Sundog CSA September 11th, 2023

The ground crunches as we walk outside because the trees have dropped their leaves early and the grass is dried up. I saw that WIBW had a news story in the last couple of days detailing the struggles of a farmer facing this long drought period and information from a specialist about dry conditions. I think the farmer said that it had been drought conditions on his farm for the last four years. The weather forecast is for rain Monday and we are crossing our fingers that they are right because the hill is dry.

August - .80

July – 3.22

June – 1.90

May – 4.24

April – 1.81

March – 1.74

February – 2.50

January - .81

Total – 17.02

Out of curiosity, I looked up the average rainfall amounts for our area of Kansas and according to the climate map on the K-State climatology page, the average based on figures from 1991 – 2020, we are normally hit with 36 – 39 inches of rain. The rain has been picky about where it falls this season so there are areas within these boundaries that might be much closer to those norms than our gauges are showing. I am also reminded that we have four more months to make up some of that total. Snowfall totals range between 10 to 15 inches according to this page so we were short in that area also – not that I am complaining!

The vegetables are tough skinned and the flavor reflects the weather conditions also. We are grateful for three cucumber vines that are well hidden so far and with much water funneled to them, we are managing a harvest. We love this variety - long and sweet and beautifully colored. We still have peppers coming on and we did manage to get some greens to germinate with daily watering so have hopes of some variety to add to the chard bundles.

We ended another “drought” so to speak as we were able to spend part of Saturday with Zach and Jen. We had not been able to coordinate schedules to be all together so this was a last-minute exciting get together with all kinds of things to talk about and about five conversations going at once.

Besides seeing Zach and Jen and picking vegetables this weekend, we visited with friends and neighbors who stopped by - one of them being Misty and Jim who brought cowboy hats for the kids and to Seth’s delight, a new hat for his goat.

YOUR BAG THIS WEEK - grown in an organic manner! 😊

• Potatoes
• Tomatoes - really struggling with bugs this week
• Carrots
• Beets
• Cucumber
• Sweet Peppers
• A hot pepper or two - the hot peppers are struggling outside with the lack of water unfortunately.

RECIPE SHARE:

I found some interesting information about carrots in the recipe book, “From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Farm – Fresh Seasonal Produce”. The recipes and information are below:

Carrots belong to the umbeliferae family of which there are 2,500 members. That is a big family! Some of the more common members of that family are parsley, celery, parsnips, cilantro, fennel, dill and the roadside weed, Queen Ann’s lace. Carrot originated in middle Asis and were first eaten by the hill dwellers of Afghanistan. Early cultivated varieties were purple and pale yellow. The first orange varieties did not appear until the 1600’s in the Netherlands. Carrots are high in vitamin A and beta carotene, the substance responsible for their orange color. The carrot is also high in fiber, calcium, potassium and other trace minerals.

Carrot greens can be dried and used as an herb like parsley or they can be chopped into a green salad or stir-fry.  I find this interesting information as most people do not eat carrot greens as a general rule.   For best results, remove the greens and refrigerate them separately.  Carrots can also be frozen (follow canning /freezing instructions) or they can be kept in moist sand in a cool location. 

Carrot with Lemon and Dill - Recipes from a Kitchen Garden

1-pound carrots, sliced ½ inch thick ¼ cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons butter 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, diluted

½ cup minced onion 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest (yellow part of the peel)

Salt and white pepper to taste

Steam carrots 6-7 minutes, until tender-crisp; drain. Heat butter in skillet until foamy; add onion and sauté until softened. Add carrots, lemon zest, wine and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice; stir and cook until most of the liquid is reduced, about 2 minutes. Add dill, salt and white pepper and additional lemon juice to taste. Serve hot. Four servings.

Fried Beets ‘n Carrots - Linda Derickson, Sunporch Café

2 tablespoons olive oil tamari

2 teaspoons dried cumin seeds optional: beet tops, fresh spinach, Swiss chard or other greens

2 medium beets, scrubbed, quartered & sliced ¼ inch thick

2 medium carrots, scrubbed and sliced ¼ inch thick

Heat olive oil in skillet. Sprinkle in the cumin and cook about one minute. Add bets and carrots; fry until tender. Remove from heat, sprinkle on a little tamari and serve. Variation: If using young beets, save the tios. When the beets and carrots are tender, add chopped beet greens, cover with lid and cook until soft. Toos mixture, sprinkle with tamari and serve. Makes 2-4 servings.

And a couple of easy Beet Recipes from “One United Harvest; Creative Recipes from America’s Community Supported Farms”.

GLAZED BEETS

Chicken stock or water 2 T. butter or olive oil

Salt to taste

Red, Chiogga beets or Golden Beets

In a deep skillet, add about 1 ½ inch of water or chicken stock and salt to taste. Add sliced beets. Add 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil to the skillet. Simmer at medium-high heat until all the liquid is gone. Serve immediately. RECIPE NOTE: The liquid absorbs the flavor, the beets absorb the liquid and the butter/oil, which will float to the top and glaze the beets. Add any of these ingredients to further the flavor of the bets; fresh ginger, soy sauce, garlic, onions or fresh herbs.

Recipe shared by Bill Brammer lll, Be Wise Ranch CSA, California

MARINATED BEETS

1 lb. beets 2 T. olive oil

1-2 tsp. crushed garlic 4 T. balsamic vinegar

1-2 T. chopped fresh tarragon salt and black pepper to taste

Bake, roast or pressure steam the whole beets until tender. Let them cool until you can easily handle them, then remove the skins and chop them into small cubes or slices. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl large enough to hold the beets as well, and whisk until well combined. Add the beets, toss well, and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Recipe shared by David Van Eeckhout, Hog’s Back Farm, Wisconsin

A visitor to the high tunnel this afternoon was a carpenter bee which is in the same family as bumble and sweat bees. For some reason, bumble bees are fiercer when you meet them up this close!

Another visitor, most unwelcome, is this long green tobacco hornworm who wants to grow up and be a hummingbird moth. We do not want to continue feeding this creature who eats voraciously, leaving long empty stems and half eaten or three quarters eaten tomatoes. The tomato on the right is a Purple Zebra, beautiful in its striping and tasting almost as good as it looks!

I keep checking in with the radar as I write late tonight, thinking that I might be hearing rain drops on the porch roof. There is a little lightning to the north of us and on the radar, the green clouds keep heading towards us, only to fall apart before they get close. Almost midnight and we are sitting under complete cloud cover without one single star showing which is hopeful. Standing out in the yard on completely dry grass, looking up and imagining what the rain will feel like as it washes days of dust and heat off this tiny part of the earth and hoping that when I wake up in the morning, I will not be imagining as I walk thru mud puddles on my way to the barn –

Blessings from the farm - Seth, Izzy, Katy, Dan, Zach, Jen and Teresa