F24 (W11): Lettuce Season!
Dear Farm Community -
We are welcoming lettuce season in with the same enthusiasm as a brand-new new-born baby (see above). This autumn weather, despite being unseasonably warm, is still cool enough for us to be growing our precious greens again. We hope y’all have been making amazing salads and sides from the beautiful bunches of kale, collards, chard, heads of lettuce, and bok choy we’ve been sending to market and packing in CSA’s! It’s also still big time ‘Mum Town around these parts with chrysanthemum harvests so big that our cooler is literally overflowing (its a real puzzle to be honest). We’re workin’ overtime bunching these flowers and having a blast coming up with the perfect color combinations. With things so busy right now, the inevitable winter lull seems impossible! But it is in fact possible and on the horizon which means we’re getting ready for those days not too far off when there isn’t so much field work to be done.
That’s right, the winter project list! We’re going to be “re-skinning” all of our greenhouses and tunnels (I know - while technically correct, the term gives me the heebie jeebies too). Before we can re-skin them….. we gotta de-skin them! A few tunnels have had the old plastic torn off and are looking like skeletons out in the field. Our resident hawk seems to like it better this way.
We got the new plastic delivered a few weeks ago and it’s been patiently waiting for its time to shine. It’s going to take some coordination to get the plastic oriented properly and tight enough for a long healthy future, but we have complete faith in our farmers to get it done right! I mean look at this capable crew unloading the stuff:
We’ve still got this week and next for this year’s CSA, so let’s make the most of it. On the menu this week is our sugar snap peas!!! We recently got a review from one of our Atlanta chefs that was, in essence - “dude…… these sugar snap peas are insane.” And we gotta agree - these sugar snap peas are some of the best we’ve grown. While they might not make it home with how snackable they are, if you're able to restrain yourself you might find some room on your menu for this Shrimp and Sugar Snap Pea Risotto with an Almond-Basil Pesto (when the recipe title is nearly a complete sentence….. it’s going to be good) You could also pair them up with the salad radishes in your share for this bright Pea Salad with Radishes, Mint, and Ricotta… chefs kiss! This week’s share would also make for a pretty dang good crudité plate - snap peas, radishes, and cauliflower would all pair well with this Creamy Kale Pesto White Bean Dip that gets that bunch of kale into the mix!
Hope you find the perfect recipe to make your stomach happy, and hope to see your beautiful faces at the potluck! (peep the reminder below……)
Bon Appetit !!!
Diamond Hill Farmers
better late than never…
(sign up for a CSA before Sunday and you’ll get to pick up a share next week - our last week of the year!)
P.S. A reminder to all CSA members about our end-of-year potluck!
END-OF-YEAR
CSA MEMBER
RECIPE SWAP & POTLUCK!!!
We invite our CSA members to join us on the farm for a recipe swap, bonfire, and potluck on Sunday, November 17th from 5:00-7:00pm! Drinks and s’mores supplies will be on the house but we do request you bring a dish to share! A cozy bonfire will be blazing for gathering around and roasting s’mores. Attendees can RSVP by sending your favorite veggie-inspired recipe(s) to us at diamondhillfarmGA@gmail.com. Please include your name and number of attendees - family members and +1’s are welcome! We will gather all of the recipes into one big document to send out after the potluck. Invitations with more details will be included with this week’s CSA shares.
$25 share: head lettuce, sugar snap peas, cauliflower, chard OR kale, salad radish
$35 share: head lettuce, sugar snap peas, cauliflower, chard OR kale, salad radish, fennel, arugula, collard greens