Share Notes July 16 & 18, 2020

Share Notes July 16 & 18, 2020

CSA Share Notes:

A few of the crops are beginning to wind down in the intense heat. Right when we thought the squash, zucchini, and cucumbers would be ramping up into full force, we harvested far fewer from them this week than we did a week ago.  It has been intensely hot with heat index reaching up to 116 the past few days, so we get it. The plants are hot, and so are we.  If they decline further, this could mean an early end to the summer CSA season.

Here’s this week’s vegetable line up:

  • Squash—Large and Regular shares received just a couple of squash this week, a combination of Zephyr squash and classic yellow squash.
  • Zucchini—Everyone got a zucchini or two. Some of them are enormous (whoops! we left them on the plant too long) and won’t be very tender so they’ll be best used for zucchini bread or muffins.  If you got a jumbo zucchini and don’t have time to bake this week, go ahead and grate the whole thing and then divide it into one-cup measures and freeze for later use.
  • Sungolds— Pints to both the large and regular shares.  We used up all our pint sized containers near the end of the day so for some of you, we measured out a pint’s worth of tomatoes and placed them in a quart container. They look pretty empty by comparison, but you did receive a whole pint!
  • Slicer tomatoes— Each share received a few red slicer tomatoes. If you have some that are under ripe,  set them on the counter shoulders down at room temperature to finish ripening.
  • Valencia tomatoes— one or two of these lovely orange tomatoes made it into every box. They’re sweeter and softer textured than our red slicers.
  • Eggplant—This crop doesn’t seem to be slowing down yet!  Check out our green curry recipe  or these eggplant stacks for using yours up.
    • Large shares received Italian eggplant, Regular shares received Japanese, and Mini shares received a bit of Italian and a whole quart of Fairytale.
    • Eggplant performs best with really high heat and a bit of char on it to bring out the sugars, so roast, grill, or griddle it.
  • Basil—everyone received a big bunch of Genovese basil. Basil does not want to be below 50 degrees. Storing it in the fridge will ruin your basil! Quickly get it out of your box, trim the stems, and get it into a glass of water.
  • Potatoes—White Kennebec potatoes, creamy and fantastic.
  • Onions—lots of red and yellow for everyone. We have used up pretty much all our large and medium onions and are down to just pearl-sized from here on out.
  • Garlic—Everyone got a bulb, and two for the large shares.
  • Cucumbers—Just one or two per share. Some years we are swimming in cucumber but not this time! This crop never really took off this summer. We’ll see if we have a few more for you before the season ends.
  • Hot peppers—Jalapenos for everyone.

Veggie Storage tips:

The eggplant, cucumbers, peppers, squash and zucchini will keep longest stored in the fridge sealed up in produce bags.  The tomatoes, onions, and basil all prefer to stay at room temperature.  Basil should never be kept below 50 degrees or it will turn black. Keep it in a glass of water on your counter and change out the water and trim the stems as needed to keep it fresh. If you’re not able to use it all up, hang it upside down to dry in a dark cabinet. Everything will need a gentle washing before cooking, but leave the dirt on until you’re ready to use them to prevent spoilage.

Your farmers, Jess & Justin

Regular Share

Regular Share top row, left to right: Basil, White Kennebec potatoes, sungolds. next row: jalapenos, slicing tomatoes and valencia tomato, cucumbers. Next row: assorted pearl onions, garlic, zucchini.  bottom row: Japanese eggplant, yellow squash.

Large Share

Large Share top row, left to right: Basil, White Kennebec potatoes, sungolds. next row: cucumbers, slicing tomatoes, valencia tomato, jalapenos. Next row:  squash, zucchini.  bottom row: assorted pearl onions, garlic, Italian eggplant.

 Mini Share

Mini share, left to right: Basil, valencia tomato, slicing tomatoes, cucumber. Zucchini, next row: Italian eggplant, fairy tale eggplants. bottom row: garlic, assorted onions. and jalapenos.