Week 13 Produce CSA Box

Wow! It has really been busy here. A week in St. Michaels, MD doing my job as a Sustainable Agricultural Consultant. It was beautiful. We went riding on a skipjack and had a Maryland Crab Feast. Had some serious meetings discussing the future of farming in the US and how to help farmers transition to a more sustainable and socially responsible way of farming as well as how to help develop local food systems. I got to meet with some of the movers and shakers in the socially responsible food movement as well as respresentatives from Johns Hopkins.

I'm sorry that I didn't get a post up for last week's box. We have been so busy with the house being worked on (two weeks with no hot water nor bathroom). Also, all last week was getting the sheep and rabbits ready to go to Trinidad. Mama and Daddy got back last night from taking 90 sheep and 40 rabbits to Miami which then were shipped by airplane to a client in Trinidad so that he can breed them.

Anyway, here is the info on your produce box for this week. It includes:

corn, peaches, watermelon, stringbeans, onions, potatoes, butternut squash, tomatoes, collards, eggplants, peppers and okra.

The pictures are from last week. I haven't had time to take pictures this week.

Check out the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living for a great recipe for tossed salad with Fried Okra. It looked really good. I don't have the magazine but am going to get a copy today.

Follow this link to a great recipe for Tomatoes with Preserved Lemon, a typical Moroccan dish. http://www.africawithin.com/recipes/tomato_salad.htm You can also follow the link to make your own preserved lemon. I have done it and it is delicious. It changes the whole flavor panel of the lemon. You also are getting some peaches in your box this week. I love grilled peaches with balsamic glaze. Here is a link to a recipe. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grilled-Peaches/Detail.aspx The recipe calls for sprinkling with blue cheese. I also love it served instead with a dollop of homemade vanilla ice cream. If you have never tried Panzanella, it is really good. When the tomatoes are at their peak in flavor, particularly heirloom tomatoes, you want to make Panzanella. Follow this link to a good recipe for it. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/panzanella-recipe/index.html It is a recipe from Ina Garten and those of you who are familiar with her know that anything she makes is delicious. I am so glad that the butternut squash are starting to come off. My kids love Butternut Squash souffle. http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1950,157186-238195,00.html Of course we have to top the souffle with toasted pecans.

We are finally getting hot water back today and I am so looking forward to being able to do more in-depth cooking. We have been eating lots of sandwiches and things easy to fix so as not to make too many dishes during this time. However, with so many nice veggies, it hasn't been too hard to fix meals for the family. Thanks for telling us how much you are enjoying the vegetables. The kids are thankful for your business. They are starting to evaluate things and hope to do this again next year. There are more people signed up for CSA shares than we had initially expected. So, if the kids can afford to fix their Great-Grandaddy's International 140 tractor so that they can expand the size of their garden plots, they want to do this next year.

Thanks again and enjoy those veggies,

The Rainbow Meadow Farms family