Greetings CSA Members and Supporters,

Here we are at week two! Our crop of summer vegetables are coming along nicely, and we hope you’ve enjoyed the last dregs of late spring/early summer fare: namely, the bounty of lettuce that’s filled farm share boxes and our first official CSA share for the last few weeks, which we hope you’ve enjoyed.

With the last lettuce pulled out of the field, we’re finally done with most of our fresh greens (at least for a while – until we plant our next round of lettuce in, hopefully soon!) We still have kale to give your shares a touch of green and, this week, we’ll be giving you rainbow chard, which we didn’t have last year! (We’re pretty happy with our plants this year….expect big, beautiful bunches!)

As for the rest, this is the full list of this week’s offerings:

• Small rainbow beets bunch
• Rainbow chard bunch
• Kohlrabi
• Summer squash
• Fresh shallot bunch
• Cucumbers (one green, one lemon)
• Small leaf kale mix
• Large sweet onion
• Culinary herbs

We’ve been hard at work (and excited!) about our hot “true” summer vegetable crops this week. Tomatoes are trellised and fruiting (green fruits for now), eggplants are beginning to form, and peppers both hot and sweet are not too far behind. Garlic is being pulled, storage onions too, and in not too long we’ll be digging up the year’s first potatoes – not to mention leeks, squash, and okra not too far off.

Lots of great things to look forward to!

Lemon Cucumbers: What Are They? | Explanation & Tips

What’s the round yellow stripey thing in the box? Since this is a question that’s popped up from some of our members, we’re happy to explain before you cut it up to see what it is (or what’s inside).

It’s a lemon cucumber! Despite it’s name, no, it does not have a citrus flavor. It has pretty much the same identical flavor as typical fresh green cucumbers, but without bitterness due to their very thin skins. (That said, it would probably taste pretty good with lemon now that I think about it).

These cukes are called lemon cukes mostly just because of how they look: they’re round, and they’re yellow. We think they shine best when sliced up in a salad and they really do add a refreshing yellow color to contrast all the green. Try them on a sandwich, maybe. I’d bet they’d be pretty good!

Wellness Spotlight: Kohlrabi

If you think kale’s healthy, try a bite of the fresh kohlrabi in your share. Since this veggie is closely related to kale, it has a lot of the same nutritional profile as the superfood green that people have been raving about for years.

This includes cancer-, inflammation-, and diabetes-fighting antioxidants like sulforaphane and vitamins B and C. And you can’t argue with fiber – plus tons of plant proteins and minerals, too! Looking at some research, it does look like some scientists are studying it for the ability to prevent fat production in the body.

Of course, people might be more curious about what to actually do with kohlrabi, not just its health perks! It has a flavor between broccoli and cabbage, and here are some quick recommendations: cut it into matchsticks for a salad, lacto-ferment/pickle it and enjoy it over a long period of time (it tastes delicious as pickles the most, in my opinion – especially with dill!), or cut into very, very thin slices and eat lightly fried (or raw) on a sandwich or burger (burger is my favorite.)

You can always hold onto your kohlrabi for a couple more weeks, you don’t have to use it right away. Just make sure it’s wrapped up in airtight plastic or stored in the crisper in your fridge, otherwise its skin may get soft!

Until next week, we hope you enjoy your veggies! Like last week, Cedar Rapids delivery is tomorrow, Dyersville/Colesburg is Wednesday, and Peosta will be early Saturday morning.

Have questions about how to cook/prepare items in your share?

Don’t hesitate to contact us! – jupiterridgefarm@gmail.com

Thanks for choosing us to be your farmers.

Best,
Adrian & Will | Jupiter Ridge Farm