August 26, 2018
Fall to Summer
By Linda Dansbury

Well, we had a few nice cool days and the hours of daylight are decreasing significantly now, so thoughts start to move toward fall and warming dishes, but this coming week we are going back to summer weather again. I only made a few new dishes this past week. I did make another batch of Tomatillo Sauce and got that into the freezer for use later in the year. I happily snacked on edamame and got a lot of them put away into the freezer, half of which I took out of the shells prior to freezing, and the other half I left in the shells. I made another batch of Gazpacho and the summery taste as always was a treat. I made the riff on eggplant parm I described a few weeks ago - it freezes really well and my husband and I decided we like it better than lasagna - eggplant basically takes the place of the noodles. It is made into stacks so that it is easily served and frozen in individual portions. Do you have a dish you would like to share with fellow members? Please email me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the subject line so I can find your email.

Two dishes I made that I haven't talked about in previous newsletters are below:

Watermelon, tomatoes, chili pepper, basil, mint - I made Watermelon, Heirloom Tomato and Goat Cheese Salad. This is delicious - it doesn't sound like the flavors will come together as they do, but it is great - I made it for a farmer's market demo and so many people asked for the recipe and said how flavorful it is. The recipe has been on this site for a couple of years.

Zucchini, basil, garlic - used the last of my summer squash in a new, very simple recipe: Spiralized Summer Squash Casserole. It is simple and delicious. Simply make a "filling" using ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, basil and garlic. Make squash noodles and form into nests on a sprayed cookie sheet. Top each nest with some of the filling. Broil until slightly browned. Top with more basil and enjoy. I have added the recipe to the website.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Fall-to-Summer-2156/

August 26, 2018
Workshifts this Week (8/27-9/2)
by Farmer Derek

Workshifts scheduled for this week:

Workshift sign-up instructions may be found here.

Workshifts typically meet under the large red maple just outside of the pick up room. Please wear appropriate clothes and footwear for working outside and bring your own gloves and water.

Thank you!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-this-Week-82792-2157/

August 26, 2018
Upcoming Event: Potluck 9/8/18
by Farmer Dana

Join us for a meal under the pavilion 5:30-9pm Saturday September 8th. Bring a dish to share that serves 6 adults, your own place settings, and a beverage of your choosing. There may be a fire for s'mores as well as live acoustic music (if folks are kind enough to bring their instruments and play for all of us again!).

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Upcoming-Event-Potluck-9818-2158/

August 26, 2018
Peaking Peppers
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #15 (Week A) should include potatoes, spaghetti squash, carrots, onions, scallions, tomatoes, garlic, sweet peppers, eggplant, hot peppers, lettuce, chard, kale, herbs, and okra. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include yellow snap beans, cherry and grape tomatoes, flowers, husk cherries, tomatillos, and herbs.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Peaking-Peppers-2159/

August 26, 2018
Driest Since...
by Farmer Derek

It's a strange feeling to not have to rush around completing certain parts of our to-do list prior to an impending rain event. Having a few days or even a week to complete jobs, get ahead, get caught up, and mildly enjoy the pace of production has been a rare luxury during this very wet season. Even sneaky thoughts of intentionally adding water to the fields now try to enter my brain. Phrases like "wow that soil looks dry" or "those crops look thirsty" pass between my ears and mock my prior too-much-water frustrations. Attempts to dissolve and dissipate these thoughts using farmworkmindfulness are invoked. Steady, I instead encourage the crops to be patient: you must send those roots down to find your own moisture. It will rain again, probably too much. Also, if we hadn't already received 2 months worth of rain in the first half of August maybe I would listen to your requests and/or complaints. You can do it I promise.

All seems to remain well. Shares of the harvest stay ample. Potatoes are now 66% harvested thanks to the 20 or so members who came out to help today. Butternut will hopefully be retrieved and stowed this week. Progress is even starting to be made towards our NRCS funded water management upgrades. Cover crops are thriving and taking care of the soil. Additional fall roots and greens like watermelon radishes, white and purple daikons, arugula, mustard mix, and baby kale have been direct seeded and are up and growing. Many man hours last week were spent weeding and cultivating fall carrots and rutabaga and they look great. Fall brassicas like cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower were cleaned up again and probably appreciate this dry weather. Now we need to look closely at them to see if they require an additional dose of food (i.e. organic fertilizer) after all the drenching rain we received during their outdoor life which may have washed away nutrients as well as stunted their root growth. Veggie life goes on.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Driest-Since-2160/

August 19, 2018
From Summer to Winter Squash
by Farmer Derek

Main Season Share #14 (Week B) should include spaghetti squash, onions, carrots, potatoes, garlic, scallions, lettuce, sweet peppers, tomatoes, watermelon, eggplant, okra, hot peppers, Italian dandelion greens, and herbs. U-pick crops should include edamame, yellow snap beans, husk cherries, tomatillos, cherry/grape tomatoes, blackberries, flowers, and herbs.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/From-Summer-to-Winter-Squash-2148/

August 19, 2018
Workshifts this Week (8/20-8/26)
by Farmer Derek

Workshifts scheduled for this week:

Workshift sign-up instructions may be found here.

Workshifts typically meet under the large red maple just outside of the pick up room. Please wear appropriate clothes and footwear for working outside and bring your own gloves and water.

Thank you!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-this-Week-820826-2149/

August 19, 2018
Weather Respite
by Farmer Derek

Amidst what will probably be our second wettest season in 10 years we're remaining afloat and overall are satisfied with and thankful for this year's harvest so far. Undoubtedly there have been a few crops that were negatively impacted by the wet weather. Most noticeably the cherry and grape tomatoes never fully reach production potential and were stunted and challenged from the beginning while they endured our wettest May in 10 years. We also lost the spinach in the spring due to the weather but other than those two crops we've been lucky with the harvest.

We've also been extremely fortunate that the ground has continually dried out just enough between rain events that we've been able to do the minimally required work to keep plants alive (cultivate and weed) and to build homes for future crops (raised beds). For cultivating to be effective the ground has to be dry otherwise the weeds can easily re-root, especially when we can't cultivate in a timely manner because of the perpetually wet soil and the weeds grow sets of true-leaves beyond the initial cotyledon stage. Our fall brassica patch has been particularly troublesome and unfortunately is located in what is probably the wettest part of the farm. During dry seasons crops thrive in these soils; during wet years they struggle. So far the cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts are surviving and growing but would definitely appreciate some drier weather with only minimal weekly rainfall (quarter-inch please).

Besides simply being a huge crop planting, the brassicas are plagued by grass, a terribly persistent weed that's hard to defeat especially when it's been allowed to grow for a week beyond the ideal cultivation period. We were desperately close to losing the battle at first cultivation. It wasn't an ideal time because the ground remained slightly wetter than suitable for cultivating, but with forecast rain the following day, we only had a small window of opportunity to try to kill the weeds. Our employees muscled through the manual cultivation and saved the brassicas. A week or so later, with the smallest of dry weather opportunities also followed by forecast rain, we cultivated them again (this time a whole day's worth of work). We also added in some tractor cultivation for the tops of the beds between the rows of plants. Between and immediately around the plants cultivating still had to be done manually with stirrup hoes, though. The forecasted rain didn't materialize immediately after cultivation so the couple more days of dry weather allowed further desiccation of the weeds and grasses. After this second round of cultivation the crops' canopy seems to be tall and wide enough to out-compete the weeds. We may have to hand weed in row eventually, but for now our focus shifts to saving the fall and winter carrots and rutabaga. Also, for the brassicas at least, we must hope that perpetually wet feet won't undermine our efforts. The forecast does look like it's changing for the better. Here we are.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Weather-Respite-2150/

August 19, 2018
New Crop - Spaghetti Squash
By Linda Dansbury

Spaghetti squash is one of the farm crops I really enjoy. It keeps well when stored in a cool, dry place such as a basement or otherwise cool part of your home. Do not store in the fridge - it will actually spoil faster. It will keep for up to 3 months - but check on it regularly to make sure that a small blemish isn't causing it to spoil faster. (The farmers recommend eating it sooner rather than later due to its susceptibility to spoilage. Plus you can eat it with fresh tomato sauce right now.) Nutritionally, spaghetti squash provides several necessary nutrients including folic acid, potassium, vitamin A and beta carotene and is low in calories.

Spaghetti squash can be be microwaved, boiled or baked whole or cut in half and baked and people swear by each method. My preferred way is to cut in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds, brush with olive oil and then bake in a 400 degree oven until the flesh can be scraped out in strands with a fork - timing depends on size of the spaghetti squash, so start checking at about 30 minutes for smallish squash and 40 or 45 for larger. I check with a small sharp knife. If the knife goes through somewhat easily but with a little resistance, the squash is done. Too soft and there will be mush rather than strands of squash.

Spaghetti squash can be enjoyed in many ways, but my favorite this time of year is to bake it and then top it with Uncooked Tomato Sauce. Yumm!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/New-Crop-Spaghetti-Squash-2151/

August 19, 2018
Farm Delights
By Linda Dansbury

Evelyn Throne is a long time contributor for fellow members and came up with yet another great way to combine the farm ingredients in a simple, 1 pan, delicious meal. Thank you so much for sharing Evelyn - here is what she wrote to me:

"Chicken (I used thighs from Hershbergers) with enough tomatoes to cover them, (use what you have and supplement with canned chopped if needed, tomatillos sliced thin, scallions, half of a jalapeno pepper, sweet peppers and garlic along with a generous sprinkle of chili powder. Optional- a shot of apple cider vinegar. I threw all of this in a baking pan and cooked for an hour. Serve with chopped Cilantro. It was delicious!!!"

Please send your delicious ways to prepare the harvest to me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the subject line so I can find your email.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Farm-Delights-2152/

August 19, 2018
So Much Bounty
By Linda Dansbury

I prepared quite a few delicious dishes this week including a couple of new ones that turned out great. Please share how you enjoyed your harvest by emailing me at lindadansbury@comcast.net. Here is a sampling:

Edamame - I know I provided the low down on what to do with these in a prior newsletter. I tried something slightly different this week. We prepared sashimi this week and had the edamame as a side dish but instead of topped with plain salt, we used smoked sea salt and it was delicious. I then thought about it and using other flavored salts, cumin or paprika would also be delicious.

Tomatillos, onions, poblano peppers, okra, cilantro and pork shoulder (from Hershberger) - found a recipe in my pressure cooker cookbook for a lamb shoulder, which I changed out with pork. The recipe did not call for okra but I added it anyway. It turned out delicious - and made plenty to freeze for later. If anyone is interested in the detailed recipe, let me know at lindadansbury@comcast.net.

Okra and onions - made the Easy Indian-style Stewed Okra. It really is easy and it is tasty!

Tomatoes, garlic, chicken - a few of my tomatoes were starting to get bad spots so I wanted to use them quickly and in a delicious way and found a recipe called Garlic Butter Tomato Baked Chicken with Mozzarella. It was very simple to prepare and was made all in 1 pan. Recipe says it is good with rice, crusty bread or steamed veggies. I made noodles from my summer squash I still had that I simply heated in olive oil but it would also be great with spaghetti squash. It calls for cherry tomatoes but I just cut up the tomatoes I wanted to use into the size of halved cherry tomatoes. I have added the recipe to this site.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/So-Much-Bounty-2153/

August 19, 2018
Using the Bounty
By Linda Dansbury

Last week I provided some suggestions on using some of the most perishable crops. The next group are beans and tomatillos.

Green beans do keep fairly well, although you may have noticed the end of some of the beans rot quickly from constantly sitting on wet soil. Just trim the ends off. Beans can be blanched, plunged into ice water, drained, laid out on a towel to drain/dry and then placed in plastic freezer containers for use later in the year. My go-to is to make green bean salad. I will cook up a good amount of beans at a time. I cook slightly longer than I do for eating as a plain side dish, but not until mushy, about 4 minutes. I plunge in ice water bath - although you don't have to because the vinaigrette will dull the bright color anyway. While the beans are cooking and cooling I prepare the rest of the salad - chop scallions, garlic, tomatoes, and anything else you want to use up - leftover grilled veggies are great in this too. Make your favorite vinaigrette - mine is simple - olive oil and red wine vinegar in about a 3:1 ratio, salt, pepper. Mix all together. I like adding chick peas to the mix for both texture and taste. Add vinaigrette and mix well. Add lots of chopped fresh herbs and top with cheese of choice, if desired. This will keep in the fridge for at least a week - if it doesn't get eaten before that!

Tomatillos - again, these keep fairly well in the fridge and I normally save up a 2-3 week supply and make the sauce for the Stewed Chicken in Tomatillo Sauce. I have also talked about several other recipes on this site. Tomatillos can be eaten raw - add to salads or salsas. They are delicious grilled - the smokiness suits this veggie really well. Salsa Verde is delicious served with chips or use as a topping for fish or chicken. I like making the sauce from the above mentioned recipe because it freezes really well and although it is meant to go into the chicken recipe it is equally good on its own as a salsa for chips.

Enjoy the bountiful harvest!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Using-the-Bounty-2154/

August 19, 2018
Home School Classes at Birchwood Farm!
by Farmer Dana

Birchwood Farm and Dairy is a local farm striving to produce high quality products while focusing on the health and happiness of the land, its animals, and the community it serves. In addition to its commitment to sustainable agriculture, Birchwood believes education to be fundamental to its mission. They are therefore happy to announce the beginning of a youth educational program at the farm. Formerly an Apprentice Farmer with, and currently a member of Anchor Run CSA, Jenna Avery will be the program's director.

Split into semesters, the program will concentrate on environmental, science, and farm-based themes which are suited for students of varying ages. Birchwood's goal is to help students develop a deeper understanding of the natural and organic agricultural world while connecting with nature and farming through a wide range of learning opportunities. Their programs will have a classroom that extends well beyond four walls consisting of hands-on and experiential learning through activities, experiments, and exploration. This program will not only help students grow both academically and socially, but also help them gain a lifelong appreciation for nature, farm life, food, and all living things.

If this is something that interests you, please follow the link to fill out their questionnaire. Thank you in advance as this will help them in their planning process. They look forward to hearing from you!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Home-School-Classes-at-Birchwood-Farm-2155/

August 12, 2018
Peaking U-pick
Farmer Derek

Harvest #13 (Week A) should include cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant, sweet peppers, okra, hot peppers, scallions, onions, carrots, garlic, zucchini, cucumbers, Italian dandelion greens, and herbs. Some items will be a choice. U-pick* should include edamame, yellow snap beans, husk cherries, tomatillos, cherry/grape tomatoes, blackberries, flowers, and herbs.

*U-pick is available to members 8am-8pm Mon-Sun of your pick up week. Per-week quantities are specified on the u-pick board. Quart, pint, and 1/2-pint containers are there for you to use to measure and retrieve your allotment. Please bring them back for re-use if they're in reasonable condition. Bring your own bags and scissors.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Peaking-Upick-2142/

August 12, 2018
Workshifts this Week (8/13-8/19)
Farmer Derek

Thank you farm members who came out and helped last week! If you still need to satisfy the work for your discounted share price August is a busy month on the farm and we could really use your help!

Workshifts scheduled for this week:

Workshift sign-up instructions may be found here.

Workshifts typically meet under the large red maple just outside of the pick up room. Please wear appropriate clothes and footwear for working outside and bring your own gloves and water.

Thank you!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-this-Week-813819-2143/

August 12, 2018
Middle of Main
By Derek McGeehan

Harvest weeks 13 and 14 represent the mid-point of our 26-week Main Season CSA and also come at a time of subtle changes in the season, daylight, weed growth, plant health, crop harvests, farm workload, and farmer mental and physical stamina. Seasonally summer is on the downward trend and with it daylight noticeably slowly decreases. Weed pressure begins to slacken as most weed species will germinate less as that magical combination of soil temperature and daylight combine into an unknown sum that is less appealing all of a sudden. Perhaps they know that they probably won't have time to procreate and pass along genes and will simply wait until next year. Traditional summer crops like basil, zucchini, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, and field tomatoes begin showing serious symptoms of disease and decline. We have multiple plantings of most of these but even later younger plantings get sick quickly. Tomatoes will be safe in our tunnels through September probably. Harvests will begin to transition away from some of the summer staples as we welcome winter squash, potatoes, and greens again later this month. The pendulum of the farm workload is in full swing in the other direction as we clean up fields and sow them into cover crops to add organic matter, increase soil fertility, consume leftover nutrients, and protect the earth over the fall and winter months. Look for fields of a flowering buckwheat overstory and radish and clover understory. Our farmer brains and bodies get a little more sluggish in August as the past 5 months catch up to us. As September approaches and temperatures moderate we'll be rejuvenated as we push through to the end of the growing season, prepare for fall and winter harvests, and reflect and plan for the next growing season. For now, we accept the highs and lows of this growing season and are thankful that even though we've had extreme weather the harvests have been ample and we've been able to share it all with our food community.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Middle-of-Main-2144/

August 12, 2018
Pressure Cooker Delights
By Linda Dansbury

I tend to go through trends in my cooking - I will use a cooking technique and keep using it for a few days, or more. This past week I used the pressure cooker a couple of times and plan to do so again today. I don't have the famous Insta Pot, but a different brand that also sautes, pressure cooks and can be used as a slow cooker. I got it a few years ago - these things are pretty expensive, but I have found it well worth it and in this rainy weather where we don't feel like standing outside with the grill, I love using it because the food is awesome and it doesn't heat up or make a mess of the kitchen. Share how you enjoyed your harvest by emailing me at lindadansbury@comcast.net. Please put Anchor Run in the subject line so I can find your email. Now that we are in the height of the harvest season, how are you enjoying the huge bounty we are currently receiving?

Tomatillos, hot peppers, cilantro, garlic, scallions - I made the Tomatillo Sauce from the Stewed Chicken in Tomatillo Sauce recipe. But, instead of following the exact recipe, I put it into the pressure cooker. Instead of rice, I made corn tortillas - filled the tortillas and rolled them, topped with more of the sauce and topped with cilantro and some local feta - YUM! Note that if you do this, use less chicken stock than the recipe calls for.

Stewing meat, carrots, okra, onions, garlic, herbs - again, used the pressure cooker to make a delicious meal using some of the bounty of the farm. I simply found a recipe with a blend of flavors I liked - that night I felt like Moroccan/Middle Eastern flavors and then added the veggies I wanted to used. It turned out tender and delicious!

Tomatoes, basil, local mozzarella - last night made a Caprese salad. Many of these call for balsamic vinegar, but with the tomatoes this delicious, I only add a touch of sea salt, and a drizzle of good quality olive oil.

Green beans, garlic, cilantro and Thai basil - I grow Asian long beans at home so I found this recipe for ground pork and long beans - it is actually a lot like the Kale Rice Bowl recipe on this site, so I blended the 2 recipes. I am sure it would be good with our beans from the farm as well. I blanched the beans for 1 minute (in boiling water I was going to use for corn). Half the garlic and ginger was mixed into the meat. The meat was browned and then the beans and rest of garlic and ginger were added. I added a bit of fish sauce near the end and topped with fresh herbs. A tasty, quick, weeknight meal.

Ground cherries, cucumber, basil (or cilantro), scallions, hot pepper - made the Grilled Corn, Basil and Ground Cherry Salad that Dawn Wright sent to me last week. I purposely made extra corn one night so I had leftovers for the salad. It was really delicious.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Pressure-Cooker-Delights-2145/

August 12, 2018
What is Papalo?
By Linda Dansbury

You may have noticed the tall plants in the herb garden with the sign Papalo. With cilantro being less available for a bit, I thought I would provide a bit of information about it:

Papalo is a heat-loving alternative to cilantro, its flavors are both bolder and more complex. It has been described by some as somewhere between arugula, cilantro and rue; others say it tastes like a mixture of nasturtium flowers, lime, and cilantro. Younger leaves are milder flavored, gaining pungency and complexity as they mature. Papalo is sometimes called “summer cilantro” due to its heat loving character and not bolting and setting seed until the late summer or early fall. So, try it in dishes such as salsa, tacos and any dishes with tomatillos and okra.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/What-is-Papalo-2146/

August 12, 2018
Using the Bounty
By Linda Dansbury

We are currently at the peak of the season in terms of both variety and volume of what we are receiving. This is a great time to share with fellow members how you are keeping up with the bounty! Email me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the subject line. Here is a few things I do/have been doing to keep up with it all.

Breaking it down into what needs to be used in what order helps keep it from becoming overwhelming. Think about what doesn't keep very long and plan out how to use those crops first: lettuce, tomatoes, okra, eggplant are the crops I find do not store more than a week, so I use them as we receive them. I make salads using the lettuce a couple nights per week, often adding other veggies from the farm including leftover grilled veggies. Okra normally gets stewed so we can eat it immediately or keep it/freeze it for later. Okra can be frozen too. Blanch it for 2 minutes, plunge into ice water, drain and dry on towels and then place in plastic container for freezer. Once cooked, the veggies will keep for several more days and some of them may be frozen to enjoy later. Please search for recipes on this site to help you.

Tomatoes we eat nearly every night this time of year, and never tire of them! Bruschetta, pan con tomate, caprese salad, fresh salsa, and added to lettuces in salads are all so delicious. I also love making (and eating) the Uncooked Tomato Sauce. There are a couple recipes on this site. I love all of these ways and more to enjoy the tomatoes - nothing is better this time of the year!

The summer squash and cucumbers are waning at this time of year so can be managed fairly easily - if you are tired of grilling squash, make Zucchini Bread. It is really delicious and can be frozen. I did buy an inexpensive spiralizer this year, so making veggie dishes are fun, pretty, healthy and delicious! Now that we are only receiving a couple of cucumbers a week, I eat them with lunches and added to salads.

Below are the next groupings of veggies, which I will talk about next week.

Next up is green beans and tomatillos.

Then comes peppers and edamame.

Carrots, ground cherries both keep for a long time, so I use them as I want, but don't concern myself with using them before they go bad.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Using-the-Bounty-2147/

August 5, 2018
Truly Tomato Time
Farmer Derek

Main Season Harvest #12 (Week B) should include cantaloupe, heirloom tomatoes, field tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant, sweet peppers, hot peppers, okra, scallions, onions, garlic, carrots, beets, zucchini, cucumbers, and herbs. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include edamame, yellow snap beans, husk cherries, tomatillos, cherry/grape tomatoes, flowers, blackberries, and herbs.

A brief note about pick up room herbs: basil on the farm is succumbing to seasonal basil downy mildew and pretty soon will be absent until next summer; quantities of dill and cilantro will probably be limited for a couple weeks due to erratic germination from the heat and humidity; and parsley won't be available again until this fall. Thai basil and Italian dandelion should be available this week in the pick up room, plus the herbs in the herb garden for U-Pick.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Truly-Tomato-Time-2136/

August 5, 2018
Workshifts this Week (8/6-8/12)
Farmer Derek

If you still need to satisfy the work for your discounted share price August is a busy month on the farm and we could really use your help!

Workshifts scheduled for this week:

Workshift sign-up instructions may be found here.

Workshifts typically meet under the large red maple just outside of the pick up room. Please wear appropriate clothes and footwear for working outside and bring your own gloves and water.

Thank you!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-this-Week-86812-2137/

August 5, 2018
Edamame Time of Year
By Linda Dansbury

When edamame becomes part of the U-Pick list, it is the height of U-Pick at the farm. As with other veggies, check toward the bottom of the plants to find the beans that are filled out the most. Hold the branch with one hand and gently pull the pods off the plant.

Edamame are a great, low calorie, snack and is actually a green/fresh soybean. It is a complete protein and is high in calcium, vitamin C and other essential nutrients. The whole pods keep well for 5-7 days in a plastic container in the fridge. Edamame shouldn't be eaten raw. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add a lot of salt - a couple of tablespoons for 6 qt pot is not too much. Boil the beans - watch carefully, because they do tend to boil over - around 10 minutes. You don't want them mushy, I think al dente is a good term for how you want them cooked.

Drain and run under cold water and drain well again. They can be placed in a large bowl with just salt and eaten right out of the pod as a snack - honestly, that is how most of my edamame are used. In addition to salt, cumin, pepper, paprika and/or other spices may be added for variation.

Edamame may be frozen either in their shell or out. For best results, spread them out on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen, place in a freezer bag or container. Freezing this way keeps them from freezing into a solid block.

Edamame can be used in any recipe calling for lima beans or fava beans. We have several recipes on this site. I think the Edamame Hummus might be the most popular.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Edamame-Time-of-Year-2138/

August 5, 2018
More on Ground Cherries
By Linda Dansbury

Fellow member Dawn Wright emailed me with another great sounding recipe for Ground Cherries. I now have corn and am planning to grill a couple of extra ears so I can try the recipe. It does sound delicious. Please try the Grilled Corn, Basil and Ground Cherry Salad, using whatever herbs you have and send how you enjoyed your harvest to me at lindadansbury@comcast.net. Thank you for taking the time Dawn and as an aside, I find the food52.com website to be one of the best for recipes!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/More-on-Ground-Cherries-2139/

August 5, 2018
Holy Moly, a Ton of Tomatoes
By Derek McGeehan

The fields are giving us so much produce right now we're running out of storage containers and storage space! But that is a good problem to have, right? I think so. It does add a bit of stress to our days until we can safely stow all of the goodies, but we're slowly doing so. The big event this weekend was the unexpected cantaloupe haul. They seemed to ripen all at once. Friday we went out mid-day to gather what was ripe, initially thinking we're retrieve a bin or two. Ten full bins later we were satisfied we should wait two more days for more to ripen. Two more days later and 80% of the total harvestable fruit is out of the field after 3 hours of hot Sunday work (another 15 bins or so). Two more days from now we'll check again and the patch will be clear and we can check that off the to-do list.

All of the onions are out of the field - thanks to everyone who helped with that task - and will be distributed starting this week. The second planting of watermelon beckons us now and we'll focus on that tomorrow and/or Tuesday. Our "watermelon room" is half full with onions and cantaloupe but we'll make sure we get them in there as well. Potatoes will be started whenever we have sufficient bin and storage space so either later this week or next week. It's still early for them so we're not (too) worried. Hopefully there will be some dry weather to enable an easier time harvesting.

Tomatoes seem to be peaking right now. Last Thursday alone we harvest about 500 pounds of heirlooms from the high tunnel and 500 pounds from the field. Add that to Monday's haul and it's a ton of tomatoes. Fortunately our 2nd planting hasn't kicked in yet; hopefully that'll get going when the 1st one starts to wind down. We hope you are enjoying this mid-summer bounty!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Holy-Moly-a-Ton-of-Tomatoes-2140/

August 5, 2018
Potluck this Saturday!
by Farmer Dana

Join us for a meal under the pavilion 6-9pm Saturday August 11th. Bring a dish to share that serves 6 adults, your own place settings, and a beverage of your choosing. There may be a fire for s'mores as well as live acoustic music (if folks are kind enough to bring their instruments and play for all of us again!).

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Potluck-this-Saturday-2141/