CSA Share Notes:

Welcome to your first harvest of the Summer CSA season. Summer crops are just beginning to mature, so we harvested a whole lot of different items in small quantities, and we also have a few spring garden stragglers for your share this week.

Here’s your vegetable line-up!

• Carrots—This picking is from our Nelson variety. They are a long, tapered, pointed carrot, with a great deep orange color. Variation in moisture and soil type throughout this section of the garden means some of the carrots are super tiny, and some are nice and big. Carrots that mature in hot weather are not as sweet as cool season carrots, so expect a pretty strong carrot flavor. They’ll sweeten up if you cook them with a bit of char on them. I love them on the grill.
• Peaches—Loring peaches are sweet and mellow, and grow really, really big. They’re a huge crowd pleaser! They’re a bit on the delicate side of the spectrum so they don’t ship very well, so you’re not likely to find these beauties in any grocery stores, just from your local farmers (lucky you!) We packed them super carefully, nestled into a corner of your box.  The peaches are grown by our friends at Winona Orchards, and though they don’t grow their fruit organically, they produce a beautiful, high quality crop we’re so pleased to provide to you. If you’re concerned about any chemical residues on your peaches, soak them in a bowl full of water with a Tbs. of baking soda for about 2 minutes, then rinse clean. A study I read recently showed a baking soda soak removed the most chemicals from produce better than washing with soap, peroxide, bleach, or plain water.
• Sungolds— These are a farm favorite. We’ve grown dozens of cherry tomato varieties over the years but none perform as well or taste as good as the sungold.
• Tomatoes—We NEVER have tomatoes ready the first week of summer but I guess we’re extra lucky this year. The regular shares and large shares received a couple of our big beef slicing tomatoes. The large shares also received one single heirloom, from an assortment of our heirloom varieties. One of our most prolific heirlooms right now is called Valencia and is a bright orange, low acid, super delicious tomato. More are coming.
• Zucchini—Large shares received this crop, just a few, but nice, young, and tender.  They’ll perform great on the grill or in a casserole, or however you like to use zucchini.
• Squash—Regular shares received a small handful of our squash, of two different varieties, yellow squash, and zephyr squash, which is a pale green, sometimes with a bit of yellow on the neck. These all taste fantastic.
• Hot Peppers—Regular shares received a big handful of our jumbo jalapenos, and large shares received about 4 or 5 cayenne peppers. They’re long, pointy, and lime green.  Use them to spice up your dishes this week. We’ll be making all sorts of dips and salsas to enjoy at the lake this weekend, which are great ways to use up a small amount of super hot peppers.
• Cabbage—Just for the regular shares. This green smooth cabbage somehow made it through the buggy month of June and is now ready for you, about a month later than usual. Hey, we’re glad to have it!  Make a tasty slaw or cabbage salad this week with some grated carrot!
• Winterbor Kale/Red Russian Kale— Just for the Large shares. Winterbor is curly, and Red Russian is smooth.  This is a spring crop, on its way out from the heat, so there isn’t a whole lot of it, but there is plenty to add to a yummy frittata or add to a soup. I incorporate greens into my eggs each morning, or chop them fine and include them in pasta sauce, mac & cheese, or mashed potatoes. Working them into your diet in every way you can is a great way to get that nutrition!
• Onions—a handful of our yellow onions for each share.
• Potatoes—Yellow skin, with a creamy yellow flesh. These potatoes are fantastic! We have been making a batch of smashed potatoes nearly every week this summer and they are killer. We’ll also use a bunch of them in a batch of home fries for our 4th of July brunch this week, and a few more will go into a yummy potato salad.

Veggie Storage tips:

Your tomatoes, onions and potatoes do NOT want to be refrigerated. (Refrigerating tomatoes will make them mealy) Keep them in a cool place on the counter. Keep potatoes out of sunlight or they’ll begin to turn green. Your squash, zucchini, peppers, and peaches will all last longer if stored in the fridge. Take the peaches out about a day before you want to use them to let them finish ripening. Sever your carrot roots from their tops to keep them from getting rubbery. Cabbage and kale want to be stored cold in the fridge sealed up in a bag. Everything will need a gentle washing before cooking, but leave the dirt on until you’re ready to use them to prevent 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

Regular Share

Regular Share from top left to right: squash, slicer tomatoes, potatoes, Loring Peaches, (2nd row) jalapenos, yellow onions, cabbage, Sungolds, and Nelson Carrots across the bottom.

Large Share

Large share from top left to right: 2 slicing tomatoes, and one Valencia tomato (an heirloom. You may have received a different type of heirloom) a few zucchini, Loring peaches, potatoes, (2nd row) Sungolds, yellow onions, Cayenne Peppers, Winterbor Kale, and Nelson Carrots across the bottom.