sweet corn gazpacho
and a tough week for Saxapahaw
Well friends, it’s been a week.
We woke up on Monday morning to find that our beloved village of Saxapahaw was badly flooded after 10+ inches of rain that fell over the span of about 6 hours on Sunday night. The banks of the Haw River rose to record levels, cresting right around where it did after Hurricane Fran in 1996. Our family and our farm were fine, and thank goodness no one in Saxapahaw was badly injured, though many businesses and homes were devastated by flooding.
On the receiving end of some of the worst damage was our sweet little church and our son’s magical preschool (pictured below).
If there has one bright spot from this scary mess, it’s been seeing how our community has rallied together to clean up, raise money for local businesses, and start to rebuild. Saxapahaw may not have a stoplight, but we sure as hell have some incredibly kind, resilient, and creative people who know how to organize and get shit done. If anyone is in a position to support this small but mighty community, here are some links to very worthy local causes to aid in the recovery process:
Saxapahaw Village Kids (our preschool)
As we rally to support our neighbors here in NC, I can’t stop thinking about everyone who has been effected by the storms and intense flooding in Texas – the destruction and loss of life there is absolutely devastating. If you (or anyone you know) has any fundraisers or specific ways for folks to support Texas from afar, please leave links + info in the comments of this post.
Needless to say, I haven’t been as focused on the farm this week, but the show must go on and the veggies still have to get picked, washed, and packed our for CSA members. I didn’t have time to get a picture of the boxes this week, but I can say that we’ve officially reached #peaktomato, and everyone got 6+ lbs of lovely heirlooms and slicers along with a hefty quart of colorful cherry tomatoes. This year the peppers are a bit behind (though they’re finally catching up), our okra harvests get exponentially bigger by the day, and the green bean bushes are heavy with pods to be picked.
And even though it’s only mid-July, as a farmer you’ve gotta be several steps ahead, so I’m already focused on setting ourselves up for success this fall… planning out our fall planting plan, starting seedlings, etc.
If you’re starting to dream + scheme up your fall growing season, a reminder that I have a super detailed and helpful Fall Vegetable Garden Guide HERE.
As always, you have any gardening or cooking related questions, I’m here to help! Send in your questions on our private community HELP LINE, where I’ll always personally answer… there’s no question too big or small. :)
Time to get cooking and dig into this week’s new recipe – sweet corn gazpacho – available for paid subscribers.
PS – A heads up that I’ll be taking a rare week off this newsletter next Friday, while my family and I take a much needed trip to the beach with our extended family. I’m very much looking forward for some time off the farm to slow down, stick my feet in the sand and bury my head in some books. I’ll see y’all back here in two weeks!
I’ll be honest that cooking was low on my priority list this week.
But when there’s a mountain of produce outside my door, and it’s hot and humid as heck, the only answer was to make a very easy, refreshing, veggie-packed *chilled* soup. And when I found myself on the receiving end of a ton of juicy sweet corn, I couldn’t get the idea of a corn gazpacho out of my head.
And so! Today’s recipe is a new creation that I’m kinda in love with, and fully plan on making repeatedly for the rest of the summer. This recipe really and truly comes together with the LEAST time/effort, though it is best enjoyed chilled, so you’ll want to plan ahead to pop it in the fridge for a few hours for maximum deliciousness.
Keep reading for the full recipe (and a handy 1-page PDF for easy printing).
Become a paid subscriber to access today’s recipe (free subscribers get access to recipes on the 1st Friday of the month). As a paid subscriber, you’ll also get access to my full recipe archive, gardening guides, video tutorials, plus bonus content and join our private community chats.
Sweet Corn Gazpacho
Serves 4