CSA Share Notes:

Here’s the vegetable line up this week:

• Onion—The last week of onions. This crop is nearing the end of its storage life, so if we accidentally send you a soft or sprouting one, we’re sorry! We tried to sort them well as we packed the shares.
• Beans—Our fall beans are coming in and they are prolific and beautiful. Small shares get to try our Dragons Tongue variety, lovely speckled in yellow and purple (they turn solid yellow when cooked). The Large shares received a mixture of yellow and green beans this week.  Wether you prefer them crunchy or cooked, these are sure to please.
• Radish—Easter Egg. This tasty mix is a pretty array of colors and is crunchy and spicy.  Jess’ favorite way to eat radishes is sliced thin on top of a piece of rye bread smeared with salted butter or mashed avocado, and sprinkled with sea salt.
• Sweet potatoes—You guys are getting to try sweet potatoes from our friend down the road Tony Phillips. Tony’s been growing sweet potatoes with his dad on a little plot near Van since his high school days, some 40 years ago. This year’s crop is small from the super ry conditions we had in May and June, but we’ve eaten our share of them already and they are mighty tasty. Let us know what you think!
• Cucumber—Small shares received pickling varieties, and large shares received slicing varieties. If frost holds off, we hope to have lots more for you soon!
• Hot Peppers—Large shares received a few poblano peppers, excellent to flavor a corn bread or a spicy roasted chicken, and small shares received cayenne peppers. Make a batch of hot pepper jelly!
• Squash—Everyone received another generous portion of yellow squash. These plants are beginning to slow down a bit, so that quantities will be getting smaller.
• Zucchini—Another good share of zucchini. These fall plants are performing far better than our summer crop. Lucky you! They, too, are beginning to slow down in production so we’ll just have them another time or two.

Veggie Storage tips:

Basil does not like to be cold, so just place in a glass of water on the counter, out of direct light. Snip the stems every few days so they can keep slurping up that water to keep the leaves fresh. Onions and sweet potatoes will prefer to stay at room temp. Eggplant will keep longest stored in the fridge sealed up in a bag. The Japanese variety of eggplant doesn’t last long, so plan to use it up soon. All the leafy greens will want cold storage. Make sure they’re sealed up so they don’t get wilty.  Radishes should be severed from their tops to keep the roots from getting rubbery, then sealed up in the fridge to stay crisp.  Did you know radish greens are edible? And right now they’re super tender and delicious.  The radish tops can be stored like other greens.  Everything will need a gentle washing before cooking, but leave the dirt on until you’re ready to use them to prevent faster spoilage.

We’d love to hear stories and recipes of your culinary adventures this week. Send us a note or post a comment of how you’ve used your CSA share.

Your farmers,

Jess & Justin

Large ShareLarge Share:  (top left to right) Easter Egg Radish, yellow squash, sweet potatoes, poblano peppers, green and yellow beans, zucchini, slicing cucumbers, and red onions.

Small Share

Small share: (top left to right) Easter Egg Radish, red onions, pickling cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, Dragons Tongue Beans, cayenne peppers, and sweet potatoes.