Share Notes 07-14-16
CSA Share Notes:
Welcome to this week’s CSA share. Here’s your vegetable line up:
- Eggplant— Small shares received Italian eggplant or our slender purple Japanese varieties of eggplant. Large shares mostly received our tiny Fairy Tale eggplant variety with a few receiving slender Japanese eggplant. Check out our roasted summer eggplant rounds (you can substitute or add zucchini and squash and make quite a hearty meal).
- Bell peppers—Each share received a handful of green (and a few purple and red!) bell peppers. The really colorful bells usually take much longer to ripen than the green bells, so nearing the end of summer we should have lots more beautiful color for you. Try our wonderful Summer Veggie Green Curry!
- Jalapenos—Each share received a couple of bright, juicy jalapenos.
- Poblanos—Large shares received 2 dark green poblano peppers. Try stuffing with Queso Fresco and grilling them! Yum!
- Squash and Zucchini—Small shares received squash and zucchini. Some are smooth and straight necked, others are bumpy and crook necked. Both are fantastic! Squash spoil quickly and bruise easily on their journey to you, so use them up fast.
- Fresh Basil—Each share received a nice bunch of Genovese basil, a large leaved Italian variety. When you receive it, give the stems a fresh trim and store it in a glass of water on your counter. Basil turns black at temperatures below 50 degrees so room temp in some water is the way to go! Change the water and trim the stems regularly to keep it fresh until you can use it all up.
- Onions—Each share received a few of our sweet yellow onions, great for slicing onto a burger, or chopping up into whatever’s on the menu tonight.
- Sungold tomatoes—Each share received a pint of our most prized summer offering: sungold cherry tomatoes! These really are my favorite summer crop. Enjoy!
- Cucumbers—Large shares each received 2-3 cucumbers, most of you have one of each of our two varieties, general lee is darker green and looks like your standard slicing cucumber, Northern Pickling are lighter and smaller and a little bumpy. Give our Fridge Pickles recipe a try!
- Okra—Each share received a container of freshly picked Clemson Spineless, okra from our farmer friend right down the road in Grand Saline: Fisher Farm & Ranch. David Fisher farms 25 acres of mixed vegetables and also raises beef cattle and fruit. You can check them out at local harvest. There are two camps with okra, people either love it or hate it. We used to be in the “hate it” camp, but we have learned that roasting okra on the grill (or at 425 in the oven) until lightly charred is the most delicious and delectable hors d’oeuvre on grill night. Enjoy it on a charcuterie plate with cured meats and creamy goat cheese, and you’ve just made okra high-class!
Veggie Storage tips:
As a general rule, wait to wash any veggies until you’re ready to use them to help retain nutrients and prevent spoilage from excess moisture.
The onions, basil, and tomatoes should be kept at room temperature. Same with the eggplant, bell peppers, and jalapenos, if you’re going to use them up within a couple of days. If it will take you longer than the weekend to use it up, we suggest storing it in the fridge sealed up along with your cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and okra. Okra gets wilty quickly so whip up your batch of gumbo, fried okra, or grilled okra within the next couple of days. As mentioned prior, basil likes to stay out on the counter, not the fridge! It will ruin below 50 degrees, so take care.
Thank you so much for being a part of our Summer CSA!
Your farmers,
Jess & Justin