Dear Farm Family,

It’s so hard to believe that this is the final week of our Spring/Summer harvest season! The last 11 weeks have absolutely flown by.  We have so enjoyed getting to know each and every one of you, and we hope that you have enjoyed having fresh, local produce delivered to your neighborhood each week.  We are so incredibly thankful for your support of our farm, and we hope that you will join us again this Fall as we have many wonderful Autumn crops in store!

We are also extremely grateful for the support of our drop sites.  We simply could not make it without the businesses, organizations, and churches that facilitate and promote our weekly produce deliveries.  As you return to your drop sites this week, please give your drop site representative a hearty thank you.  We are so very lucky to have such great partners , and we want them to feel the gratitude of each and every one of our 900 members.

Your pick-up day is tomorrow, Monday, July 12th.  Our harvest this week includes sweet corn, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, watermelon, St. Julien Plantation peaches, blueberries, bell peppers, banana peppers, butter beans, peas, yellow squash, and cucumbers! Please remember that box contents can and usually will vary according to share size and availability.

Some of you may be wondering what to do with your empty boxes after this final week.  Please return them as you normally would to your drop site at some point in the next few days.  We will return next week to collect them on your usual pick-up day.  If you have collected a few boxes along the way, please don’t be bashful about returning several at once!  Every box returned is one more box we don’t have to re-order, and this practice helps tremendously with our sustainability as well as our bottom line.

We’ll continue to stay in touch throughout the summer as there will be much to report as we prepare for the Fall season.  The harvest begins September 7th, and we hope you’ll continue to be a part of our farm family.  Sign up today to reserve your spot!

Regards,

Jody

Just a reminder…Pinckney’s Produce is on Facebook! If you’re interested in more frequent news and photos from the farm, please become a fan of our Facebook page.  We are updating this page frequently with the current happenings, and we will also be posting pertinent articles, recipes, and photos throughout the season.

This week’s recipe:

Prosciutto Wrapped Grilled Peaches

Ingredients

• 16 thin slices of prosciutto, cut in half
• 3 medium freestone peaches—halved, pitted and cut into 8 wedges each
• a few ounces of crumbled goat cheese
• 24 basil leaves
• Aged balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

Directions

1. Lay the prosciutto slices out on a work surface. Set a peach wedge at the edge of each slice, season with salt and pepper and top with a basil leaf.
2. Roll up the prosciutto around the peaches.  If you didn’t feel like firing up the grill, you could even be good to go as a cold appetizer, but it’s nice to crisp up the prosciutto and soften the peach wedges.
3. Preheat and oil the grill on a low flame and add the peaches (and flip after about 3 minutes or so).  Since the prosciutto is a cured meat, it’s already cooked, so all we need to do is heat it through and get some nice grill marks.
4. Once the little nuggets of deliciousness are done, sprinkle them with some crumbled goat cheese and lightly drizzle the peaches with aged balsamic vinegar and serve.

Dear Farm Family,

We hope you have all had a wonderful holiday weekend! We are thrilled to report that we got over 3 inches of rain at the farm this week!  Thank you for the prayers, happy thoughts, and rain dances that surely helped push these storms our way. As we’ve mentioned the cool rain was much needed, and the fields were greatly refreshed. The rains could not have come at a better time, as we are preparing this week to plant many of our Fall crops. This week, we will plant our new generations of peas, butter beans, sweet corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, winter squash, and pumpkins.

As you know, your pick-up day is tomorrow, Monday, July 5th.  Our harvest this week includes sweet corn, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, cantaloupe, sweet beauty watermelons, St. Julien Plantation peaches, and blueberries! Please remember that box contents can and usually will vary according to share size and availability.

The peaches and blueberries we’re providing this week were not grown by Pinckney’s Produce as both of these crops are fairly specialized offerings. But it being the prime peach and blueberry season, we couldn’t let it pass by without giving our members the taste of these amazing summer fruits.  St. Julien Plantation is a family run farm in Eutawville that has been in continuous operation since 1737!  The blueberries this week are also SC grown and were provided by J Mac farms in Gable, SC. We hope you’ll enjoy a taste of these other small family farms in our community!

Our Fall sign ups have been going incredibly well.  A few of our drop sites are already over half way full.  If you are currently a member at Rosewood Market or Forest Lake Gardens, we would strongly recommend securing your spot as soon as possible.  These are two of our most coveted drop sites, and they will likely be maxed out in the next few weeks.  If you have not yet reserved your place for the Fall, you can go directly to our sign up page from this email by clicking this link. For those of you who have already signed up, thank you!  We hope you will spread the word to your friends and family and help us make our Fall season the best one yet!

Regards,

Jody

Just a reminder…Pinckney’s Produce is on Facebook! If you’re interested in more frequent news and photos from the farm, please become a fan of our Facebook page.  We are updating this page frequently with the current happenings, and we will also be posting pertinent articles, recipes, and photos throughout the season.

This week’s recipe:

Peach and Blueberry Cobbler

Ingredients

Serves 4.

• 3 to 4 ripe peaches (1 1/4 pounds), cut into eighths
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Pinch of table salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine peaches and blueberries in a bowl. Whisk together 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch. Add to fruit; toss to combine. Set aside. Combine egg, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and cream in a bowl; whisk with a fork. Set aside.
2. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and remaining tablespoon sugar. Make a well in center of dry ingredients, and pour egg mixture into well. Using hands, slowly draw dry ingredients into wet ingredients, and work dough until just mixed together.
3. Divide fruit mixture among four 8-ounce ramekins. Gently pat dough into 4 disks just big enough to fit on top of ramekins. After placing, brush dough with remaining melted butter. Place ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake until juices bubble up and crust is golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes. Serve hot, with ice cream if desired.

Dear Farm Family,

Last week was a great week here at the farm.  Our first few days of sign ups for the Fall season have gone very well, and we have confirmed participation with our drop sites, expanding the capacity of some and adding a few new ones. We are constantly encouraged and amazed at the level of support we are receiving.  This week, we will announce our Fall enrollment to the general public.  If you haven’t yet secured your spot, it would be best to take care of that now, so you can make sure you get to keep your same drop site and/or delivery day. All you have to do is click this link, and you’ll be redirected to our sign up page.  We’d love to have you join us for our next season!

As you know, your pick-up day is tomorrow, Monday, June 28th.  Our harvest this week includes butter beans, pink eyed peas, new potatoes, bell peppers, sweet banana peppers, sweet corn, slicer tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, cantaloupe, and sweet beauty watermelons! Please remember that box contents can and usually will vary according to share size and availability.

Our heat wave is likely to continue through the final three weeks of our season, so please pick up your produce as soon as possible after it is delivered.  One member recommended packing a cooler with a thin layer of ice in the bottom in your car on your pick up day if you can’t make it straight home.  Just drop your box in the cooler, and it will keep the box fresh for several more hours.  Not a bad idea!

We don’t normally include non-vegetable items in our offering, but we happen to have 2 irresistible kittens on the farm that are in need of a good, loving home.  They are both males, and I have attached a photo below.  If you’re interested in adopting them, please send us a quick email, and Pinckney’s wife, Mandi, will respond with all the details.

We wish you safe travels and happy eating for all of your 4th of July festivities!

Best,

Jody

Just a reminder…Pinckney’s Produce is on Facebook! If you’re interested in more frequent news and photos from the farm, please become a fan of our Facebook page.  We are updating this page frequently with the current happenings, and we will also be posting pertinent articles, recipes, and photos throughout the season.

Dear Farm Family,

It is so hard to believe that we are entering Week 9 of our CSA season.  The weeks are just flying by, and the fields are overflowing with delicious ripe produce!  This week, we are especially excited to have copious amounts of slicer tomatoes and Incredible sweet corn being harvested from the fields.  To me, there’s nothing better than pulling a fat, red tomato off the vine, taking it straight into the house, and making a tomato sandwich on soft white bread with a little mayo and salt and pepper.  These days, we wouldn’t consider that the healthiest meal, but I can’t officially start my summer without devouring one over the kitchen sink.

We are especially excited to offer the “Incredible” variety of sweet corn this summer.  This variety of sweet corn has yellow kernels and holds its sweetness for a longer period of time than other varieties. We truly believe that this may be the best crop of “Incredible” sweet corn we’ve ever eaten.  The other variety of corn we provide is called Ambrosia.  It is a fantastic variety as well and has bi-colored kernels (yellow and white).  Both are so sweet and tender, you could almost eat them raw straight out of the field!

As you know, your pick-up day is tomorrow, Monday, June 21st.  Our harvest this week includes string beans, new potatoes, bell peppers, sweet banana peppers, sweet corn, slicer tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, cantaloupe, and sweet beauty watermelons! Please remember that box contents can and usually will vary according to share size and availability.

As we get into the severe heat of summer, we encourage you all to try to pick up your produce as soon as possible as it’s delivered.  The longer the produce sits out in the heat, the less time it will be fresh for you. If you have any flexibility in your schedule, and especially if you pick-up from a drop site that is not air conditioned, be sure to pick up your produce and get it to a cool spot as quickly as possible.

We hope that you are enjoying the token fruits of our summer harvest!  Though we might mention the intense heat a lot, we are thankful for the summer sunshine for doing its part in helping produce these incredibly delicious vegetables.  We could use some rain on the farm, so we ask you all to send up a prayer or do a little rain dance on our behalf.  We have excellent irrigation systems in place, but there’s nothing better for produce than a balance of fresh rain and summer sunshine.

As always, thanks for your support and enthusiasm.  We absolutely could not do this without you.

All the best,

Jody

Just a reminder…Pinckney’s Produce is on Facebook! If you’re interested in more frequent news and photos from the farm, please become a fan of our Facebook page.  We are updating this page frequently with the current happenings, and we will also be posting pertinent articles, recipes, and photos throughout the season.

Greetings, Farm Family!

What a great weekend here on the farm!  We are so thankful for the great turn-out we had at Farm Day, especially in light of the scorching heat.  To all of you who toughed it out, thank you!  We had such a great time meeting you all and enjoying the delicious dishes you prepared to share with your fellow CSA members.  I’ve got a pile of recipes from the event that you shared with us, and we’ll be busy compiling those to share via the website. We have a ton of pictures from the day, and we are hoping to send those out in a separate email this week. The SC Broadcasters (our bluegrass entertainment) were amazing and provided a fun-filled atmosphere for the day.  For those of you who couldn’t make it, we hope to see you on the farm in the Fall for our next gathering.

As you know, your pick-up day is tomorrow, Monday, June 14th.  Our harvest this week includes yellow squash, zucchini, sunburst squash, cucumbers, string beans, irish potatoes, bell peppers, sweet banana peppers, sweet corn, tomatoes, and sweet beauty watermelons! Please remember that box contents can and usually will vary according to share size and availability.

We are already working on our delivery schedule for the Fall season, and we’ll be announcing these updates next week.  We are getting emails everyday from non-members who want to sign up for the Fall season, and it looks like we will experience a pretty substantial surge in membership.  Not to worry!  Next week, we will open up our membership sign-ups to you, our current members, via an exclusive link in order to give you the very first opportunity at keeping your current spot.  We will also send out notices in each box, so that all will be amply notified.  Please don’t delay in signing up, as spaces will go fast especially in highly coveted drop sites like Rosewood Market, Forest Lake Gardens, Whole Foods Market, and The Glass Onion.Thanks for supporting our farm and spreading the word about our programs!

All the best,

Jody

Just a reminder…Pinckney’s Produce is on Facebook! If you’re interested in more frequent news and photos from the farm, please become a fan of our Facebook page.  We are updating this page frequently with the current happenings, and we will also be posting pertinent articles, recipes, and photos throughout the season.

Dear Members,

We hope you are all having a relaxing and enjoyable holiday weekend.  We’ve been pretty busy putting our plan together for the upcoming Farm Day on June 12th. We’ve booked a great bluegrass band for the afternoon and have many other special things in store.  We hope you can make it!  Please don’t forget to RSVP at this link, and let us know.  This is a great opportunity to see where all your vegetables are being grown and an even better opportunity to meet the rest of your farm family!

As you know, your pick-up day is tomorrow, Monday, May 31st.  Our harvest this week includes cucumbers, rutabagas, yellow squash, sunburst squash, zucchini, pinckney sweet onions, bell peppers, sweet banana peppers, kale, and string beans! Please remember that box contents can and usually will vary according to share size and availability.

In the next few weeks, we will open up our website to take Fall subscriptions.  We’ll let all of you know when we do so that you can be first in line for some of the more coveted drop sites.  We already have a pretty substantial waiting list and interest list, so we’re expecting a pretty big turnout for the fall season.  In light of that we’ll announce sign ups to you, our current members, a week or so in advance in order to give you the first shot at your current drop sites.Thanks again for your continued support.  It’s hard to believe we are already halfway through the Spring season.  Time sure flies when you’re having fun!

Regards,

Jody

This week’s recipe:

Smashed Rutabagas with Ginger-Roasted Pears

Bon Appétit | November 2007

If you’ve never had rutabagas, here’s a great way to try them. Ginger-roasted pears add sweetness and a touch of spice-the perfect balance for this earthy root vegetable. Slice one extra pear and roast it (with the cubes) to use as garnish. Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings 4 pounds rutabagas, peeled, cut into 3/4- to 1-inch cubes Nonstick vegetable oil spray 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar 3 firm Anjou pears (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, cored, cut into 3/4-inch cubes 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream 5 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme Coarse kosher salt Cook rutabagas in pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 35 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Combine oil, lemon juice, ginger, and sugar in large bowl. Add pears; toss to coat. Spread on prepared sheet. Roast until tender, turning pears every 10 minutes, about 35 minutes total. Drain rutabagas; return to same pot. Mash to coarse puree. Stir over medium heat until excess moisture evaporates, 5 minutes. Add cream, butter, and thyme. Mix in pears and any juices from baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Transfer to microwave-safe bowl. Cover; chill. Rewarm at 1-minute intervals.

Dear Members,

It’s been a pretty busy week around the farm as we are entering our peak harvest season. I’m sure you’ve all noticed that the boxes are practically overflowing with a wide variety of delicious produce.  The fields are bursting with ripe vegetables, and it’s all we can do to keep up with the ripening yield.  We had a bit of excitement last week as we added many more beehives to the farm to address the pollination issues we’ve been experiencing.  We’ll need the continued support of the bees to help usher in the additional squash and zucchini we’ve planted as well as the watermelon and cantaloupe. We are considering adding honey to our list of offerings, but it may take a few seasons before we can make this happen.

We’re getting more and more excited about Farm Day!  Please don’t forget to RSVP via the link below, and let us know if you can make it.  Farm Day will take place on Saturday, June 12th from 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM at our farm.  Our lunch for the day will be pot luck style: we’ll be cooking up some delicious food on our huge grill, and we hope that many of you will come armed with a side dish (and your recipe) that all can enjoy.  We’ll compile the recipes from the side dishes and provide to everyone during the season.  We’ll also have some great live music and, of course, a tour of our farm and packing facilities.  This is a great opportunity to see where all your vegetables are being grown and an even better opportunity to meet the rest of your farm family!

We will need a pretty accurate number of attendees for farm day, so please click on this link, and let us know if you will be able to make it.  Please feel free to bring friends if they are interested in learning more about our CSA.  Once we know you’re coming, we’ll send out another email to organize the potluck end. We just can’t wait to meet you all!

As you know, your pick-up day is tomorrow, Monday, May 24th.  Our harvest this week includes kale, mustard greens, lettuces, cabbage, beets, spinach, swiss chard, strawberries, new Pinckney sweet onions, and the moment we’ve all been waiting for…yellow squash and zucchini! Please remember that box contents may vary according to share size and availability.

I believe we have finally gotten swap boxes in most of our drop sites.  We hope this has been a beneficial addition to our program.  If you have any suggestions for how we might improve the swap box program, please let us know!

Thanks for your continued support! We are really getting into the best part of our season, and we hope you’re enjoying everything as much as we are.

Regards,

Jody

Greetings Farm Family!

We hope you all had a restful and enjoyable weekend!  We took an extra few minutes on Saturday to work on our new catalog of vegetables.  We know many of you have been a little stumped when it comes to identifying your greens, so we decided to gather up a sample of the more unique crops and take some pictures.  We hope to have our vegetable identifying email with photos out to you all this week.

As mentioned in the last newsletter, we have set a date for our 2nd ever Farm Day.  Farm Day will take place on Saturday, June 12th from 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM at our farm, and we hope you all can make it.  Our lunch for the day will be pot luck style: we’ll be cooking up some delicious food on our huge grill, and we hope that many of you will come armed with a side dish (and your recipe) that all can enjoy.  We’ll compile the recipes from the side dishes and provide to everyone during the season.  We’ll also have some great live music and, of course, a tour of our farm and packing facilities.  This is a great opportunity to see where all your vegetables are being grown and an even better opportunity to meet the rest of your farm family!

We have set up an RSVP site for farm day, so please click on this link, and let us know if you’ll be able to make it.  Once we know you’re coming, we’ll send out another email to organize the potluck end. We just can’t wait to meet you all!

As you know, your pick-up day is tomorrow, Monday, May 17th.  Our harvest this week includes kale, mustard greens, lettuces, cabbage, beets, spinach, swiss chard, strawberries, new Pinckney sweet onions, and the moment we’ve all been waiting for…yellow squash and zucchini! Please remember that box contents may vary according to share size and availability.  When you receive your squash, you may notice that they have a greenish tinge.  They taste absolutely amazing and are very tender, but they’re slightly different from the color you’re used to. We rely on many various factors in farming, and insects are one of the most important. The bees that buzz around our farm have a pretty important job of pollinating the plants. When they don’t do their job to the fullest, the squash don’t quite turn the bright yellow color we’re used to.  But, believe me, the squash are just as good if not better than they’ve ever been.

We’d like to thank you for returning your empty share boxes to your drop sites.  It seems like we’re off to a good start as we have received a good many back from these locations.  If you haven’t been returning yours, please don’t be bashful about returning 3 at once.  We just need them back so we can continue to rotate the boxes in and out as the season progresses.

We hope you’ll enjoy the produce this week.  Please continue to offer your feedback and/or ideas for how we might make improvements.  Each day is a learning experience, and we simply couldn’t do this without your constant encouragement, praise, and constructive criticism. Thanks for supporting our farm!

Regards,

Jody