Friends of the Farm-
As teased last week, strawberries have arrived to this week's CSA. Mara Des Bois is the name of this specific variety we grow. You'll notice their texture is slightly softer and more tender than a commercial strawberry. Your teeth sink right in and it almost has a melt in your mouth-like quality that make these especially coveted. Another characteristic of this variety is their pronounced aromatics. The pure smell of a perfectly ripe strawberry is like nothing else. Best of luck sharing these at your house and making them last with others!
This week's feature recipe continues in the theme of summer refreshment and combines strawberries & shiso. A loose play off of a classic Mojito, the Shiso shines in the place of mint to bring freshness and a herbal / citrus-like pop to the drink. This recipe can also be perfectly made as a mocktail (sans rum) or without the addition of the strawberries in the case you've already eaten them all by the time you're reading this...
To take a line from one of the featured songs, (Aloe Blacc's One Inna) in this week's music playlist to describe the itself: I bet it feels good, I bet it feels real good... That is exactly how we feel here in July at the height of the summer season. The same feeling can be applied to your first bite of this week's strawberries or sip of shiso cocktail.
Celebrating last Sunday's end in Paris to the month-long cycling race across France, Kraftwerk's Tour de France, and a few other electronic-leaning tracks get the blood pumping this week. Knowing too that the Summer Olympics officially kick-off today from Tokyo, we've embraced this spirit with songs like Tryouts for the Human Race, organ-heavy Move, Move, Move and geographic titles like instrumental Flags of the World, (The Zenmenn), Coast to Coast (Alan Parker), and Moscow 1980 (Javelin). With surfing as a recently new Olympic sport, you'll also catch the harmony of surf-rock and summer vibes with Dick Dale's Shake N' Stomp. Summer at its best, enjoy!
Reminder that available as additions to any week CSA are the following current add-ons:
+ Umbel Roots fresh chicken eggs - $8 /doz
+ Umbel Roots Seasonal Herbal Tea Blend - SPRING - $16 / lb
(Mint, Lavender, Chrysanthemum, & Calendula)
*simply reply to this email to have any inclusions added to next week's box!*
This and other past newsletters from this CSA quarter can now be found via our website at UmbelRoots.com. In the case of wanting to revisit a recipe, produce guide, or past playlist they are all collected here under the Newsletter Archive tab. We will continue to update each week.
All our best from the farm,
Tom & William
