Notes from the field
Wednesday, Oct. 7
Hope you enjoyed your first week of the Fall season! I feel grateful to have gotten a slight reprieve from the intense heat of the summer and hope you were able to enjoy the outdoors a little more this week.
This time of year is full of transition and we have some additional ones happening within our growing team. Our apprentices, Rocio and Mariah, have taken over the farm operations as our Farm Managers. Adé, our new Farm Apprentice, just started getting his hands dirty. You’ve probably already met Francisco, our Store Manager, who will be leading an expansion of the store. If you’ve noticed improvements to our social media, that’s thanks to Christina, our new Communications & Marketing Coordinator.
Out in the fields, several of the summer crops that vine on trellises will continue to get pulled down as we transition to our fall greens and root vegetables. Our final field should get into production this season, activating our entire grow space for the first time since re-opening, and our greenhouse will have a constant flow of new seedlings as they get a head start before taking root in the beds.
If you can spare the time, I would invite you to spend a few minutes before or after you grab your box each week to walk through the fields and the greenhouse. You’ll begin to notice the changes, recognize the crops that have been and will be in your box, and begin to see the transitions happening each week.
Our storefront is not meant to stop at the door but is intended to extend out into the farm. We aspire for our CSA Program to provide more than fresh, quality produce and look to offer an opportunity for our members to experience and understand the ebbs and flows of the seasons, the joys and challenges of growing in Houston, and gain greater value from a farm in their neighborhood.
I hope you get a chance to dig a little deeper with us this season to see what’s underneath the surface of the CSA boxes each week!
Dan
What to make with your CSA Box
To give you some inspiration for what to create with your CSA box this week, we’ve got another great recipe lined up for you. This week, we are making Agua de Pepino! This recipe utilizes the cucumbers included in everyone’s CSA box. While we know this is often thought of as a summer beverage, cucumbers are in season and this is Houston—it’s still hot!
Ingredients
2 cucumbers
6 cups of water
1/3 cup lime juice
2/3 cup sugar (to taste)
Directions
- Chop your cucumbers into cube sizes. We’ll leave the skins on so we can take in those nutrients and they also give great color to the drink.
- Juice about 3 limes to yield 1/3 cup of fresh lime juice.
- In a large pitcher, add 2/3 cups of sugar. If you like your drinks less sweet, I recommend going for 1/3 cup sugar to start and then adding more sugar as needed.
- Once all ingredients are prepped, add chopped cucumbers and 5 cups of water to your blender. We’ll reserve one cup for the straining process.
- Blend your cucumbers for 2 to 4 minutes or until everything is well combined and liquified. You should have lots of pulp from the cucumber!
- With a hand-strainer, pour the blended cucumber juice into the pitcher. Use the reserved 1 cup of water to pour over the cucumber pulp and get any last juice out.
- Then add the lime juice into the pitcher and stir everything together!
- Serve it over lots of ice and garnish with lime and/or cucumber.
Our beautiful cucumbers come from The Farm Patch farm in Pleasanton, TX. Find them in the farm store this week!
What’s in this week’s share
For our full share friends, you’ll find Serrano Peppers, Roselle Calyx, Turnip Greens, Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli Greens, and Lil Shanghai Bok Choi all from Finca. We’ve also sourced Cucumbers, Yellow Squash,Yellow Onions, Mini Bell Peppers, and from farms around TX we trust.
For our half share friends, you’ll find Okra, Roselle Calyx, Turnip Greens, Sweet Potatoes, and Misome all from Finca. We’ve also sourced Cucumbers, Yellow Squash, Garlic, and Mini Bell Peppers from farms around TX we trust.