Harvest Notes Week 13

Tomatoes Every season we get feedback that people want “more tomatoes!”, probably because they are one of the crops we grow that bare very little relation to the stiff, flavorless version of themselves available in grocery stores in the off season.  We hope everyone is savoring the abundance of peak season heirloom tomatoes- using them raw and in sauces, soups, chili, catsup and paste.  The ‘slicer’ varieties are juicier than the ‘paste’ varieties so many people use the paste for cooking but they are actually interchangeable. The slicers just take longer to cook down.

Cherry Tomatoes If you’ve finally eaten your fill of raw cherry tomatoes, toss them into sauces and soups either with the bigger tomatoes or on their own. You will be amazed at how rich the flavor is. You can also roast them in the oven with a mix of veggies or us them in hash browns, eggs, and other stove top dishes.

German Butterball Potatoes These heirloom yellow fleshed potatoes are the creamiest I’ve had. They roast beautifully, whole or cut, and they are a great texture for mashed potatoes and soups too.

Colored Peppers We rarely manage to cook these even though they are so delicious roasted or sautéed  because we eat them all raw before they get that far.

Cherry Bomb Peppers The heat of these is relatively mild and combined with a sweetness that adds good flavor along with the kick.

Cantaloupe It is hard to grow melons in our variable climate but we eeked a few sweet ones out of this very wet season!  

Swiss Chard Greens struggle in the heat so they aren’t as bountiful, aesthetically perfect or tender. We think its worth putting up with the imperfections to add some nutritious leafy veggies into all of the juicy summer dishes we’ve been able to make.

Garlic We are ready to call these fully cured. Feel free to store them outside of the fridge and there is no rush to use them!

Leeks The onion’s mild cousin had the harvest truck smelling like soup and casserole all day! I love to slowly sauté leeks in a bit of oil and salt for 20-40 minutes to get them really well caramelized. Then they are perfect in tomato sauce, potato soup, or really any dish in which you would otherwise use caramelized onions.

Slicing Cucumbers The cuke harvest is finally dwindling for the season. This may be the last of it!