CSA-Week of September 4th

Full: Kale, Lettuce Heads, Beets, Shishito Peppers, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Yellow Onions, Basil, Micros, Aronia Berries

Half: Lettuce Head, Beets, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Yellow Onion, Basil, Aronia Berries

The first picture I ever took at the farm!

Hello readers!

First newsletter of the (dare I say it…) fall! Feels like the newsletters have become a short string of goodbyes with Emma going back to NYU and me on my last week of work before moving back to my hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah! But not without leaving you with a few recipes and favorite pictures from the last two years I have spent on this patch of paradise!

We were hopping to be giving you all some melons but the bears got to it first so we bolstered up this weeks boxes with extra fresh veggies and aronia berries! In other farm news we have a TON of tomatoes. Come bulk buy Roma tomatoes 20# for $60!! Screamin’ deal as Matt would say!

The yellow onions are so good. I cannot stop talking about it. I have just sliced them up and grilled them (delicious), battered and air fried them onion ring style, AND (very weather appropriate) made some French onion soup this weekend while enjoying my last moments in the farm cabin. I followed the New York Times Cooking recipe for the soup:

-3 tablespoons unsalted butter (or bacon fat is a pretty awesome alternative)

-3 to 4 large red or yellow onions (about 3lbs) peeled and sliced (I used even more onions and didn’t regret it)

-3/4 teaspoon of salt

-8 cups/2 quarts beef stock (I used veggie stock and Worcestershire sauce as a vegetarian alternative!)

-1 cup dry white wine

-1 tbs dry sherry

-1 tbs all purpose flour

-1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

-some French bread

-1.5 cups grated gruyere cheese

Step 1: Melt butter in heave dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stir and cover, letting onions soften for about 5 mins. Remove lid and let onions caramelize until golden brown stirring occasionally. Adjust heat if the onions start browning too quickly (this is a bit time intensive and can take about 45-60 minutes… but it’s worth it!!!)

Step 2: Meanwhile warm the broth in a saucepan over medium heat

Step 3: Once the onions are caramelized, add wine and sherry to the pot and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Stir in flour and let thicken for a minute or two.

Step 4: Slowly add warm broth, salt and pepper and boil uncovered for 10 minutes add more salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5: Heat the broiler and arrange individual ovenproof casseroles on baking sheet. Ladle soup into the dishes and cover top with bread slices (I personally toasted the bread first and it made a big difference in texture) and a generous amount of cheese. Broil for a minute or two carefully until the cheese melts and browns… serve immediately! ITS SO GOOD.

This week you’ll also find that you received an entire basil plant!! I am so jealous! I was passed along a Basil Salt recipe from one of our members, Lila, that goes as follows:

-Take 1.5 cups of fresh basil leaves roughly chopped and added to a blender or food processor, add 2 cups of kosher salt then pulse a few times to break down basil into smaller pieces. Next take the contents of the blender and place on a baking sheet lined with either parchment paper or a silpat (so mixture doesn’t stick). Spread out across sheet and place in oven preheated to 170F. Bake for 30 minutes to dry out the basil and break apart any clumps. Let cool then jar and enjoy!

Lila recommends sprinkling across roasted veggies, on top of deviled eggs, or her personal favorite… on some fresh tomato slices!! Thanks Lila!!

one of my absolute favorite farm photos

And thanks to all of you subscribers for giving me a reason to be employed the last two years! My experience here first as Greenhouse Manager and then to Flower Manager has been absolutely transformative. To learn so many new skills then be able to put it all into practice in one fell swoop has been so rewarding and refreshing. Working on this farm is unique in that way… I consistently had a tangible grasp on the contributions I was making each time a CSA box went out and a bouquet was picked up. Matt and Jacy have been incredible mentors and, dare I say it, friends! You all have made such a great choice in choosing a farm to support. Thank you for letting me be apart of it, rolling with the weather punches, and inspiring me to never stop eating well!

winter view of my farm living…absolute dream

looking like a true greenhouse hermit here green thumbs and all (and every other finger lol)

hasta luego pray 4 snow!

Greenhouse Lauren