CSA Share Notes:

Welcome to week 8 of our summer season. The garden has really astounded us with it’s abundance this week, at the usual point of the year when the garden would be wrapping up, many crops are just getting into their prime! Finally plenty of tomatoes for everyone!  We made the most delicious Panzanella salad with a stale Sola Bread Co. baguette that we toasted up into croutons, with loads and loads of tomatoes, plus a bit of cucumber, red onion, fresh mozz, and basil. You might do the same!

Here’s this week’s vegetable line up:

• Bell Peppers— Lots to go around.
• Italian Peppers— A few for all.  An excellent snacking pepper, but also great in any dish that needs bell peppers- jambalaya, fajitas, etc.
• Jalapenos— A nice handful for everyone this week.
• Poblanos—There were enough for all of you this week, too. Dice them up into anything you want to add a gentle heat and wonderful poblano flavor.
• Slicing Tomatoes — Between 1 and 5 slicers per share, depending on your share size, and the size of the tomatoes.
• Cherry Tomatoes — Whole quarts for the large and regular shares, plus a pint for each mini share.
• San Marzano Tomatoes — to all the regular shares this week. These are a nice, low-moisture sauce tomato, excellent for a pico or salsa. Use them like you would any Roma types.
• Eggplant— Large shares received either Italian eggplant of several beautiful tiny fairy tale eggplant. Regular shares received a single Japanese eggplant- just a teaser of what’s coming.
• Zucchini— Just enough for the Mini shares this week. They’re somehow hanging on, but not producing very much!
• Summer Squash— yellow squash for all the large shares. There are two different types, crook neck, and Zephyr, which is half lime green, half yellow.
• Cucumbers— a few for everyone! These plants are hanging on, too, and we’ve never had them last this long. Grateful they’re holding out!
• Basil—Sweet, tender, delicious leaves. I love putting big handfuls of basil in a Thai curry. If your basil arrives wilty, you can successfully refresh it in a sink of cold water for a couple of hours, then trim the stems and place in a glass of fresh water. **READ BASIL STORAGE TIPS BELOW**
• Onions— A few for everyone.

Veggie Storage tips:

Remember, treat basil like flowers, not vegetables: *do not store it in the fridge.* It prefers to be in a nice cool spot in your kitchen, away from the sun, stem down in a fresh glass of water.  Trim the stems and refresh the water each day, and your basil will last at least a week or more.

All your eggplant, peppers, squash, zucchini, and cukes will keep longest stored in the fridge sealed up in produce bags. Tomatoes do not want to be stored below 50 degrees or they turn mealy, so keep them at room temp or in the coolest area of your kitchen. Onions prefer a dry, room temperature spot.  Everything will need a thorough 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 top left to right: Basil, Italian peppers, poblanos, colorful bells (next row) jalapenos and onions in the center (bottom row) Japanese eggplant, cucumbers, San Marzano tomatoes and slicers, sungolds.

Large Share

Large Share top left to right:  Basil, Italian peppers, poblanos, colorful bells (next row) jalapenos and onions in the center (bottom row) Italian eggplant (you may have received FairyTale, tiny and speckled), Squash & cucumbers above slicer tomatoes, and sungolds.

Mini Share

Mini share:  Basil, Italian peppers, poblanos, colorful bells (next row) jalapenos and an onion in the center (bottom row) zucchini, cucumbers, slicers, sungolds.