September 5th, 2021
Labor Day Weekend is here! Always the busiest week of our season, Labor Day marks our half-way point: only 12 more weeks to go for our Produce Subscriptions and Add-On Market. Goodness, does it go by quickly?
As mentioned last week, this week's order-by deadline and delivery time has changed due to the holiday. Order by Tuesday noon for Wednesday delivery or pickup, this week only.
However, after speaking with many of you last week, we've decided to continue with the Wednesday delivery & pickups after this week and throughout the season. Order cutoff time (after this week) will remain Mondays at noon. This change will give us the needed time to pick your orders and fill your boxes; plus, it will help us to provide you with more consistent pickup times and will allow us to deliver a bit earlier in the evening.
Also, after much discussion regarding the efficiency of packing time, we will be transitioning away from our choose-your-own "I Got It" box so we may focus more of our energies on our farmer's-choice box with add-ons. I know so many of you truly enjoy the choose-your-own option, but the amount of time that it takes to pack plus the amount of room for error that it creates, is, sadly, untenable.
I truly wanted the choose-your-own box to work, but after more than a year, I must admit that it's not working as well as hoped on our end. We will keep things as-is for a couple more weeks, and nothing will change for you at all if you're enrolled in one of our Classic Produce Subscriptions. The Add-On Market will also remain as it is, so you're welcome to continue to add on to your farmer's choice box as needed. The only real change is that you'll be required to order a "Farmer Knows Best" Box and will not have the option of the "I Got It" Box.
Please let me know if you are a die-hard fan of the choose-your-own "I Got It" Box, or if you have any suggestions. If you've been ordering the "I Got It" Box frequently or if you're a Home Delivery PLUS member, I will contact you privately regarding these changes.
Now, on to what's in season this week: Our new "Lily" Crenshaw and insanely sweet Honey Dew Melons have begun. Don't miss them, they're so delicious! Once again, we have a brand new patch of Baby Beans starting. Full-size Snap beans will not be ready until next week. Brand new patches of Arugula, Scarlet Frills and Mizuna have also started. Black Acorn and our "Heart of Gold" Striped Acorn are ripe and very tasty. (Many more types of Winter Squash to begin soon!)
Be sure to grab some of our fantastic Heirloom Tomatoes this week. The patch is finally coming into its own after a rough start. And, if you're looking for a canning project: Canning Beefsteaks and Roma Paste Tomatoes are now up. We also still have a limited amount of pickles and tons of flavorful beets available for canning.
We also have new squeezable, plastic containers of Honey (as well as a smaller, 8oz. size) available from our neighbors at Hillside. And, K & K Farm's Stanley Prune Plums are now available as well (they are so much sweeter than the little, round "sweet-tart" variety we had last week!)
Thanks so much for reading through this, and again, if you have any suggestions regarding our planned changes, please let me know.
All the Best!
The Centgraf's
NEW THIS WEEK
"Lily" Crenshaw Melon
Honey Dew Melon
Beefsteak Canning Tomatoes
Plum Tomatoes
New Patch of French Filet Beans
New Patch of Arugula & Frills
Small 8oz. Honey
"Stanley" Prune Plums
EXCELLENT THIS WEEK
Goddess Cantaloupe
Bi-Color Sweet Corn
Rainbow Cauliflower
Heirloom & Artisan Cocktail Tomatoes
Red, Yellow & Orange Sweet Peppers
Red Cabbage
Shishito Roulette Peppers
Salad Turnips
Rainbow Carrots
Zucchini Summer Squash Mix
Winter Radishes
Hill Side Honey
Gourmet Delight Crimini Mushrooms
Michigan Fruit
Photos: Dragon Tongue Fresh Shelling Beans, Rainbow Cauliflower, Winter Radishes, and one of our "Farmer Knows Best" Boxes (photo courtesy of Danielle Clark).
BOX CONTENTS
SMALL
1 Bunch of Italian Basil
1 Pint of Artisan Cocktail Mix Half Pound of Tom Thumb Lettuce 1 Bunch Baby Thumbelina Carrots 1 Head of Cauliflower 1 Bunch of Salad Turnips 1 Bunch of Multi-Color Mix Beets 1.25 Pound of Bartlett Pears
1 Pound of Peaches
VALUE OF $30.00
LARGE
1 Bunch of Italian Basil
2 Pints of Artisan Cocktail Mix 1 Pound of Tom Thumb Lettuce
2 Sweet Peppers (colors!) 1 Bunch Baby Thumbelina Carrots 1 Head of Cauliflower 1 Bunch of Salad Turnips 2 Bunches of Multi-Color Mix Beets 1.25 Pound of Bartlett Pears
1 Pound of Peaches
VALUE OF $42.00
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Raw Corn Salad with Tomatoes, Feta, and Herbs
One of my favorite things about summer is uncooked sweet corn! Try this super refreshing and delicious dish as a salad on its own or as a side dish for dinner!
Use our Fresh Basil and Artisan Cocktail Tomatoes found in this week's box, and add on a bunch of Mint and some peak-season Sweet Corn.
Join our Community Page to find & share other great recipes!
Happy Labor Day! We're extending Weekly Order Cut-Off Time to Noon on Tuesday. This Week Only.
Deliveries & pickups will be on Wednesday evening.
THIS WEEK'S MARKET BUNDLE RECIPE
The Soup Bundle:Green Gazpacho Soup with Cucumbers & Tomato Salsa
from Alexandra's Kitchen
Join Our Community!
Join our new Centgraf Farms Online Community to get updates and news. It's also a great place to share photos, get recipe ideas, and interact with other members!
We even have a downloadable app now for your smartphone. Get instant notifications when the Market has been restocked or an item added and shop sooner in the week!