What’s Inside This Week?
June 11, 2026
Essentials Box
- Kale, bu, $3.00
- Yellow Squash, 1lb, $3.00
- Bunching Onion, bu, $4.00
- Carrots, bu, $3.00
- White Onion, 1ct, $3.00
- Sugar Snap Peas, 1lb, $6.00
Original Box
- Essentials Box, plus:
- Zucchini (Costata Romanesco), 1lb, $3.00
- Broccoli, 1lb, $4.00
- Strawberry, clam, $7.00
- Dill, 3oz, $3.00
Hearty Box
- Original Box, plus:
- Cucumber, 1lb, $4.00
- Arugula, 8oz, $5.00
- Basil, 3oz, $3.00
- Beets, bu, $4.00
We have eggs! Fresh farm eggs available as an add-on to your CSA subscription. Email us at customerservice@dare2dreamfarms.com to add them to your next delivery.
Weekly pickup at Vandenberg Space Force Base
Vandenberg Space Force Base Visitors Center parking lot — every Thursday at 1:00pm. Know someone on base? Spread the word!
If Thursday timing doesn’t work, we may be able to arrange a pickup at your home on base — email customerservice@dare2dreamfarms.com and we’ll work something out.
Field Notes
Jack left the farm on Friday — and made it safely to Oregon, where his new rig is parked at Cultus Lake for the season. We’re so happy for him, and full of gratitude that the journey went smoothly. On Thursday night we threw him a going-away dinner, shared stories and memories, and presented him with a graduation balloon — because if anyone has earned a diploma from Dare 2 Dream “Farm School,” it’s Jack. Since 2020 he’s had his hands in every single aspect of this farm: chickens, dairy cows, goats, pigs, gardening, construction, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, concrete, deliveries, hospitality, customer service, and more. His rig — a step-out van from Cook Erectors right here in Lompoc — he built out himself using all of those skills. A capstone project on wheels.
It’s been strange moving around the farm without bumping into him and Azula. The farm dogs are sorting out their new hierarchy without their matriarch, so we boiled beef bones, made bone broth, and stripped the beef for their meals — a little extra support to bring positive health and energy into the new dynamic.
Jack with Azula and the rig he built himself — a step-out van from Cook Erectors in Lompoc, finished with every skill he learned here.
As many of the D2D crew as we could gather for one last photo together. Six years of memories in one frame.
The kids saying goodbye the only way they know how — hugs, love, and trust falls.
In other animal news, we had a genuine learning moment this week. We thought Chloe might be pregnant — she’d received two visits from our neighbor’s Great Pyrenees, Buck, while she was in heat, and went through major mood changes, appetite changes, and physical changes that all matched pregnancy. But after six weeks with no development in her belly, we took her to Dr. Harris at Lompoc Vet to get checked. It turns out there’s such a thing as a false pregnancy! She believes she’s pregnant and is experiencing many of the same hormonal, emotional, and physical signs — she may even lactate — but there are no puppies on the way. We learned something new this week, and Chloe is in good health.
Out in the garden, Myron is making waves — or rather, rows. The strawberries were pulled out this week so we can replant them in a healthier row, safer from the wild birds near the creek. Fingers crossed.
And the kids are getting along famously now that it’s summer. Zoe has become an excellent babysitter for Lila and Waylon, setting up crafts and running her own “festival” rides. The farm is loud and busy and full of life, which is exactly how we like it.
Storage Tips
Greens: kale, arugula → wrap in a towel, bag in the fridge; use within 5–7 days.
Legumes: sugar snap peas → fridge crisper, unwashed, in a bag; best within 3–5 days. Eat them fresh — they lose sweetness daily.
Roots: carrots, beets → fridge crisper, bagged; remove greens if attached and store separately.
Alliums: bunching onions → fridge crisper, loosely bagged; use greens like scallions. White onion → cool, dry, dark place; fridge once cut.
Squash: yellow squash, zucchini (Costata Romanesco) → fridge crisper, unwashed, loosely bagged; best within 4–5 days.
Brassicas: broccoli → fridge crisper, loosely bagged; best within 3–5 days.
Cucumbers: fridge crisper, unwashed; use within 5 days for best crunch.
Herbs: dill → wrap in a damp paper towel and bag in the fridge; use within 4–5 days. Basil → do NOT refrigerate; stems in a jar of water on the counter.
Fruit: strawberries → don’t wash until ready to eat; fridge, use within 2–3 days.
Cucumber Dill Salad with Snap Peas
A crisp, cooling cucumber dill salad is one of the best things you can make in early summer — and adding raw sugar snap peas turns the classic into something with real crunch and sweetness. This cucumber dill salad comes together in fifteen minutes and gets better as it sits.
Ingredients
- 1lb cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1 cup sugar snap peas, strings removed, halved on the bias
- 1/4 white onion, very thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1.5 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Optional: 1 bunching onion, green tops sliced, for garnish
Instructions
- Slice cucumbers thin, salt them lightly, and let them sit in a colander 10 minutes to release water. Pat dry.
- Whisk together yogurt, vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
- Add cucumbers, snap peas, white onion, and dill. Toss until everything is coated.
- Chill 15–30 minutes before serving if you can — the flavors meld and the salad gets even better. Garnish with bunching onion greens.
Why dill and cucumber belong together — and what makes this version different
Cucumber dill salad is a classic across half the world’s cuisines for a reason — Persian, Greek, German, and Scandinavian cooking all pair these two, because dill’s grassy, slightly anise-like brightness is the perfect match for cucumber’s cool, watery crunch. The combination tastes like early summer no matter how you dress it.
What makes this cucumber dill salad different is the sugar snap peas. Raw snap peas bring a sweetness and a snap that cucumbers alone can’t deliver, and they hold their texture in the dressing for days. Snap peas are at their absolute peak right now — they lose sweetness every day after harvest as their sugars convert to starch, which is why farm-fresh snap peas taste so dramatically better than grocery store ones. Eat them within a few days of your delivery for the full effect.
This salad is also endlessly adaptable. Swap the yogurt dressing for a simple vinegar-and-oil version for something lighter. Add crumbled feta for salt and creaminess. Fold in this week’s arugula for a peppery note. It pairs beautifully alongside grilled chicken or fish, and it’s exactly the kind of thing to bring to an early-summer cookout — a cucumber dill salad travels well and tastes even better after an hour in the cooler.
One more note on dill: it’s more delicate than most herbs, so store it wrapped in a damp paper towel in the fridge and use it within four or five days. If you have extra, whisk it into scrambled eggs, fold it into tuna or potato salad, or chop it over roasted carrots — which, conveniently, are also in this week’s box.
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