Summer 2025 CSA Newsletter - July 29, 2025 (Week 10)
Howdy Folks,
The heat is on and the harvests are coming in bigger and heavier each time. We all stink! Super sweaty and by gosh plant goop drippy from fingers gets flicked to the ground or wiped on our pants. Brows are swipped with rags and backs and butts are soaked in sweat! This is the life of the farmer in July. We smell nasty, but we pull in some delicious smelling and tasty produce!
Every morning on the farm begins with a harvest / picklist. Some veggies are picked according to order and others are just harvested on ritual every other day for their entire season of production. As for plantings, we have successions of many vegetables. With some vegetables that get harvested every other day like tomatoes, cucumbers and squash for example we always harvest from the new planting first. This helps decrease disease from spreading as usually the older planting develop disease as this is what takes them out and retires them from production.
Take care folks, enjoy the bounty! Have a great week!
Your Farmers, Chris, Aeros & the Who Crew
IN YOUR BOX:
We swapped out some Zucchini that you have been getting a lot of for some green beans, on the farmers choice shares… they are a labor of love, not really a money maker, just a smile maker, so we couldn’t pass up on sending this on to you.
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:
Brown Beech is harvested as a bouquet. These petite mushrooms are mild and crunchy in texture and have a sweet and nutty flavor. Chop off where they all come together or cluster. Caps and stems are edible. Separate the individual mushrooms for cooking. They hold their shape well and can be sauted, braised as well as put into stews and roasted.
Cheese:
Goat Rodeo from Allison Park.
Hootenanny “A goat’s milk Gouda cheese made from spring and summer milk. It is smooth with “notes of hickory nuts and wild flowers within a cream wax rind. Pairs well with crisp white wine or an amber ale”
Fruit:
Durgin Orchards brings us Peaches!
This week’s variety is 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.
Tomato Goat Cheese Tart
Adapted from Kylie (midwestfoodieblog.com
Instructions:
1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup homemade basil pesto
8 oz. Lifeway Farmer Cheese
variety of tomatoes, sliced 1/2″ thick
2 teaspoons olive oil
fresh cracked pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Unfold puff pastry dough on a lightly floured surface. Gently pinch the seams together and then roll the dough just a bit thinner, into a rectangle.
Score a crust around the edge of the puff pastry about an inch wide.
Brush the crust with egg wash.
Spoon farmer cheese in an even layer across the puff pastry crust.
Drizzle with half the pesto.
Add sliced tomatoes, gently pushing them into the farmer cheese, overlapping them slightly.
Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake tomato tart for 25-30 minutes or until the puff pastry crust is dark golden brown on the bottom and cooked through.
Drizzle with remaining pesto and enjoy!
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!
FARM PICTURES
From left to right: Diego, Manuel, Federico, and Andres, just in from a bean harvest. These guys are champion bean pickers. This is our first awesome crop of beans for 2025, and these guys know what a good bean is, so enjoy the bounty that was picked by hand by these kind gentlemen who are champion harvesters (Note we have several other bean picking champions that are not pictured here.) Beans are one of the hardest crops to harvest. It’s many hours bent over either in a deep squat or a complete fold at the hips.
PICKING UP OF YOUR SHARE/S:
When you arrive at your pick up site, please 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! 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