Hi there!   We're rolling right into Week 4 of your Summer Share-- if you just joined us, welcome to the tastiest summer you've ever had! Check out the newsletters from from the first few weeks here . You all might have been finding ways to escape the heat this past weekend, but it's been doing great things for our produce-- we have huge heads of broccoli and cauliflower in the bags, as well as radishes, onions, lettuce, zucchini, summer squash and the last of this year's strawberry crop. There is a chance that some of you might see the season's first cherries in your bag instead of the strawberries, but like always we will let you know of any substitutions at the trucks. And speaking of substitutions, we know that some of our Saturday stops (Rocky River, Copley and Mentor) had something missing last week & we weren't able to offer you a sub. We've got you covered, though, and this weekend when you pick up you'll get a replacement for either your scapes or spinach from Week 3. Also coming in your share bags this week is a pound of grass-fed ground beef for the Omnivores, and some feta and cucumbers for the Vegetarians (Vegans you'll have kohlrabi and snow peas instead of the cheese.) The feta is from Paint Valley Creamery/Wholesome Valley Farm; a 6oz block packed in brine. The Large Omnivores will also get a pack of chicken patties (as well as the feta and snow peas), and the Large Vegetarians will get a pound of Ohio City Pasta's Whole Wheat Linguine as well as a quart of sauerkraut stuffed peppers (store in fridge.)

Check out this gorgeous painting of the green onions in your shares from @hazelnutmuse on Instagram! Thanks for all of your posts this week-- kohlrabi basking in the sunlight, strawberry cakes to beat the heat and all your tasty looking dinners.

WHY GRASS-FED BEEF FROM TREVOR.... Last week we discussed grass-grazed A2A2 Guernsey milk and the benefits of the conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs). The fat from grass-grazed animals, either in the form of milk or meat, is one of the most efficient sources of these good fatty acids. Grass-fed beef is no exception: besides being higher in CLAs, you'll notice in the color alone the mineralization of the meat, which is the result of a more mature animal that has enjoyed a diet entirely from pasture. Traditionally, beef in America is raised with two guiding principles: get fat, and quickly, too. They are fed corn and soybeans, often exclusively. Corn is a carbohydrate, which helps create fat and marbling in the meat (think of feed corn as a candy bar.) Soybeans are a protein source, and in most situations feedlots buy "stockers" from sale barns/auctions and fatten the cattle out on beans and corn. Their feed rations are calculated for a certain percentage of protein for a programmable growth rate. For those who don't know what a feedlot is, just google it. They are large, high-density operations where cattle are often mechanically fed. In grocery stores, the beef described above can be considered 'all natural.'  The requirement there is that the product you buy - such as ground beef - contains no synthetic ingredients, food colorings, artificial flavorings, or preservatives. That's not hard to do.   But once you understand the bovine digestive tract, all natural might mean something else. This is the definition I believe in. Beef by nature are considered ruminant animals. For the simplest explanation, cattle - like sheep and goats - have a four-chambered stomach. The first part, the rumen, is essentially a large fermentation vat that holds the grass and forage and allows enzymes and bacteria to help break down cellulose (plant based fibers), which allows the digestive tract to extract more nutrients. The remaining parts are a series of muscles that further process the forage, similar to a true stomach.   So by nature, a steer or heifer is designed to live entirely off of grass. And Mother Nature gives us sunshine, rain, grass and even weeds. With patience and dedication to our pasture programs, we can fatten cattle entirely on grass - a more healthy and sustainable approach.   We feature only 100% grass-fed beef. There are so many more specifics about how to do this, including our specific breeding program, pasture management techniques, and rotation. For us, grass-fed beef cattle take between 24 and 30 months to finish, where the commercial industry can fatten cattle on a feedlot in 16 to 18 months with less land and less labor. Their bottom line drives their decision process, but I prefer to stick with my values in raising our animals the way they should be raised.

Cattle roaming through fresh grasses down at Wholesome Valley Farm

Some reminders from our office

ADDING CREDITS TO YOUR ACCOUNT WITH A CHECK Want to place a Special Order online but skip the 3% service fee for credit card payments? Bring a check or cash to your stop and ask your Greeter to add it to your account as credits. Then every time you make a purchase, at the stop or online, it will just debit from that amount till you need to re-up.  As always, if you write a check, please write your email address as well as a note on the memo line for what it's for (in this case, write "ADD CREDITS.")

GOING ON VACATION FOR THE 4TH OF JULY? If you're going to be out of town for the 4th of July (or any other week this summer), please add your vacation to your account. You get 4 vacation weeks per season. Click here to follow the steps . Vacations must be added to your account by Saturday at Midnight the week before you're planning on leaving . Your credits will only be available to use after your vacation week is over, and they're only good for buying extras going forward, not for paying off an existing balance. Also, once you get back you need to have spent at least $1 of your vacation credits within 4 weeks of your return to keep the full value. After 4 weeks, they reduce by half.

Need to mix up your zucchini game? Try some Zucchini Pancakes for breakfast this weekend! You'll need to get a bag of our spelt pancake mix, some butter, whole milk and an egg. We also have delicious local maple syrup and honey to top it. Mix the pancakes according to the directions on the bag (add about 1/2 cup extra milk or yogurt.) When you add the beaten egg white in at the end, also add in 3/4 - 1 cup finely grated zucchini and a heaping tablespoon or honey or maple syrup. And if you decide to add some chocolate chips too, no judgement here.

Featured Products

Peach Jam Delicious, spreadable peach jam. Add it to your bagel and cream cheese, toast and butter, or spoon it into yogurt or oatmeal. Or, if you need a little Ohio-made host/hostess gift, add this to a basket with a loaf of rhubarb bread and a bottle of honey! $5 for each 8 oz jar. Place a Special Order

Patty Pan bigger than your hand! This week all the shares will be getting two summer squash-- either zucchini, yellow squash, or patty pan as seen above. These veggies are tasty and really versatile: shred into baked goods, scoop and stuff to make squash boats, grill them up in a veggie basket and add to pasta... so many options that we made a whole board on Pinterest, "Zucchini Overload. "

Bag Contents

THE MINI Radishes Green Onions/Scallions Summer Squash - 2 Cauliflower Candy Onion

SMALL OMNIVORE Radishes Green Onions/Scallions Summer Squash - 2 Cauliflower Candy Onion Broccoli Lettuce Strawberries - 1 qt Ground Beef - 1 lb

LARGE OMNIVORE Radishes Green Onions/ Scallions Summer Squash - 2 Cauliflower Candy Onion Broccoli Lettuce Strawberries - 1 qt Ground Beef - 1 lb Feta Cheese - 6 oz Snow Peas - 1 qt Chicken Patties - 1#

SMALL VEGETARIAN Radishes Green Onions/Scallions Summer Squash - 2 Cauliflower Candy Onion Broccoli Lettuce Strawberries - 1 qt Cucumbers - 2 Feta Cheese - 6 oz

LARGE VEGETARIAN Radishes Green Onions/ Scallions Summer Squash - 2 Cauliflower Candy Onion Broccoli Lettuce Strawberries - 1 qt Cucumbers - 2 Feta Cheese - 6 oz Snow Peas - 1 qt Whole Wheat Linguine - 1# Sauerkraut Stuffed Peppers - 1 qt

VEGAN Radishes Green Onions/Scallions Summer Squash - 2 Cauliflower Candy Onion Broccoli Lettuce Strawberries - 1 qt Cucumbers - 2 Kohlrabi Snow Peas - 1 qt

Place a Special Order

Recipes featuring this week's share ingredients

Garlic & Rosemary Cauliflower Salad

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Baked Pasta with Peppers & Zucchini

Chilled Cucumber Yogurt Soup with Dill

For more of our recipes, click here .

More recipes online

Vegan Sauteed Chili Cucumbers 5 Savory Mix Ins for Better Burgers Zucchini Grilled Cheese Strawberry & Green Onion Salsa Kohlrabi-Zucchini Fritters with Sriracha Mayo Cucumber Green Onion Salad Rao's Meatballs Pasta with Charred Broccoli, Feta & Lemon Spice Merchant Cauliflower Couscous Roasted Garlic Whipped Cauliflower Grilled Zucchini Hummus Wrap Zucchini Lasagna Rolls Curried Cauliflower & Chickpea Salad with Yogurt Birthday Lasagna with Ground Beef Roasted Radish Chips Vegan Strawberry Shortcake Ice cream Sundaes Rachel Ray's Beef & Feta Pasta Bake

Spicy Cucumber Margaritas Roasted Zucchini Burgers with Garlic Whipped Feta Grilled Snow Peas & Onions Lemony Pea Pesto FFM's Guide to Making a Great Burger Roasted Cauliflower & Black Bean Tacos Cucumber Radish Salsa Spinach, Feta & Artichoke Dip Spiced Cauliflower Burger with Sauerkraut Broccoli-Feta Pesto Beef Burrito Bowl with Broccoli Slaw Favorite Broccoli Salad Zucchini Pad Thai Snow Pea, Scallion & Radish Salad FFM's Chilled Kohlrabi Soup Broccoli Snow Pea Sesame Salad Sneaky Zucchini Mac n' Cheese Cucumber, Dill, Feta & Pistachio Salad

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