CSA Share Notes:

So many great crops to share with you! We emailed you a detailed update about what to expect the next few weeks. Hope you took a moment to fill yourself in on the garden happenings. A few more tasty weeks left!

Note: Bouquet Subscribers: You’ve got a special share notes section down at the very bottom of this page, so scroll all the way down for info on today’s bouquet.

Now here’s your vegetable line-up:

• Basil — Remember, DO NOT REFRIGERATE your basil.   Store it bouquet style, in a glass of cool water on the counter. If yours is wilty, you may be able to refresh it submerged in a sink of cold water, let it soak for an hour. If it doesn’t revive, use soon, or hang to dry to store and use this winter. (try to pick up your box promptly after delivery whenever possible!)
• Eggplant — Large shares received large Italian eggplant, a taste of the heirloom Barbarella in each box, in addition to a traditional Italian eggplant. Regular shares received long Japanese and fairytale, and Mini shares received a small Italian. My best eggplant tip is cook eggplant HOT and FAST. You want a good browning as this really brings out the sweetness. Grill, oven roast, or blister in a cast iron.
• Slicing Tomatoes —  Some are ready to eat, some need a day or three. Allow them to ripen upside down on a sunny windowsill.
• Sweet Peppers — Everyone is receiving a couple of bell peppers, a few sweet Italian peppers. These went into an excellent Korean barbecue dish with peppers and eggplant. Super delicious.
• Shishito Peppers —
• Squash — This crops is winding down, so just a taste for the Large and Regular shares.
• Cucumbers — about 3 cukes per share, depending on size. Everyone is receiving a couple of cucumbers, and more should be on the way really soon!  Enjoy a fresh cucumber tomato salad, with feta and kalamata olives, or perhaps a crushed cucumber salad with a light asian dressing.
• Onion  —  DELICIOUS sweet red onions for everyone.
• Garlic  — Try roasting some this time!
• Homegrown Farm – Yellow watermelons! — For the Regular Shares only. These were grown by our neighbor and friend Micah McMillan at Homegrown Gardens in Van. He was very eager to tell me that these haven’t been sprayed with anything this year and can be considered chemical free (although some years he does use chemicals). So chill ’em up and chow down!  Homegrown also has a great store in town, open seasonally, that sometimes carries our produce, so be sure to check them out if you’re in the area.
• Winona Orchard – Peaches — This week, they’re a little under ripe. Give them a couple of days on a sunny window sill and they’ll be perfect this weekend. We served cast-iron blistered peaches with sliced basil leaves and a honey drizzle alongside a delicious grilled salmon. We also have been making peach iced tea and serving them on home made vanilla ice cream. Utter heaven. Because the Regular shares are receiving watermelons, the Large and Mini shares are getting peaches this week.

Veggie Storage tips:

• Everything wants to be washed well before cooking, but keep the dirt on till then, to prevent faster spoilage.
• Basil must not be stored in the fridge. Keep it in a glass of water in a cool place, and out of direct light.
• Tomatoes, garlic, and onions prefer room temperature, dry conditions.
• Melons, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, and squash want to be in your fridge. Seal them up in a bag or container to retain moisture for longest storage life.

 

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

 

Regular Share

 

Today’s Regular Share:
Top Left to Rt:  1st row: Italian peppers and bell peppers, Fairytale and Japanese eggplant, basil. 2nd row: cucumbers, red onions, garlic, squash, yellow melon, tomatoes.

Large Share

 

Today’s Large Share:
Top Left to Rt: 1st row: Italian peppers and bell peppers above Shishito peppers, Italian eggplant, slicing tomatoes, (one orange valencia!) and Genovese basil. 2nd row: Cucumbers, red onions, garlic, yellow squash, and peaches

 Mini Share

 

Today’s Mini Share: 1st row: Italian pepper and bell peppers above shishitos, Japanese eggplant, tomatoes, Genovese basil. 2nd row: cucumbers, garlic, red onion, peaches.

 

 

Today’s Bouquet Share:

 

Today’s Bouquet Share notes:

About half of this week’s bouquets are bright and bold, 3 bright red bouquets, 3 bright pink and orange.  And about half are muted tones with the lovely Queeny Lime series zinnia.

Loads of zinnias, lots of cute Gomphrena, quite a few celosia, Veronica, a lot of giant marigolds, and a few verbena and rudbeckia.  I predict I have 2-3 more strong weeks of flowers.

 

Bright hues are headed to Tyler this week. Muted tones are headed to Dallas and Longview.