Today we are thanking God for the generous soaking rain we got last night. Though most of the area may not be experiencing drought conditions, we’ve had storm after storm miss us in the past few weeks and we got very parched. Even though we have drip irrigation on all of our crops, the water we bring up from our well doesn’t contain the same minerals as rainwater and the crops eventually suffer. Did you know that lightning and rain bring nitrogen down from the sky onto the earth? Amazing and wonderful. We are grateful for these everyday miracles.  And we are grateful that in spite of the stress the fields are showing, they are still giving us lots of food! Speaking of LOTS of food, we have two more field-to-table Thankfulness Dinners coming up here at the farm. If you haven’t yet emailed or called us to reserve seats, PLEASE DO. The next dates are August 23 and September 20. We’d love to see you and feed you here on the farm where you can watch your plants and meat growingJ  Here’s what’s in the box. As usual, use the first things first.

Squash Blossoms – We got such a great response to the squash blossoms in the last box that we decided to go through the rows again. This time, though, we hope you’ll try a different recipe than the fried blossoms. We had fried blossoms three times here at the farm, so we understand how you might want to have more of a good thing. But this weekend we made a squash blossom quiche for our weekend bed-and-breakfast guests, and we think the results were terrific! Give it a try with our buckwheat crust and see what you think.  We put some great recipes on the Farmer Kriss Pinterest page for squash blossom quesadillas and even squash blossom ice cream!

 Basil – We’ve got a mix of Genovese, Thai, Anise and Purple Ruffled for you this week. Use it all together or pick up the individual leaves and taste them out before using.  We like the more licorice-flavored types in Thai curries and the sweeter leaves in Italian Caprese Salads and on top of pizza. All mixed, this should be enough for you to put up a nice little stash of pesto in your freezer for the winter. It freezes great.  Terrific over zucchini/yellow squash ribbon spaghetti instead of pasta, if you are trying to limit gluten. Lots of recipes on the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page. Of course, if you haven't yet made the Bourbon Basil Choco Cake, that is a must! Find it on our Box 4 Recipe Blog page.

Tomato (Full Shares Only) – Oh! We had a few early producers. Pretty soon tomato season will be in full swing and we’ll be getting you lots of heirlooms and colored cherries, but here’s a taste of what’s to come…

Bok Choy – This variety is called “Joy Joi” and it is a lovely, tender sort of Chinese cabbage. If you haven’t used it before, it may seem baffling to see so much stalk and so little leaf! But the entire plant, minus the dirty little bottoms at the end of the stems, is edible. Wash, tear leaves from stalks, and chop both stalks and leaves into bite size pieces. Use in stir-fry, soups or sautees, cooking the stems for a few minutes more than the leaves. The leaves should be cooked very lightly.  We chop the entire thing finely and lightly dress with sesame oil and vinegar for a lovely slaw. Pairs amazing with chopped peanuts! Please see the Farmer Kriss Pinterest page for more ideas.

Summer Squash/Zucchini – We try to pick these very small and young while they are at their most tender and flavorful. Wonderful raw, lightly sautéed, roasted or baked into egg dishes.  We never get sick of squash and zucchini here, in spite of their reputation for being overly prolific, because we rarely let them get big. However, now that we’ve discovered spiralized zucchini pasta, we are tempted to grow some giants. A great way to enjoy pesto without overloading on carbs!

Cucumbers (Full Shares Only)  – These are slow to produce in such dry weather. But we had rain last night and we expect to be getting a ton of these to you in the next few weeks.

Scallions -  Please please please don’t throw the greens away on these! They are a special Chinese variety of scallion we are trying this year and are bred to have very tender edible stalks as well as roots. I used to use just the whites of scallions, as many American cooks do. But I had the great fortune to live with a Korean roommate for a year and she was just astounded at the way Americans waste the stems of common veggies, like scallions, broccoli and cauliflower. Truly – all of these parts of the plant are edible and delicious! Chop into eggs, soup, or enjoy raw on buttered baguette slices. Growing up, one of my favorite treats out of my parents’ big garden was scallions sliced into the middle of a buttered white bread sandwich. My dad still makes these, though I’ve gotten away from the fluffy white bread.

Chives, Summer Savory, Sage and Thyme  –  These little baggies of herbs can be stored in the fridge just like we’ve sent them to you. Pick some out to flavor every meal of the day.  Summer Savory is something you might not be familiar with, but it is worth getting to know! The leaves are bigger and more spread out than thyme, but they look a bit similar. The taste is spicier, hotter and more assertive. Wonderful on meats, great with your potatoes.

Broccoli and/or Cauliflower - So young, so tender. Use the florets and the stalk. Cut all into bite-size pieces. Our favorite way to enjoy brassica heads these days is the lazy way – chopped and steamed with several shakes of soy sauce in a covered class bowl in the microwave for about 5 minutes.  Remove, sprinkle with sesame seeds.

New Potatoes – Yippee! These are so tasty. So good! We’ve been enjoying them in room temperature salads. Boil just barely and dress with pesto or vinegar and chives.  The skins are meant to eat, so don’t scrub too hard and don’t peel, please! Try the amazing Spanish Tortilla  on the Box 4 Recipe Blog page.

Lemon Balm, Chocolate Mint, Oregano, Lovage – This beautiful bouquet of herbs contains three mint family species – everything with square stems (the basil and thyme you’ve received this week are also mints!). The lovage is the only non-mint herb here and it's a very strong perennial celery. The lemon balm is my current favorite, since I attended an all-day herb seminar this past week and learned that it “increases joy.” I believe it! What a wonderful addition to tea, dressings, baked goods and all squash dished. Many cultures combine mint, oregano and basil in their spice blends and I recommend that this week, too, as in Middle Eastern Tabouli or Thai spring rolls.  If you haven't yet made Mint Mojitos (these were a huge hit at the last field-to-table dinner), save your mint for that. Recipe on the Box 4 Recipe Blog.

Flower Bouquets – We haven’t had room for these lately, and it’s a bit squished in the boxes this week, but the flowers in the fields were just so gorgeous we had to bring them to you. The smell that should greet you is the purple Butterfly Bush. Wow. Then we have green and red sedum, yellow yarrow, lilac hosta lilies, indigo vervain and white Queen Anne’s Lace. Enjoy!

Head over to the Box 4 Recipe Blog for some great dishes using these ingredients. And don't forget to peruse the Farmer Kriss Pinterest CSA Recipes and Farmhouse Bar pages.

     PESTO SEASON HAS ARRIVED! But we are also pleased to be packing you one of the crew’s all-time favorite treats this week: squash blossoms. They were a surprise hit at last Saturday’s field-to-table Thankfulness Dinner, too, along with the Milkweed Mushroom Soup.  We love to feed you tasty surprises (as well as old favorites like Pulled Pork Sliders and Roasted Potato Salad) so be sure to sign up for one of the next two dinners on August 23 or Sept 20!

    Ever thought about what a Circle M Food Cart would be like? I have. I think it would be a blast to make street food! So we’re gonna try it out next Wednesday for Blanchardville’s Music on Main event.  Rick Fredrickson will be crooning classics of the 50s and 60s and we’ll be serving up Mexican Pulled Pork Sliders, Thai Spring Rolls, Goat Cheese Dips with Carrots and Crackers, Rhubarb Cheesecake Bars and Bourbon Basil Chocolate Cupcakes.  Beer and wine are available, as well as all the yummy take-out available from the bars. Come Play with Your Food and with us down at the Ryan Park Shelter on Wednesday, July 30, from 6 to 7 pm.

    Here’s what’s in the box. As usual, use the first things listed first.

Squash Blossoms – Oh! What can we say but, “Oh!” These are such a delight and surprise on the plate. We hope you’ll be able to make use of them quickly and well. The crew cheered when they saw that picking squash blossoms was on the harvest list this morning, because that meant stuffed and sautéed squash for lunch! Delicious. If you can’t use these right away to stuff, they will still be terrific in their wilty state baked on top of a frittata or quiche. The flavor is a light cucumber floral. We put a ton of ideas up on the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page (there’s even a squash blossom ice cream!) but our basic stuffed recipe is below.

Pea Tendrils – Holy cow. Amazing. Our peas finished up this past week, and we went through the trellises picking the last pods. But while we were out there, we picked the tender growing tips to munch on, and they were amazing! So we’ve brought you this last gift of the peas. This week they will be cut to make way for the cucumbers and little acorn squash that are growing up next to them. Garnish the top of a salad, or better yet, sauté very very lightly and top a salad or side dish.

Basil –  This should be enough for you to get a nice little stash of pesto in your fridge to use up in the next week or so. Mashed into pesto, covered with some olive oil, it will keep at least a week. If you want, freeze some. It freezes great. We are mixing ours with sorrel and oregano right now for a super-tart Italian style dip-starter we add to goat cheese and have on crostini. Also terrific over spaghetti squash instead of pasta, if you are trying to limit gluten. Lots of recipes on the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page.

Bok Choy – This variety is called “Joy Joi” and it is a lovely, tender sort of Chinese cabbage. If you haven’t used it before, it may seem baffling to see so much stalk and so little leaf! But the entire plant, minus the dirty little bottoms at the end of the stems, is edible. Wash, tear leaves from stalks, and chop both stalks and leaves into bite size pieces. Use in stir-fry, soups or sautees, cooking the stems for a few minutes more than the leaves. The leaves should be cooked very lightly. Please see the Farmer Kriss Pinterest page for more ideas.

Summer Squash/Zucchini – First picking.  Now you know it’s summer! When the squash are this young and tender we recommend eating them raw with a healthy dip or lightly sautéing in olive oil and garlic and serving with pasta or a grain. In the height of the squash season, I’ve been known to leave them in the fridge for quite sometime, but the skins on these are so young and tender they are not going to offer a lot of protection in storage. USE SOON! Shockingly good sautéed with sage.

Chocolate Mint -  You’ve had a fair amount of this lately, but we are trying to keep it from blooming, and so we harvest very regularly. We made Mint Mojitos for the Thankfulness Dinner, and they were extremely popular, so we thought we’d let you make your own. Recipe is on the Box 4 Recipe Blog.

Sorrel -  Still so bright and fresh, we are eating this as salad with roasted rhubarb and balsamic and adding by the bunch to our pestos. The pesto we served at the Thankfulness Dinner was 1/3 sorrel, 1/3 basic and 1/3 oregano and it got rave reviews! Also great as a wilted salad with a light lemon and bacon dressing. A little parmesan shredded on top takes it to the next level.

Scallions -  Please please please don’t throw the greens away on these! They are a special Chinese variety of scallion we are trying this year and are bred to have very tender edible stalks as well as roots. I used to use just the whites of scallions, as many American cooks do. But I had the great fortune to live with a Korean roommate for a year and she was just astounded at the way Americans waste the stems of common veggies, like scallions, broccoli and cauliflower. Truly – all of these parts of the plant are edible and delicious! Chop into eggs, soup, or enjoy raw on buttered baguette slices. Growing up, one of my favorite treats out of my parents’ big garden was scallions sliced into the middle of a buttered white bread sandwich. My dad still makes these, though I’ve gotten away from the fluffy white bread.

Parsley and Sage and Thyme – Almost a Simon and Garfunkel song. We thought we were digging potatoes for you this week, but they were still too small. And we love sage with potatoes, so we picked a ton! Oh, well. It will last in the fridge in the baggie for a long time. We will likely have your new red potatoes in the next box. In the meantime, enjoy with the Yellow Squash or Zucchini! Fry up some sage leaves in butter until the butter turns slightly brown. Remove the leaves to drain on a paper towel and try not to eat them. They should be crispy and amazing. Lightly sauté the squash in the butter. Plate up and crumble some of the sage leaves on top. Salt and pepper to taste. Yum.  Thyme and parsley are also great with squash or basically, with anything. Both everyday herbs. Throw whole thyme sprigs into dishes where you can see to fish out the woody stems after they’ve infused their flavor. Or, use fingernails to strip the leaves from the stems.

Kale and Collards – Kale chips? Have you tried them? Yummy! You can make them with kale, collards, even Swiss Chard. But we’ve been eating massaged kale for our summer salads here with the berries from the hedgerows and goat cheese.

Broccoli (Shortie Shares Only)  - So young, so tender. Use the florets and the stalk. Cut all into bite-size pieces. Our favorite way to enjoy broccoli these days is the lazy way – chopped and steamed with several shakes of soy sauce in a covered class bowl in the microwave for about 5 minutes.  Remove, sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy!

Fresh Garlic – Our first picking of the garlic – just the biggest bulbs came out to make room for the rest to really beef up. This isn’t cured – the skin is still soft – so use quickly or store in the fridge, not the pantry. This will make your pesto ZING!

Flowering Oregano, Lovage,  Summer Savory– These bunches in your box have flowering oregano, several stalks of lovage, and a sprig or two of Savory. The lovage looks like a big parsley but it is in fact a perennial celery. Both leaves and stems are useable, but obviously the stems will have to cook for while. Alternatively, blitz in the food processor and add to salad dressing. It has an amazing celery/nutmeg taste. There’s a great recipe for salad dressing here:  http://ediblemadison.com/recipes/view/fresh-is-best-cole-slaw   The pretty purple oregano flowers are just as tasty as the leaves. The only thing you won’t use on this plant is the woody stem. Use your imagination with these flowers and garnish pizza, cheese dips, egg dishes and pasta plates.

Rhubarb – We rarely pack rhubarb 3 times in a season, but it’s still so gorgeous and fresh and we wanted you to be able to try my Prize-Winning Fruit of the Forest Cream Pie that’s on the Recipe Blog.  It’s good! I recently won first prize with it in the Hollandale Pie Baking Contest last weekend – which was a fundraiser for the Blanchardville/Hollandale Area Community Fund. The Fund is hosting another fundraiser involving food and ART next month at the fabulous folk art Grandview site outside of Hollandale: August 16 and 17th, visit Grandview and enjoy scrumptious sack lunches while watching artists create on the grounds.

Head over to the Box 4 Recipe Blog for this week's favorites.

We are downright proud of this beautiful box. We had some defeats this week – we had to give up on the wind-whipped salad rows, till them in and start fresh with new rows seeded for fall and transplants popped into shady areas. We also found some gorgeous big Red Norlands under the mulch in our potato rows, so we decided to dig new potatoes for you this week, only to find that most of the tubers were tiny. So we replaced the mulch and walked away disappointed. However, we ended up with tremendous yields on all of the basil varieties, the squash blossoms exploded and the pea vines finished out for us with some delicious tender tendrils at their tips.  Alliteration is always appropriate for a celebration! Remember, as always, use the first things listed first, as they are the most fragile.

Squash Blossoms – Oh! What can we say but, “Oh!” These are such a delight and surprise on the plate. We hope you’ll be able to make use of them quickly and well. The crew cheered when they saw that picking squash blossoms was on the harvest list this morning, because that meant stuffed and sautéed squash for lunch! Delicious. If you can’t use these right away to stuff, they will still be terrific in their wilty state baked on top of a frittata or quiche. The flavor is like a light cucumber floral. We put a ton of ideas up on the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page, but our basic stuffed recipe is on the Recipe Blog for Box 3. Be sure to shake these out before you use them - we found a tree frog in one this morning! See above.

Pea Tendrils – Holy cow. Amazing. Our peas finished up this week, and we went through the trellises picking the last pods. But while we were out there, we picked the tender growing tips to munch on, and they were amazing! So we’ve brought you this last gift of the peas. This week they will be cut to make way for the cucumbers and little acorn squash that are growing up next to them. Garnish the top of a salad, or better yet, sauté very very lightly. You can use these in the Pea Curry Recipe we have on the Recipe Blog, but don’t mix them in when you cook up the curry. Instead, lightly sauté them at the end and serve the curry with the wilted tendrils and a few cashews on top. You’ll be a rock star chef!

Dill – These pretty flowers are tucked on top of your box so it they can be the first thing you smell when you open it. Yum! Dill flowers, stems and leaves all have the flavor, so you can use them just like the fresh leaves. Snip into eggs, garnish fish whole, or pop into something you are going to pickle. We snip the green leaves into goat cheese, and then decorate the plate with tiny yellow flowers picked from the umbels.  Store in the fridge in a glass of water until you can use.

Basil – PESTO SEASON IS HERE! This should be enough for you to get a nice little stash of pesto in your fridge to use up in the next week or so. Covered with some olive oil, it will keep at least a week. If you want, freeze some. It freezes great. We are mixing ours with sorrel and oregano right now for a super-tart Italian style dip-starter we add to goat cheese and have on crostini. Also terrific over spaghetti squash instead of pasta, if you are trying to limit gluten. Lots of recipes on the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page.

Swiss Chard – Oh my, so gorgeous and tender! Chard is such a gift in the hot months because you can eat it when the lettuce gets bitter. This is our first picking and it is exceptionally butter and thus fragile. So eat it soon. Ribbon for salad, or chop and sauté in everything. We LOVE chard paired with garlic and eggs. But we consistently hear from members each year that they don’t quite know what to do with it. Just yesterday one of our crew, Mark, told me that he loves chard on toast with mustard and a little cheese. YES! A perfect, quick, healthy breakfast, lunch, or dinner. A fried egg would also work in there.

Summer Squash/Zucchini – First picking.  Now you know it’s summer! When the squash are this young and tender we recommend eating them raw with a healthy dip or lightly sautéing in olive oil and garlic and serving with pasta or a grain. In the height of the squash season, I’ve been known to leave them in the fridge for quite sometime, but these skins on these are so young and tender they are not going to offer a lot of protection in storage. USE SOON! Saute and have with pestoJ

Sorrel -  Still so bright and fresh, we are eating this as salad with roasted rhubarb and balsamic and adding by the handful to our pestos. Also great as a wilted salad with a light lemon and bacon dressing. A little parmesan shredded on top takes it to the next level.

Snow and Snap Peas – Alas, this is it for the spring pea season. We are planting more for the fall, but fall peas are always a gamble. They’ve had a good run this year, though, and you’ll have enough here to make one last Pea Curry from the recipe on our Box 3 Recipe Blog. Otherwise, make up the Thai Dipping Sauce that’s on there and eat raw with the summer squash.

Sage – Ooops! We thought we were digging potatoes for you this week, but they were still too small. And we love sage with potatoes, so we picked a ton! Oh, well. It will last in the fridge in the baggie for a long time. We will likely have your new red potatoes in the next box. In the meantime, enjoy with Yellow Squash or Zucchini! Fry up some sage leaves in butter until the butter turns slightly brown. Remove the leaves to drain on a paper towel and try not to eat them. They should be crispy and amazing. Lightly sauté the squash in the butter. Plate up and crumble some of the sage leaves on top. Salt and pepper to taste. Yum.

Kale – Kale chips? Have you tried them? Yummy! But we’ve been eating massaged kale for our summer salads here with the berries from the hedgerows and goat cheese.

Fresh Garlic – Our first picking of the garlic – just the biggest bulbs came out to make room for the rest to really beef up. This isn’t cured – the skin is still soft – so use quickly or store in the fridge, not the pantry. This will make your pesto ZING!

Oregano, Lovage – These bunches in your box have flowering oregano and several stalks of lovage. The lovage looks like a big parsley but it is in fact a perennial celery. Both leaves and stems are useable, but obviously the stems will have to cook for while. Alternatively, blitz in the food processor and add to salad dressing. It has an amazing celery/nutmeg taste. There’s a great recipe for salad dressing here from the wonderful Four Elements herbal farm:
http://ediblemadison.com/recipes/view/fresh-is-best-cole-slaw
The pretty purple oregano flowers are just as tasty as the leaves. The only thing you won’t use on this plant is the woody stem. Use your imagination with these flowers and garnish pizza, cheese dips, egg dishes and pasta plates.

Summer Onions – First pick of the onions and these, too, are not cured, so use soon and store in the fridge. More to come in a month!

Rhubarb – We rarely pack rhubarb 3 times in a season, but it’s still so gorgeous and fresh and we wanted you to be able to try my Prize-Winning Fruit of the Forest Cream Pie that’s on the Recipe Blog.  It’s good! I just won first prize with it in the Hollandale Pie Baking Contest last weekend.

Did you know we also have a Farmhouse Bar page at the Farmer Kriss Pinterest site?  Lots of ideas to use fresh herbs and fruit in cocktails!  What better way to enjoy these gorgeous nights...

This was an exciting and fun week here on the farm. We had tornado watches, thunderstorms, sunny days, an injured hawk rescue and a lovely long hike in the woods to find berries. (We were looking for milkweed to put in your boxes, too, but we couldn't find any more buds - everything is in flower!) Here at the culmination of the harvest, we've got fresh boxes full of seasonal treats and interesting herbs with which to experiment. Tonight, after you get your box, we hope you will join us as we celebrate the beauty and bounty of the farm at an art show opening at the Overture Center in Madison - From Farm to Fork (and Function): An Exhibit by S.V. Medaris and Alicia Rheal. These two are great friends of the farm, and you'll recognize some of our people, plants and animals in the pieces! Sue Medaris also designed our "Play with Your Food" t-shirts this year. We absolutely love them both, and their work, and if you've been to our farmhouse, you've already seen a lot of it framed on the walls. The show runs thru September 6, but we'll be there tonight from 6 to 8pm for snacks. Here's the artists' description of the show:

S.V. Medaris and Alicia Rheal have been raising animals for food and as models for their artwork for over a decade, exploring the relationship humans have with the animals raised for consumption as well as those cared for in companionship. By using wooden cut-outs of life-size livestock, and traditional paintings and prints mounted to block-printed fabric wallpaper–all elements depicting the different seasons on the farm–the imagery leads the viewers sequentially from spring to summer to the fall harvest as visitors walk the length of the gallery. Reception: Friday, July 11, 6-8PM, Gallery 1 (1sr floor), and refreshments in the Promenade Lounge and join us on the newly renovated Memorial Union Terrace afterwards. 8:30pm till ...

And here's what's in the box:

Fruits of the Forest – The berry harvest continues! This week we tramped the fields and forests roundabout to bring you a terrific little harvest of special sweet treats. Our hands are stained purple with juice and our tummies are happy. Hope you enjoy eating them as much as we enjoyed the hikes. Blackcap raspberries, white and black mulberries, red currants and blushed gooseberries. We’ve got some great recipe ideas for you on the website and the Farmer Kriss Pinterest page. If you still have some rhubarb, combine them with the berries and make our delicious Farmstead Fruit of the Fields Cheesecake.

Dill – You’ve each got a head or two of flowered out dill. This has the same flavor as the leaves and is quite pretty to garnish fish or cheese dip with. Snip it into tiny mini-florets over an omelette. Store in a vase in the fridge.

Basil – Basil season is here! Slightly ahead of the tomatoes, which is pretty typical, but you should see cherry tomatoes in the next boxes.  You should have enough basil to make your first round of pesto! There is a basic recipe here and more pesto recipes on the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page. Add sorrel for a nice zesty version. We personally love pesto on just about everything, but more often these days we've been hoarding the basil for fresh Lao- and Thai-influenced soups, spring rolls and curries.

Mints: Pepper and Chocolate – This is the first harvest of the peppermint, and though you’ve already had the chocolate, we thought it would be fun to compare them side by side. Add to lemonade, or snip into fruit salad, or check out the fun White Chocolate Mousse recipe at the Box 3 Recipe Blog. Or, go savory and snip mint into your Asian recipes. Check out the spring rolls at Madison's Lao Laan-Xang for a great combo of mint, basil and cilantro. Try the spring rolls with Laotian sausage - amazing!

Sorrel – We are thankful the sorrel is still coming on so strong and fresh, because our lettuces keep getting so beat up in the storms that we have none to harvest. Sliced thin and drizzled with olive oil and white balsamic, sorrel makes a great salad. Shave some parmesan over the top and add some pine nuts for an Italian treat. British folks tend to cook their sorrel, and we like it that way, too.

Chives and Parsley – These two herbs are pretty much everyday seasonings. Great at breakfast, lunch and dinner, they are stapes of the fresh eating season. We recommend using the parsley stems as well as the leaves, since they are so sweet. But if you don’t like the texture, simply chop finely and save them to add to a soup. Or just use in our Pea and Shrimp Curry on the Recipe Blog!

Snow and Snap Peas – We can’t believe the length of this pea season! Most of the snap vines are still going strong, in spite of the strong winds and pelting rains we’ve had. They are trellised, but they hold on to the fencing themselves with very tiny little tendrils that are remarkably tough. Zip the strings off both sides of the round snaps and the flat snows. We tend to cook the snows in stir fries, cut into 1-inch pieces. And the snaps we eat fresh with Thai Peanut Dip. Lots of you who attended the first field-to-table dinner asked me for the recipe, and you can find that basic recipe below the Harvest List. I also put a wonderful Pea and Shrimp Curry recipe on the Recipe Blog that we made for crew lunch this week.

Broccoli (Full Shares Only) – This is just the first cutting of our sprouting broccoli. Removing these heads will cause the sides to shoot into dozens of spears. So Shorties Shares, you’ll get plenty, shortly.

Kale – Oh, these mixed kale bouquets are so delicious right now! Tender and sweet. You can enjoy them either raw in salad to cooked in a soup or curry or over pasta. Do you know how to massage your kale? Simply remove the ribs (I dip them in the Thai peanut sauce and eat them like a carrot) and cut the leaves into bite-size pieces. Place in your salad bowl and sprinkle with salt and your dressing of choice (I use straight balsamic reduction, but some folks like a creamy ranch or buttermilk), then use your hands to massage the dressing into the kale and let rest for about a half and hour before eating.

Bunched Baby Beets –  Even if you aren’t a fan of beets, we hope these tiny babies will convert you! Every part of these, root, stem and leaves, is sweet and delicious lightly sautéed. Act like a chef, and simply chop the roots off with about 1 inch of stem. Rub these in a washcloth to get the dirt off, but don’t bother scrubbing or peeling. The skins are very tender. Then rinse and chop the remaining stems and leaves into bite-size pieces. Sautee everything in olive oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and crumbly goat or blue cheese. I had the good fortune to pass by Hook’s Cheese Factory in Mineral Point this week and picked up just three of their many amazing blues. Get out there and try the Little Boy Blue - it's sheep cheese!

Summer Onion (uncured) – Unlike fall onions, these are not cured with dry skins, so you will need to store them in the fridge.

Horseradish – If you like horseradish, this will be a real treat. If not, give the fresh stuff a shot. If still you just don’t enjoy it, make it a gift to someone who will really be impressed! Basically, you will peel, grate and than mix this with vinegar. We recommend using a food processor or even a blender. But the full directions are here.

LOTS of great recipes at the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page this week, and some great desserts, dip and a curry on the Recipe Blog. Viva local food!

This was a forage week for us. We like to keep our eyes out on the fields and hedgerows to spy what we might be able to bring you that's growing wild in our neighborhood. We started too late this year for nettles and watercress, unfortunately, but we are having a banner year for Elderberry Blossoms! They are the pretty bouquet at the top of your box. Put them in a vase in your fridge and try to use them soon in the amazing Elderberry Flower Fritter recipe we've posted at the Recipe Blog. We had them for crew lunch last week and they were a tremendous hit. Such a fleeting lovely treat.  Got to grab these sorts of things while you can!

Speaking of grabbing – while we were out and about in the meadows, we also picked up some other short-season treats. Milkweed buds! We love these sautéed in olive oil and garlic, but lot’s of folks lightly sauté or steam and then blend them up into soups. They taste a lot like asparagus. Maybe asparagus mixed with broccoli, which they resemble. Try one of the recipes on our Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page, and if you enjoy them, head out to your nearest bike path and pick away! We took a ride on the Cap City trail last week and there were a ton ready. In your fruit bags, you’ll find blackcaps, black mulberries and white mulberries. From the farm, we added our cultivated currants (little red berries) and gooseberries (green berries) and the very last of the strawberries.

Everything else is a bit more recognizable as food - mixed greens, the first kale and YIPPEE! snap and snow peas! Enjoy. Remember, you want to try to eat the first things listed first, as they are the most perishable.

Elderberry Flowers - A wonderful treat fried up with a lightly sauteed tempura batter. See our recipe on the Recipe Blog page or lots of other ones at the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page.

Fruit of the Woods – Mulberries, Currants, Gooseberries, Blackcaps and Strawberries. So delightful to have enough mulberries to pack for you – both black and white!  We very much enjoy shaking the trees to harvest these off sheets on the ground. Beats the bending over that must be done to get those strawberries! Also in the bag: red currants, green gooseberries, black wild raspberries and the last of the strawberries. My recommendation is that you gently pour the whole bag into a colandar and rinse, then eat them right out of there with a little yogurt or lightly sweetened whipping cream. We had this mix for breakfast with unsweetened crème fraiche. The taste of the berries, each so unique and special, is what you want to experience.

Nasturtium Salad - We are calling this Nasturtium Salad because in addition to lettuce, arugula, frizzy endive and sorrel, we've also packed nasturtium leaves in here. Though mostly grown for ornamental purposes here in the US, nasturtium leaves are grown for salad greens in South America and it's easy to taste why. They are lightly peppery and delicious, in addition to being very pretty. It's a good thing, too, since the actual lettuce in our fields is pretty sparse at the moment - last week's heat was a bit much and then there was lots of damage to the tender leaves from two tornado-y storms!
Lots of flowers in this mix. If you don't enjoy eating them, remove from the salad fill with a cream cheese dip and serve as an appetizer like we did at our Field-to-Table Dinner.

Lemon Balm - This wonderful fresh herb we've bunched for you is a terrific addition to tea, baked goods and is absolutely awesome in salad dressing. Try this recipe for dressing, or try the wonderful Lemon Balm Pound Cake we made for the Lambs and Lettuces Festival.

Milkweed Buds – These are the immature tops of the meadow plants, which will eventually become the pink fragrant flowers and finally the fluffy hair-filled pods that explode toward fall and send seeds off into the wind. Monarchs love the flower nectar and will lay their gorgeous cocoons on the plants several times a season.

Garlic Scapes - One of the most fun crops of the year until the kohlrabi comes in. We’ve got just a few more of these for you this week. Use just like scallions.

Thyme and Chives - So many great uses for these fresh herbs. We hope to give you more as the season progresses. This is just a trim to keep the plants producing. The small purple flowered stalks are thyme and we use it cut with a scissor into absolutely everything. Wonderful in soups. Essential! Chives are an absolutely fabulous pairing with eggs, fish, cream cheese and veggie dips. Snip into everything.

Peppermint – You’ve had the sweet chocolate mint in the last box, and now you’ll get a chance to experiment with this slightly stronger, less sweet, more savory mint. Wonderful in main and side dishes, like snap pea salad, pesto and taboulet. Wonderful with lamb.  Lots of great ideas on the pinterest page.

Snap and Snow Peas - Yay!  Who doesn't love pea season!!!!??? We have eaten so many in the field we are sick some days! This is an every-day picker for us. They just keep coming and coming wonderfully. Zip the strips of tough fiber from the sides by snapping the little stem hat and zipping downward. Eat raw dipped in a Thai peanut sauce or Yogurt Ranch Dressing, or sautee lightly and they'll get even sweeter, if possible! Terrific with either thyme or chives or mint!

Kale - First kale of the year so tender and sweet, I recommend slicing into ribbons and adding it to your salad. But we are happy for you to cook it lightly with those garlic scapes, too. Great in soup. Zip the sturdy stalk from the middle of the leave and eat it like celery dipped in ranch or goat cheese.

Bunched Baby Beets - These lovely delicate baby beets are at the perfect size to make a beautiful side dish. Simply cut the beets off the bunch and leave about one inch of stem. Rinse well in a sink of cold water, but there is NO NEED TO PEEL. The skins are tender and tasty at this age. Saute covered in a skillet with olive oil and garlic for a few minutes while you wash and chop the greens and stems. Throw the greens and stems into the skillet once the beets are fork-tender. Saute for just a minute or two. Serve warm with salt, pepper, chunks of goat or feta cheese and a sprinkle of thyme. The greens are every bit as nutritious and tasty as the beets, so enjoy!

Rhubarb - More! If you didn't get to try every Pinterest recipe you wanted to, now is your chance!

Horseradish – The lumpy knob at the bottom of your box is in fact, food. And it comes just in time, because you’ll want to have your own fresh horseradish sauce to enjoy all summer long on brats and wraps. Terrific with smoked fish of all kinds! Follow the directions on our Recipe Blog page to learn how to do it. And keep a window open when you do.

Basil to Plant - We'll be packing basil soon, but we want you to have a TON of it, because that's how we are with herbs:) Plant it in a big container and pinch back (by that I mean use some leaves) regularly, and you will have a bushy herb fountain all season until frost. You can pinch some off and top a pizza tonight.

DO GO to the Recipe Blog to see how to make Elderberry Fritters and Horseradish Sauce and find lots  more recipes on the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page!