Today's share should include:

Seven eighths pound sugar snap peas
A bunch of beets
A bunch of onions
4 - 5 bulbs of garlic
A large romaine lettuce


BEETS.  The famous Farmer John of Angelic Organics CSA remarks in his cook book that he gets more comments regarding beets than any other vegetable.  To the half of his customers who ask why he puts beets in theirs share, he replies, "For the other half." Apparently you love 'em or you hate 'em.

We mostly like them pickled, and it took Jim quite a few years of not eating beets to figure out that you don't have to can them to pickle them.

Marian Morash has a recipe in the Victory Garden Cook Book.  It calls for 4 cups cooked beets, 1 medium onion  (optional), 1 cup cider or wine vinegar, 1 cup beet juice or water, or combination of both, one quarter cup sugar. "Peel and slice the cooked beets; chop the onion, if you like, and mix with beets.  Heat vinegar, beet juice or water and sugar just long enough to dissolve the sugar and pour over beets.  Cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for 4-6 hours before serving.

GARLIC.  This is the second variety of garlic for the season.  You can eat it fresh as you have been with the funky garlic or hang it in a dry place to cure.

A MISADVENTURE OF JIM AND DIANE.  Jim's sister-in-law thought we ought to share this story with you all.  Besides stray dogs and cats and sewing machines, Diane likes to "rescue" old quilts.  They hang as curtains at all our windows, or are thrown over stair railings, spare bed head and foot boards, etc.  Several hang over a rickety rack that leans against the couch in our living room, which also happens to be three feet away from the door to the stairs to our bedroom on the second floor.

Right in the midst of Diane's recent illness, early one morning, a dog, cat or some combination thereof, knocked the rack over so it fell against the door.  The quilts were heavy enough, that Jim was unable to push the door open, and we were trapped.

Farming has taught us ingenuity, so like escaping from a cell, Jim tied sheets together and tied them to a steel pipe that serves as a quilt curtain rod.  For a moment we debated which window to climb out the straight drop twelve feet, or onto the pantry roof and down the eight foot drop to the porch.  Wisely, we opted for the latter.  Jim braced the pipe in the window frame and crawled out.  As it happens the sheets weren't entirely necessary since there is a bench on the porch, high enough that Jim could just reach the top of it with a toe. when he hung from the pantry roof gutter.  He lowered himself down went in the house and pushed the quilt rack back up to vertical.  And we were saved.

And that's the news from the farm, so until next week,

Bon Appetit.