Ah – the height of summer brings so very much color! And that make us very, very happy here at Circle M.  We love to pack boxes as though they were presents from a foodie Santa that delivers at half-Christmas. So you’ll have summer squash and zucchini in all the colors we grow, heirloom tomatoes of all hues, basil in all of our many varieties and lovely kale bouquets. Our motto is: “Play with your food!” We do, and we hope you will, too.

In other, out-of-the-field news, we are delighted to invite you to an end-of-show celebration for the art exhibit we are featured (among other farms and farmers) at the Overture Center.  The Farm to Fork Gallery Talk and Local Food Celebration is a joint event by painters Sue Medaris and Alicia Rheal, as well as myself and a bunch of other great local food businesses. Sue, Alicia and I will all give short talks about farms, food, art and community and we’ll be offering samples from Chocolaterian Café, Landmark Creamery Cheese, Underground Meats, Pickle Jar BBQ, 4 Elements Herb Farm, Galpaca Farms and Barham Gardens Aronia. Circle M will serve samples as well, and we’ll also have more “Play with Your Food” t-shirts available in new colors and sizes, including kids! Sue’s Market Weight Press will also have artwork for sale – and she’s the one who designed our shirts. You will even recognize some of those happy veggies on display at the Overture Center.  Our young crew members will dress up and serve samples, so you can come say “hi” to them, too. FREE

Aronia Berries – This special treat comes to you from our neighbors and friends at Barham Gardens. Several years ago, Kim and Roberta Barham learned about this native berry bush that packs a huge anti-oxidant punch and they decided to plant some couple thousand of them. Now they are in the middle of a huge harvest and they’ve graciously shared with us, and you! Don’t expect to eat these berries raw – they are astringent and need some sugar to make them palatable – like rhubarb. But wow – in baked good and juiced they are amazing! We’ve enclosed a brochure with info and recipes, and you can sample some baked goods at the Sept 4 Overture Event.

Basil – Sorry so sandy! We had some ferocious rains this week – for which we are very very thankful, but they did splash a lot of sand on the produce. Most of it we are able wash off for you, but the basil should not be washed until you are ready to use it. Fill a sink with cold water, push leaves below the surface gently, let sit for 5 minutes to loosen the soil, and then swish around. Let the dirt sink for a minute, then remove. Enjoy – we’ve given you a mix of Italian sweet, purple ruffles, Anise, Thai and lemon. They can all be combined for a pesto, or you can use individual leaves on different dishes to take advantage of the flavor. We REALLY love the anise (red stems) with cilantro in spring rolls.

Cilantro – We love cilantro, especially with tomatoes, but it’s really such a miracle to have it in our sandy gardens at tomato time. It bolts in the heat and prefers cooler temperatures, but this week conspired to bring us both rafts of tomatoes and waves of cilantro all at once. SALSA! This is a rather fragile crop, and also got very sandy so we washed it a lot. It won’t last long in the fridge, so use it up within the week.

Tomatoes – Lots of gorgeous cherries and heirlooms this week. You should have a lot of variety in your box and bag – enjoy! Our favorite this year is a new variety called Indigo. It’s the small-ist slicer with a purple top and an orange bottom. Sweet not acidic, it’s a treat right off the vine. We like them so much, you are lucky you got some;)

Head Lettuce – These lovely head lettuces – Green Romaine for the Full Shares and Mayan Jaguar for the Shorties, and another Green Oakleaf for everyone - took a beating in the rainstorms, but they look really nice! Still, it’s not a bad idea to think about eating them sooner rather than later. Crisp and delicious. Another summer miracle, since head lettuces typically bolt in such heat.

Peppers- The first of many, we hope!

Bok Choy – Ah, the veggie that is both cabbage and celery at once! So crisp and sweet. Enjoy with Asian stir-fry and salads. Consider pairing with sesame oil and rice wine vinegar.

Garlic Chive Blossoms – The spicy florets from Chinese Leeks, otherwise known as Garlic Chives, are gorgeous atop a dip or omelette and taste great, too.

Summer Squash – We have squash at every meal right now – and we don’t mind! See our great recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Bread on the Recipe Blog. Yum!

Arugula – We just love this for breakfast, lightly wilted under poached eggs. But it’s great sautéed with olive oil and mixed with pasta, great added to a squash bake, wonderful as a bed under grilled meats. Enjoy!

Eggplant  –  These plants are just getting rolling. Like the peppers, they enjoy heat and grow very slowly here in our valley until about the end of July. Now they are loaded with flowers and next week they’ll be loaded with fruit. So this is just the start. Enjoy sliced and sautéed in an omelette, or add to ratatouille. We like eggplant in everything this time of year, and we especially love babaganoush spread. See our Pinterest page for some good recipes.

Broccoli (Full Size only)  - Sorry, Shorties, these boxes are just too full to get you everything! We’ll make room for these next time around for you.

Scallions – These giant scallions are a Japanese variety that is new to us and WOW! We love them and will certainly be growing them again next year. What a bang for your prepping buck. So easy to slice and you get so much useable flavor. Cut up the whole thing in little slices.

Onions – This is our first harvest of the storage onions, but we didn’t cure the skins on these yet, so you won’t want to store them out of the fridge. Use up in a few weeks. Fabulous for salsa!

Garlic -  Garlic in everything this time of year: Pesto! Salsa! Babaganoush!

Ah – the height of summer brings so very much color! And that make us very, very happy here at Circle M. We love to pack those boxes as though they were presents from a foodie Santa that delivers at half-Christmas. So you’ll have summer squash and zucchini in all the colors we grow, heirloom tomatoes of all hues, basil in all of our many varieties and lovely kale bouquets. Our motto is: “Play with your food!” We do, and we hope you will, too. Don’t forget to check out the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page and the Recipe Blog – we’ve got lots of great ideas for you on there.  In other, out-of-the-field news, we are delighted to invite you to an end-of-show celebration for the art exhibit we are featured (among other farms and farmers) at the Overture Center.  The Farm to Fork Gallery Talk and Local Food Celebration is a joint event by painters Sue Medaris and Alicia Rheal, as well as myself and a bunch of other great local food businesses. Sue, Alicia and I will all give short talks about farms, food, art and community and we’ll be offering samples from Chocolaterian Café, Landmark Creamery Cheese, Underground Meats, Pickle Jar BBQ, 4 Elements Herb Farm, Galpaca Farms and Barham Gardens Aronia. Circle M will serve samples as well, and we’ll also have more “Play with Your Food” t-shirts available in new colors and sizes, including kids! Sue’s Market Weight Press will also have artwork for sale – and she’s the one who designed our shirts. You will even recognize some of those happy veggies on display at the Overture Center.  Our young crews members will dress up and serve samples, so you can come say “hi” to them, too! Oh, and this event is FREE!

Here's what's in the box:

Sweet Corn – These little ears are as sweet as can be, and are a tiny variety we like called “Sweet Treat.” We have no problem fitting these little guys in the Shortie sharesJ Eat as soon as possible for maximum flavor, and boil for just a few minutes.

Basil – Sorry so sandy! We had some ferocious rains this week – for which we are very very thankful, but they did splash a lot of sand on the produce. Most of it we are able wash off for you, but the basil should not be washed until you are ready to use it. Fill a sink with cold water, push leaves below the surface gently, let sit for 5 minutes to loosen the soil, and then swish around. Let the dirt sink for a minute, then remove. Enjoy – we’ve given you a mix of Italian sweet, purple ruffles, Anise, Thai and lemon. They can all be combined for a pesto, or you can use individual leaves on different dishes to take advantage of the flavor. We REALLY love the anise (red stems) with cilantro in spring rolls.

Herb Bags FEAT. Cilantro! – We love cilantro, especially with tomatoes, but it’s really such a miracle to have it in our sandy gardens at tomato time. It bolts in the heat and prefers cooler temperatures, but this week conspired to bring us both rafts of tomatoes and waves of cilantro all at once. SALSA! This is a rather fragile crop, and also got very sandy so we washed it a lot. It won’t last long in the fridge, so use it up within the week. We’ve also packed sorrel, lovage and sage in these bags. We assume you’ll recognize them by now, but we’d still like to make some suggestions. Fry sage leaves in olive oil til crispy, remove, and then sauté your summer squash in that oil. YUM! Eat the crispy leaves like chips! Sorrel is terrific in salad dressings this time of year, as is a sparing amount of lovage. Lovage is wonderful in tomato gazpacho.

Tomatoes – Lots of gorgeous cherries and heirlooms this week. You should have a lot of variety in your box and bag – enjoy! Our favorite this year is a new variety called Indigo. It’s the small-ist slicer with a purple top and an orange bottom. Sweet not acidic, it’s a treat right off the vine. We like them so much, you are lucky you got some;)

Head Lettuce – These lovely head lettuces – Green Romaine for the Full Shares and Mayan Jaguar for the Shorties took a beating in the rainstorms, but they look really nice! Still, it’s not a bad idea to think about eating them sooner rather than later. Crisp and delicious. Another summer miracle, since head lettuces typically bolt in such heat.

Bok Choy – Ah, the veggie that is both cabbage and celery at once! So crisp and sweet. Enjoy with Asian stir-fry and salads. Consider pairing with sesame oil and rice wine vinegar.

Summer Squash – This week you should have one of everything we are growing: green zucchini, yellow squash, yellow/green, and the long serpentine celadon colored ones. All delicious, all youg and tender and all can be used interchangeably in recipes. We have squash at every meal right now – and we don’t mind! See our great recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Bread on the Recipe Blog. Yum!

Arugula – We just love this for breakfast, lightly wilted under poached eggs. But it’s great sautéed with olive oil and mixed with pasta, great added to a squash bake, wonderful as a bed under grilled meats. Enjoy!

Eggplant (Full Size Only) –  These plants are just getting rolling. Like the peppers, they enjoy heat and grow very slowly here in our valley until about the end of July. Now they are loaded with flowers and next week they’ll be loaded with fruit. So this is just the start. Enjoy sliced and sautéed in an omelette, or add to ratatouille. We like eggplant in everything this time of year, and we especially love babaganoush spread. See our Pinterest page for some good recipes.

Scallions – These giant scallions are a Japanese variety that is new to us and WOW! We love them and will certainly be growing them again next year. What a bang for your prepping buck. So easy to slice and you get so much useable flavor. Cut up the whole thing in little slices.

Kale -  These mixed bunches are wonderful, lush and still very tender in spite of the fact that the plants are looking like little palm trees as we harvest from the bottom up. Enjoy cooked with smoked meats – that’s our dish of choice right now. We’ll be having Balsamic Kale with White Bean and Ham as a side for Saturday’s Thankfulness Dinner. Cook down until you’ve got a thick broth surrounding your leaves. Yummy with cornbread.

Onions – This is our first harvest of the storage onions, but we didn’t cure the skins on these yet, so you won’t want to store them out of the fridge. Use up in a few weeks. Fabulous for salsa!

Garlic -  Garlic in everything this time of year: Pesto! Salsa! Babaganoush!

Whoa! We are halfway through our CSA season. That came up fast. On the one hand it seems like summer has just started, what with the relatively cool and easy weather.  On the other hand, at the farm we can totally feel ourselves cresting the hill that is the growing year. In fact, this cool breezy morning felt an awful lot like autumn here in the valley! The long downhill into fall isn’t exactly like coasting, but it certainly demands a lot less energy than the start of the season. Our last transplants were seeded into flats in the greenhouse last week. Our final rows of fall crops were seeded into the field this week. And most of the earliest crops we seeded this spring have already been tilled in and replaced with fresh, new plants and lovely, weeded aisles. The look of the late-summer garden is a mixture of bare, cultivated dirt and crazy overgrown patches that house long-growing plants maturing among the annual weeds. Basically, barely controlled chaos populated by frogs, toads, snakes and birds of all species. This is where we get to work everyday, and on top of that, we get to eat like kings and queens. We hope you feel like kings and queens when you open your shares this week, too. Here’s what’s in the box:

Sweet Corn – Yippee! These little ears are a special variety called “Spring Treat.” We love harvesting in the little stalks, which barely reach our heads (specially since it means sweet corn for lunch!). Enjoy these in the next day or two, since that is when the sugar content it at its peak. Every hour out of the field reduces the sweetness of the kernels.  The crew likes to enjoy sweet corn Chicago-park style, which is slathered in lime/butter/mayo and sprinkled with chili powder salt.

Summer Sweet and Sour Salad Mix - The return of salad! We aim to give you a fresh-eating green in every single box of the season, and while we are largely successful with that, we can’t always provide lettuce as that green. It gets bitter in the heat, bolts in a dry week, and in general is fussy through the top of the summer. However, we’ve got a nice mix here that incorporates the first cutting of the late-seeded lettuces. We grow these in the shade to prevent all those problems listed above, which means they grow slow, but taste sweet. In addition, we’ve also tossed some big Asian greens, small sorrel leaves and baby arugula in here with nasturtiums, calendula petals and viola flowers

Arugula – Folks tend to either love or hate this Italian green. I personally can’t get enough of the bitter/sweet/pepper-y taste. I like arugula salad with a light buttermilk dressing for breakfast next to a fried egg. But I also love the leaves sprinkled liberally over the cheese on a grilled pizza. And sautéed with olive oil over pasta and tossed with parmesan – yum!

Head Lettuce –  These lovely little heads are so welcome after a few weeks without tender greens. The rows we grow these in spend part of the morning in the shade so we are able to grow non-bitter head lettuce at the end of the summer. Full Shares have bodacious red Lolla Rosso heads and the Shorties have the diminutive spotted Mayan Jaguar variety.

Cilantro and Summer Savory – Hooray! The cilantro is coming into it’s own just in time for tomatoes! Terrific in salsa, wonderful in eggs, fabulous in curry. Roll it into spring rolls with basil.  We LOVE cilantro here at the farm, but we know some people think it tastes like soap! The summer savory is a great addition to all summer squash sautees and pairs great with basil, too.

Tomatoes – We’re just now starting to pick tomatoes every day. Soon we’ll be rolling in them, but this is just the first small harvest of our mixed heirlooms. You could have red, orange, purple, yellow, green or black fruits in here – but everything we’ve packed for you is ripe and ready to eat!

Basil  - We actually had to cut the stalks back last week, rather than just pinching leaves off the top, because the plants were getting leggy. So the harvest is a bit small this time around. The important thing is to not let the plants go to flower, because they will stop producing. So if you planted our basil plants at home, be sure to keep cutting them!

Summer Squash and Zucchini – These gorgeous fruits are summers most versatile crop. Eat fresh with dip, sautee lightly with olive oil and any herb, shred into baking, or slice into thin strips with a potato peeler and use as a low-calorie pasta to serve with your own pesto!

Cukes

Kale -  These robust leaves petered out for a few weeks in the hot and dry days, but now they are back and sweeter than ever. Enjoy raw, massaged with vinegar, or cook up into anything. Kale and eggs is a big favorite here this year. You can actually have green eggs and ham!

Scallions – More gorgeous bulbs and greens! Use both.

Kohlrabi – One of our favorite little crops of the year! Who couldn’t love a veggie that looks like an asteroid, tastes like a sweet cabbage and can be nibbled like an apple? You can do a lot of things with this little guy, but we only gave you one since many aren’t sized up yet. We are growing “Gigante” ones for the fall that should be the size of a softball or bigger! I mostly eat these raw in the field like an apple, but for those of you who don’t love cabbage as much as I do, we recommend dicing this one into small straws and enjoying with mustard or dip. Or dicing it and adding to a stir fry or sauté.  You can find a lot of other ideas on the Farmer Kriss pinterest page, including several nice recipes for salads that combine kohlrabi and apples!

Broccoli/Cauliflower (Full Shares Only)

Garlic – These bulbs are also freshly dug and need to be stored in the fridge rather than the pantry. Use soon in pesto! Or combine with your summer squash and toss with basil and olive oil for a wonderful Italian saute.

Don't forget to visit the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page and the Recipe Blog on this site to see lo

Whoa! We are halfway through our CSA season. That came up fast. On the one hand it seems like summer has just started, what with the relatively cool and easy weather.  On the other hand, at the farm we can totally feel ourselves cresting the hill that is the growing year. The long downhill into fall isn’t exactly like coasting, but it certainly demands a lot less energy than the start of the season. Our last transplants were seeded into flats in the greenhouse this week. Our final rows of fall crops will be seeded into the field next week. And most of the earliest crops we seeded this spring have already been tilled in and replaced with fresh, new plants and lovely, weeded aisles. The look of the late-Autumn garden is a mixture of bare, cultivated dirt and crazy overgrown patches that house long-growing plants maturing among the annual weeds. Basically, barely controlled chaos populated by frogs, toads, snakes and birds of all species. This is where we get to work everyday, and on top of that, we get to eat like kings and queens. We hope you feel like kings and queens when you open your shares this week, too. Here’s what’s in the box:

Squash Blossoms – We rarely pack these twice in a season, but the plants are lush and full and we discovered some new recipes we really wanted to share with you! I’ve just read Molly Wizenberg’s excellent food memoir, Delancey, and she described a wonderful pizza with squash blossoms on top, and we’ve been enjoying squash quiche with our bed-and-breakfast guests. Find these recipes at our Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page.  Of course, if you can’t resist stuffing and frying them again, go ahead! Farm Member Karen passed on this idea for a baked version, which is quite a bit lighter and healthier then the fried ones: “I tried a baked squash blossom recipe; substituting tomato/basil jack cheese for mozzarella, blended with cream cheese and rolled in egg and gluten free coating mix. Baked at 400° for 12 minutes. They came out golden brown and crispy!”

Summer Sweet and Sour Salad Mix - The return of salad! We aim to give you a fresh-eating green in every single box of the season, and while we are largely successful with that, we can’t always provide lettuce as that green. It gets bitter in the heat, bolts in a dry week, and in general is fussy through the top of the summer. However, we’ve got a nice mix here that incorporates the first cutting of the late-seeded lettuces. We grow these in the shade to prevent all those problems listed above, which means they grow slow, but taste sweet. In addition, we’ve also tossed some big Asian greens, small sorrel leaves and baby arugula in here with nasturtiums, calendula petals and viola flowers.

Tomatoes – We’re just now starting to pick tomatoes every day. Soon we’ll be rolling in them, but this is just the first small harvest of our mixed heirlooms. You could have red, orange, purple, yellow, green or black fruits in here – but everything we’ve packed for you is ripe and ready to eat!

Basil  - These plants are going gangbusters, so we actually had to cut the stalks back this week, rather than just pinching leaves off the top.  So you will have to pick your leaves off the stems this time around. The important thing is to not let the plants to to flower, because they will stop producing. So if you planted our basil plants at home, be sure to keep cutting them!

Swiss Chard – So yummy, delicate and tender! Use in a salad, chopped, or sautee lightly. The Swiss Chard Gratin we served at the July field-to-table Thankfulness Dinner was very popular, in spite of the fact that one of our talented young crew members served it to the table as “Kale Gruel.” Whatever you do with it – do not discard the stems! That’s where lots of the flavor and fiber reside in this crop, so take advantage of it. Simply chop the stems smaller and cook a little bit longer.

Summer Squash and Zucchini – These gorgeous fruits are summers most versatile crop. Eat fresh with dip, sautee lightly with olive oil and any herb, shred into baking, or slice into thin strips with a potato peeler and use as a low-calorie pasta to serve with your own pesto!

Lemon Balm -  These bunches should scent your whole box and your whole kitchen! Chop into salad dressing, make into tea, snip into shortbreads, blend into pesto. Whatever you do with this herb, you will be blessed with bright citrus flavor. Not only that, in herbal healing, this is used to “increase joy,” so take advantage of it!

Sage and Chives – This little bag of herbs will enliven lots of dishes for you this week. Add both to your summer squash and zucchini sautéed, toss with butter on your new potatoes, snip into eggs for breakfast and mince into veggie dips.

Cukes – Until we got 4 inches of rain in one night last week, we’d been experiencing drought conditions here at Circle M. Every rain in the area seemed to miss us, except the last one, for which we are very very grateful. But the cukes need a lot of water and are just now bouncing back from their parched condition. These little guys should be the first of a nice crop to come in the next few weeks.

Scallions – More gorgeous bulbs and greens! Use both.

Fennel (Full Shares only) – These small bulbs are all we’ve got to show for our first crop of fennel for the year. They were much loved by bugs and much encroached by weeds in their field. We’ve got more coming for fall, but for now, use the bulb, stems and fronds all to season a fish dish or chop into a salad dressing.

Cauliflower and/or Broccoli – These little heads also struggled through the previous dry weeks. We’ve got more coming for fall, but enjoy these little guys for now.

Baby Beets – Another gorgeous thinning of our fall beets! Use stems, leaves and roots all together. We roasted them with rhubarb in a little maple syrup and served them over a Kale Salad at our last field-to-table dinner. So YUMMY. And gorgeous. To get them clean, take each and rub it between your hands in a washcloth under running water. Don’t attemp to peelJ

New Potatoes – Ah, these fresh Red Norlands have tender thin skins great for eating. Don’t peel, and don’t even scrub too hard. Also, store these potatoes in your fridge, rather than in your pantry. “New” means they’ve just been dug and packed without being cured. So their skins are not hardened up and they will rot outside of the fridge. Great for boiling, terrific sautéed with some sage and butter.

Garlic – These bulbs are also freshly dug and need to be stored in the fridge rather than the pantry. Use soon in pesto! Or combine with your summer squash and toss with basil and olive oil for a wonderful Italian saute.