Summer 2025 CSA Newsletter - May 27, 2025 (Week 1)
Howdy Folks,
Farm News -The Hoot!
In Your Box
Picking up your share
Recipe Ideas
THE HOOT
It's a wild time of year. Our kids just had their last day of school on Thursday and they are now "free" for the summer. Even though it is unseasonably cool and damp, our boys are swimming in the frigid waters. They have agreed to work a couple hours on the farm to be "free" in the afternoons. Summer Break!!! It’s a wild juxtaposition as it feels like our winter slow period just ended, and now it’s a flush of business with the Spring CSA, then the Farmers Markets and now our main summer CSA season is going into week 2. It’s pedal to the medal, yet these last week’s of cool wet weather are just holding the plants in their tracks.
Aeros is struggling to learn quickly, the ins and outs of our new CSA software platform. Speed learning has never been her forte. Especially when it comes to following detailed instructions. The interface we believe is good, it’s just now to memorize the procedures, and buttons that are necessary to complete the tasks that are wished to be accomplished.
The crew got new raincoats and all of our storage areas are very tidy! What to do when it’s too wet to work the fields! Organize and clean! Then sneak in the fields after a decent dry spell to weed and plant. Harvesting happens no matter the weather. On foot in wet fields is way easier on the ground than any tractor that causes nasty soil compaction.
Each CSA season there are bumps in the road in the beginning. New customers, new procedures> What new procedures? This is Who Cooks, of course we are springing new procedures on you and ourselves!. We are constantly innovating! We must! The struggle is real, we have to keep on our game. The bugs and diseases are evolving and so must we.
The spring sprung and then it decided to take a nap. That's sort of what it feels like. There is a craziness stirring that can't get released. A grey slumber of lucid dreaming. Hopefully the predicted warming of next week will help for some growth and wakefulness to unravel, as well as strawberries to ripen, radishes to fill out and sugar snap peas to blossom and fruit and much much more.
Have a great week!
Your Farmers,
Chris, Aeros and the Who Crew
IN YOUR BOX:
The fare in your boxes this week is a big push for this time of year! Everything is beginning to get a lot bigger, thankfully! This is the beginning and in the beginning things are a little smaller.
Add On Shares:
Mushrooms:
Portobello mushrooms come in various colors and sizes, and are the later stage of crimini mushrooms. These mushrooms can be eaten raw, but are often used for pizza toppings, grilled or sauteed, or stuffed with cheese and butter and cooked. Portobello Mushrooms have large dense caps with an earthy flavor and meaty texture, making them good for stuffing or marinating and grilling as a steak. Some people make Portobello burgers, grilling the cap whole and putting it into a burger bun.
Cheese:
Twin Brook Dairy Co. Bentleyville, PA.
This Week.... Farm Girl is an alpine-style cheese, with a creamy, melty texture and sweet nutty taste. This cheese is made with pasteurized cow's milk and it's delicious!
PICKING UP OF YOUR SHARE/S:
When you arrive at your Market pick up site, ask for your box from a stocker. They will pull your add on shares from coolers in the back and bring you your box to unpack at the packing table. You do not need to wait in line. Your box will have your name on the label. 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! Once you are done unpacking your share, please flatten your box and leave it under the packing table. HERE IS A LINK TO A FACEBOOK PAGE VIDEO SHOWING YOU HOW TO OPEN THIS BOX AND FLATTEN THIS BOX.
BOX LABELS: On your label you will see all that you should be picking up today. (If you think something is missing or an item is mixed up please talk to one of the stockers.
RECIPE IDEAS
Easy Spinach Frittata
Adapted from Trisha Yearwood (www.foodnetwork.com)
Total Time ~35 minutes Serves 4-6
If you’re new to the CSA this year, you’ll soon learn that Frittata’s are a great way to use a variety of greens throughout the season. You could also add any greens to this, as well as your scallions.
Ingredients:
6-8 large eggs
½ cup milk
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground pepper
1 cup shredded swiss cheese (or cheese of your choice)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tbs butter
1 small onion, diced
1- 4 cups fresh spinach (or any fresh greens)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to broil. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper until smooth. Fold in the cheese and tomatoes and set aside. In a 9-inch, oven-safe nonstick frying pan (cast iron works well too) over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Pour the egg mixture over the spinach, and cook until almost set, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and broil until golden brown on top, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn out onto a serving plate.
Kale Frittata
Adapted from mykitchenintherockies.com
This frittata is equally at home for breakfast or dinner. Sometimes I substitute bacon for the
pepperoni or salami listed here. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
8 large eggs
3 T freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese, divided
¼ t coarse kosher salt
¼ t freshly ground black pepper
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
3 white bunching onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch curly kale, stems and center ribs cut away, leaves coarsely chopped
2 ounces pepperoni or thinly sliced Italian spicy salami, cut into
½ - inch pieces (about ⅔ cup)
1 garlic scape, minced (or 1 minced clove of garlic)
Directions:
Preheat broiler.
Whisk all the eggs,
1 ½ tablespoons cheese,
¼ teaspoon salt, and
¼ teaspoon pepper in large bowl.
Heat olive oil in medium nonstick broiler-proof skillet over medium heat. Add onion
and sauté until tender but not brown, about 6 minutes.
Add kale in 3 batches; toss until each begins to wilt before adding next. Sprinkle with salt
and pepper. Sauté until any liquid in skillet evaporates. Increase heat to medium-high; add
salami and garlic to skillet and stir 1 minute. Add eggs to skillet; stir to distribute evenly.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until eggs are almost set but still moist in
center, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 1 ½ tablespoons cheese over top.
Transfer frittata to broiler and cook just until set in center and beginning to brown, about 1
minute. Using flexible spatula, loosen frittata around edges. Slide frittata out onto platter.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Kale Pesto
Recipe adapted from FoodNetwork.com
This is a nice way to sneak greens into diet. We use this with pasta dishes as well as spread on crackers with a slice of cheese. This works for many greens you will receive in your share. Pea Shoots, Spinach, Swiss Chard.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup walnuts (any nut will do, and for a protein substitute, canned tuna works well)
3 cups chopped kale
Kosher salt
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet until lightly browned; let cool. Pulse in a food processor
until finely ground.
Add the kale and 1/4 teaspoon salt and pulse until finely chopped.
Add the parmesan and pulse to combine.
Slowly pour in the olive oil, pulsing to incorporate. Transfer the pesto to a bowl. You'll have
about 1 cup pesto; use about 1/2 cup for 1 pound pasta.