CSA Share Notes:

Welcome to this week’s CSA share!

We will be opening up the fall CSA season really soon, so watch your email for the chance to join! Remember, your membership does not automatically carry over from season to season, you need to opt-in if you want our organic freshness to continue coming to your table.

Here’s this week’s vegetable line up:

• Summer Squash—some of you received the smooth skinned yellow squash and others received our excellent yellow crook neck, covered in small bumps. These warty squash are not old-they’re a super cool heirloom with great flavor!
• Zucchini—Farmer’s choice of an assortment of our three varieties. Try our Italian touch on zucchini in this recipe: Zucchini Malfatti.
• Garlic—Our inaugural garlic year was the wettest spring on record, and garlic dislikes being soaking wet, so this crop turned out really tiny. Give them a try and know that next year, with a drier spring, we’ll produce bigger happier garlic plants.
• Eggplant— The small shares received traditional Italian eggplants. The large shares received Fairytale eggplant- my favorite variety. I like to slice these in half down the center and splay them out on the grill till lightly charred. Are you unfamiliar with cooking eggplant? A hot griddle or grill can give you lots of possibilities with sturdy summer crops like eggplant and zucchini. Try these Summer Eggplant Rounds. Another market customer raved about this eggplant pizza recipe from Pioneer Woman.
• Hot Peppers—We have lots of cool varieties for you to try. The cayenne are the hottest, the jalapeno and serrano are also fairly hot, while the biscane pepper is quite mild. Peppers don’t mind being stored at room temp or refrigerated. Here are a few ideas to use up the loads of hot pepeprs we grow so well: Variations of pickled hot peppers and variations of stuffed hot peppers. Enjoy and share!
• Sweet Peppers—Colorful bells of a wide variety.  Our color variations range quite literally across the whole spectrum, from red, to orange, yellow, green, and purple!
• Slicing Tomatoes—With the days heating into the upper 90s and tipping over 100 the past three weeks, the tomato plants have stopped producing new flowers, which means that next week could be the last of the tomatoes until the plants flower again in the cooler fall months. If tomato plants stay healthy through the summer, they usually produce another small crop in the fall so look forward to them in the coming season!  Store your tomatoes shoulders down, bottom up. The shoulders are sturdiest and more resistant to damage. Don’t put them in the fridge but rather keep them between 60-80 degrees.
• Cherry Tomatoes—The large shares received Sungolds. Aren’t you loving these?? If you don’t want to eat them raw, they are fantastic roasted or grilled on a skewer with squash and eggplant.
• Garlic—Our inaugural garlic year was the wettest spring on record, and garlic dislikes being soaking wet, so this crop turned out really tiny. Give them a try and know that next year, with a drier spring, we’ll produce bigger happier garlic plants.
• Basil—Large-leaved Italian Genovese variety. Excellent for caprese salad, pesto, and pizza. When you get it, trim the stems and place in a glass of cold water to perk back up, but don’t put it in the fridge. Basil begins to decompose below 55 degrees so it needs to remain out at room temp. Just store in a glass of water on the counter and change the water every couple of days. Use it up, cause you’ll be getting more!
• Potato—White Kennebec, a lovely pale yellow skinned, white flesh potato. These will store for several weeks, so long as you leave the dirt on and wash them right before you’re ready to use them. The dirt contains natural bacteria and yeasts that guard against decay.  Try them in our kale pesto potato salad, or just boiled and eaten with a high quality salted butter, or maybe some herb butter. Keep the recipes simple on these potatoes so you can enjoy their unique flavor.

Veggie Storage tips:

As a general rule, almost all summer crops can’t tolerate fridge temperatures in the 30s and 40s, so they should mostly be stored at room temperature.  Everything will need a gentle washing before cooking. Another general rule- wait to wash any veggies until you’re ready to use them to help retain nutrients and prevent spoilage from excess moisture. Bruised or nicked produce should be eaten quickly as it will begin to spoil faster.

We’d love to hear stories and recipes of your culinary adventures this week. Post a comment of how you’ve used your CSA share, or tag us in your facebook and instagram posts! Show us how you’re using your share of the harvest.

Your farmers,

Jess & Justin

Large Share

Large share from top left: Zucchini, a couple of teeny garlic, colorful bell peppers, Genovese basil, Fairytale eggplant,  a tall row of hot peppers (top to bottom: Jalapeno, serrano, cayenne, and biscane- our favorite),White Kennebek potatoes, and across the bottom: yellow squash, sungold cherry tomatoes, and slicing tomatoes.

Small Share

Small share from left: Zucchini and yellow squash, a tall row of peppers (top to bottom: Jalapeno, serrano, cayenne, biscane), and sweet bell peppers, Genovese basil and a couple of tiny garlic bulbs, Italian eggplant, White Kennebek potatoes, and slicing tomatoes.