What’s in the Box: Eggplant, slicing and heirloom tomatoes, purple stripe garlic, sweet yellow onion, red torpedo onion, leeks, swiss chard, zucchini, english cucumber, summer squash, red cabbage, pablano pepper, cherry tomatoes, and basil.
What’s going on at the farm: We are seeing some significant shift in weather and day length this week on the farm as some cooler nights dip down into the lower 50’s. Week 11 is our first delivery of the second half of the season but has also been 5 months straight of work for us and we are looking forward to taking a few days off here and there in the coming months. Some summer crops will slow down a bit and are reaching the end of their days like cucumbers while others like sweet peppers are just starting to come in. Luckily we won’t have to work through as many humid 90 degree days either with this moderately cool and wet weather year. All our onions are harvested with our last haul coming in yesterday on Sunday evening. Our summer onions are all ready cured and clipped. The last batch will be cured in a week or so and we will clip the tops on those and stockpile storage onions for your fall boxes. We found the first ripe cantaloupe this week and just need a little more sun and heat before this crop should be ready for you. Sweet peppers are just starting and will be coming soon as well. Never the less our crop list is extensive and very summer this week.
Cherry tomatoes are pouring in and our mix has 7 types which include chocolate, red, orange, yellow, green zebra, yellow striped, and pink cherry tomatoes. So many ways to enjoy these but just rinsed as a snack is a super easy way. They are great roasted too.
Slicing and heirloom tomatoes are also in and we have been distributing them to you in varied stages of ripeness so that you can have them throughout the week. Remember you don’t need to refrigerate tomatoes, they ripen and taste better just left on the counter.
Eggplant is an August favorite on the farm here. We had a casserole last week which used 4 eggplant under a layer of sliced tomato, and pepper, and onion with mozzarella cheese melted on top…. so tasty. My favorite characteristic of eggplant is its ability to soak up the oils and herbs in a dish kind of like mushrooms. A properly cooked eggplant is creamy and full of savory flavors.
Cucumbers are still rolling in but definitely slowing down so we will be decreasing the amount you get each week from here on, enjoy these crisp and hydrating summer fruits while they last.
Zucchini and summer squash, just a tad of each in our share this week. So many uses for these the list truly doesn’t end. We put them on pizza and in our pasta and stir fry dishes quite often at home here.
Onions this week are dried and cured meaning you don’t want to refrigerate these any more. They are not like the fresh green top onions you received before because we layed these out in the sun to cure for a week before clipping of the tops for storage. The curing process results in a better lasting and tasting onion, see if you notice the difference in sweetness especially in the large yellow Ailsa Craig sweet onions which we had a fantastic crop of this year. You will also receive red torpedo onions this week.
Our garlic is also dry now and can be stored without refrigeration, more purple stripe coming to you this week which is a tad spicier then our porcelain garlic which will be coming later in the season.
Leek are our third member of the allium family coming this week, these long shanked summer leeks don’t store as long as a fall leek but the flavor is great on these. My favorite way to eat them is sautéed in butter and blended with potatoes and cream for potato leek soup which can be served cold or hot.
Cabbage is back this week, we planted them closely and harvested our red cabbages at a nice mini stage. They are good for slaw like a green cabbage or my favorite way which is roasted in quarters either in the oven or on the grill and cooked slowly with some marinade.
Pablano peppers are our hot pepper this week, just a few of these to go around right now but the chile flavor is excellent and the heat is mild. Much more so when the seeds are removed. Be careful when handling hot pepper seeds though no matter how hot the pepper.
A little basil coming for everyone this week. Our basil is nearing the end of its cycle but we thought with all the tomatoes it would be nice to try and get you all some basil one more time this summer.
Lastly our green this week is swiss chard. Never before have we had such a wonderful crop of it. No sign of slow down, insect damage, or disease in this gorgeous crop. We truly eat this almost every day sautéed with eggs in the morning to add some vitamins and fiber to our morning protein. Treat this green like spinach and use it with or without the stems.
A few more mentions this week which might make the box include green beans, pea shoots, and celery. We have been debating weather we will have enough quantity on these three crops this week for everyone and that has yet to be decided so we will do what we can there. Thank you all for your support and enjoy the summers bounty!
