Peeling garlic - a summer scene

Well well well, here we are again!  It’s been another busy week here in the Kitchen.  I don’t have a lot of exciting things to report because I’ve been working very hard at things that aren’t very glamorous–I’ve been trying to get our numbers and information together for the winter season.  It’s essential to get it done since in order to have local veggies in the winter we need to start buying and preserving them now.  Unfortunately it means that I just have to work at my computer and in my cookbooks for hours.  The big excitement this past weekend was attending my friend Sofia’s wedding. Since Sofia is Bengali, I got to eat lots of amazing food at the reception–very inspiring. Saag Paneer may be coming your way sometime soon!

At the farm, things are going well.  The heat and humidity and

My high school crowd at Mark and Sofia's wedding - bride in veil at center; Mary at far right

rain that have made this summer so tough in some ways are perfect for tomatoes, melons, sweet corn, and peppers.  We got our first hint of those delicious things last week, and this week there are more tasty treats on the way.  Farmer Anne tells us that when it’s hard to sleep at night because of the heat, that’s when the tomatoes are getting ripe–it’s good that there are some benefits!  I don’t have much more to report–I only had a brief visit at the farm on Saturday because I was hurrying off to the wedding, but everything was looking great.  The veggies are so bountiful at this time of year that they scarcely fit into my car and take many many trips to load from the barn and unload into the kitchen.  It’s worth it, though, to bring you these tasty treasures.

So, this week’s share and menu are (as usual) after the jump.

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Green Onions

I hope everyone’s been enjoying the holiday weekend and managing to stay cool in the heat!  Yesterday evening I headed over to Frog Holler Farm, where our kind friends were throwing a 4th of July party, complete with an awesome potluck, badminton, bonfire, and of course, music.  I did NOT keep cool dancing the night away to the sweet tunes of Billy King and the Frog Holler band.  But it was a great night and leaves me feeling energized and happy for this week to come.

At Community Farm, things are going very well.  Last week while I was busy cooking for the omnivores, our farmers and many helpers brought in hay.  I was sorry to miss this job–bringing in the hay is hot, dusty, scratchy, hard, and immensely satisfying.  There’s something about working REALLY hard with a big group of people that makes you feel so accomplished at the end of the day.  And of course, with the hay, you know you’ve put away food for our dear cows and goats for the whole winter, so that’s a good feeling too.  I hope all of you will get a chance to experience hay day satisfaction at some point.

Independence Day Pasta Salad

We also have a good harvest of “people food” this week too.  We’re still kind of in transition between the spring crops and the bounty of summer.  Anne tells me that we’re about two weeks away from harvesting the first tomatoes, but we’re already beginning to see some of the “high summer” crops, including a few zucchini.  Also, this week we’ve got some beautiful fennel to enjoy! I don’t know how you feel about fennel, but I love it, so I’m excited about cooking with it!  Get ready for some delicious fennel dishes (and more).  Share and menu after the jump.

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Bridgette and the strawberries

What a beautiful, damp June it’s been.  The peas are loving this weather and continue to kick out an abundance of delicious, sweeter-than-candy, crunchy treats.  Thursday was a great day at the farm: we had a lot of visitors, including the first graders from the Rudolf Steiner School who helped with the chores while the chaperons weeded the chard with Peter and myself.  We also had a visit from our friends at Real Time Farms who are making a little video about how amazing local veggies are.  As if that wasn’t enough, some folks from Sounds of the State came by to make a recording of us singing and weeding in the fields.  It was a busy and bustling day at Community Farm!

This weekend I went to Chicago for my sister’s graduation from the

Bottling the dill dressing

University of Chicago, but while I was gone, the Kitchen work kept on rolling.  I got plenty of updates by phone and email from the incredible kitchen crew who worked hard on Friday doing the latest omnivore cook-up.  Michelle tells me that they are ROCKSTARS, and I believe it!  Then on Saturday, Peter and Michelle headed to the farm to pick up this week’s share–details after the jump.

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