Paste Tomatoes The narrow, oblong shaped tomatoes are often referred to as paste tomatoes or sauce tomatoes. They aren’t as juicy as slicing tomatoes and thus are more often used to make sauce since you don’t have to boil them down as long to get that concentrated tomato flavor. They are also often used for pico de gallo to get a firmer tester with less juice. That said, I make sauce out of slicing tomatoes all the time and salsa too and it’s all delicious! We grow two varieties of paste tomatoes, San Marzanos (a classic Italian type) and Speckled Roman (a gorgeous and delicious heirloom with golden stripes).
Slicing Tomatoes These are the round tomatoes in your share and are classically thought of as being suited for salads, sandwiches and, if you’re my seven year old, simply being sliced up and salted for raw consumption. Remember that there is a range of ripeness represented in your tomatoes to last you the week so you can eat the ripest first and keep the less ripe ones on your counter top for a few days. Cherry Tomatoes When it rains tomatoes, it pours! These of course are perfect for a simple snack or salad but are also delicious roasted in the oven with other veggies. Cilantro This would be a great week to make salsa with all of the tomatoes, garlic, onion, and peppers! Garlic These heads are now fully cured and can be stored out of the fridge. Green Peppers and Purple Peppers Both of these types of peppers are savory rather than sweet like red or yellow peppers. Hot Peppers You have one hot pepper to add a little kick on salsa week:) Sweet Onion These white onions are like walla wallas. They are quite yummy raw or caramelized. They are fresh, not cured, so they are best stored in the fridge although they’d do fine on a counter top for a week or two. Zucchini Someday, it will no longer be zucchini season and we’ll miss these prolific veggies. But that day is not yet today! Enjoy them while they last:) Celery This is a tricky vegetable to grow in our climate. We always end up with skinnier, drier ribs than we’d like but these are excellent for soup! Potatoes This variety is pink on the inside and out! The particular texture of these makes incredible baked potatoes and would also be delicious in soup with celery, zucchini, peppers, onions, and garlic.
Leeks Slowly sauté thinly sliced leeks with a bit of salt for a caramelized, mild flavor that adds creaminess to sauces, roasted veggies, or potato-leek soup. Potatoes We’ve started harvesting our crop of potatoes! Cucumbers and Zucchini/Summer Squash Our cucumber and zucchini harvests are slowing down a bit in the humidity. We hope the plants will keep churning out harvests for a few more weeks. Eggplant The trick to perfect eggplant texture is cooking thoroughly. Whenever you roast, fry, saute, or braise your eggplant slices, avoid rubberiness by adding enough oil and continuing to cook long enough to soften. Try a delicious babaganoush dip by thoroughly roasting halved eggplant and then blending with garlic, olive oil, tahini, and salt. Swiss Chard These greens are super yummy when stewed with tomatoes. Garlic These heads are now fully cured and can be stored in or out of the fridge. Green Peppers The first of our pepper harvest! Purple Peppers These gorgeous peppers aren’t sweet yet like red or orange peppers but rather taste more like green peppers. Their color lightens when cooked. Tomatoes Yummy heirloom varieties! Some of these are already ripe and ready to eat today and others could use a few days of ripening at room temperature before they are at their peek. Store tomatoes on a counter top until their color is robust and they are soft but not mushy. If you have a tomato at peek ripeness but aren’t ready to eat it yet, you can store it in the fridge to preserve it but cold temperatures reduce some of the flavor- so try to catch it during the couple of day window when it’s perfect. Heads up that one of our pink varieties has green shoulders- which means that even when it’s ripe the top will have a green color to it. Leeks Slowly sauté thinly sliced leeks with a bit of salt for a caramelized, mild flavor that adds creaminess to sauces, soups, or roasted veggies.
Thyme This aromatic herb dries very easily for storage or can be used fresh. Cucumbers and Zucchini/Summer Squash Our cucumber and zucchini harvests are slowing down a bit in the humidity. We hope the plants will keep churning out harvests for a few more weeks. Eggplant The trick to perfect eggplant texture is cooking thoroughly. Whenever you roast, fry, saute, or braise your eggplant slices, avoid rubberiness by adding enough oil and continuing to cook long enough to soften. Try a delicious babaganoush dip by thoroughly roasting halved eggplant and then blending with garlic, olive oil, tahini, and salt. Curly Kale Stewed summer kale slow-cooked with tomatoes is worth trying if you are out of ideas for cooking greens. Garlic These heads are now fully cured and can be stored in or out of the fridge. Cherry Tomatoes Snack on them raw or make simple and flavor packed sauces or salads with them. Slicing Tomatoes Yummy heirloom varieties! Some of these are already ripe and ready to eat today and others could use a few days of ripening at room temperature before they are at their peek. Store tomatoes on a counter top until their color is robust and they are soft but not mushy. If you have a tomato at peek ripeness but aren’t ready to eat it yet, you can store it in the fridge to preserve it but cold temperatures reduce some of the flavor- so try to catch it during the couple of day window when it’s perfect. Heads up that one of our pink varieties has green shoulders- which means that even when it’s ripe the top will have a green color to it. Green Beans The green bean plants are slowing down so this is likely the last week of them in your shares for the season. Enjoy! Beets These are the last of the summer beet planting but expect more this fall. Not used to cooking with beets? They are more versatile than you think! Try a chocolate beet cake, a sweet and earthy slaw, or a blended soup with tomatoes. The greens are edible and can be used in soups or sautée but it’s ok if you send them to the compost too:)
Sweet Onion This variety of sweet onions is mild and perfect for raw salads although you can also caramelize them for pizza toppings or any dish. They are fresh, meaning that they have not yet been cured for storage and should be kept in the refrigerator. Parsley Washing herbs a while before they are used diminishes their flavor so we always give them to you as is, straight from the field. Some of the leaves on these are a bit dirty so you’ll want to wash well. Cucumbers When it rains cucumbers, it pours cucumbers! Cold cucumber soup, cucumbers on toast, marinated Asian style cucumber salad, Middle Eastern style cucumber and tomato salad- so many options! Sungold Cherry Tomatoes These are on the shortlist for tastiest foods on earth. Snack on them raw or make simple and flavor packed sauces or salads with them. Green Beans Fresh young green beans are so tender they are truly unlike anything else. Snack on these raw, steam, sear on the grill, or toss into stir-fry. Rainbow Chard Gorgeous greens for soups, omelets, sautée, casserole, steamed greens, salads, curries, or tahini dips. Fresh Garlic These heads are on their way toward being cured but you should continue to store them in the fridge for now. Zucchini/ Summer Squash We grow green and yellow zucchini so you’ll get a mix of both throughout the summer. We also grow a yellow summer squash that is thin at the top and bulbous at the bottom. All the varieties are interchangeable in cooking. Slicing Tomatoes Yummy heirloom varieties! Some of these are already ripe and ready to eat today and others could use a few days of ripening at room temperature before they are at their peek. Store tomatoes on a counter top until their color is robust and they are soft but not mushy. If you have a tomato at peek ripeness but aren’t ready to eat it yet, you can store it in the fridge to preserve it but cold temperatures reduce some of the flavor- so try to catch it during the couple of day window when it’s perfect. Heads up that one of our pink varieties has green shoulders- which means that even when it’s ripe the top will have a green color to it. Sungold Cherry Tomatoes These little jewels of summer pretty much speak for themselves:)
Slicing Tomatoes Yummy heirloom varieties! Some of these are already ripe and ready to eat today and others could use a few days of ripening at room temperature before they are at their peek. Store tomatoes on a counter top until their color is robust and they are soft but not mushy. If you have a tomato at peek ripeness but aren’t ready to eat it yet, you can store it in the fridge to preserve it but cold temperatures reduce some of the flavor- so try to catch it during the couple of day window when it’s perfect. Parsley Use this curly parsley is great for salads, dressings, soups, tabouli, and garnishes. Washing herbs a while before they are used diminishes their flavor, so we always give them to you as is straight from the field. Some of the leaves on these are a bit dirty so you’ll want to wash well. Cucumbers Of the four cucumbers in your share, you have two each of two different types. The thicker skinned ones might be more familiar from the store. The thinner skinned ones are called unagi and really don’t require peeling at all. Green Beans Fresh young green beans are so tender they are truly unlike anything else. Snack on these raw, steam, sear on the grill, or toss into stir-fry. Curly Kale The cooking greens are on their way out for the summer so let’s enjoy them while they last. You’ll notice that the texture is tougher than they were in the spring but the summer kale is still tasty and great for kale chips, pestos, and other dishes. You may need to steam a little longer for steamed greens. Carrots This is the last of the summer carrots for a while. Fresh Garlic These heads are on their way toward being cured but you should continue to store them in the fridge for now. Zucchini/ Summer Squash We grow green and yellow zucchini so you’ll get a mix of both throughout the summer. We also grow a yellow summer squash that is thin at the top and bulbous at the bottom. All the varieties are interchangeable in cooking. Eggplant You have long Asian style eggplant and round Italian eggplant in your shares this week. Both can be used interchangeably in most recipes. Savoy Cabbage A favorite around here, this cabbage is perfect for slaws and salads partially because a yummy dressing will stick in all it’s nooks and crannies. Cabbage keeps for a long time so no need to use it up right away. If you don’t use it all raw, try sautéing it or braising by steaming it first, then slathering it in sauce and baking on a high temp in the oven.
Eggplant Already? Yup! The eggplant are loving this heat. I find that the trick to delicious eggplant is cooking it fully to soften. If the texture is at all rubbery, I continue frying, roasting or stewing for longer. I also find that plenty of oil helps an eggplant along toward that ideal texture. Cilantro Perfect for curries, bean dishes, salad dressings or for drying to preserve. Just hang in a well ventilated space if you’d like to go that route. Rainbow Swiss ChardThe leaves make a gorgeous wrap when used like a tortilla or spring roll. You can also chop for raw salads, sauté, stir-fry, add to omlets or quiche, put in soups… so many options! Cucumbers Of the four cucumbers in your share, you have two each of two different types. The thicker skinned ones might be more familiar from the store. The thinner skinned ones are called unagi and really don’t require peeling at all. Basil On other basil weeks we’ve harvested a small bunch for you to use as seasoning. This week, we’ve distributed a pesto amount of basil in each share! Remove stems and toss into a food processor (or chop by hand) with garlic, oil, salt, and perhaps nuts and/or parmesan. Curly Kale This variety works well for making kale chips: tear the leaves until bite sized, add oil and salt, mix them around to coat, bake at 350 until crispy and dry (5-10 minutes) and wallah! It is versatile for any other kale use as well. Carrots We think this variety is even sweeter than the one we harvest earlier this summer. See if you agree! The greens are pretty but bitter. You can try making pesto out of them with garlic, oil and nuts or seeds. You could also use them to make soup stock with your garlic peels, beet stems, and zucchini tops. Or you can feed them to a local rabbit or compost pile:) Fresh Garlic These heads are on their way toward being cured but continue to store them in the fridge for now. Zucchini/ Summer Squash We grow green and yellow zucchini so you’ll get a mix of both throughout the summer. We also grow a yellow summer squash that is thin at the top and bulbous at the bottom. All the varieties are interchangeable in cooking. |
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