ARTfarm on St. Croix, USVI

 
Saturday morning’s farm forecast is about 90% accurate and includes light sprinklings of salad and squalls of squash with heavy summer fruits and tubers. 

We should see small amounts of sweet salad mix, baby arugula, baby spicy, intermittent pineapple, pink and red fleshed dragonfruit, loads of papaya, small pumpkins with intense rich sweet flavor, lots of orange fleshed sweet potato, sweet bell peppers, seasoning peppers, hot peppers, garlic chives, recao, Italian basil, and zinnia flowers. 

From our partners: we have light fluffy clouds of fresh goat cheese coming in from the west northwest of Dr. Bradford’s Fiddlewood Farm, and three types of mangoes predicted from Alex at Tropical Exotics Farm: Nam doc Mai, Malika and Julies. We also have the first of the Vieqen Butterball mangoes. And from a neighbor’s farm we have fresh eggs, lemon basil and dandelion greens!

### Farmcaster Gasperi ###

After a blessedly busy season, Wednesday afternoons have now transformed to a mellow and relaxed summer experience. Come and enjoy the short checkout line, the variety, and the opportunity to chit chat with the farmer. 

Tomorrow afternoon’s haul: A few bags of sweet salad mix, baby arugula, baby spicy salad mix, loads of sweet, juicy pineapples, loads of large and beautiful pink and red fleshed dragonfruit, loads of papaya, a few melons, incredibly rich sweet dry fleshed small pumpkins, lots of orange fleshed sweet potatoes, bell peppers, seasoning peppers, hot peppers, garlic chives, recao, Italian basil, Thai basil, and zinnia flowers. 

From our partners we have Fiddlewood Farm fresh goat cheese (its mild flavor pairs perfectly with fruits), and three types of mangoes from the Tropical Exotics orchard in mid-island: Nam doc Mai, Malika, and Julie mangoes. We also have the first of the season’s Vieqen Butterball mangoes. And from a neighbor’s farm we have fresh eggs!

Come out and see us tomorrow, Wednesday 3–6 p.m. on South Shore Road at the ARTfarm.

Happy Summer Solstice folks! Summer officially arrives on Monday June 20th this year, but we’ve been enjoying the fruits of the season for a few weeks now! 

Sweet salad mix, baby spicy salad mix, baby arugula, bell peppers, yellow seasoning peppers, hot peppers, garlic chives, Italian basil, Thai basil, lemongrass, recao, plenty of sweet potatoes with bright red skin and orange flesh, small pumpkins, sweet papayas, passionfruit, melons, lots of pineapples, lots of dragonfruit, and from our partners we will have  the perfect pairing: creamy, mild Fiddlewood Farm goat cheese, and three types of sweet, fruity mangoes from Tropical Exotics​!

Luca’s Secret Super Summer Salad

Serves 3 to 5 adults

One bag ARTfarm sweet mix (extra points if you add some baby arugula or spicy mix) 

One Nam Doc Mai mango, cubed

Half a fresh Fiddlewood Farms Chevre goat cheese or more 

Sweet fresh small onion, minced

Apple cider vinegar, approx. 4 Tbspn or to taste

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, about the same amount as the vinegar

Sea salt – to taste

Pine nuts, if you have any. Or sunflower seeds – lightly dry roasted

Whisk the vinegar and oil together with the salt. Toss with the lettuce and onion to coat lightly. Arrange the mango and goat cheese artfully on top of the salad. Sprinkle a handful of lightly toasted pinenuts or sunflower seeds over the top to make it really over the top. Present to the sounds of Ooohs and Ahhhhs, then toss before serving. 

An earlier version of this post was accidentally published before it was edited. Sorry for any typos.

How did it get to be Wednesday so fast? From 3–6 p.m. today we will have lots of pineapple, *awesome* sweet potatoes, pumpkin, limited salad greens, bell peppers, seasoning peppers, serrano peppers, garlic chives, recao, Thai basil, Italian basil, ginger root, passionfruit, pineapple, papaya, a few bags of Mediterranean figs and colorful zinnia flowers. From our partners we have beautiful mangoes from Tropical Exotics and in a perfect pairing with those, fresh goat cheese from Fiddlewood Farm!

Try mango and goat cheese together where you’d use tomatoes and mozzarella… Call us crazy but we think it’s outrageously tasty!!!