A Rainbow of Colors

Hi friends. The shares are especially colorful this week, but not to pretty to eat.  We are starting to enjoy some great meals with the bountiful harvest.  Summer is finally in full swing.

Garden Share

Broccoli

Chard

Kohlrabi

Green Lettuce

Yellow Squash

Onions with the Greens

Easter Egg Radish

Spinach

Tomatoes

Fruit Share

Apricots

Cherries

Weathervane House Concert / Saturday, July 26th

We will be featuring Cahalen Morrison and Sven Hooson, who are on their 26-date “Four Corners Buzz Tour,” to support their recent releases on the Super Solar Sounds label.

Cahalen is from northern New Mexico, and writes and plays songs that manifest his love for the beauty of the land. He plays mandolin, lap steel and guitar, and sings beautifully. His styles range through Americana: rags, bluegrass, folk and blues. I really recommend a trip to www.cahalen.com to hear more of his unique sound.

Sven Hooson’s musical inspirations span the globe. He plays guitar, dulcimer, and Theremin. The Theremin is an interesting electronic instrument; the player holds their hands in the space above the instrument’s antennas, and moves their hands in the air to intone the pitches and control the volume.

One of the reasons we asked these guys to play is that we share a lot of values around sustainability and local food. They have packed themselves and their tour manager into a compact car, and they plan to only eat food from within 100 miles of wherever they are along their route, while keeping cultural sustainability in mind and patronizing small ‘mom and pop’ establishments in support of local economies. If we’re lucky, we hope to put them to work on the farm for a little while!

So the details are as usual: Saturday July 26th, potluck at 6, music at 7:30. We’re asking $7 a seat, 100% goes to the artists, but no one will be turned away. We will have our usual “kids area” in the front room, with the music in the living room. It really helps us to prepare if you RSVP to weatherconcert@gardener.com with the number of folks you’re bringing, but don’t hesitate to come at the last minute if you haven’t RSVP’ed. Contact us if you need directions or have any questions.

Onions and Yellow Squash

Again we have some vegetable goodness from Mattic’s Orchard in Olathe.

Here is a simple yellow squash recipe.

Yellow Squash with Basil and Pinenuts

http://www.notderbypie.com/yellow-squash-with-basil-and-pine-nuts/

Broccoli

We are excited about this great crop of broccoli. It came out of the garden with nice uniformity and great big heads. If you are looking for a new way to enjoy it check out this great recipe for raw broccoli salad.

http://allthingsnice.typepad.com/tastebuddies/2008/06/raw-broccoli-sa.html

Here is another great site for all your recipe needs. Simply search the site for a specific ingredient and you will be presented with beautiful photography and lots of inspiring recipes.

http://www.tastespotting.com

Kolhrabi

What is that alien looking purple ball in the share? It looks like some kind of medieval weaponry that you would hurl aflame at your enemies. Alas, it is a relative of broccoli that is best eaten peeled, raw or cooked. The simplest way to prepare it is to peel it with a paring knife and cut it into slices, sprinkle with a little salt and enjoy. For an in-depth look at kohlrabi and its many uses check out this informative link;

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007202kohlrabi.php

Wow! I just checked that link out and boy is there some great food blogging going on out there. The links on the first page have great links, too.

Tomatoes

These tomatoes come from Erin’s Organic Greenhouse in Nathrop. Enjoy them on a sandwich or burger or wedged on a salad. You can’t go wrong with homegrown tomatoes.

Apricots

We have three apricot varieties this week. For best results allow all of them to ripen over the next few days. Gold Rich is the variety that has a slight green tint on the outside. These ripen from the inside out. The other two varieties, Old Strike and Sun Cot ripen from the outside in. These apricots are all from New Leaf Farm in Delta. Check out http://www.tastespotting.com and search apricots for some great ideas.

Cherries

We have bing cherries again from Black Bear Orchard. Here’s a nice looking salad with cherries and queso fresco. Check it out. http://www.foodonthefood.com/food_on_the_food/2007/06/my_kind_of_sala.html