Week 10 (B) - The first of the potatoes and beans, more onion and garlic and so much more! Yay for summer!

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Backyard Urban Garden Farms

Summer is so definitely here. We have been slowly sneaking summer crops into shares, and there are more on the way. The first few, small tomatoes have started to ripen on the vine, the peppers and eggplants are starting to really produce, so are the summer squash and beans. Soon it will be hard to remember shares before the summer veggies started coming on.

Things around the farm are slowing down nicely for now. We have been able to work earlier and shorter days, helping us escape the worst of the afternoon heat. Even the weeds slow down this time of year, so we've been getting some much needed relief from our usual farm routine. For now, it's harvesting, packaging, distributing and planning. We have some fun ideas in mind for the fall, can't wait for the fruits of our plans to be in your shares - in what is bound to be a few, very short months.

Happy Eating,

Carly, Coleman, Andy... and all our fabu work-traders
Your B.U.G. Farmers

Tomatoes, grumpy potatoes, corn oh my! The gardens are all bursting with loads of green growth and now flowers and fruits. We shouldn't be more than a couple weeks away from some full blown summer harvest shares. Hope your tastebuds are ready!

VEGGIE SHARE: WEEK 10 (B)

It is one of our favorite times of year - not because of the heat, but because we harvested our first bed of potatoes! Seems like everyone recognizes that quality and sheer thrill of garden fresh heirloom tomatoes, but the farm fresh potatoes are the unsung hero of summer. Once you have these little guys, you will never want to go back to store bought russets. And, on top of potatoes we have so many other lovely items, the first of the green beans, shishito peppers for some folks, more basil, garlic and onions. It really is quite a share this week.

MICROGREENS - Try this link if you are stumped for some delicious suggestions. Or, if you are more into simplicity, try eating them the way we do on the farm - by the handful. These little babies are packed full of nutrients, and have a fresh, slightly spicy kick. They are wonderful as a topping on any dish, I especially like them on top of a scrambled egg/omelet or on a stew. They also blend in well into a smoothie, and that hides their spiciness if that's not as much to your liking. These are best eaten raw, and also mix in wonderfully with a fresh salad.

BEETS (GOLDEN, CHIOGGIA, OR DETROIT DARK RED) - We loove beets! They are just so darn beautiful, versatile in the kitchen, as well as super nutrient dense. Here is a good article about How To Roast Beets& The Health Benefits of Beets. For a quick preparation of the roots, just grate them raw and add them to a salad, or make a slaw by combining them with grated radishes, ribbon-sliced kale/chard/beet greens with a lemon/lime juice based dressing. You could also try making Sharon's (BUG Farms founder) famous and yummy beet butter by combining the beets with cashews/walnuts/pecans, a little oil (sunflower/coconut/canola), a little liquid sweetener (maple syrup/agave), and a touch of salt & vanilla and blend in a food processor or blender. So good on cookies/dessert/toast/etc or mixed in a smoothie.

OR...

HAKUREI TURNIPS - A B.U.G. Farms favorite. Even if you aren't normally a turnip fan, these sweet, delicious, mild flavored turnips. Perfect for fresh eating (we eat the big ones like apples on the farm), grated on a green salad with your eggs in the morning or sliced with butter. You could try cooking them like potatoes, roasted in the oven, creamed in a soup or if you are in a decedent mood this Cardamon Turnip Galette from our friends at Copper Moose.
OR...

SHISHITO PEPPERS - These thin skinned, mild peppers are the perfect side dish to any meal. Best when pan fried in a small amount of oil in a hot pan, and sprinkled with salt. They have a great flavor, and are an easy snack. Beware - one in every ten can be hot, which makes for a fun game around the table.

GARLIC - We've grown a strong sentimental attachment to these modified leaves, that we sowed over 9 months ago, and waited, ever so eagerly throughout the gestation period to finally pluck from the soil. Enjoy these crucial kitchen staples on everything, or use them to fend off your local vampires. If you have never tried fresh, local garlic these will be a spicy treat like no garlic you have had before. Look for these in your CSA for weeks to come, we plan on keeping you stocked with garlic most of the season.

BUNCHING GREENS - This week we have bunches of Blue Vates, Lacinato, Red Olympic Kale or Collards in your shares. Each CSA Share will have one bunch of these greens. Kale and Chard are both considered to be some of the most nutrient dense foods, we are proud that they are a CSA staple! Here is a web article listing the Top 10 Health Benefits of Kale to make you feel even better about eating this green. It is very versatile, wonderful enjoyed both raw and cooked. Here is a good article from eatlocalgrown.com about 10 Ways To Prepare Kale for more cooking ideas and video cooking tutorials. These bunched greens are best stored in a plastic bag, or upright in a glass of water in the fridge with the stem end down like a bouquet. Chard is similarly versatile. Use it as a braising green, throw it in your frittatas or at the end of cooking your scrambled eggs for an vitamin boost. Use it as a substitute in recipes that call for beetgreens or to jazz up a recipe that normally calls for spinach. Or, you can use any of these in your morning juices and smoothies. Mix it up!

BASIL - Among our most favorite of aromatic herbs, this square-stemmed member of the mint family is quite nice eaten raw with sliced tomatoes on toasted bread with butter, or used in soups. Wonderful paired with either cooked soup-beans, or raw with fresh green (or purple) beans. Turn into pesto by adding olive oil, parmesan (optional), salt and pepper, and pinenuts (or walnuts or sunflower seeds as more reasonably priced options). Or, just shower your face with the leaves and soak in the divine fragrance.

BULBING ONION MIX - This is a mixed bunch of the six varieties of onions that we grew this year—Candy, Red Candy Apple and Super Star varieties. Each variety is lovely raw or cooked, caramelized, roasted, pickled or eaten like an apple. You choose. Whatever variety you get in your CSA this week, you won't be disappointed!

YUKON GOLD POTATOES- A relatively late addition to the varietal realms of this Peruvian-rooted tuber has finally been unearthed from the backyard farmy fields to make its way into your culinary field! Its waxy moist flesh and sweet flavor make it ideal for boiling, baking and frying but these golden orbs will also withstand grilling, pan frying, and roasting. Be sure to store them in a dark cool (not cold) environment for maximum starchy awesomeness.

JERICHO ROMAINE LETTUCE - A firm leafed romaine lettuce, that remains sweet and nutty even in the heat. Try a heartier dressing, creamy dressing on these leaves - they are strong enough to hold up to it. If you are a fan of a classic ceasar, try ‘Caesar in Seconds’: in your food processor, put 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon Dijon, a dash of worcestershire, salt and pepper, 4 anchovies, 3 smashed garlic cloves, 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan and 1 cup olive oil. Process 15 seconds. Slowly blend in the juice from one lemon (and more olive oil if needed). Makes more than enough to pour over one huge, freshly-harvested Jericho romaine, roughly torn. Top with additional parmesan and fresh, crisp croutons.

BEANS - The first real harvest of this wonderful summer crop, versatile, easy to prepare, and loved by most folks! You can eat these raw, "cooking" them by tossing them with some lemon juice or vinegar for a raw green bean salad, or sautee with your favorite nuts, dried fruit, and garlic.

RILEY'S FRUIT SHARE:
Wow! Have to admit that we jumped at the chance to get a batch of early apples this week. We usually don't get the opportunity until much later in the season, and we will be drowning in weeks and weeks of peaches soon, so these big tart apples are quite the treat.

EARLY DELICIOUS APPLES - These apples are definitely at tart end of the apple flavor spectrum. But, they are crisp and delicious. If you aren't a "tart apple person", try them in a dessert recipe - like apple pie, or eat them with cheese, peanut butter and honey, or shred them with root veggies to make an awesome slaw-type salad. There is so much you could do with these... we will probably just eat them fresh.

CSA PICK UP/DELIVERY DETAILS:

HALF SHARE HOLDERS: Remember you will get a CSA Share every other week based on your pick up or delivery location.

WEEK B (this week) HALF SHARE LOCATIONS:

SUGAR HOUSE - 1998 South Windsor Street
UPHILL DELIVERIES

WEEK A (next week) HALF SHARE LOCATIONS:

B.U.G. FARMS HEADQUARTERS - 1364 South Cheyenne Street
U OF U: BRIGHT HORIZONS - 418 Wakara Way, #100
DOWNTOWN - UTAH HUMANITIES COUNCIL - 202 West 300 North
FLATS DELIVERIES

DELIVERY SHARE HOLDERS: Please remember to leave out a cooler with an icepack for your shares. This will help them stay fresh until you get to them. We will be delivering from 9 am - 3 pm, so please have the coolers ready for us by then.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR BAGS BACK TO YOUR NEXT CSA PICKUP OR LEAVE THEM IN YOUR COOLER!

Nutrition and wellness goddess Anne Dorsey of Milk and Honey Wellness has brought us another amazing recipe this week. Anne has a great recipe using collard greens on the blog this week. Try it with the collards in your shares this week, or substitute another type of bunching green to mix it up.

Don't forget each week you can visit this link to Anne's Blog for a new recipe using fresh, seasonal veggies that will be in your CSA shares, available at the farmers market, or that you are harvesting from your own gardens.

Anne's Recipes

NEW BAGS:
Y'all we are so excited about our new, reusable, insulated B.U.G. Farm tote bags. But, we will need your help to make the system work. We have two totes for all our CSA members. Each week we will have your share packed and ready in a tote bag. This week and next week (for Week A Half Shares) you will receive your first tote bag, when you pick up (or your share is delivered) your next packed and ready share you need to bring the first bag back. If you don't we will have to unpack your share and put it into a plastic bag - please don't make us do it. Just bring them back every week, keep 'em in your car so you don't forget, or put them right back in your cooler if you are a delivery share. We don't want to be the jerks, but will if we have to.

Remember to bring back those orange rubber bands too! We can reuse them if you haven't found a million uses for them yet...

INSTAGRAM CONTEST:
We are so excited about Instagram lately, we think it is a super neato way to share information and interests. And, we know you love it as much as we do. So, we are going to host a contest. We want to see what B.U.G. Farms looks like at your house. Whether it is a picture of your share fresh from pick up, a bunch of radishes, your B.U.G. vegetables all cooked up, or maybe one of your favorite Add On Shares of the week - it doesn't matter. Hashtag #bugfarmscsa and you will be entered into our contest. At the end of the season we will have our members vote on our top ten favorite member photos, and the winner will receive a half veggie share for the 2017 season! You can't beat that!