Hi all.  I will only be able to post a small blog this week as our computer seems to have been zapped by a power surge.  I need to change out the hard drive and I hope this week to have some time.  So this blog will just have a list and next week we'll get back to normal blog type.
This week's share is really great.  I had a wonderful time harvesting today.  Everyone is getting the following with various amounts based on the size of your share.  Summer squash, zucchini, cucumber, basil, spinach, kale, ruby red and golden chard, roma, yellow and red tomatoes.  Full shares are also getting the first harvest of Brandywine tomatoes.  They are large and have some imperfections.  There is nothing wrong with them though.  If you happen to get one with a healed split, just cut that part off when you slice the tomato.  Full shares are also getting a large head of broccoli as it came in this week.  As the side shoots develop I'll have more for everyone in the future.  Also, everyone is getting more green beans.  Also, Emily and I harvested the final garlic this week and you'll each get a head of it.  I think that is it.  Hard to remember if I got everything as I left my list on the harvest table in Newport.  I hope everyone enjoys the share this week.

And not a moment too soon.  It's nice to be able to go out into the garden and work in the bean patches without worrying about wilt, walk in the squash patches without getting soaked, and see the tomatoes begin to ripen on the vine at a pace I can barely match in harvest.  The sun has returned and it looks like warm weather will be here for a while.  It's finally August!
This week's share has some of the usual varieties but there are also some new arrivals.  Don't forget to check out the recipe's page for tips on how to prepare things like Kale and Chard.  I'm reformatting the recipe page to use links for each variety so it won't clutter up the site.  Also, I've reset the settings on this page to have only one blog post appear and the archived posts are to the right.  This should theoretically speed up the process of loading for our computers. 
The first thing I want to address in this week's share is the Kale.  It's doing very well in the garden and looking quite nice on our plates at night when Emily and I have dinner.  We like to roast it in the oven and eat it as a side dish.  You'll find the instructions for this very simple, very quick recipe on the recipe page along with others.  If anyone has suggestions for preparations techniques for this or any other variety, please let me know.  You'll also find another new variety of green bean.  Kentucky Wonder is considered the 'standard' green pole bean.  I have grown them in the past for Emily and I but this year decided to include them in the CSA.  I wasn't disappointed.  I think you'll enjoy these very long, very tender pole beans.  Also this week you will find Red and Yellow Cherry tomatoes as well as Roma's.  I've included a picture of our first Brandywine below.  It weighed over half a pound and is just now ripening up on the window sill.  I hope to have more for everyone soon.  I've also included basil for everyone in varying amounts depending upon your share size.  Full shares are also getting another new variety of green this week.  Golden Sunrise Chard.  This is the first year I've grown this variety of chard but have seen it in many places and love the look of it.  I really like Ruby Red Chard which I have grown for a couple of years so I thought I'd give this yellow variety a shot.  I wasn't disappointed.  It's a beautiful addition to a salad for some color, or as a steamed side dish to any meal.  You'll also find baby spinach in the share this week and a head of romaine.  Everyone also got a zucchini (full shares received two) and a cucumber.  More cukes are on the way later in the season.  Don't forget I had to replant all my cucurbits (family name for cukes, squash and melons) due to a beetle problem.  Finally, full share folks might be wondering what is up with the disgusting looking pea pods in their bags.  I hope you didn't throw them away before I could get this post up on the web.  (The server wasn't allowing me to post for the past few days).  Open up the brown, dried pods and find a beautiful set of peas inside.  You won't be disappointed.  Even though they look nasty on the outside, that's not the part we eat.  Still great inside!  Finally, some photos from the farm this week.  Until next time...happy eating.

The wild blackberries are doing  Our first brandywine just finished  Here are the pole beans I
very well along the fence lines.   ripening on the window.  You       mentioned.  They look nice on
                                             can see how beautiful they look    the poles from across the
                                             inside.  They taste even better.    garden.
 This golden chard makes a beautiful color addition to the garden and it will do the same for any dish you prepare.  Enjoy.

Well, Wednesday was two weeks since the knuckle incident.  I took my own stitches out on Wednesday afternoon.  The wound looks preetty good considering.  When the doctor stitched me up he told me I would have full use of my finger, 'eventually'.  Apparently, that doesn't translate into 'when the stitches come out.  I still can only bend my finger slightly, though it is a bit more since the stiches came out and now it doesn't hurt everytime I hit it on something (which is a suprising amount of the time).
Anyway, on to better things.  This week's share will have Yellow Butterwax Bush Beans.  Also included are snap peas, which are the ones that should be eaten right in the pod.  I found what looks to be a good salad recipe using pea pods.  I would substitute mushroom or tofu for the chicken.  I think I'll try this one soon as it looks quite good.  http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1839,144175-231197,00.html.  Also this week, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, and roma tomatoes for the first time!  I will also be throwing in Jalapeno's for those who have requested them.  Again, if you want Jalapenos let me know as I can certainly throw them in for you.  I also have enough zucchini for everyone.  They are still filling out and thus aren't as productive as they will be later in the season (hopefully).  You will also find Basil and Parsley in the share this week.  Don't forget my earlier post about how to dry herbs.  It's a welcome addition to a winter meal when it's subzero outside and you can throw some dried basil, parsley or dill into a pot of simmering soup, etc.  Full shares will also get a cucumber and the first of the yellow summer squash (which needs some sun to fill out a bit).  I'll also be throwing in a green pepper or two depending upon the quantity available (they also need some sun).  I cut some baby spinach and Kale that have just made themselves available.


I also wanted to post some information about freezing certain vegetables.  I've created a new post in the recipe page and I hope everyone who wants to store their vegetables for winter will check it out.  There are also some links to recipes invovling kale.  Enjoy!

I'm not complaining!  We need this rain badly.  It's funny to listen to the weather people talk about rain in such a negative way.  I know it can ruin people's vacations, days off, etc.  But for your food...it's a must.  With all this rain we've had I expect things to take off again once the sun and hot August weather return.  I've been trying to harvest things in the short spells when it hasn't been raining this week.  This morning was difficult because it was raining so hard.  I was home with Lizzie yesterday so that gave me a chance to get a jump on posting this week's blog.
Some great stuff is coming in right now.  Including Garlic.  I have pulled 5 bulbs from the bed this week and they are curing in the greenhouse (shown here).  I'm very pleased with this crop.  The bulbs and cloves have formed nicely and are quite large.  Shown here are the 5 bulbs going to full shares this week.  There is more coming for the half share folks when they are ready to be pulled.  The reason I am curing it is so it will last longer.  You can certainly eat it right out of the ground (Emily and I had some tonight in fact) but as it is soft it would not last that long.  When you receive it you can put it in the fridge and it should stay good for a long while.  This particular variety is called Elephant and you can see why in the picture at the left.  I snapped this next to my thumb to show how amazingly large the cloves are.  This one is an harvest mishap.  The stalk came off because I didn't loosen the soil quite enough around it before yanking on it.  Oh well, Sue was happy to have it.  Another photo, without my pesky thumb to muddle it, is pictured here.  Beautiful and aromatic, you might just want to set yours on the window sill to make the kitchen smell fragrant and wonderful.  Garlic is very good for you.  
                         
Raw garlic is quite good but aged garlic has been shown to have an even more potent antioxidant affect.  Always take any medical study with a grain of salt, but some studies show that it helps prevent the common cold and may help reduce blood pressure.  Personally, when I see studies like this, I often wonder about the other aspects of a subject's lifestyle that contribute to this.  Probably garlic isn't the one factor involved.  However, it may certainly help.  There are lot's of great ideas for preparing garlic as an addition to many recipes.  Emily and I use it a lot both loving the flavor and smell.  You can use this fresh garlic in the pesto recipe I posted in the recipe section.  Here is a link showing how to roast garlic.  We actually have a garlic roaster that I have yet to try.  But this looks like it will work just as well.  http://elise.com/recipes/archives/001712roasted_garlic.php
If you need any other ideas, I suggest going to any Italian or other Mediterranean cookbook and simply looking through it.  Also, Indian food uses a lot of garlic (perhaps one reason I love Indian food so much).
Also, this week I have Leeks for everyone.  I don't think there will be a problem harvesting them but you can never really tell until you get out into the garden on the day of harvest.
  
                    
I was also able to harvest potatoes.  I've included photos of them this week for interest and also to show the first results of an experiment with blue potatoes.  Very nice and I can't wait to try them.  If they are good I may include them on a larger scale next year.  I threw a couple in each full share bag and would love some feedback on how you like them.  I also have some more beans to include, both yellow and green like last week.  I hope to also include some heads of romaine lettuce in everyone's share.  I found what looks to be an awesome recipe for vegan caesar salad dressing.  The original caesar salad dressing has raw eggs and anchovies in it.  Check out the link and enjoy.  http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/vegan-caesar-salad-recipe.html   I also threw in some snap peas.  These are peas with edible pods.  They are sweet and delicious eaten raw but they also make a great addition to stir-fry.  Also, full shares are getting the first small zucchini fruits and one green pepper each.  These would also be great in stir-fry with the peas.  Spoon it over rice or pasta.  More of these to come in the future.  You will also find more basil in this week's bag.  I remembered another great use for pesto.  Emily and I have a book of Mediterranean cuisine and it suggests cooking two large chicken breasts in about a tablespoon of olive oil.  (The book says about 15 minutes but cook them until you are satisfied they are done)  Once they are done, remove to another dish and put your pesto in the pan with the liquid from the chicken and oil.  Cook only long enough to warm the pesto (about a minute) and then spoon over the chicken.  Emily and I don't eat chicken so we use full sized portabella mushrooms.  Delicious and quick since they take about half the time to cook that the chicken does. 
Also, here they come!  One of the things I love about tomatoes is that they can be very prolific producers.  As you can see from the picture's below, gone are the passing thoughts of the day of the first ripe tomato. 

This includes thoughts about not having enough, wishing they would ripen, etc.  Soon there will be nearly more than I can handle.  It was only about a week ago that I was only able to get 5-6 ripe cherries off the vine.  Now we're in the swing of things.  Any future sun will really help with photosynthesis, etc. to bring the yield even higher after all this rain.
Here is a photo of the tomato and basil preperation method I mentioned in the last post.  I had a photo then but for some reason it wasn't uploading last week.  As you can see, I slice the tomatoes and place one piece of basil on top.  Usually, with the cherry tomatoes I just rip the basil leaves to be the appropriate size as you see here.  Then, drizzle a little oil and a dash of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper and you're golden.  Another great way to eat tomatoes (don't forget salad) is to slice them like I have shown them here and spread them on a plate.  Then sprinkle a bit o sugar on them.  My great grandmother ate them like that and it is very good.  I've never actually tried it with the yellow cherries but it's delicious on the red cherries and larger varieties.
Finally, it's hard to believe but I'm already getting things ready for fall and winter.  Specifically, the greenhouse.  Below are some photos of a before and after nature.  I let the greenhouse weeds grow once it got too hot to be in there.  The first picture is how it looked last week.  The second picture shows how it looks after a week of rainy days and some serious elbow grease.  It's definitely starting to come together for the late summer planting which is in full swing.  When these are done I'll be planting the fall planting for the winter and next spring.  On Wednesday I was able to organize the area right in front of the greenhouse.  I've been experimenting with it all season and I think I found a set-up I will like.  We'll see.
                                      

...you aren't paying attention in the garden.  I was working on tying up some tomatoes on Wednesday evening when I got careless and got going faster than I should have.  I was using a pair of very sharp (luckily or it would have been worse) scissors and I cut my knuckle clean off.  Yup
cut off my knuckle.  It wasn't painful but I was pretty lucky as far as that goes.  I shaved it down to the tendon.  A slight bit further and I wouldn't have the use of my finger.  I guess I needed to have a not so gentle reminder to be careful and pay attention.  I should be able to take this sling off this weekend and go back in two weeks to have the stitches removed.  On the left, you can see I had to wear a glove for the harvest, which took forever.  Also, typing is a challenge so I apologize for any typographical errors in this week's post.
Also, I noticed that quite a few people forgot their bags this week in Bangor and some folks didn't get to pick up their share at all.  Please do your best to remember your bags.  I know it can be tough in the hustle and bustle of summer but it makes things so much easier on my end.  I will have to label new plastic bags for next week and that actually takes a surprising amount of time (and plastic bags).  Also, if you are unable to get your share, please let me know as it will go to waste otherwise.  There are plenty of folks who could be eating that produce who might not otherwise have it.  Thank you very much for your help on this.
On to happier things, like your share this week.  Very interesting stuff in store in the bags.  I hope everyone enjoys.  Since I don't have the use of my finger as usual, I'll keep each section very short.  If anyone has any questions or needs ideas for prep, call or email and I'll try to get some out.  Before I begin listing this week's contents, I would like to thank all of the people who helped with the harvest.  Thanks to Emily, my awesome wife for helping with the bagging of the veggies.  Thanks to Kate, CSA member and sister-in-law for helping with the harvesting of green beans earlier in the week.  Thanks to Grammy Susie (Em's mom) for watching Lizzie this morning so Em could help me.  Thanks to Sue also (and John) for helping me when I actually cut myself.  Also, I'll put out the call again for anyone who wants to come to the farm and do some weeding or other work.  Now I can't do as much so any help would be greatly appreciated if anyone has the opportunity.  Now onto the goods.
Green Beans and Yellow Butterwax Beans.  The green beans are the same variety as last week.  The Yellow beans are new this week and are a great addition  Very tender and sweet (as are the greens).  I hope everyone enjoys them.  We've been loving them as Emily and I both really look forward to green beans each season.
Also new this week, golden cherry tomatoes.  I love tomatoes.  Emily says I have a love affair with tomatoes.  I can't help it.  In each share you'll find some of these delicious yellow cherries.  Full shares also have several red cherry tomatoes.  Below are two pictures showing the progression of ripeness of both yellow and red.  You may find some at each stage.  The most ripe is on the left.  Until they look like that, they aren't quite ready.  If you have any tomatoes in your bag that look like the ones in the middle (either red or yellow) place them on a sunny window sill for a couple of days until they fully ripen.  If you have some that are like the ones on the right in each picture.  They just show a tiny hint of ripeness so place them in a dark place such as a drawer of towels or a paper bag.  They ripen in the dark!  Check them every couple of days for ripeness.  One way to prepare these tomatoes is to slice them thinly and cover each slice with a torn piece of basil and a splash of olive oil.  This works really well with larger tomatoes we'll be getting later in the season but I like it with cherries until those are ready.


Full shares will also find a jalapeno loose in the share bag.  I threw it in at the last minute because I had several ready.  In the future, please let me know if you would like jalapenos.  I can't imagine everyone will want them.  I won't put them in again unless I have specific requests from each member.  Also in this week's share is a lettuce mix.  It is vital that you take the lettuce and dry it.  I suggest dumping it into a colander as soon as you get it home.  We had substantial rains last night and everything was soaked.  Once you've drained the lettuce follow my tip for storing it when wet from an earlier post.  Full shares will also find a head of green romaine lettuce.  Also shares also have basil again this week in varied amounts depending upon your share size, dill and parsley.  More new potatoes and full shares have new red potatoes for the first time this week.  Finally, each of you will find some peas in your share.  They've been a long time coming but they are finally here.  By joining our CSA you've taken a step toward changing the world.  By eating these peas you're taking another.  Peas are a slow food by their very nature.  Each time you sit down with your partner or family, or by yourself and shuck peas from their pods, you are acting in protest against a food system that has been set-up in opposition to our natural instincts.  Namely, that food should be enjoyed from beginning to end in the manner in which it is grown, slowly, from beginning to end.  Removing peas from their pods takes work.  Work that is currently done by under paid, under appreciated factory workers, often migrant laborers (when the peas are even grown in this country) who are mistreated forgotten.  Each time you eat peas from your local farmer, you are railing against this system.  Feels good doesn't it?  Enjoy this food with your friends, your families and loved ones in a slow fashion that allows for the true and full enjoyment of the company and the food itself.
Finally, I wanted to leave you with an encouraging photo I snapped in the rain this morning.  Our first broccoli has formed!  Take care until we meet again.