July 29

Farm Notes

A week off the farm at the beach with family did this tired mama farmer some good! It was quite a hustle to get the farm ready / everyone packed up and out the door, but it’s always so worth it to get away, unplug, and wash away a summer’s worth of dirt and grime in the ocean.

Alas! Mother Nature never seems to take a vacation, so coming back to the farm after being away also means there’s a lot of catching up to do… harvesting, weeding, mowing, trellising, etc. We’re still deep in summer abundance, and this week’s CSA had all the hits, with heaps of colorful tomatoes to peppers, eggplant cucumbers, zucchini, okra, beans, and fragrant herbs.

Summer CSA Week 8

As I was harvesting like crazy all week, I realized it might be helpful to share a few notes/tips for harvesting some of your favorite summer veggies. A question I often get is “how do I know when to harvest ____ (fill in the blank)"?” The answer really depends on what you are harvesting, and for veggies like cucumbers, zucchini, and okra - it’s mostly based on size. So here’s a photo showing the ideal size (in my opinion!) for when these three crops are ready for harvest (using my hand for scale).

It’s also important to use the right tool for harvesting! Here’s a link for my favorite garden pruners for harvesting cucumbers, okra, tomatoes, etc – and here’s a link for my go-to harvest knife for crops like zucchini, lettuces, etc.

My favorite pruners and knife for harvesting (see above for links)

So overall, it’s been a busy week, but I feel like most of the chaos has been reined in, and now with just two weeks left in our Summer CSA (!), my mind is fully focused on gearing up for fall. Earlier this week we planted our first succession of lettuce for the fall, and I’m excited to have some leafy greens back in the rotation. Speaking of fall, early access to sign up for our Fall CSA will go live @ 9am on Monday, August 1.

As Farmbelly Club members (and any current Summer CSA members), you get first dibs! A heads up that we do scale back our production a bit in the fall (compared to the summer season), so shares will be limited. You will receive an email from me at 9am on Monday with all the details for the Fall CSA + the link to sign up.

I just took y’all on a virtual farm walk… so for a full tour of the farm + tips for your own gardens, here’s a link to watch! You can also check it out in our private Google Drive folder here.

Until next week (aka AUGUST?!), happy growing and cooking and eating friends! :)

Kitchen Notes

Ratatouille is my go-to recipe to clean out my fridge (and my garden) in this season of deep-summer abundance. A good long roast in the oven transforms a motley medley of eggplant, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, and fresh herbs into a hearty stew, which I love serving over creamy polenta. Traditional ratatouille calls for cooking each ingredient one at a time… but ain’t nobody have time for that! This roasting method is super simple and just requires a bit of chopping at the beginning. Don’t forget to add the splash of balsamic vinegar before serving, as the sweet + tangy balsamic kicks up the dish to a whole new level of deliciousness.

ROASTED RATATOUILLE

INGREDIENTS

• 2 red onions, cut into 1/4-inch-thick half-moons

• 2 sweet bell peppers (any color is fine), cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch dice

• 1 pound eggplant, unpeeled and cut to 1-inch dice

• 2 medium zucchini (1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch rounds

• 6-8 whole cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary and/or thyme

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• Kosher salt and pepper

• 4 medium ripe tomatoes, any kind is fine (1 pound total) cut into 1/2-inch chunks (or use 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes)

• Splash balsamic vinegar

• Handful thinly sliced fresh basil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place the chopped onions, bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, garlic, rosemary.thyme, oregano, olive oil, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl and toss to combine. Pour the vegetables onto two rimmed baking trays. Roast for 30-35 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown.

3. Lower the oven to 400 degrees, divide up the tomatoes equally onto the two pans and roast for another 20 minutes. Scrape all the vegetables and any juices into a serving bowl and toss with a splash (start with 1 tablespoon) of the balsamic vinegar and the fresh basil. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, and serve warm.

Today’s Stats

• Low temp: 73F

• High temp: 94F

• Sunrise: 6:22am

• Sunset: 8:25pm

• Moon phase: Waxing Crescent

• Additional notes: Mostly sunny, chance of storms in the afternoon/evening

July 15

Farm Notes

It’s been a fairly quiet and uneventful (knock on wood!) week here at the farm… filled with heaps of tomatoes, green beans, okra, sunshine as well as some much-needed rain to replenish our thirsty soil. We just wrapped up Week 6 of our Summer CSA, and it was another bountiful week filled with summer favorites like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, basil, etc – and the okra harvesting has officially begun!

Okra is a crop that generally needs to be harvested every other day, as the pods grow incredibly quickly and can easily become too large and tough. I feel like people have strong opinions about okra… you either love it or hate it! I’m personally a big fan – you just have to either embrace okra’s inherent slimy-ness and cook it in a stew or succotash, OR if you aren’t a fan of the gooey texture… just fry or roast the okra until it’s nice and crispy!

Full Share CSA Week 6

Wondering what you can still plant in your garden now that we’re in the dog days of summer? While this time of year is mostly good for reaping what you’ve sown earlier in the spring/summer, here are some things that most climates in the US can plant this time of year:

• Heat tolerant lettuces (varieties like Muir and Cherokee are especially heat tolerant)

• Bush & pole beans (plant from seed)

• Zucchini (I suggest planting as a seedling to give the plants a head start against pests)

• Cucumbers (I suggest planting as a seedling to give the plants a head start against pests)

• Carrots (plant from seed, Romance is a good Summer variety)

• Herbs like rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley, dill, and basil

• Tomatoes – if you live in a southern climate with late frosts, you can probably still sneak in a late tomato planting 

• If you’re looking to plant a cover crop to nourish your soil, buckwheat is a perfect choice!

As always, if you have any questions or need help trouble-shooting in your summer garden, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Even though there are still several weeks left in our Summer CSA (4 weeks, to be exact)… I’m thinking a few steps ahead and finalizing details for our 2022 Fall CSA! For all our local Farmbelly friends, you’re the first to know about details for our Fall CSA, and you get first dibs when I open sign-ups on Monday, August 1st.

Our Fall CSA will run for 12 weeks, starting the week of September 5th and running through the week of Thanksgiving. For the Fall, we will only have one pickup day, which will be on Tuesday afternoons. (A note that in the summer months, we have so much abundance getting picked every day that it makes sense to have multiple CSA pickup days… though in the spring/fall the crops don’t need to be picked as frequently, and it’s easier to just have one CSA pickup day per week). We will still offer two different sized shares – Regular Shares for $30/week and Small Shares for $18/week.

CSA members can expect a lot more greens in their Fall shares… from lettuce to arugula, baby and full size kale, asian greens, etc. We will also have heaps of cabbage, carrots, winter squash, beans, fennel, kohlrabi, leeks, scallions, fresh herbs, and much more. As I mentioned, Farmbelly Club members (and current CSA members) get first dibs on spots on our Fall CSA, which will open up on August 1st. Stay tuned for more details, but hopefully this helps get you excited about fall!

Looking ahead to next week… our family will be taking a much-needed vacation, so you won’t hear from me next Friday. I’m excited to take this time to rest, reflect, and return rejuvenated to finish the summer season strong. I’ll be back in two weeks with plenty more updates from the farm, growing tips for your home gardens, and recipes!

Last but not least, congrats Laura Pritchard for winning our July giveaway! I’ll be in touch with you directly to coordinate sending over your new cookbook, Deep Run Roots. :)

Kitchen Notes

I’m not sure the world needs another recipe for tomato and basil soup… BUT I’ve gotta to say, this might be the best thing I’ve cooked all summer! We’re spoiled by an abundance of tomatoes AND basil right now, and earlier this week I had a craving for a classic bowl of tomato soup with some gourmet grilled cheese on the side. I think going the extra (but still very simple) step in this recipe of first roasting the tomatoes packs SO much more flavor into the soup.

I’m already planning to make this soup again this weekend… except I plan to quadruple the recipe and freeze several big jars, so when it’s December and I need some summer goodness in my belly, we can just grab a jar from the freezer and we’ll be instantly transported back to some wild and wonderful summertime deliciousness.

Roasted Tomato & Basil Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 3 pounds roma tomatoes, halved

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 2 medium yellow onions, diced

• 1/2 cup chopped carrots

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 3 cups vegetable broth (or water)

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon thyme or dried oregano leaves

• 1 loose-packed cup basil leaves (plus more for garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and place the halved tomatoes cut-side up on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper. Roast for 1 hour or until the edges begin to shrivel and the insides are still juicy.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.

3. Stir in the tomatoes (and any remaining liquid from the baking sheet), vegetable broth (or water), balsamic vinegar, and thyme (or oregano) leaves and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Let cool slightly and puree the soup using an immersion/stick blender, or a standing blender, working in batches if necessary. Blend until smooth. Add the basil and pulse until combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

5. Garnish the soup with basil leaves and serve with crusty bread.

Today’s Stats

• Low temp: 68F

• High temp: 88F

• Sunrise: 6:12am

• Sunset: 8:34pm

• Moon phase: Waning gibbous

• Additional notes: Mostly sunny and lovely

July 8

Farm Notes

This week we hit #peaktomato, and it’s all I can do to keep up with harvesting. I’ll be honest that every year, growing tomatoes stresses me the heck out. I’ve yet to meet a person who doesn’t love a good locally grown tomato.. they are so juicy and vibrant and filled with flavor, just begging to be sandwiched between two mayo-slathered pieces of toasted bread. So you can imagine that as a farmer, there’s some pressure to deliver a bounty of ripe tomatoes all summer long!

We plant our tomato seedlings in mid-April, and for months they require lots of care and attention, hours spent pruning and trellising and fertilizing with fish emulsion, etc. And then finally.. finally! Assuming that no pest or fungus or other natural disaster has taken them out, by July the tomatoes are usually hitting their stride. Which means we are eating a lot of tomatoes around here! Make sure to keep scrolling to today’s recipe, for a tomato & corn galette I made last weekend that was a hit at our house.

In addition to allll the tomatoes, this week our CSA members got an assortment of peppers, eggplant, green beans, basil, etc! Looking ahead to next week, I’m excited to start adding some okra and garlic to the mix, along with some of our hot peppers like seranos and jalapenos.

Overall, it’s been a busy, hot, sweaty, and otherwise uneventful week at the farm, and we’re looking forward to a quiet weekend to catch up on sleep, farm chores, and to visit with friends at go to Saturdays in Saxapahaw. By this time in the season, most all of our summer veggies are planted and producing, and now I’m focused on keeping up with the harvesting (and the weeds!) and planning + prepping for fall. Earlier today I seeded an experimental few rows of carrots, in hopes that we’ll get an early fall harvest. I’ve never tried planting carrots this time of year (usually I just plant them in the spring and fall when it’s not so hot), so we’ll see what happens!

For any of our local friends looking for a fun, farm to table experience next weekend, join me for our next hands on workshop here at the farm! There are still a few spots left in my Eat Like a Farmer Workshop on Saturday, July 16th @ 4-6:30pm. We’ll do a full farm tour, and everyone will get to help harvest veggies which we will use to whip up a few delicious summer salads, all while working on our knife skills and making homemade vinaigrettes. More details + tickets can be found here.

For a full tour of what’s growing on the farm this week + helpful growing tips, tune into my virtual farm walk from earlier today HERE on Facebook or in our google drive folder HERE. In today’s farm walk I dig into everything from how to trell eggplant and peppers, to how to deal with japanese beetles, how to properly harvest basil, and lots more.

Okay, now it’s time for our July giveaway! Inspired by all things tomatoes, this month I’m going away one of my favorite cookbooks, which has a whole chapter dedicated to tomatoes… Deep Run Roots, by North Carolina native Vivian Howard. If I could only own 5 cookbooks, this one would definitely make the cut – Vivian is an incredible writer, and I love how the book is organized in chapters dedicated to specific ingredients – ie a chapter on Corn, Blueberries, Pecans, Peaches, and of course.. Tomatoes!

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY – There are two ways that you can enter this giveaway (just choose 1):

1. Comment on this post in our private Facebook Group and share your favorite dish/recipe to make using tomatoes! If you aren’t already a member of our private Facebook Group, just request access here.

2. OR Click the “Comment” button at the bottom of this journal entry and share your favorite dish/recipe to make using tomatoes!

You have until Thursday, July 14th @ midnight to enter, and I’ll announce one randomly selected winner on Friday, July 15th.

Kitchen Notes

I’m pretty sure that galettes are my spirit dish… a little rough around the edges, but there’s goodness on the inside! Galettes are great because they are meant to look rustic, so there’s no need to strive for perfection… the more imperfect, the better. I also love that galettes can evolve with the season –all you need is a good basic pie dough recipe on hand, and you can fill it with whatever veggie (or fruit!) combination that strikes your fancy. There are a million different pie dough recipes out there, so feel free to use whatever recipe you like best (I like this one from Fine Cooking). I whipped up this tomato + corn galette last weekend and I’m already looking forward to making it again. Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz in Fine Cooking.

Summer Tomato & Corn Galette

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large yellow onion, diced

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• Kernels removed from 2 ears of corn (about 2 cups)

• 1 recipe pie dough (I like this one, but use whatever recipe you like!)

• 1/2 cup gruyère or aged gouda cheese, shredded (plus more for garnish)

• 1 large or 2 medium ripe tomatoes (about 1 lb total) cut into 1/3-inch slices, drained on paper towels

• 1 large egg yolk mixed with a splash of milk or cream

• Handful fresh basil, finely chopped (for garnish)

PREPARATION

1. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat a bit and add the garlic and corn and cook for a minute or two (just make sure the garlic doesn’t burn). Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside to cool.

2. Adjust an oven rack to the center position and heat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet, preferably one without sides, with kitchen parchment. (If your baking sheet has sides, flip it over and use the back.)

3. Roll the dough on a floured surface into a 15-inch round, lifting the dough with a metal spatula as you roll to make sure it’s not sticking. If it is, dust the surface with more flour. Transfer it by rolling it around the rolling pin and unrolling it on the lined baking sheet.

4. Spread the onion and corn mixture over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border without filling (I also reserve a little of the corn mixture to sprinkle on top of the tomatoes, but that is optional). Sprinkle the cheese over the onion and corn mixture. Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer over the onions and corn and season them with salt and pepper. If desired, top the tomatoes with some of your reserved corn mixture.

5. Lift the edges of the dough and fold them inward over the filling, pleating as you go, to form a folded-over border. Pinch together any tears in the dough. Brush the egg yolk and milk mixture over the exposed crust.

6. Bake until the crust has browned, 35 to 45 min. Slide the galette off the parchment and onto a cooling rack. Let cool for 10 minutes. Cut the galette into wedges, garnish with a bit more cheese and the chopped fresh basil, and serve.

Today’s Stats

• Low temp: 72F

• High temp: 90F

• Sunrise: 6:07am

• Sunset: 8:37pm

• Moon phase: Waxing gibbous

• Additional notes: Hot & humid

July 1

Farm Notes

Somehow it’s been two weeks since my last update, and suddenly it is July! We’re in the thick of summer now, and even though there’s still light in the sky until 9pm, somehow there's still not enough time in the day to do all the things. I’m clearly still learning how to balance managing the farm, raising a sweet 9 month old baby, making sure we all have clean clothes to wear, food to eat, and clean dishes to eat off, and still making time for friends and family and REST. I know most everyone knows this feeling, and we’re all just trying to find the right balance (do we ever find the right balance? If you’ve figured it out, please let me know).

What I do know is that one variable I’m able to control is how much we grow here at the farm each season, and as I think ahead to next season… either I need to scale back a bit, or I need more help, or maybe a little bit of both! This year we’re growing more than we ever (by a LOT), and it’s been amazing to see just how much this little farm can produce. But finding the right scale for our family (and our CSA community) is something I’m still trying to figure out, and every year I hope we can get a little closer. I know that our farm will need to expand and contract depending on the season, and I’m okay with that. And I’m thankful for each one of you for joining me on this journey as we figure it out!

Okay, back to vegetables. The past two weeks of the CSA have been so beautiful and bountiful… tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, etc are rolling in and I spend most of my day just trying to keep up with the harvesting. Coming up in the next week or two will be the first of our green beans, okra, and bell peppers! Here’s a peak at what went inside our full share boxes for the last two weeks:

Summer CSA Week 3

Summer CSA Week 4

At this point in the season, the only things we are planting are a few additional successions of cucumbers, squash, beans, and lettuce – as all of our main summer crops (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, etc) have been in the ground since April. Our next big planting push will be in in mid-August, when we put all of our fall seedlings in the ground.

In other news, last weekend we hosted a hands-on workshop here at the farm, and it was a blast! It was my “Eat Like a Farmer” workshop, which is chock full of information about growing, harvesting, storing, and cooking with fresh, local produce. Everyone got to help with harvesting veggies, and together we sharpened up our knife skills, made vinaigrettes, and whipped up a few different fresh salads to enjoy together. I absolutely love teaching this class, and it’s been a dream of mine to be able to create a hands-on learning experience for folks to come and learn about growing + cooking good, nourishing food here at our farm.

The workshop was so much fun (and sold out so quickly..) that I’m hosting it again in a few weeks! As Farmbelly Club members, y’all get first dibs on tickets for our next Eat Like a Farmer Workshop on Saturday, July 16th @ 4-6:30pm. More details + tickets can be found here!

For a full tour of what’s growing on the farm this week + helpful growing tips, tune into my virtual farm walk from earlier today HERE on Facebook or in our google drive folder HERE.

Kitchen Notes

A galette, aka a rustic pie, is the ideal vehicle for containing ripe, juicy, sweet summer fruits for a perfectly imperfect dessert. Use this recipe as a guide for whatever fruits you have on hand – raspberries, blackberries, cherries, peaches, pluots, etc – don’t overthink this folks. Galettes are best after sitting for several hours or overnight (allowing all those juices to settle and firm up a bit), so they’re a great make-ahead dessert for summer dinner parties. All you need is a scoop of vanilla ice cream (or whipped cream or creme fraiche) to top it all off! Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit.

Blueberry-Ginger Galette with Pecan Crust

INGREDIENTS:

Pecan Galette Dough

• ½ cup pecans

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Blueberry Filling

• 12 ounces blueberries (about 2 cups)

• 1 tablespoon tapioca flour (or cornstarch)

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (or more, if you really like ginger)

• 1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling

• All-purpose flour (for surface)

• 2 tablespoons half-and-half or heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

Make the dough

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Toast pecans on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until fragrant and slightly darkened, 10–15 minutes; let cool. Pulse pecans in a food processor until the consistency of coarse meal.

2. In the same food processor as the ground pecans, add flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon and pulse just to combine. Add cold, chopped butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-size pieces remaining. Drizzle with 4 tablespoons ice water and pulse a few more times to mix.

3. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and mix quickly with your hands, adding another tablespoonful of water if needed, just until the dough comes together in a ball. Pat dough into a 6"-diameter disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Filling and Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Toss blueberries, tapioca flour (or cornstarch), lemon juice, grated ginger (I use a microplane to grate ginger) and 1/3 cup sugar in a large bowl.

2. While the berries macerate in their juices, roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper to a 12" round, 1/8" thick. Carefully transfer the parchment paper with the rolled-out dough onto a baking sheet. Mound the blueberries in center of the dough, leaving a 2" border. Carefully lift and fold the edges up and over the filling, allowing the dough to naturally pleat at 1-2 inch intervals as you fold. Brush dough with cream and sprinkle with sugar.

3. Bake galette until crust is dark golden brown and filling is bubbling, 45–55 minutes total, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Allow to cool before enjoying. Just before serving, top with scoops of your favorite vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or creme fraiche for the ultimate galette experience.

Today’s Stats

• Low temp: 69F

• High temp: 91F

• Sunrise: 6:04am

• Sunset: 8:38pm

• Moon phase: Waxing crescent

• Additional notes: Sunny & warm