1. Take a few hours away from the farm with your partner in crime/farming/life. Even if you feel like you couldn’t possibly leave the farm before nightfall. Just do it anyways.
2. Hire the most supportive, thoughtful, kind team of people you can find. Thank them for their amazingness daily.
3. Splurge on YumButter. Keep it your pocket for all the hours you need food but can’t make it out of the fields.
4. Do a field walk that has nothing to do with how much work needs to be done. Focus only on the beauty. The purples of the cabbage. The blues of the onions. The deep green of the potatoes. Pat yourself on the back and love it all.
5. Have a support network. A big one. Lean on them hard. (Thanks Momma and Farmer Beth, I’d seriously be lost without you).
6. Watch the storm clouds and the lightning flash in the distance. Feel the pressure change as a storm rolls past.
7. Watch more sunsets.
8. Eat so many vegetables every night that you can’t possibly forget why you love this life for even a second.
9. Just keeping putting one foot in front of the other. Eventually you will get caught up. Or maybe you won’t, and that’s okay too.
10. Have a farm party!!!!!!

On Saturday, we had our first farm party of the year! We played bean bags and croquet and drank a Vienna Rye lager brewed by a CSA member. We played in an adorable photo booth (thanks Jessica!), made giant bubbles and enjoyed just as much body painting as face painting. We ate yummy food and wandered the fields. I watched a kid’s face light up when I handed him the first snap pea of the season. It was lovely and not too hot and the perfect way to celebrate what has been an exhausting month, but so incredibly worth it. Plus, the party was sandwiched between two rain storms the farm so desperately needed.

The potluck was filled with veggie salads, pulled pork and loads of fruity desserts. My contribution: the broccoli salad I’ve been eating every day since we harvested the first broccoli of the season last week. This salad makes for a great potluck dish since you can make it a day or two in advance and certainly feeds a crowd, but I’ve also been enjoying it for lunch or dinner.

Broccoli salad has been a favorite of mine for years, but this one is different. It’s better than average. It’s something about combining all the first bright, crispy veggies of the season in one giant bowl.

It began simply with a bunch of other veggies I had on hand. Some kohlrabi, a handful of garlic scapes or sliced green garlic, a whole bunch of scallions and of course multiple heads of broccoli. Then we move on to the things that beef it up. The things that make it a complete meal. I love dried cranberries and toasted pecans in my broccoli salad but you could really use any nut you have on hand. Lots of folks throw in grapes for the sweetness as opposed to dried cranberries, but I always seem to have dried cranberries in the pantry. If you really want to get wild, you can toss some cooked bacon into the final dish. Add a rich creamy buttermilk dressing and you’ve got a cold salad for a hot day that’s hard to resist.

Enjoy!
-Leek

THE BEST BROCCOLI SALAD

1/2 cup diced pecans
1 head broccoli, stem removed, florets cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large kohlrabi, peeled and diced
1 bunch scallions, sliced (you can use all of it, white and dark green parts)
1 green garlic or 2 garlic scapes, sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Dressing:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise or Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. In a large saute pan, toast pecans (or whatever nut you decide to use) for 5-10 minutes until browned and smelling really delicious.
2. In a large bowl, combine broccoli, kohlrabi, scallions, dried cranberries and toasted nuts.
3. In a small bowl (or Mason jar with a lid that will be shaken) combine all dressing ingredients and whisk (or shake) until well-combined. Pour over veggies and stir to combine. It takes the veggies a little while to soak up the dressing so try to make it an hour ahead or the day before.