Tumbleweed Farm Harvest 5

It's been one hell of a hot week here at Tumbleweed Farm! It doesn't look like this heat will be letting up anytime soon so we're just rolling with the punches. Lot's of water for us and the plants.  The heat is definitely not good for the leafy greens but we're still managing to harvest plenty for your boxes. We're crossing our fingers for some rain and cooler temps but I think it's wishful thinking at this point. It doesn't hurt to do a rain dance though!

Summer produce is starting to make it's debut this week and it's always a fun time of the year when your boxes are a clash of spring/summer crops. It will happen again in the fall and we love the variety! 

Most of the vegetables in your box this week taste great thrown onto the grill or eaten raw. I know it's too damn hot to turn on the oven so don't fret!  You can still enjoy the bounty without heating up your kitchen!

Alrighty, that's about all we've got on our end. We're looking forward to our drive into Portland today so we can enjoy the simple pleasure of sitting upright in and air conditioned truck. We're also excited to clink glasses with some of you at Migration Brewing. See you all this afternoon!

WEEK 5 HARVEST LIST

  1. KALE-it's a great week for a big kale salad! If you need inspiration check out Dishing up the Dirt for a ton of kale salad recipes!
  2. Beets- Check out the recipe of the week for a wonderful beet tzatziki dip.
  3. Dill- Check out the recipe below
  4. Broccoli-Try making a curried broccoli and yogurt salad or throw the broccoli right on the grill
  5. Cauliflower-Try this
  6. Snap peas-Eat raw, dip into hummus, or throw on the grill with a little soy sauce
  7. Snow peas-same as above
  8. Scallions- These taste awesome on the grill. Just trim the tops and bottoms, slice in half lengthwise, drizzle with olive oil, salt + pepper and grill!
  9. Summer Squash + Zucchini-Toss on the grill, eat raw in salads, stuff them with other veggies and cheese or simply dip in hummus.
  10. Spicy Mustard Green Mix- Our favorite way to enjoy this spicy mix is to cook it with eggs and make a spicy scramble. It also makes killer pesto for burgers and sandwiches

BEET TZATZIKI

BEET TZ HARVEST 5.jpg

This refreshing dip is so stinking good! We've been making it for years now and every summer, when beets and dill are available at the same time we love whipping up a few batches. I hope you all enjoy this dip as much as we do!

  • 1 pound beets, greens removed (save for another use) and scrubbed clean -about 3 medium-sized beets
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1/4 cup fresh dill, minced
  • 2 cups plain goat-milk yogurt (or greek style yogurt)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  1. Cut beets in half and place in a saucepan, pour water over the beets to cover them by 2 inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the beets are fork tender. About 20-25 minutes. Drain and when cool enough to handle grate the beets on the large holes of a grater or use the grater attachment on your food processor.
  2. Combine the grated beets with the yogurt, garlic, dill, lemon juice and salt. Stir and let chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
  3. Enjoy with homemade crackers and a glass of your favorite wine.

Tumbleweed Farm Harvest 4

Welcome to week 4 of your CSA. If there are any lingering veggies still in your fridge from last week whip up a batch of green pesto, throw everything into a green smoothie or heck, toss it into the compost. Composting is a great way to give back to the soil and we never consider it a waste.  With that being said, make some room in your fridge because this week there are some great items arriving in your boxes. We're finally harvesting peas and love how sweet these little gems are. Kohlrabi has arrived and we love the beautiful purple variety we're growing along with the green this season. We adore this veggie and have been looking forward to it ever since last fall! This may be a new vegetable for some of you and we're thrilled to share some recipe ideas with you. The rest of your box is full of other great items and we're stoked with the harvest this week!

The fields continue to thrive however, we are anxiously/nervously heading into a very hot week ahead. It looks like temps will be reaching triple digits at the farm and that means round the clock irrigating and a much slower pace in the field. It's hard to bust ass in the heat so tasks will likely take us a bit longer. With that being said, we're confident we can handle it and even though a lot of the greens will struggle the tomato, eggplant and pepper plants will likely crank. 

Before we get to the contents of your box I wanted to extend the invitation to everyone to come out to the farm whenever you're in the mood for a little road trip. Being a part of the CSA means that the farm is yours as well and you are more than welcome to bring your families up for an afternoon. We had some folks bring their kiddos last year and it was a total blast!

Alright, stay cool out there and enjoy some rad veggies this week. Cheers from Tumbleweed!

Week 4 Box

  1. Broccoli-see the recipe of the week below
  2. Purple & Green Kohlrabi-this tasty vegetable is kind of like the "apple" version of vegetables. It has the consistency of a firm apple with a mild broccoli flavor. see the recipe of the week below for ideas. Otherwise enjoy it by thinly slicing it into rounds and sprinkling with sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil. You can cook the stems and greens too!
  3. Collard Greens-we love collard greens here at Tumbleweed. One of our favorite recipes is from bon appétit magazine. Try this collard green and radish slaw. It's a winner! 
  4. Scallions-these puppies are our favorite onion! Dice them up and add to stir fries, salads, dressing or even through them onto the grill!
  5. Snow Peas-Add them to a hot pan with sesame oil and soy sauce. They're divine!
  6. Turnips-slice them thinly and add them to the same pan as the snow peas above.
  7. Cilantro-perfect garnish on everything listed above
  8. Red and White Turnips-if you haven't tried the miso glazed turnips from two weeks ago give that a whirl! Otherwise enjoy these guys sliced thinly and eat raw, roasted or thrown onto the grill.

 

Grilled Broccoli & Kohlrabi with Smokey Cashew Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut into 1 inch florets
  • 2 kohlrabi, tough stems and leaves removed, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds and then into half moons
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • salt + pepper

Sauce

  • 1 cup raw cashews-soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
  • 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1-2 teaspoons smoked paprika, more or less depending on preference
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper + more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 cup water + additional to thin if necessary
  1. Prepare the sauce by draining the soaked cashews. Rinse them under cold water and then place into a high speed blender along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend on the highest possible setting (a vitamix works well here!) until smooth and creamy. Scrape the sides down as necessary while blending. Taste test and adjust seasonings as needed.
  2. Preheat the grill to high. Toss the broccoli and kohlrabi with the oil, salt and pepper. Place directly on the grill (being careful not to let the veggies slip in between the grates) and grill for about 2-3 minutes per side or until lightly charred and crisp.
  3. Serve with the cashew sauce and enjoy

Tumbleweed Farm Harvest 3

Howdy folks and welcome to week three of the Tumbleweed Farm CSA! We hope you enjoyed the bounty last week and were able to cook a few tasty meals and clink glasses with some good company. If you're ever struggling to get through your box shoot us an email and we can suggest even more recipe ideas. We have unlimited ways of cooking/preparing any and all of the greens so if you need a little inspiration don't hesitate to ask. Our goal is to keep the recipes simple, quick and most importantly tasty. 

The news from the farm this week is pretty good. The spring greens are continuing to crank in the fields and with the slightly cooler weather they have been much happier (us too!) We have peas that are really close to being ready and should likely be in your boxes next week (fingers crossed!) The summer squash, zucchini and cucumbers are only a week or two out which we're really stoked about. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are looking nice as well and continue to grow an inch taller every single day! Those puppies wont be ready until sometime in July but we think it's going to be a good harvest year for them. 

Anyhow, it looks like we're due for another nice week at the Farm. The weather has been pretty warm but nothing compared to a few weeks back. The deer have still been coming for evening visits and we've officially moved from our house into a tent in the fields so we can stay on alert. They can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time and the electric deer fence we have doesn't seem to phase them. Any hunters out there are welcome to come camp out with us anytime!

Alright, we hope you have a wonderful week full of tasty meals enjoyed with good company. Below is a list of the contents of your box followed by the "recipe of the week". 

HARVEST 3

  1. HEAD LETTUCE-You know what to do!
  2. GARLIC SCAPES-this is the last week for them so we hope you enjoy them! 
  3. BOK CHOY-try making Bok Choy & Soba Noodles with Sesame Ginger Dressing & Fried Egg
  4. CHINESE CABBAGE- It looks a little like bok choy and tastes great in similar recipes. We like roughly chopping it and mixing it with soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and lime juice. Serve with minced cilantro, peanuts, radishes and crushed red pepper flakes for a simple salad.
  5. SWISS CHARD-One of my all time favorite greens. See the recipe of the week for a delicious and simple way to prepare it.
  6. CILANTRO-tastes great prepared with the bok choy or Chinese cabbage
  7. DILL-One of my favorite herbs! Tastes great added to lemon pasta, avocado toast, salmon or the recipe of the week below.
  8. WHITE ICICLE RADISHES-we love this variety of radish. It's got a little more of a spicy bite to it than the other varieties but it is more crunchy and tastes great raw or even roasted.
  9. MICRO GREENS- Great as a garnish, tossed into salads, pasta, eggs or sandwhiches
  10. ARUGULA OR MUSTARD GREENS-Half of you folks received arugula while the other half of you received mustard greens. Both taste great raw, sautéed or whipped into pesto.  

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Garlicky Swiss Chard & Chickpea Stir Fry

 

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil (or oil of choice)
  • 4 garlic scapes, finely chopped (or sub with 4 cloves of thinly sliced garlic)
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 large bunch of swiss chard, ribs and stems chopped into 1/4 inch pieces and leaves coarsely chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (if from the can rinsed and drained)
  • 1/2 cup raisins (soaked in warm water for 5 minutes to soften)
  • salt + pepper to taste
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice + more to taste
  • 2-3 Tablespoons minced dill
  • goat milk feta cheese for topping (optional)

Directions 

  1. In a large skillet over medium high heat lightly toast the chopped almonds; about 3 minutes. Shake the pan multiple times throughout toasting. Remove the almonds from the pan and place in a bowl.
  2. In the same skillet add the 2 1/2 Tablespoons of oil and heat over medium. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden. About 2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, chard stems and chickpeas. Continue to cook, stirring often until the chard stems soften and the chickpeas brown up a bit. About 3-5 minutes. 
  3. Stir in chard leaves and cook, tossing occasionally, until the leaves are wilted, about 4 minutes. 
  4. Turn of the heat and add the raisins, a healthy pinch of salt + pepper and 1 heaping Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Divide among plates and top each portion with fresh dill and a sprinkle of feta cheese.