In the share this week: 1 bunch carrots 2 baby pac choi 1 bag salad mix 1 bag arugula 6 oz shallots 2 zucchini 1 sweet red pepper Thoughts from Farmer Anna: As promised, I thought I'd tell you a bit about this new low tech transplanting system that we're considering for next year. It's called the paperpot transplanter, and like many other simple and elegant designs, it originated in Japan. The basic idea is that you seed your transplants into a honeycomb-looking flat composed of many paper cells in a long chain stuck together. When you are ready to transplant, the whole flat is put onto the paperpot transplanter, you start unraveling the chain, and then pull the transplanter along the bed to plant. The transplanter creates a furrow for planting, helps the chain unravel and pulls the soil in around your transplants. What would take one person around 30 minutes to plant from a traditional flat, takes just a minute or two with the paperpot. So huge time savings are one benefit of this system. Another major benefit is that you can transplant crops at a younger stage of development when they won't have as much shock going from the flats to the ground. Lastly, the system is great for crops that have notoriously low or erratic germination. This would enable us to have more success transplanting crops like spinach and beets. The downside is that it's a big upfront investment in the initial equipment and a big on-going investment in the paperpot chain flats. When you do the math for time savings and potential upside of the better production it would allow us to have, it definitely makes a lot of sense though. If you are interested in seeing how this works, check out the video link here: https://youtu.be/lhiidcOYgPU , or google paperpot transplanter and there will be tons of videos out there. We have another great share for you this week and a big change up in crops. Favorites carrots and salad mix are back, new items this week are arugula, baby pac choi, and shallots. We have zucchini again this week, which will probably be the last time you'll see them in shares this year. Maria has a couple of very tasty sounding recipes that will help you use up your zucchini this week. She also has some older recipes for pac choi and salad ideas if you look back to some of the newsletters from early in the season. Tomatoes are really winding down, so you won't see those in the share this week. Although, tomato lovers can still swap or add on some if they like :) Recipes from Maria: Tex Mex Chicken and Zucchini Ingredients 1 tbsp oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 3 large garlic cloves, minced 2 medium bell peppers, chopped 1 lb boneless & skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1” pieces 1 cup corn, frozen or fresh 2 large zucchini, diced 14 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed 14 oz can diced tomatoes 1 tsp taco seasoning 1 tbsp cumin, divided 1 tsp salt Ground black pepper, to taste 1 cup Tex Mex or Colby Jack cheese, shredded 1/2 cup green onions, chopped 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped Instructions Preheat large deep skillet on low – medium heat and swirl oil to coat. Add onion, garlic and bell pepper; saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Move vegetables to the side of the skillet and add chicken. Sprinkle with 1 tsp cumin, salt and black pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn, beans, tomatoes, zucchini, taco seasoning and remaining cumin. Stir, cover and cook on low-medium for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, cover and cook for a few minutes or until cheese has melted. Top with green onion and cilantro. Serve hot, on its own or with brown rice or quinoa. Creamy Zucchini Sauce Ingredients For Zucchini: 2 lbs. zucchini cubed 3 tbsp. olive oil 1 tbsp. paprika salt and pepper to taste For the Sauce: 1 cup sour cream 2 garlic cloves minced 1 tbsp. tomato paste 2 tbsp. chopped dill 2 tbsp. chopped basil salt to taste Instructions Preheat the oven to 400° F. Mix the zucchini with oil, paprika, salt, and pepper and spread onto a large non-stick baking tray. Bake for about 20 minutes, until soft and slightly browned. Meanwhile, place all of the sauce ingredients into a medium skillet, stir, and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat. Add the baked zucchini to the cream-sauce and mix everything well. Garnish with chopped herbs, if desired.
