Youth Farm CSA Newsletter: July 30th (week 9)

On the farm: Its a subtle shift in the season, but I can feel it, we are coming towards the end of the weeding season.  Now I should not get ahead of myself, but we have weeded the onions, and root crops a few times, the potatoes are fully mulched, the squash and pumpkins are enormous and taking care of themselves, the corn has been under sown with clover, and all that leaves is lots of other crops to stay on top of. But still its feeling good.

As for the vegetables, a great addition to the harvest last week was the beans.  Josh, who is part of our Thursday harvest crew, was also excited about the beans, in particular the Velcro like leaves he discovered.  (Every time I look at this photo I laugh!)  

As for the food in your CSA share this week: Expect to find broccoli, lettuce, salad mix, bunching onions, chard, beans, carrots, beets, cauliflower, basil, fresh garlic, zucchinis, walla walla sweet onions, Romanesco broccoli, maybe a few more tomatoes, and — as always — a few surprises.  Also a quick reminder, if you have unwanted used plastic shopping bags, we would love to take them off your hands.

For the Recipe this week: Pesto!

Pesto is one of my absolute favorites and at this point, you all may have a bit of basil building up from the last few weeks.  If that’s the case a great way to use it up is pesto. Take your food processor, or similar device and toss in all the basil you can find, then a few splashes of olive oil, and lightly chopped garlic.  Pulse for a few seconds.  I prefer pesto wet but not runny and remember, it will thicken up when its all done.  Next go ahead and add a bunch of Parmesan cheese, a bit of salt, a splash of lemon juice, and a bunch of nuts of your choice (I used toasted sun flower seeds).  As always play around and adjust as you see fit.  Pesto also freezes very well.  I have known folks who freeze it in ice cube trays, then put the cubes in a freezer bag for small serving sizes later.  I have had trouble getting the pesto cubes out of the ice tray, plus I love pesto so a small freezer bag works great for me.

If you would like more information about the Youth Farm and our goings-on, please check us out at www.gardencityharvest.org and www.Youthhomes.com, and check out more blog posts!