SM24 (W1): Summertime & The Livin is Veggie

Jun 3

Dear Farm Community -

Welcome to the Diamond Hill Farm Newsletter, Summer Edition! That’s right, we’re marching into Week 1 of our Summer CSA this week and things are getting particularly summery on the farm. The Sunflowers are here in a big way, peppers are starting to come in, and we cleared out a field of cover crop to make way for MELONS! We were hard at work this week getting hundreds of watermelon babies into the ground. These super-sweet varieties will fruit later in the summer, just in time to boost everybody’s morale as the Georgia summer heat really hits.

Summer also brings with it a huuuuuge variety of crops. You may have noticed that lots of new items are showing up at market recently! I’d like to take a quick moment to overview some of the new and exciting delights at market recently so you can keep your eyes peeled!

GARLIC is all grown up! We’ve swapped out our green garlic offerings with larger fresh garlic bulbs.
ONIONS are grown up now too! We’ve swapped our spring onions with their mature counterparts.
BASIL this long awaited herb is back again ☀️ 🌿
SUGAR SNAP PEAS delicious raw, delicious cooked, nature’s sweet little treat
SQUASH & ZUCCHINI it begins….. squash mania! Grill them, sauté them, make a bread out of them, the possibilities are endless!
CABBAGE everybody’s favorite kitchen workhorse. Versatile as they come.
CUCUMBERS nothing beats a crisp and cool cucumber! They’re back in abundance!
NEW POTATOES freshly dug, tender, and ready for your plate
BEANS wax beans, green beans, purple beans, and dragons tongue beans, a bean for every occasion!
BLACKBERRIES new this year!
SHISHITO PEPPERS perfect for appetizers, and juuuust the right level of spicy 🔥
TOMATOES cherry tomatoes are headed to market, and the big guys aren’t far behind!
ZINNIAS are showing their bright and lovely colors!
SUNFLOWERS are getting taller and taller and blooming en masse!
GLADIOLUS everybody’s favorite showstopper is back in season
COSMOS are looking quite cosmic and headed to a bouquet near you
MARIGOLDS are back and beautiful as ever

….and there is soooooo much more that we bring with us to market each week, and even more new items on the summer horizon! A lot of our cool weather crops are still chugging along like champs too. Be sure to follow us on instagram if you’d like to see our full market lists! We post them every Wednesday morning (for the Wednesday Creature Comforts market) and every Friday afternoon (for our Saturday markets). The market lists can be found on slide 2 of the posts.

CSA members, we’ve got a very summery share for you this week full of onions, beams, cukes, leeks, potatoes and more! In honor of leeks being in season, I’d like to share a simple yet scrumptious recipe and excerpt from the famous (or almost-famous…) 1969 cookbook First You Take a Leek:

Any reliable dictionary will tell you this modest little vegetable is “closely allied with the onion,” while on the other hand any reliable connoisseur of fine culinary tastes will tell you the leek is absolutely indispensable when aiming for subtlety of flavor in certain dishes. For centuries the Welsh have given the leek credit for their great strength in battle, while Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans have all, since ancient times, known of and served leeks in many ways, including the simple form of plain boiled with a butter or hollandaise sauce. They can also be braised, pureed, baked, or stewed. So versatile are they, they are wonderful hot or cold - in puu puus, soups, stews, salads, or you could even make a leek pie! Delicious.

“First You Take a Leek”
Leeks in Butter Sauce

Leeks, young and tender ~1lb
Butter - 1/4 cup
Onion, chopped - 1 tbsp
Flour - 1 tbsp
Parsley, finely chopped - 1/2 tbsp

Thoroughly wash the leeks and trim as to only use the tender white parts. Lay them out in a large skillet and add 1 cup of water. When they come to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until tender. Watch them carefully because this will take less than 10 minutes. Drain but save the liquid - should be about 3/4 cup. Place the leeks on a serving platter and keep warm. Sauté the chopped onion in the butter for 4-5 minutes then blend in the flour. Gradually add the reserved liquid and bring to a soft boil, stirring constantly. Pour this over the leeks and garnish with chopped parsley.

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Alternatively, if you’re feeling soupy you can try out this potato leek soup that makes use of your share’s potatoes. To pair the leeks with carrots in your share, try out this Turkish-style braised leeks recipe! I hope you enjoy your leeks, and every other item in your share, whatever way you make them :)

Happy Eating!
Diamond Hill Farmers

summertime and the livin is veggie: