Summer #6 CSA Newsletter July 6 - July 12, 2025
- Stacey Feiner
- Jul 9
- 6 min read
It's looking like there'll be beans in next week's share.
VEG SHARES - Weekly + "B" week for EOW
LETTUCE MIX (¼ lb) - Store in a plastic bag in your fridge. Often considered a “1st Priority Vegetable” with a shorter shelf life than the other vegetables in your share, however if you put a paper or cloth towel in the bag to absorb moisture, our freshly harvested lettuce will often lasts more than a week! Guide & Recipes
MINI BROCCOLI (1 lb green & purple) - More tender with a milder flavor than standard head broccoli, all of the parts of the mini broccoli, also called baby broccoli, in your bag is edible. It can be steamed, sautéed, roasted, stir-fried, or even puréed into a sauce. And while it makes a good side dish when cooked, broccoli can easily be used raw in salads and crudités. Store in your fridge in a plastic bag for a week, although spears will go limp (still edible!) the longer you keep them. You can often revive them by soaking in very cold water for 10 to 20 minutes. Guide & Recipes
KOHLRABI - (2) - Store in a plastic bag for up to a month. 6 Ideas for Use: 1. Slice in rounds or sticks for veggie platters, 2. Eat plain with a light sprinkling of salt, 3. Grate into salads or slaws, 4. Steam slices 5 to 10 minutes and drizzle with oil, lemon juice, and dill weed, 5. Slice or cube and add to stir fry or to a hearty soup/stew, 6. Grate and saute in butter with herbs or curry.
SWISS CHARD (1 bunch) - Put it in a bag to store in the fridge. Use within a week. This crop technically falls into the category of “First Priority Vegetables” or ones with a short shelf life - use it within the week for maximum efficiency. To revive limp chard, cut a sliver off the bottom of the stems and soak in very cold water for a few minutes. Guide & Recipes
KALE (1 bunch) RED RUSSIAN (FULL ONLY) - Store in a plastic bag (a Debbie Meyer Green bag if you have one) keep it in the fridge. Use within a week. This crop technically falls into the category of “1st Priority veggies” If you can’t use them in the next few days, freeze them you can use the stalks too! Every part of the leaf is edible, though really thick ribs take longer to cook, so they're often discarded. The kale can be cooked whole, cut into thin strips, or chopped, depending on your recipe and use. Store in a plastic bag (a Debbie Meyer Green bag if you have one) keep it in the fridge. Use within a week. This crop technically falls into the category of “1st Priority veggies” to be used in the next week. If you can’t use it in the next few days, consider freezing it. Guide & Recipes
FENNEL (2 baby) - Remove the stem and fronds from the white bulb. Store the white bulb in the fridge crisper in a plastic bag. Use within 2 weeks. The fronds have a licorice taste, and can be chopped and frozen for later use in seasoning. The stem is also edible. Chop it up finely for cooking, or flash freeze it. Guide & Recipes
GARLIC SCAPES - (1 bunch) These are the curlicue curiosities in your box. Store them in a plastic bag in your crisper. They’ll last about 2-3 weeks. You can trim off the bottom inch of the scape (if it’s woody) as well as the flowering tip (although that is also edible if you want to try it). Steam, saute, or grill them whole or chopped in pieces, similar to green beans, with some olive oil and salt/pepper. Or finely chop as a garlic substitute. Can also be sliced and included in fresh dishes - like you’d use green onions. Can also pickle or chop and freeze them in a Mason jar or Ziplock bag. Then you can use them all summer/winter as needed.
PARSLEY (1 bunch) - Snip the bottom of the stems off and store on the counter in a glass of water. Or if you plan to use it in the next day or so, you can store the bunch in a plastic bag in the fridge.
CHIVES (1 bunch) - Chives, with long, pencil-like, thin edible leaves with hollow centers and also edible purple flowers, belong to the allium family, making them relatives of onions, leeks, scallions, and garlic. They are typically chopped and are most often used as a garnish but are good on just about anything. Their flavor pairs well with any savory dish. and the bright green color adds visual appeal as well. Note: if added to a dish too early, they will wilt easily. Chives will keep a few weeks in the fridge in a plastic bag although quality will be better if used within a week.
BEETS (1 lbs) - Store in the fridge in a plastic bag for months. Guide & Recipes
ADIRONDACK BLUE POTATOES (1 lb) - Blue flesh and skin with a slight purple tint. Great flavor, hold color when cooked, and contain lots of healthy anthocyanins. This variety is good for boiling, baking, and mashing, and can be used for brightly coloured salads. Store in a paper bag in your pantry or on the counter for a month. Guide & Recipes (from Mythic Farm - organic)
RUTABAGA (1 lb or more) - Nutritious root vegetable with dense sweet-tasting flesh also known as Swedish turnip or neep. When you buy at the store, rutabagas are often coated in wax so they need to be peeled before cooking. Since these are organic and not waxed, peeling is optional. Can be used in hearty soups like beef barley or chicken noodle, stew, and casseroles, boiled, mashed (with potatoes and/or cauliflower, or on their own), and are excellent roasted, either alone or, with other root veggies like carrots, radishes, turnips, potatoes, onions, etc. This long storing veggie can be stored in the refrigerator, in the crisper drawer. Or if you’ll be using within a week or two, these can be stored like potatoes and onions in a cool, dark place on the counter.
DAKOTA BLACK POPCORN (1 lb) - This richly flavored popcorn has a deep purple kernel that pops into a bright white and tender treat. (from Meadowlark Organics)
BLACK ECLIPSE BEANS (1 lb) - A classic, inky black bean, perfect for soups or as a stand alone dish. Eclipse beans are more of a Cuban or Brazilian style bean than Mexican, but you’ll love them however you choose to prepare them. These beans have been cleaned and sorted, but it’s a good idea to pick through and give them a good rinse before you get cooking. (from Meadowlark Organics)
MES SHARES - at Mazomanie & Dianne Dr
EGG SHARES - all Weekly & appropriate Biweekly
Recipes:
On the Farm . . .
At the end of last week, Bill and Aidan spent a couple days digging a trench for our new waterline from the water pump located in our house out to the greenhouses so we have a better and more dependable way of irrigating our crops.
They used a neighbor's excavator to dig the trench.
It steers differently than other equipment the guys are used to so it took a bit to get warmed up. Bill has driven an excavator before while this was Aidan's first time driving one.
Here's the beginning scoops taken next to the house after the guys drilled a hole through the concrete wall where the water pump pipe now comes through to the outside.
Then they worked their way across the backyard, across the driveway, and along the field drivepaths to the front bottom corner of the lower greenhouse.
Below is a view from the side of Bill getting closer to the greenhouse.
Below is Aidan taking a turn. Even though he was slower, Bill was happy to have someone take a turn so he could get out and stretch for a while and the digging could continue.
Because Liam, Marlee, and I, along with my sister Nicole and niece Cecelia were busy harvesting vegetables, I didn't get any photos of the guys laying the black tubing Bill is holding in the above photo.
After they dug the trench and laid the line, they dug and put in the hydrant, hooked it to the waterline, and then hooked the waterpump to the line. Then they put the line under pressure to test it for leaks before burying it.
Below is a video of Aidan being a little silly by showing me the pipe laid down in the bottom of the trench while Bill's working in the background to fill it in.
Since there was rain forecast during the night and some the next day, they felt under the gun to get it done before dirt would wash down and fill the trench back in.
As the sun dropped, Bill and Aidan used both the excavator and our skidsteer to fill in, pack, and level off the trench. They finished they last of it in the dark.
It was a long day, and both were pretty tired when all was said and done.
But the goal was accomplished, they upped our irrigation infrastructure game Big-Time!
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