7/2/25 Hunters on the Farm

🐈 We have Kittens!!! The last two weeks we’ve written about animals on the farm, but I just can’t NOT write about animals again this week.

This week we welcomed two feral kittens onto the farm with a third expected to come next week. A friend and farmer lives on a busy road had a mama with babies and seeing so many cats get killed by the road decided to capture, fix and relocate them. The crew has been asking for new hunting barn cats for some time but without luck. We adopted three semi-wild kitties 17 years ago  (Theo, Yaki and Suki). Theo was an amazing hunter bringing in a rodent a day, Yaki brought in a couple a week and Suki was a fat cat who barely ever hunted. Suki has passed and the other two are now geriatric and sleep all day on the Kaiser front porch.

The feral kitties are a gray/white tabby girl named Mochi, and orange tabby boy yet to be named. Although the boy immediately proved himself to be an escape artist so we’re debating famous escapee artists like El Chapo and Yoshie Shsiratori… if you have any great ideas do send them our way. They are in our cat “nest” where they’ll be sequestered for a month while they get used to their surroundings. The cat nest is in the upper back corner of the front room of the barn above tool benches. They can look out at us while we work and yet be safely away. Eventually we’ll open their door and they’ll have a ramp to come down and yet their nest as a safe spot from raccoons. We’re hopefully getting one more sibling of theirs next week as they were only able to catch the two and Forgotten Felines doesn’t have appts to get them fixed again until July 7th.

We’re a little concerned about the interactions with the old cats and the kittens, but the old cats are pretty geriatric. We’ll do our best to manage it when we get there. Check today’s newsletter for photos of kitties.

In other animal news on the farm. The Barn Swallow chicks fledged yesterday!! There are still two in the nest but four were out yesterday morning swooping around the barn and by evening (and this morning) they are gone. Check out photos of them in today’s email.

The Skunks  are continuing to occasionally hit our lettuce patch in F4 that is rich in earthworms. Most affective has been going for a 9pm walk and verbally and with a hose scaring them. If you missed our newsletter last week on skunks, earthworms and soil… several members said they enjoyed… it’s on our newsletter blog. We have lost 2 CSAs worth of Lettuce to this Skunk Lettuce Massacre! Read more below on our solution for you…

Produce Notes & Recipes

This Week’s Box

Red Little Gem Lettuce (Pink Barn Farm)

Kale: Curly (Santa Rosa) OR Red Russian (West County)

Cabbage: Green (Classic) OR Napa (Family)

Bulb Fennel

Summer Squash

Herb: Basil (Santa Rosa) OR PArsley (West County)

Garlic Scapes

Cilantro (Classic)

Family: Cucumber & Eggplant

Regarding Lettuce post skunk massacre, I reached out to our friend and neighbor Farmer Rose at Pink Barn Farm who grows mostly wholesale but certainly including lettuces. She was able to provide (sell) us  Red Little Gem Lettuces for you today. Thank you Rose! Having farming connections and friends and supporting each other is honestly part of the Community in CSA. You are primarily the Community but it takes all of us. Rose started a CSA during COVID and we shared with people on our waitlist but decided it didn’t work for her needs and she referred her members back over to us. We have many such connections with farmers in the county and beyond and cherish them dearly.

Surprise, we have enough Cilantro to now it all our Classic Boxes (Families got it last week). It was headed toward bolting so we’ve cut it 100% back. Stems are a bit tall but leaves are still great… I had some ontop a stir-fry last night.

We also had Green Cabbage for Classics and Napa Cabbage for Families. In my opinion, it’s a week for coleslaw. You could certainly do traditional but I don’t like creamy coleslaws so am giving you a lighter version.

Zesty Cabbage & Cilantro Slaw with Garlic Scapes and Lime-Peanut Dressing

Serves: 4–6
Works with: Green cabbage or Napa cabbage

1 small green cabbage or 1 medium Napa cabbage (about 1.5–2 lbs), finely shredded

1 bunch cilantro, chopped (tender stems included)

½ cup garlic scapes, thinly sliced on the diagonal

½ cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)

1–2 jalapeños or a pinch of chili flakes (optional, for heat)

Lime-Peanut Dressing:

3 Tbs lime juice (about 2 limes)

2 Tbs rice vinegar

1 Tbs honey or maple syrup

2 Tbs soy sauce or tamari

1 Tbs toasted sesame oil

¼ cup neutral oil (like sunflower or avocado)

1 Tbs smooth peanut butter (or tahini)

Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine shredded cabbage, chopped cilantro, sliced garlic scapes, and jalapeño or chili flakes if using.

2. In a separate bowl or jar, whisk together all the dressing ingredients until smooth and creamy.

3. Pour dressing over the cabbage mix and toss thoroughly to coat.

4. Let the slaw sit for 10–15 minutes to soften and allow flavors to meld.

5. Just before serving, top with chopped peanuts for added crunch.

Notes:

• Garlic scapes bring a mild garlicky bite and crunch but this is usually done with scallions.

• You can also lightly sauté the scapes before adding them if you prefer a mellower flavor.

• Delicious as a side for grilled meats, tofu, tacos, or rice bowls — or on its own as a crunchy salad.

We have a big week of Summer Squash this week. We just love grilled veggies but Summer Squash tops the list. Sometimes we just use olive oil and salt and then drizzle with balsamic vinegar, other times we’ll get a little fancier like the below. You can certainly also roast in the oven (including the below recipe).

Grilled Fennel & Summer Squash with Garlic Scape–Herb Gremolata

1 bulb fennel, trimmed and cut into ½-inch thick wedges (leave a bit of core so they hold together)

1 lb summer squash (zucchini, yellow squash, pattypan), sliced lengthwise into ½-inch planks

2–3 Tbs olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 garlic scape, minced finely (or pounded in a mortar/pestle for better flavor release)

Zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

1 Tbs chopped fennel fronds (or basil or mint)

1 Tbs chopped fresh dill or basil

Optional: 1 teaspoon finely chopped capers or anchovy (for umami)

1. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.

2. Toss fennel and squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Let sit for 10 minutes.

3. Grill fennel wedges for 4–6 minutes per side, until tender and lightly charred. Grill squash slices for 2–3 minutes per side.

4. While grilling, make the gremolata: mix minced garlic scape, lemon zest, herbs, and fennel fronds (and capers/anchovy if using).

5. Arrange grilled vegetables on a platter and spoon gremolata generously over the top. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon if desired.

Serving Ideas:

• Add grilled bread or serve over couscous, polenta, or white beans.

• Crumble feta or goat cheese on top for extra richness.

NOTE: You could do this with Cilantro instead of parsley, it will be fresher, brighter and slightly more citrus. Add zest of 1 lime (instead of lemon), 2-3 Tbs Cilantro (instead of Parsley), and optionally minced jalapeño or chili flakes.

A few years ago on Fresh Air, Terry Gross interviewed two chefs from America’s Test kitchen taking questions and giving advice. The following salad was recommended based on a question from an employee of Fresh Air asking what to do with zucchini from her CSA when it was too hot to cook. I’ve seen many versions of this but I love a simple recipe that we can adapt. Friend and farmer Lindsay Talley tells us she likes it even more when the squash is marinated with love oil and lemon juice for a few hours first.

Summer Squash Salad (Fresh Air, NPR 8/1/13)

1. Thinly slice Zucchini or Summer Squash on a bias (diagonal) to 1/8 or even 1/16 in. Easiest on mandolin.

2. Add chopped fresh herbs of your choice: basil, parsley, chives, mint,….

3. Add shaved Parmesan cheese, the best extra virgin olive oil you have and salt and pepper.

Extra Shares

Flower Share: Plum Sunflowers and Cosmos!

Lettuce Share: Lettuce Leaf Mix 🥬

Bunched Greens Share: Toscano Kale

Egg Shares: 🍳 We still have openings for Egg and also all the other Extra Shares… just email us.