In this week's CSA share:
- Purplette Onions
- Green Zucchini
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Bunch Carrots
- Fava Beans
- Green Cone Cabbage
- Broccoli
- Cilantro
- Head Lettuce
Purplette onions, cone cabbage and heavy heads of broccoli are three distinct hallmarks of our passage into a new season on the farm: the season of July! When you eat locally and seasonally in a specific place, the notion of four seasons is completely inadequate. I could probably name at least a dozen "seasons" at Valley Flora, each one made special by its own produce highlights throughout the year. "Summer" is at least three or four seasons unto itself, unfurling between the months of June and September. We've already passed through the initial chapter of it - those first few weeks of the CSA that were marked by radishes, hakurei turnips, leafy greens and butterhead lettuce (a kind of cuspy spring/summer moment). We're headed into part 2 of the summer mini-series now, when things start getting a little denser: Sugar Snap peas collide with our first spring-planted onions; our early cone cabbage makes a one-time appearance; broccoli and zucchini become a weekly staple; soon, tender new potatoes and ample cucumbers will grace your tote; and the head lettuce varieties veer towards heat tolerant summer crisps instead of butterhead. This ephemeral moment will then merge into August, which might strike some as the true, quintessential heart of summer with its tomatoes and corn, green beans and eggplant. Then September when sweet peppers take the stage and we begin a slow, semi-perceptible slide into our long and abundant Fall (also comprised of at least 3 to 4 more distinct seasons).
All to say, there's never a dull moment when you eat with the seasons. There is a wonderful cookbook by Portland chef Joshua McFadden, called "Six Seasons," which takes inspiration from seasonality in the Pacific Northwest. I find that some of his recipes aren't completely congruent with our crop plan, nor does he name quite enough seasons (only 6 when they're could be 12, if only someone would write the Valley Flora Cookbook.....), but it does a pretty good job overall and the recipes are delish. It was given to me by a long-time CSA member, so it came well-vetted by someone who gets one of our totes every single week of the year. I highly recommend it if you're looking to add a cookbook to your collection.
Our copy of Six Seasons, dog-eared and dirty from many a feast!
And because I just can't get enough of the potato patch in bloom right now, a few more pretty pics from our western field this week:
