Summer 2025 CSA Newsletter - August 5, 2025 (Week 11)
Howdy Folks,
This past Tuesday night Lupin took a bite for the 4th time in his lifetime out of a Porcupine and ended up with not much other than quills in his mouth, so a trip to the vet and sedation to get them pulled was required. The past two times they were on the outside of his face, so when he was sleeping Chris ever so quietly would approach him and pull them one at a time with some pliers.. OUCH!!! Poor guy! It can be a painful life being a farm defender, but I suppose it’s hard to be a defender of anything. Maca and he just the day before double teamed a ground hog. The ground hog was done for once Maca got bit in the face, she was mad and this gave her all the energy she needed to take him out.
The last seeding of fall plantings is happening now. Timing is an integral part in the fine art of farming. Currently all the plants that you will be eating in the summer shares have been seeded and transplanted to the field. We are now in keeping everything happy phase of the summer season. Many crops go in early and take their specific time to mature, it’s a matter of days, but there are of course so many influences that change this up each season. Scouting is a daily ritual! Lots of looking, at all sorts of details like leaf color and any curling, inward, upward, and twisting. Also reading the landscape as a whole is essential, if it’s dry who needs more water? Pushing fruits to their peak, for the ultimately delicious full ripe flavor, here they need consistent watering and nutrition! There is a lot of taste testing! Bug watching! Bug inviting! Bug disinviting!
We ate our first Honeydue & Cantaloupe this weekend, so the patch should be all coming in soon! Then on their tails will be watermelon!!!
On the wild edges the milkweed flowers are starting to form their most impressive seed pods. Buckwheat cover crops are in full blossom and the bees are loving it! The invasive canadian thistle, one of our least favorite weeds, is going to seed!!!!!!!! And the Canadian Bull Thistle is just beginning to bloom it’s brilliant pink, a much brighter shade than the dull pink of the 7’ tall Joe Pye Weed, and the rosy pink velcro blossoms of Burdock. The lavender flowers of the teasel have almost all been pollinated and have fallen aside their prickly spires. It’s very green out here amongst the specks of colorful wild blooms and fruits.
Take care folks, enjoy the bounty! Have a great week!
Your Farmers, Chris, Aeros & the Who Crew
IN YOUR BOX:
Cucumbers, we say green on the tag but you may get a white cucumber! These are pretty delicious! No change in flavor of the flesh, more so in the skin. They have a mild skin that isn’t bitter, so no need to peel them!
All contents of your box are listed on your LABEL! If your label says something other than you think it should, please don’t take something different, please contact the farm. Note: Texting is the fastest way to reach us.
Add On Shares:
Mushrooms:
Shitake: mushrooms have a bold smokey and earthy flavor, with a texture that is both meaty and buttery when cooked. These mushrooms are rich in vitamins and are a great addition to almost any food. The stems tend to be woody, so they are best pulled off and added to soup stock!
Cheese:
We are switching dairies. We are sourcing the next 5 weeks of cheese from Clover Creek Cheese Cellar in Williamsburg, Blair County PA.
Royer Mountain is a 15 month aged cheese, it is versatile, it makes excellent Mac and Cheese, grilled cheese, topping on onion soup or pizza, grated into salads. This dairy has detailed info and inspiration about their cheeses on their website, check out the description of Royer Mountain in their own words.
Fruit:
Durgin Orchards brings us Peaches!
This week’s variety is still Bell Air.
RECIPE IDEAS
Crustless Summer Zucchini Pie
Adapted from Skinny Taste (www.skinnytaste.com)
Total time ~30 minutes
Serves 6
Ingredients:
10 oz shredded zucchini, all liquid squeezed out
½ cup shallots, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
½ cup part skim mozzarella
2 Tbs grated parmesan cheese
½ cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup fat free milk 1 tsp EVOO
2 large eggs, beaten
½ tsp kosher salt fresh cracked pepper to taste cooking spray or more oil
Directions: Preheat the oven to 400°. Lightly spray a pie dish with cooking spray or your mister. Combine zucchini, shallots, chives, and mozzarella cheese in a bowl. Sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients to the bowl and blend well. Combine with zucchini mixture and pour it into the pie dish. Top with parmesan cheese and bake 30-35 minutes or until the knife comes out clean from the center. Let it stand at least 5 minutes before serving.
Tomato, Cucumber and Red Onion Salad
Adapted from Genius Kitchen (www.geniuskitchen.com)
Total time 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves 6
Don’t let the time scare you on this one, it’s just best to let this one get to room temperature before serving.
Ingredients: 2 large cucumbers, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced 1/3 cup red wine vinegar 1 Tbs white sugar 1 tsp salt 3 large tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped 2/3 cup coarsely chopped red onion ½ cup chopped fresh basil leaf 3 Tbs EVOO (If you want to switch it up, toasted sesame oil is a nice change of pace.)
Directions: In a large bowl, toss together the cucumbers, vinegar, sugar and salt. Let stand at room temperature for an hour, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes, onion, Basil and oil to cucumbers and toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Eggplant and Roasted Carmen Pepper Sauce
Adapted from ladymoonfarms.com
Ingredients:
2 small eggplants
8 carmen peppers
1 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
⅛ tsp red pepper flakes
Directions:
Gather your ingredients together.
Set your oven to a high broil.
Place the peppers and eggplants on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
Put the pan about 6 inches from the broiler and watch carefully, turning as the skin starts to blacken.
Depending on your oven, it will take about 8 to 15 minutes on each side, the eggplant will take longer.
Once the peppers are roasted, remove and put into a sealed container and let steam for 20 minutes, leaving the eggplant to cook.
Remove the skin, stems, and seeds from the peppers and set aside.
The eggplants are cooked when you can easily pierce with a fork, about 15 minutes.
Remove the eggplants from the oven and when cool enough to handle, cut in half and remove the center and set aside.
Put the peppers and eggplant into a food processor or blender.
Add the remaining ingredients and puree making a smooth paste.
Enjoy!
Just Peachy Pork Tenderloin
Adapted from tasteofhome.com
Ingredients:
1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 12 slices
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 medium peaches, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup peach preserves
Directions:
Step 1:
Flatten each tenderloin slice to ¼ inch thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook pork in oil until tender. Remove and keep warm.
Step 2:
Add peaches and lemon juice to the pan, stirring to loosen browned bits. Cook and stir until peaches are tender, about 3 - 4 minutes. Stir in pork and preserves; heat through.
Step 3:
Serve and enjoy!
Sautéed Green Beans with Garlic
Adapted from Nagi (recipetineats.com)
Ingredients:
Blanched Green Beans:
8 oz green beans, trimmed
1 teaspoon salt
For Sautéing
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or butter)
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 pinch black pepper
Directions:
Step 1:
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil with 1 teaspoon of salt. Add beans, cook for four minutes (they will turn bright green). Drain, then rinse with cold water. Shake off excess water.
Step 2:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add green beans and garlic. Toss/Stir for two minutes until the garlic is golden and crispy. Add salt and pepper, then toss/stir.
Step 3:
Serve warm and enjoy!
Onion-Garlic Bubble Bread
Adapted from tasteofhome.com
Ingredients:
½ cup butter, melted
½ cup finely chopped sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
¼ teaspoon salt
1 loaf (1 pound) frozen bread dough, thawed
Optional: Marinara sauce, warmed
Directions:
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a small bowl, mix together butter, sweet onion, garlic, parsley flakes, and salt.
Step 2:
Divide dough into 24 pieces. Dip each piece in onion mixture; place in a 10 inch fluted tube pan coated with cooking spray. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about one hour.
Step 3:
Bake until golden brown, 20 - 25 minutes. Cool in pan for five minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. If desired, serve with marinara sauce.
FARM PICTURES
This is different shades of green on the watermelon field at sunset. We plant teff grass inbetween the rows of melons to hold and nourish the soil. It’s the soft and feathery straight leaves of bright green among the vines that have a little darker hue of green.
PICKING UP OF YOUR SHARE/S:
When you arrive at your pick up site, please first look for the RED CLIPBOARD! Find your name and take a look at what is waiting for you. Please check off all the shares listed by your name on the sign in sheet! Then look for a box with your name on the label, this is your box. Please unpack this box and take the contents home. You are not to take home this box! This box is for farm to pick up site transportation only! Please do not take this box home with you, but if you do, please return it the following week. HERE IS A LINK TO A FACEBOOKS PAGE VIDEO SHOWING YOU HOW TO OPEN AND FLATTEN THIS BOX.
READ YOUR BOX LABELS: On your label you will see all that you should be picking up today. Please note, that none of the optional shares are inside of this box although they are listed on the label! These optional shares include, Eggs, Cheese, Mushrooms, and Coffee. These shares are located in the blue coolers. Please reference your box label to make sure you get the correct optional shares that you paid for on each given week. ONLY TAKE THE ITEMS LISTED ON YOUR BOX LABEL AND SIGN IN SHEET UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTIFIED!
The mushrooms are in brown paper bags.
Eggs, half dozen = 6 egg carton
Eggs dozen = 12 egg carton
Cheese is by the piece, just take a block. ( If a cheese has a name on it, don’t take this cheese unless it has your name on it)
Fruit - The fruit share is located in a box labeled Fruit Share, please take one bag per share. 1 bag is 3# of fruit.
If you don’t see a share that you think you should be getting, please don’t take it, please instead be in touch with the farm. If you are ever missing any veggies or add on items or the quality is not up to WCFY par, please be in touch. Call/Text 814-221-7177. Or email us. info@whocooksforyoufarm.com