CSA Share Notes

Here’s your vegetable line up:

• Peppers!— We’re so happy some are finally ready.  Our pretty purple and green bells are great. This week they went to the regular shares. Long slender Italian peppers went to the Large shares. These look like a hot pepper, but they’re not! They’re totally sweet and mild like a bell.
• Eggplant!— The very first fruits of this crop.  The large shares received a nice large Italian eggplant. The Regular shares received a long Japanese, and the mini’s received our petite Fairytale eggplant. My favorite one of all.  They’re excellent cooked in high heat, but no need to heat up your kitchen if you have a grill. Grilled eggplant is my favorite way to eat it.
• Potatoes— White Kennebec this week. Enjoy them wedged and roasted or grilled into big chunky fries, or cube and hash brown them for the yummiest breakfast tacos with egg, potato, and cheese.  Did you know that potatoes, when cooked and then cooled, contain something called Resistant Starch that is excellent for blood sugar regulation and pancreas health? (and then you can reheat them for serving, without reducing the level of resistant starch) Google it! It’s awesome.
• Garlic— We’ve been getting a lot of compliments about our garlic this year! We’re pretty proud of it, too and so glad you’re enjoying it.  We grow a whole bunch of Red Creole types, although, we’ve saved seed on them for so many years now, this has really become our own variety. It’s a great garlic.
• Onions— 3 for the Large, 2 for the regular, and 1 for the mini.  If you notice a bit of black dust under the onion skin, that’s aspergillus niger, a mold that is totally harmless and grows on storage onions in our humid ETX climate. Just rinse it off, or remove that first layer of the onion and you’re good to go.
• Basil— Lovely bunches. Remember not to refrigerate your basil, or it will turn black! Store it on the counter in a glass of cool water. If wilted, you can often revive it by trimming the stem and submerging it in a sink of cold water for a couple of hours.
• Cherry tomatoes— Sungolds for the Mini, Apple Yellow for the Large, and a mix of both for the Regular shares. Sweet and fresh.
• Tomatoes— Enough for all the large shares to receive several. Allow to complete ripening upside down on your counter.
• Tomatillos— For regular shares. This wonderful crop is excellent in any latin fare. Try roasting it and then blending it with jalapenos, fresh onion, garlic, cilantro, and lime to make a killer green salsa. The heat will be determined by how hot your jalapenos are. Just like tomatoes, don’t refrigerate this crop.
• Squash— Still had enough for everyone this week!
• Zucchini—Just enough for the large shares this week
• Cucumbers—Everyone received crunchy cukes. We have a few longer/bigger varieties that are slicing types, and shorter, squatty varieties that are pickling types. Both can be used interchangeably in any salad or for fresh, crunchy snacking. If you received any really big ones, you can scoop out the seeds, or slice and use for refreshing cucumber water

Veggie Storage tips:

Tomatoes and tomatillos want to stay above 55 degrees, so keep them away from the fridge! Same with Basil. On the counter in a glass of water is their preferred storage set-up. Potatoes, garlic, and onions prefer room temperature, with good air ventilation. If stored in the dark, the potatoes will begin to sprout, but don’t give them *too* much light, either, or their skin will begin to green. Everything else (squash, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers) wants to be in your refrigerator, sealed up in bags of containers to prevent drying out. Everything will need a gentle 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- bell peppers, tomatillos, garlic, potatoes.  2nd row: mixed cherry toms and onions. Bottom row: squash, cucumbers, Japanese eggplant, and basil.

Large Share

Large Share top left to right:   Cucumbers, yellow apple tomatoes, potatoes, garlic. 2nd row: Italian peppers, slicing tomatoes, purple onion. Bottom row: Basil, squash, zucchini, eggplant, yellow onion.

Mini Share

 Mini share: top left to right: Sungolds, potatoes. 2nd row: basil, Fairytale eggplant, garlic. Bottom row: squash, cucumbers, purple onion.