep them in a coolish dark place. I rarely peel potatoes (really only for gnocchi and mashed potatoes). A good scrub is all they need and you can always cut out any blemishes but the skin is tasty and full of nutrients.

 

   "Most cuisines have potato dishes, as does my native Germany (in spades!), and there really is no limit to what you can do with them. They take well to most anything, save eating raw!


   Visit Cook With What You Have for more that 50 potato suggestions, including this  Green Salad with Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Creamy Basil Dressing

Week 9 Shares Include: sweet corntomatoes, squash, potatoes, greens, apples , peaches, onions

Pick-your-own bonus: 6 peaches and 3 sunflowers

Peachy Fun!

   Bluemont Vineyard, Great Country Farms, and Dirt Farm Brewing have a full weekend of peach fun planned.  Enjoy peach pancakes, peach wine slushies, peach beer, peach food specials, live music, and more!

Visit our  Peach Fuzztival event page  for more details.

Dogs Like Good Food Too
   
   CSA members Eric and Julie Parkhurst understand that your dog's health depends on what he eats, just as yours does. That's why they started EJ's Meats & Treats, a family business that produces smoked and dehydrated natural pet treats. Each of their treats is hand-processed, with no unnatural preservatives, additives or fillers. Meat treats are made from all natural free-range livestock and poultry raised on family-run USDA certified farms in the United States. And they use produce from Great Country Farms.  EJ’s Meats & Treats takes pride in the quality and love that goes into each treat that goes into your pet's mouth. Never before has spoiling your pet been so affordable.   

   A selection of their treats is now available in our market.

Cooking with Lee  

   Long-time CSA member Lee Draznin has embarked on a blogging project this year: it's called "What Do I Do With This Box?", and the name speaks for itself. We invite all of you to join us in Lee's kitchen for the next few months, while we learn how he uses the bounty that comes to his door every week.  

Here's Lee's post from Week 8: 

   "Today’s question is relatively simple…what do you do with your box when you go away on vacation? Ideally, you take as much bounty with you as possible.  Some items like potatoes and zucchini travel long distances well.  After all, this is how most grocers get their produce.  It can be grown half way around the world and shipped.  Items like berries and other fruit are more delicate, and require more TLC to make a long journey intact."

Read more here.
NoVa Wellness and YogaFest Retreat

   You’re invited to the first ever NoVa Wellness and YogaFest Retreat, October 6-8, on the grounds of historic Morven Park. This weekend-long celebration of self and community wellness will feature an array of yoga classes, including Yin, Vinyasa, Laughter Yoga, and children’s yoga led by minimum 200 RYT practitioners from throughout the region. The event will also offer meditation and mindfulness, wellness workshops, nature walks, chef-inspired healthy food, wellness products, and wholistic service options.

Learn more here.
Bonus Value this week: $7.54
Year-to- Date Bonus Value:  $122.25

What is the YTD Bonus Value? Each week we total up the market value of the bonus pick-your-own items. The value to date includes 8 quarts of strawberries, two bags of spinach, four bundles of asparagus, three quarts of sweet cherries, a quart of tart cherries, two pints of black raspberries, 3 quarts of blackberries, and 36 peaches, two bags of green beans, and three sunflowers.

Please note that bonus amounts do not carry over from week to week, and they are offered while supplies last.  

Wagon rides to the fields will start at 9:15 sharp and continue at the top of every the hour until 5:00. We update our Twitter @TheFarmerSays with the latest picking conditions, so be sure to follow us.

Group Site Members: 
Please remember that you must pick up your box on delivery day. All boxes contain perishable items that spoil easily, so any boxes that are not claimed within the designated pick-up window will be donated. Your host is not permitted to hold your box overnight.

Great Country Farms | 540-554-2073 | CSA@GreatCountryFarms.com | www.GreatCountryFarms.com