Imagine all the pressures of farming - the weather, the pests, the disease, the weeds and now imagine that farmers only have one time each year to get each crop right. As an example, since I’ve been farming for 9 years, I’ve only planted potatoes 9 times, I’ve only had 9 chances in my whole life to get potatoes right. This is how the gap happens. Every late July there is a gap in the crops we plant successionally (lettuce, salad, beets and carrots) because every June, we get so busy or it rains too much and we skip a few plantings. Now because of that, every late July we have a gap in the harvest of greens. It only takes a couple weeks in June to get off course and we only have those 2 weeks to get late July and early August on track for the harvest we planned. No matter how much planning I do in the winter to prevent the gap, we let those 2 weeks in June fill with weeding or seeding or prepping fields or harvesting zucchini or any number of other things and we miss the lettuce planting. So here we are, in the gap. Lettuce and beets and carrots have been planted, but there will be gaps. We will fill them with other produce and it will be delicious. We don’t regret what we did when we weren’t planting - we were busy - but it’s tough to know we have to wait another year to try to fill the gap.

Scenes from the farm: successful zucchini and cucumber successions!, the flower pick-your-own garden looking amazing, Duma in the cucumbers, fingerling potato harvest!

The Share:

swiss chard

beets

cucumbers

summer squash

green cabbage

kohlrabi

hakurei turnips

spring onions

fennel

shishito peppers

carrots

fingerling potatoes

radishes

string beans

Summer Squash Salad with Lemon Citronette

Author: Cookie and KatePrep Time: 25 minsTotal Time: 25 minsYield: 4 1xCategory: Salad

Raw, ribboned yellow and green squash tossed with an herbed lemon vinaigrette, pine nuts and feta cheese. Buy the freshest, smallest squash you can find (local/organic will have the best flavor). Salting the squash helps draw out excess moisture, so allow 20 minutes for that step (unless you’re really pinched for time, in which case, skip it).

INGREDIENTS

Salad

¼ cup pine nuts (or slivered almonds or sunflower seeds)

2 pounds mixed baby zucchini and yellow squash

Salt

½ to 1 cup quality feta cheese, crumbled

Citronette

½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 large garlic clove, pressed or minced

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint (or tarragon)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

3 tablespoons olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Use a vegetable peeler to shave the squashes into paper-thin ribbons, starting on one side and making quarter turns until you reach the seedy core. Spread the ribbons on a cutting board, sprinkle liberally with salt, and let them sit for 20 minutes.

In a small skillet over medium-low heat, toast the nuts until they are turning golden and fragrant, stirring frequently.

Make the citronette: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest and juice, garlic, thyme, mint and parsley. While whisking, drizzle in the olive oil until the dressing is well blended. Set aside until you’re ready to serve.

Rinse the squash and gently pat dry with a clean tea towel or paper towels. Place in a serving bowl (if you are not serving the salad immediately, refrigerate the squash until later).

Right before serving, whisk the citronette last time. Toss the squash with the feta, pine nuts and citronette. Serve immediately.

The Gap

Roots to River Farm