Your source for information on the latest from De La Mesa Farms,

including what to expect for farmers' markets and CSAs

What's In My CSA This Week?

We hope everyone is enjoying this perfect PNW summer weather! Temperatures in the low eighties, plenty of sun and a cool breeze. Gather up the tomatoes, cucumbers and sweet onions in your CSA this week and make the ultimate gazpacho (recipe below). Pair with a crisp white wine from Walla Walla, dine al fresco at dusk and bask in everything that's right about eating local.

Recipe Ideas

Farmers' Markets 

And don't forget, you can place your pre-orders on our website starting every Thursday evening for pickup the following week at farmer's markets and on-farm. Deadline to place your orders is Sunday

How To Store Produce

Few things are as sad in the kitchen as a fridge full of rotted vegetables. Here are our tips on how to store your produce to keep it around longer & fresher. 

Broccoli & Cauliflower: Store whole in plastic bags or reusable containers in the fridge. Run the whole head under water before using. 

Cucumbers: If the cucumbers were just picked or bought recently from a farmer's market, store them at room temperature for up to 2 days. After that, store them in plastic in the fridge. 

Hearty Greens: Store these in a plastic bag or reusable container in the produce drawer of your fridge. Be sure to remove any slimy or rotten bits, as the decay will quickly spread to the other leaves. Greens can be washed and dried directly when you get home, or you can wash before cooking. 

Herbs: Place herbs in jars of water, like flowers, in the fridge. Put a plastic bag over the foliage. Basil doesn't like the cold, so it should be stored similarly, but leave it out on the counter. 

Lettuce and Tender Greens: Buy lettuce heads whole, then separate out the leaves and wash and dry them right away. Store in a plastic or glass container with a dry paper towel in the fridge. 

Onions: Store cured onions in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place. Fresh eating onions should be stored in plastic in the fridge and used within 2 weeks. 

Microgreens: Store in a plastic container with a dry paper towel in the fridge. Don't put in the back of your fridge as the colder parts of your fridge can freeze the delicate greens. 

Root Vegetables: Separate the green tops from the roots and store separately in plastic bags or reusable containers in the fridge. You can wash and dry the tops right away, but wait to wash the roots until just before you cook them. Some root vegetables - like beets and carrots - will keep for up to2 months in the fridge. Other more delicate roots, like white turnips and smaller radishes, should be used within a week or two. 

Summer Squash: Store at room temperature and use within 3 days; otherwise store in the fridge. They degrade pretty quickly, so don't overbuy. Zucchini can be grated raw and frozen in a freezer bag for future zucchini bread. 

Tomatillos: Store fresh tomatillos at room temperature in their husks and use within 3 days; otherwise, store in the fridge. 

Tomatoes: Store at room temperature; never refrigerate a tomato. If your tomatoes aren't quite ripe, store them stem-side down on the windowsill. 

Around the Farm

We added 35 chickens to our flock this morning. We will be raising them to be meat birds. It's our first foray into livestock and will become an integral part of our regenerative agriculture vision for De La Mesa Farms. Email us to get on the waiting list - reservations are lining up fast. 

We're reconsidering this whole berry growing thing. Not because we don't love these fruits, but because the kids are OBSESSED. Any barely ripe raspberries or blueberries and they gobble them right off the vine or bush. Hide your berries folks. 

Hope your enjoyed your broccoli and cauliflower. This past week we harvested the last of these brassicas in order to make way for beans, beans, beans. We planted soy beans, a mix of yellow, green and purple bush beans, and also Dragon's Tongue beans.

Now that the cucumbers are trellised and pruned, they producing wonderfully. We'll be bringing you three different varieties. 

Tomatillos are such a fascinating plant. The flowers drop off but a beautiful green and purple husk forms. The tomatillos grow inside! This varietal was hybridized in Hawaii by Jay Bost - a cross between a Peruvian purple tomatillo (with a sweet flavor) and a gigantic New Mexican tomatillo. We can't wait to blend these babies up with some avocado for the most delicious salsa in the world and a DLM Farms perennial favorite.