Green beans (plus yellow and purple!) are coming on and it looks to be a good year! Super versatile, green beans shine in everything from salads to casseroles, with a variety of flavor profiles.

Green beans are also incredible roasted (what isn’t though, really?) In the oven or on the stovetop, roasted beans hit that savory, umami, comfort food spot, and it’s hard to test just one or two for doneness 😋 A super fast and easy side dish to try!

At Urban Futures Farm, tomatoes are the stars of the show. 🍅 They are just coming on now and we’ve got a few special ways we enjoy them.

For slicers, there is nothing more decadently satisfying than a thick slab of a tomato open-faced on a toasted cheese bagel with cream cheese. Can’t do it with anything other than a home grown tomato and it’s a treat we look forward to all year.

For cherries, nothing can beat the ease of what we call Tik Tok Pasta (though no one has an account – promise). Feta cheese and cherry tomatoes baked to jammy goodness then folded into hot pasta is so hands off, it’s practically fast food! On the menu for this week, matter of fact!

Also for cherries, we test-drove a new recipe for the hospitality room for musicians at FarmFest: whipped feta and cottage cheese pulsed with salt and pepper and topped with chopped cherry tomatoes, basil, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper. The Facebook video is lacking in amounts, so play around until the proportions seem right.

What’s your favorite way with tomatoes?

Summer is for camping! And whether you’re getting out to a lake, hitting the trails or going to a music festival 😉, chances are, you’re going to be eating at some point. And why not bring along food that makes you feel good rather than something processed (as convenient as that might be)! We spend a little time prepping before a getaway so we have minimal prep and cleanup to deal with while we’re having fun.

Our friend Dan clued us in to breakfast burritos which we make ahead of time and freeze. Pull what you need it out to thaw the night before. Come morning, place on a hot skillet to get brown and crunchy.

Lunch and dinner tend to be salads made ahead, the splurge of store-bought fried chicken, and often a pressed sandwich. Salads include potato (no mayo!), broccoli (TJ’s fav from Trisha Yearwood), tabouli to which we add feta and olives, green bean, and pasta salad (so many choices!), or something that features what we have on hand. We pack the salads in quart yoghurt containers and share right out of the container or if we’re feeling fancy, actually put it on a plate.

Have fun camping or festivaling, or wherever this summer takes you!

$15 a pound. Call or text the Farmer at 360.338.8654 for pickup.

“Eat your collards! They’re good for you!” – Someone’s Mom, somewhere.

Shockingly, Mom is right. Collard greens are low in calories (35 calories in half a cup of cooked greens) and rich in folate, calcium, dietary fiber, and vitamins E, A, K, and C. Thanks to their many nutrients, collard greens have been associated with cancer prevention, detox support, anti-inflammatory properties, heart health, and digestive support. And bonus, they are in your boxes this week! For more health details and simple recipe. And a not so healthy but delicious recipe.

Broccoli is bringing it these days in the field. One of the easiest ways to prepare it is pan roasted on the stove top. We’ve test-driven two recipes recently, both delicious. The first Easy Pan Fried Broccoli is a basic method, the second Sauteed Broccoli goes great with rice. 

$15 a pound. Text the Farmer at 360.338.8654

Now that the small trickle of harvest has turned into a fire hose, the topic turns to putting food by. We’ve not yet broken out the canner, but each week some kind of produce goes into the freezer, to become something savory in the long dark months. It may be that you’ve got a side garden, it may be you’ve got more in your box than you can eat right now. Don’t let it moulder – give it a quick spin in a hot oven, let cool and pop in the freezer.

You’ll thank yourself later.

This week you’ll find Thai basil in your boxes. Similar to Italian basil but with a sharper, more pungent flavor. Great for Asian food and especially nice in The Salad. Last week we enjoyed these Thai basil noodles, substituting chicken for tofu and Tatsoi for Pac Choi. Tonight we’re having Thai basil fried rice, which for us is great comfort food, full of veggie goodness (easy also to sub out ingredients for what’s on hand). Enjoy 🌱

Kale’s hitting boxes this week!! That’s a great thing, because kale is super healthy and so versatile. If you’re going for five fruits and veggies a day, kale is an easy addition to get you there, from adding fresh smoothies to sauteing for scrambled eggs, adding to burritos, etc.

We always share our favorite recipe for Massaged Kale Salad, which vibes like a Caesar salad and has made many a kale convert. For dinner tonight though, we’re having these house-favorite Oven Baked Meatballs with kale and radishes (subbing turnips). A few more ingredients than our typical recipe shares, but so well worth it! Enjoy!