Share Notes Aug 7, 2025

We’re in the final push of the season. We’ve got a few really great crops coming in to finish off summer over the next couple of weeks. Our family has a late summer vacation planned and it’s now in view (hallelujah!). e have young arugula and radishes on the way- we’ll see how they do in the heat. Also, Peppers, Eggplant, and Okra laugh under the August sun and keep right on trucking, so those crops are still going strong! So with all that said: who knows! Summer could be totally done in another week, or it could last a little bit longer.

With us alternating locations, most locations have received 5 boxes over the past 8 weeks. We are aiming to get everybody 6 boxes to feel like they got a nice full season, but it could take us another month to get there. Not entirely sure if we can make that happen for ya, but we’ll absolutely give it our best shot!

For now, we have an amazing abundant share for you! So many beautiful summer colors.

Here’s your vegetable line-up:

• Basil – So Much Basil! Time to make pesto while it’s so lush and tender. You can make an excellent pesto with pecans or walnuts if you’d like a more economical version than with pine nuts.  It freezes well, too, just portion out into small baggies before freezing. Any of y’all struggling with wilted basil?  This basil is shockingly resilient IF you a) Get to it asap after delivery is complete and promptly and get it into water, and b) wait very patiently for it to perk up. It might take a day or even two. Trim the stem a half inch at a 45* angle, and give it plenty of time to recover and you’ll almost always have gorgeous basil that lasts ages on your counter in a glass of water.
• Cucumbers – several for everyone!
• Onions – Just a little for everyone this week.
• Garlic – A few for everyone. Have you tried roasting a whole head and squeezing the gooey cloves out on crusty bread? I’ve heard it called Cajun Butter when served this way. So delicious.
• Okra – Enough for everyone this week! This is a Texas Heirloom called Hill Country Red and it stays tender and delicious even when it gets large. It’s perfect when prepared at high heat: oven roasted, grilled, or blistered in a cast iron. Okra needs to be eaten really fresh, so make a plan to use it up within the first 2 or 3 days of getting your box.
• Peppers, Peppers, Peppers!
• Sweet peppers – Everyoen got bell peppers. The Large and Regular shares also got Italian Sweet peppers. These are not the least bit spicy, and come in pale yellow, and pale green. They’re thin walled, excellent for slicing into thin rings for a salad or pizza, and they’re also delicious stuffed or dipped.
• Hot peppers – Jalapenos for the Large and Regular, Poblanos for the Large shares.
• Shishitos – For the Large and Regular shares. These are generally considered a sweet pepper, but watch out, because about 1 in 10 are pretty warm.  These are excellent blistered in a cast iron and then dipped in a dipping sauce of your choice.
• Eggplant – The Regular shares received slender Japanese eggplant and Fairy Tale eggplant. Large shares received  Italian eggplant, including our beautiful heirloom Barbarella and some fairy tale eggplant. The Mini shares received Japanese and Italian.  Eggplant wants fast, high heat cooking, just like okra, to prevent a funky texture. If used super fresh, there’s no need to sweat them, but if you store them for a couple of days, you’ll want to slice and salt them to let any bitterness sweat out before cooking.
• Sungolds – A teensy bit for each Mini share. This crop is nearly done!
• Squash –  one for each mini share. This crop is pretty much done as well, although we have another planting that may be producing soon.
• PEARS!! – These huge Orient pears come from Victor Zillmer in Lindale. He uses no chemicals on his orchards, so they’re clean as a whistle! These southern pears are picked hard and allowed to ripen slowly.  Victor says 10 days on the counter and they’ll be perfect. In my experience, they do even better when stored in a paper bag in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks *and then* brought out to the counter to fully ripen, so your mileage may vary. Also, you’ll discard the peel and just eat the sweet flesh.
• FIGS! – Again from our friendly neighbor farm, Zillmer Farm in Lindale, TX. We had enough to give them to the Large shares. He grows his fruit with no chemicals, so they can absolutely be considered clean!

Veggie Storage tips:

• Everything wants to be washed well before cooking, but keep the dirt on till then, to prevent faster spoilage.
• Fridge storage this week: figs, pears, peppers, squash, eggplant, cucumber, okra, all sealed up in a container or plastic bag.
• Counter storage:  Don’t refrigerate your basil, tomatoes, garlic, or onions.
• Dark cabinet storage: Potatoes keep best away from the light, but in the open air. Don’t keep them in the plastic bag, switch to a paper bag or in an open-air basket in your cupboard.

Regular Share

Regular Share – top row left to right: Basil bouquet, Loads of peppers! L to R: Jalapenos, shishitos, Italian sweet (middle row) bell peppers, cucumbers, (3rd row) Japanese and Fairy Tale eggplant, (bottom row) pears, garlic and onions, and okra.

Large Share

Large shares – top row left to right: Basil bouquet, Loads of peppers! L to R: Jalapenos, shishitos, poblanos, Italian sweet (middle row) bell peppers, cucumbers, (3rd row) Italian and Fairy Tale eggplant, okra, (bottom row) figs, pears, garlic and onions.

Mini Share

Mini shares – top row left to right: Basil bouquet, Bell peppers, squash, (middle row) eggplant, cucumbers, (bottom row) pears, garlic and onion, okra, and sungolds.

Flower Shares:

Most folks are receiving lovely pastel hues this week. Loads and loads of zinnias, basil, ammi, cockscomb celosia, trailing amaranth. I hope you love the color scheme you received this week! Snap a picture of yours and show us on instagram!

We’d love to hear stories and recipes of your culinary adventures this week. Tag us on Instagram or Facebook, showing us how you’ve used your CSA share.

Your farmers, Jess & Justin