In our newsletter, we try to give you an accurate listing of the produce in your box; however, since the newsletter is published before the harvest, we may sometimes substitute some vegetables for others. The information provided here is also published each week on our website. **Also, if you’re having trouble identifying any unfamiliar produce, please look for “Veggie ID” with additional information on our website under CSA INFO or under RECIPES.

If you are new to our CSA, because you signed up with a prorated share, you can find all past newsletters on our website under the NEWSLETTERS section in the CSA Info tab.

THIS WEEK’S SHARE

BEETS (Golden Beets with Greens): roots with orange skin with rich gold interior; mild, sweet flavor when cooked and medium-tall, green leaves.
-How to use: greens can be substituted for spinach and chard in recipes; roots are good in soups, stews, roasted, boiled, steamed, excellent grated raw into salads or baked goods.
-How to store: store roots unwashed in plastic bags or damp cloth in hydrator drawer of refrigerator for up to 2 weeks

BROCCOLI (Wed. members only): Wed. members will receive Sweet Bunch (central heads followed by side-shoot production; excellent flavor, raw or cooked). Fri/Sat members will receive New Potatoes.
-How to use: use raw, steamed, sauteed, stir-fried, in casseroles, soups, pizzas, etc.
-How to store: store loosely in plastic bag for up to a week.

RED CABBAGE (Omero): midseason red with good flavor; heads are a vibrant red and are round to slightly oval; good, slightly sweet and peppery flavor.
-How to use: excellent for cooking or chopped raw into salads or coleslaw.
-How to store: refrigerate for up to 1 month

CARROTS (Mokum): a very sweet, slender, “pencil carrot” with roots only this week.
-How to use: can be used raw as carrot sticks, grated in salads or juiced; steamed or sauteed, in stews, soups, casseroles, or stir-fries.
-How to store: refrigerate dry and unwashed roots in plastic bag for up to 2 weeks

CUCUMBERS: You will receive either Bristol (classic American cucumber look; fruits avg. 8″ long) OR General Lee (fruit is long and fairly narrow with white spines and an attractive mid-green color) OR Suyo Long (traditional, long-fruited variety from China; a sweet-flavored, ribbed fruit growing up to 15″ long; try using this unusual-looking cucumber in salads, for bread-and-butter or mixed vegetable pickles; excellent eating quality).
-How to use: raw or pickled in salads or sandwiches, can also be julienned, sauteed, or baked.
-How to store: store them in a sealed plastic bag in refrigerator crisper drawer for up to a week; use up leftovers as soon as possible.

FRESH HERBS: You will be receiving fresh herbs off and on throughout the summer, since harvesting them often means they need a few weeks to recover before we harvest again. Here are a couple of links to help you know more about how to use fresh herbs: https://www.urbancultivator.net/cooking-with-fresh-herbs/. The following is a good link to help you identify your herb with images and descriptions: http://theherbexchange.com/25-best-herbs-to-grow-in-your-kitchen-garden/. You will be receiving Mojito Mint (this mint has a green stem with large green, crinkly leaves and has a much milder flavor with hints of citrus, which make it good in salads, desserts, smoothies, and even your water bottle; great for muddling in cocktails; aids in digestion) OR French Sorrel (slightly tart, lemon-flavored green shaped like spinach, but paler green in color; excellent for salads, soups, and sauces, can be used in omelets, breads, or cooked as a side dish; refrigerate for up to 3 days).

KALE (Lacinato): dark green, noncurled, blistered leaves, but heavily savoyed.
-How to use: for salads, soups, and light cooking
-How to store: keep in plastic bag or damp towel in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

LETTUCE: You will receive Green Romaine (upright, dense, green heads produce long, uniform hearts with good flavor) or Skyphos (beautiful butterhead with large, dark red heads and nicely contrasting green centers).
-How to use: raw in salads, sandwiches, or (believe it or not!) use in soups.
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag for 3-5 days.

SUMMER ONIONS: larger young bulb than green onion with edible green stem attached. You will receive a young Ailsa Craig (a sweet, mild, yellow-skinned, heirloom onion) or a young Red Long of Tropea (specialty variety of tall, elongated, red bulbs traditionally grown in Mediterranean Italy and France).
-How to use: can be grilled or roasted whole as a vegetable or chopped in salads, soups, and other dishes for flavor
-How to store: wrap in damp towel or plastic bag in fridge for 2-7 days.

NEW POTATOES (Fri/Sat members only): Fri/Sat members will receive new potatoes, which are just young potatoes that haven’t had time to convert their sugar fully into starch and often have a crisp, waxy texture and thin, underdeveloped wispy skins. Wed. members will receive Broccoli.
-How to use: good boiled or pan-roasted, but particularly suited for potato salad, since they hold their shape well after being cut and cooked.
-How to store: refrigerate new potatoes if not used within 2-3 days, but use up sometime during the 1st or 2nd week of receiving them; these potatoes have not been cured, so will not last as long as “cured” potatoes, which should not be refrigerated, since low temperatures convert the starch to sugars and may turn dark when cooked.

ZUCCHINI (Golden & Green): gourmet golden and green zucchini with uniform, cylindrical fruits.
-How to use: use in salads, dips, grilled, casseroles, stuffed, or mashed with butter and seasonings.
-How to store: store in plastic bag in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. U-PICK RASPBERRIES FOR SALE! The summer raspberries continue to ripen and will continue into August and September with different fall varieties at HoneyBee U-pick (5700 Scio Church Rd., Ann Arbor). We are selling them for $6/pint when you pick and $4/half pint for Already Picked. These are NOT part of your share yet, so please watch for raspberries being in the section above in THIS WEEK’S SHARE. We have a limited picking staff, so pre-picked raspberries are first come/first serve at the HoneyBee barn. We will be OPEN on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8 AM-7 PM this week and throughout the weekend. To keep informed go to https://www.tantrefarm.com/tantre-farm-raspberry-u-pick. This patch is a bit weedy, so wear pants and closed toed shoes, but the berries are fantastic! Hope to see you there!!

2. SOLD OUT: FORAGE AND FEAST Cooking Class on Thurs., July 20, from 6-9 PM: For those of you who registered, we will be having a gourmet meal with local foraging expert, Rachel Mifsud, from Will Forage For Food. The meal will include a main dish, a couple of sides, a desert, and a beverage, all made with wild ingredients. Bring your harvesting basket if you have one, a kitchen knife, a kitchen towel, and a notebook to jot down recipes as we go.

3. PLANT WALK ON SATURDAY, July 29, from 4-6 PM: We are hosting a leisurely plant walk at Tantre Farm with our local foraging expert, Rachel Mifsud from Will Forage For Food. Plant walks are excellent learning opportunities for those with beginning to intermediate foraging skills and for anyone wanting to learn more about their local flora. Our discussion will include information about identification, methods of harvest, preparation, and use of around 20-25 edible plants and mushrooms to focus on. Kids under 12 are free with paid adult. You may want to bring a notebook, camera, and water. Unlimited class size, drop ins are welcome, and cost is $25. To register ahead of time or find more information, just go to her website at https://willforageforfood.square.site/

4. WEEDING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: If you are interested in helping out–even if it’s just for 10 or 15 minutes before you pick up your box at the farm, come join us. Please contact us any day of the week or evenings until dark. Thank you!

5. STILL PLENTY OF BOXES AVAILABLE FOR OUR IMMUNE BOOSTER CSA THIS WEEK: Still time to sign up this week for a “BARBECUE”-themed share this week! This collaborative CSA started with several local farms and food businesses. You can opt in or out of this share each week. If you are interested in supplementing your share with more veggies and other locally produced, value-added products or gifting someone else, please go to our website to sign up every Monday – Wednesday night. Pick up is from 9 AM to 12 PM every Saturday at the Washtenaw Food Hub and the Chelsea Farmers Market during the summer: http://www.tantrefarm.com/how-does-our-immune-booster-csa-work/. Still time to sign up this week!

6. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER:
*Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)—7 AM to 12 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time)
*MOVE Fitness & Wellness Studio (Wed)—8 AM to 9:30 AM (SARA there the whole time)
*Farm (Wed.)—10 AM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time with some self check-in)
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.) –6 PM to 8 PM (No Distribution Coordinator at this time. Please contact Deb @ 734-385-6748 for questions)
*Pure Pastures (Wed.) —9 AM to 11 AM (JESSICA there most of the time)
*Farm (Fri.)—2 PM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time with some self check-in)
*Ann Arbor Farmers Market (Sat.) —7 AM to 12 PM (SHANNON there the whole time)
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Sat.)—9 AM to 12 PM (RYAN and Staff there the whole time)
*Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat.)—8 AM to 12 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time)
*Argus-Packard (Sat) — 9 AM to 3 PM (ARGUS STAFF there the whole time)
*RoosRoast-Rosewood (Sat)–9 AM to 11 AM
*HoneyBee U-pick (Sat)–8 AM to 12 PM

REFLECTIONS ON THE FARM
by Richard and Deb

 It has already been 8 weeks of the Summer CSA season, and we have had one of the driest Mays and Junes on record, which required all hands on deck to put out irrigation pipe, string drip tape, set up sprinklers, and practice our rain dance steps in hopes of a healthy harvest. However, the silver lining of the lack of rain (since there always is one) was that the strawberries were that much sweeter despite the drought! Now these last couple of weeks, we have had consistent rain in mid July despite the gusty winds and hail soaking showers.

 The north pressure fronts coming down from Canada brought wild fire smoke, which cast an eerie haze on the landscape with fairly cool evenings. This semi-translucent fog shrouding the horizon left a slight tang and a sulphurous bite to our eyes and noses as we continued to work in the fields. Then there were the reports of climate severity of too much rain on the East Coast with flooding. By comparison this was not our fate this year as of yet. A fine balance of rain, gentle sun, and cool nights made our lives and the lives of the plants and animals that we care for a little easier here. The fungi is also benefiting from the cool, wet weather. The mushrooms in the forest have really been stimulated to flush several small generations of golden oysters and hopefully will continue throughout the summer and fall.

 In the next few weeks, we are looking forward to sinking our teeth into several generations of watermelons, peppers, onions, green/purple/yellow beans, purple and red carrots, cabbage, tomatoes and sweet corn. Despite the global extreme weather patterns, our region has remained a refuge of climate equanimity. As the season matures, we hope for continued mild weather. We continue to be grateful in experiencing a good balance for healthy plants and a healthy community.

RECIPES
**Keep in mind a very easy way to find recipe ideas for almost any combination of share box ingredients is to type the items into your preferred “search bar” with the word “recipe” after it, and many recipe ideas will pop up. Have fun searching! Lots and lots of ideas!

LEMON-MINT VINAIGRETTE (from www.eatingwell.com) Makes about 3/4 cup
1/3 cup lemon juice 
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint or sorrel
1/8 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Whisk lemon juice, mustard, sugar and garlic in a small bowl until blended. Drizzle in oil, whisking until blended. Stir in mint, salt and pepper.

CARROT MINT SOUP (from The Shoshoni Cookbook by Anne Saks and Faith Stone) Serves 4-6
6-8 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups vegetable stock
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped, or 2 tsp dried
2 Tbsp honey or brown rice syrup

Combine carrots, onion, garlic, and stock in soup pot. Simmer 40 minutes or until carrots are very tender. Remove carrots and puree with a little stock in blender until completely smooth. Return puree to the pot and stir well to combine. Stir in salt, pepper, mint and sweetener. Mix well and adjust seasonings to taste.

SORREL POTATO BAKE (from What Do You Do With This Stuff?)
1 bunch sorrel
1 1/2 lbs potatoes
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 cups stock (or milk)
1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Wash, stem, and coarsely chop sorrel. Saute sorrel in olive oil until completely wilted. Peel and thinly slice potatoes. Layer 1/2 of the potatoes on the bottom of a casserole dish. Season with salt, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Spread cooked sorrel evenly over potatoes. Layer rest of potatoes on top. Add enough stock (or milk) to just cover. Sprinkle cheese over surface. Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees.

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