I have never experienced an August this wet ever. Typically the ground is hard as rock and dry around this time of year. This period allows those tomatoes and melons to mature and ripen. It's also an opportunity when we get to put some areas to bed, mow down the old crops and weeds and maybe chisel plow the ground to knock back the quackgrass and thistle. This year, however, if I pulled a chisel plow through a field, I'd simply be constructing huge mudballs and construct deep ruts in the group to haunt us for the next couple of seasons.
As you may remember my blog post a couple weeks back was about the mid-summer reset. Well, we're still waiting for weather to cooperate to do that. Fall brassicas are sitting in trays looking ugly and I'd love to plant some spinach for fall boxes, but putting a tiller in the ground is impossible.
So, I continue to channel low-grade disgust as I read a forecast or simply look out the window at yet another storm coming our way. Maybe you've got rain fatigue yourself - I feel your pain.
In the box:
- Sweet Corn
- Leeks: These guys do retain mud in the leaves, so you need to cut them lenghwise to clean them out. Check out how to prepare them at https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips-techniques/preparation/prepare-leeks. You can see potato-leek soup below, but there are other ideas at http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/leek
- Basil
- Yellow 'Satina' Potatoes
- Tomato Mix
- Jalapeno Pepper
- A Couple Anaheim Peppers: The long green peppers. They have some heat, but not as much as Jalapenos typically.
- Kale Bunch
- Cucumber
- Summer Squash
Potato Leek Soup
adapted from Food Network
Ingredients:
- A pound of leeks, cleaned and dark sections removed.
- 3 T butter
- A pound of potatoes, peeled and diced small
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Chives
Chop the leeks into small pieces.
In a 6-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and a heavy pinch of salt and sweat for 5 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook until the leeks are tender, approximately 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the potatoes and the vegetable broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer until the potatoes are soft, approximately 45 minutes.
Turn off the heat and puree the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in the heavy cream, buttermilk, and white pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately, or chill and serve cold.
