Weekly CSA Newsletter

Greetings from the Garden! This week's box has tomatoes, cucumbers, Brussels sprouts, red onions, celery, cutting lettuce, arugula, peppers, melons, grapes, and the last of the corn.

Field Notes. Two nights of lows at 40 degrees gives us a preview of fall! The cooler nights signal that slow down of the heat loving plants - the tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers don't set fruit when nights fall below 50 degrees. Beans also love heat. We have a last crop that has flowers and some tiny beans in process. We will enjoy the vegetables that have set and are growing. Maybe we will have some heat and they will have another wave of production. Farming is such an adventure - one never knows what the future may bring.

We have a few grapes this year. Like the apples the Frost on Mothers Day really affected production. And this week we have melons - this year's melons seem to have good flavor, but are less sweet than prior years when we have a hot, dry August and the sugars really set.

Ken continues to juggle the many end of summer start of fall tasks. He is still clearing and planting. We both are checking crops and making decisions about what and how much go into the root cellar.

From the Kitchen. Ken and I saw Eat, Pray, Love and we both enjoyed the food portions of the film. I love the melon and prosciutto combination - have only seen and read about it, but clean sweet melon paired with salty meat sounds delicious. And the blemished tomatoes find their way to sauce for pasta with basil, so that hit home, too.

A couple weeks ago when we had people visit, Ken made a Brussels sprout dish that disappeared quickly. Brussels in cheese sauce with onion and red pepper. Saute onion, add red pepper, add flour to cook. I add dry mustard. Once the flour cooks, add milk and then the grated cheese. Finally add the cooked (but not overcooked!) Brussels sprouts and serve. People revisited this side dish even after it was cold until it was gone.

With the cool weather we have begun to cook tomatoes - I did a tomato rice dish Ken enjoyed. Saute onion and pepper, add cooked rice, tomatoes cut in chunks, and top with basil and cheese -either soft or grated. Cover. Once the cheese melts, serve. I used some cheese a friend made with basil and garlic. Quite good.