Full Shares: smoked salad mix, smoked beans, smoked cucumbers, smoked summer squash, smoked basil, smoked peppers, smoked tomatoes, smoked fennel, smoked sweet onions, smoked jalapeños, and smoked corn.
Half Shares: Same, in smaller quantities, but with equal smoke.
Hello CSA members!
Not sure quite what to say about this weather….some of Montana’s finest. Hot and smoky during the day, and freezing cold at night. The entire season seems to have been bumped up a month. The pumpkins are ready in August, and we’ve already had our first two nights of frost this weekend (30 degrees both nights). It is also a time of the year when so much food is ready on the farm, that we can’t fit it all into a single CSA share. So, to celebrate summer this week, we have tried to keep all the items of the summer variety, which is why we are skipping carrots and potatoes for the week ( I know, I know….but what about the children!). Not to worry, they will return next week. The carrots that is, not the children. Oh, never mind.
Every year of farming, there are always good crops and poor crops, depending on weather, pest pressure, and/or soil fertility. This year is definitely going to be the year of the potato. Both the yields and the actual potatoes are huge already, and we’re gearing up for the big harvest. This afternoon we took a crack at a few beds, and the harvest was smoky yet beautiful and bountiful.
Darth Tater in action! I found it to be a great opportunity to use all my “Top Gun” lines, although I never did find the afterburners on the kubota.
And then there are the pumpkins. We have never grown pumpkins before, and have not included them in the price of your share. However, it’s been a bumper crop, so we’d like to offer every share one free pumpkin just as a bit of a thank you for supporting local agriculture and Two Bear Farm. And yes, I realize this poses a problem if you split your share, or have more than one child, or one child and a childish husband. Not to worry, there are additional pumpkins available, and we will be happy to sell you extras at around $10 to $15 a piece, depending on size, which is something like .00007 cents per pound. Ok, maybe more like 3o cents a pound. But, in order to get your free pumpkin, there is a catch….you are going to have to come out to the farm to get it. And we’re thinking this Friday afternoon (August 24th) between 3pm-6pm, this Saturday from 10am to noon, as well as next Friday (September 4th), also from 3pm-6pm, would be good times to stop by and grab one. We can take you out to the field and let you pick your own, but we might make you carry it back to the car yourself 🙂
270 pumpkins in the field, 270 pumpkins. Give one away, to CSA, 269 Pumpkins in the field.
So the most intimidating item in you share this week is likely the fennel. The most simple way to prepare this is to slice the bulb very thinly and marinate it in balsamic vinegar and olive oil, with a pinch of sea salt. Then eat it straight up, or add it to the top of your dinner salad. Very refreshing. For something more complex, Rebecca has offered up a corn, tomato, and fennel salad, while as the Italian, I found this recipe to look rather intriguing. Or how about creamy fennel and potatoes….you can find that recipe and many more at this link.
Thanks again, and good luck coping with the smoke. Some rain sure would be nice!!!
Todd and the Two Bear Farm Crew
