2024 CSA Week 8

This Week's Features

This week marks 1/3 of the season.

This is B week for biweekly shares.

• Sweet corn: only 7 dozen, sold by the ear so you can order just what you need
• Bell peppers -- the first of the season
• Shallots
• Lots of tomatoes
• We're fully into summer produce, so there's lots of variety this week

GO SHOPPING HERE

Farm News

It's often a challenge to find interesting things to share with you in this newsletter.  I don't often chat with most of our farmers, so I don't know their weekly news.  I often talk about the weather and the challenges that farmers face, but I'm sure you get tired of that.  So this week I guess I'll tell you a little about what's going on at Philsons Bushel & a Peck Farm.

I used to grow a decent sized garden and canned or froze some of our produce.  But with all of the produce that was readily available to me through NWPA Growers, my garden became smaller every year.  This year my family decided to put in a larger garden and work together to make sure it didn't become overrun with weeds.  My daughter is motivated to preserve much of our produce, and I am helping her as I have time.  She made 30 pints of pickle relish yesterday, and next we want to make dilly beans and canned beans.  I have also frozen some green beans and shredded zucchini so far.  Here's a pic of a praying mantis hiding in the bean patch.



On another front, my husband and son have been installing washable wall covering in our garage-turned-meat-shop, getting it ready for the meat rails and coolers.  In a couple of weeks we will host about 40 people who are learning the art of kosher slaughter and meat processing.  This will be the third time that they're here, but it's by far the largest group.  We will provide all of their meals while they're here...most of the veggies coming from our garden and the CSA, and the meat and eggs from our animals.

And they have more hay to cut, as soon as we have a few dry days.

In addition to this, my mother-in-law (89) had a stroke last fall, and we have been providing round-the-clock care for her.  There are seven family members (soon to be six) who stay with her from one to three days or nights per week.  The blessing of keeping her in her home for her last days is worth our sacrifice of our time.  Plus our children who help care for her have developed a very close relationship with her that they will cherish for the rest of their lives.

Our farm isn't very pretty with a manicured lawn and everything in order.  But we love our life and are thankful that we can raise our children to be dependent on the land and on one another.

Our business highlight section will resume next week.

Recipes

Dilly Bean Salad

Green Beans Gremolata

Amazing Marinated Tomatoes

Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad

Italian Tomato Burrata Salad