Balance

Corn on a tabletop with oyster mushrooms

Notes from the Farm:

Today we are trying to find our CSA balance again after being off a week. As the day has progressed I realized that we have a few misses. 


Things that are important about this box:


Corn:

This corn is grown organically, Hence it is a tad smaller and be assured there will be a worm in the top of the ear. It is our favorite corn and we only work with this one farmer because he doesn’t spray round up before planting. It is a short season crop so next week might be the last week we have it. 

If you didn’t get 4 good pieces of corn, please let us know. We will make sure to add more next week. 


Melons:

We had a mix of French Charentais and Snow Leopards. The rain has been brutal on this crop. Enjoy them because we may lose the crop if the rain continues. 


Watermelon:

This is a small variety watermelon. It is a mix of red or yellow. They are both sweet and yummy! 


Thank you again for the flexibility last week to allow us to attend the Atlanta gift market. It was a huge success and we are excited about the future. In a few weeks we will share some of the details!




As any chef or home cook can attest, great food is all about balance — balance between sweet and spicy, soft and crunchy, stand-out players and supporting cast members. Where there is balance, there is the endless possibility of deliciousness.

Balance is how we approach this week’s basket which is chock full of those components. From our own farm in Harpersville, we have fresh leeks, tomatillos, watermelon, cantaloupe, eggplant and okra. Each of these are classic Southern ingredients for any meal and the joy comes in helping each shine at the table.


If you have been lucky enough to snag a table recently at James Beard Award-winning Chef Frank Stitt’s Bottega Restaurant, you may have enjoyed his fresh watermelon salad. Charred red onions provide a soft and mellow counter-balance to the juicy crisp cubes of watermelon. Fresh mint, mandoline-thin jalapeños slices and salty feta round out the dish which teases your Summer appetite as much as satisfies your soul. Recreating this recipe at home is easy — just think through what each ingredient brings to the plate and let it shine, with balance. We think you could even add cantaloupe to this recipe (in addition to or in lieu of the watermelon) and maybe even garnish with some slices of crisped prosciutto.


Our tomatillos are ready to get some love this week too and we suggest trying your hand at salsa verde with this recipe. Make extra to share with friends because everyone will want more of this stuff — to ladle on grilled meats or to serve with plantain chips at your next pop-up gathering.


Organically-grown peaches-and-cream corn makes its CSA box debut this week. With fresh pink-eyed peas also in the box, this is the ideal time to recreate James Beard Award-winning Chef Chris Hastings’ classic  tomato salad recipe.


Okra is a staple in Southern kitchens and some people have a love-hate relationship with the vegetable. We’d bet that if you are not an okra fan, you just haven’t discovered how you best enjoy them prepared. Sure, fried rounds are always a hit but we like to go farther afield and use them in classic Indian dishes like this one where they are dry-fried and tossed with Indian spices. The vegetable’s mild flavor is the perfect foil to the assertiveness of garam masala and cayenne.


 There’s that balance we crave.

A bowl of okra

What is in the box?

From Friends

  • Organically Grown Peaches & Cream Sweet Corn | Lance Boyd

  • Pink Eye Peas | Clanton Farms

  • Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake | Corey Hinkel 


    From Stone Hollow Farmstead 

  • Leeks

  • Tomatillos

  • Personal Red Watermelon

  • Cantaloupe

  • Eggplant

  • Okra

  • Marinated Goat Cheese

Milk Share

  • Cow’s Milk  | Stone Hollow Farmstead - Harpersville, Alabama

Cheese / Yogurt Share

  • SHF Goat Feta in Brine

  • Parmigiano Reggiano

Flower Share

  •  Foraged bouquets of Peppermint, Kalalilies, Gladiolus, Sunflowers, Dahlias, Dill Blossom, Wild Bee Balm, & Scabiosa

    *Although many of the flowers and filler are edible, please refrain from eating these as they have been resting in water filled with a solution to help preserve the life of your cut flowers for maximum enjoyment.

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Historically enjoyed by farm workers to keep hydrated on long hot days, Drinking vinegars are tart, tangy infusions of fruits, spices and OACV.