Sometime I feel like we live in the 19th century at Lida Farm. Last summer we milked a cow by hand. We harvest a lot of produce with big harvest knives. And I feel like we're always out digging with shovels more often than we should to for some reason. I call it modern-day peasant culture; some may like to market it as 'artisan' while others label our lifestyle just a waste of time. Either way, I really felt like a medieval serf this week when we harvested our little patch of wheat by hand. To use a combine on a piece of ground 6 feet wide and 40 feet long would be ridiculous and it was too weedy anyway. I used our salad mix knife to cut the wheat and we threw it on a big tarp. Once it dries a bit more, we'll beat the stuff with a plastic baseball bat and begin to separate the wheat from the chaff in a high wind. Lord knows if this will be worth the time, but it's been a cool process.
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| Apprentice Kelsey as Ceres, Goddess of Wheat |
In the CSA box:
Watermelon: You received either a Sunshine yellow melon or New Orchid orange variety
Canteloupe
Leek or Cippolini Onion: Most received a leek like last week, but I ran a bit short and a few received a Cippolini, a flat onion, which is my favorite and very flavorful.
Red slicing tomatoes: Most of these are a Celebrity or Defiant varieties, which have been been performing great this year in the field.
Yellow 'Golden Rave' Romas: These are best eaten fresh, instead of cooked as most romas.
Bunch of Carrots
Eggplant: A lot of people are always asking me about preparing eggplant. One simple way is grilling, try this recipe http://www.domesticate-me.com/grilled-eggplant-with-fresh-mozzarella-tomatoes-and-basil-vinaigrette/
Green Onions: The onions with a band around them, not to be confused with the leeks
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Anaheim Pepper: This is the green pepper which is pretty straight and pointy. This is a hot pepper, but with less heat than a jalepeno
Italia Pepper: Red and green like the Italian flag, this is a very sweet pepper, good for sauteing or eating fresh.
