CSA 2014 Week #8

• Chard
• Sweet onion or green onions
• Lettuce
• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Tomatoes
• Basil
• Strawberries

Some sites only:

• Eggplant

Special Announcements:

We will begin to have bulk flats of strawberries available next week! If you like to make jam, or freeze berries for sauces and smoothies in the winter, now’s your chance! They are 10lb flats for $36.00. They will be available on a first come first serve basis, depending on the harvest so if you are interested please call or email Linda in the office!

Vegetable Storage and Preparation Tips:

EGGPLANT: The eggplants are just now starting to ripen in the fields, so the harvest was small this week but will get much bigger in the next few weeks and you will all get to enjoy this delicious vegetable.

Eggplant is best when it’s fresh. Store un-refrigerated at a cool room temperature, or in a hydrator drawer of the fridge for up to 1 week. Eggplant can be peeled, but it’s not essential. To remove any acrid flavors & excess moisture, lightly salt slices and allow them to sit in a colander for 10-15 min. Gently squeeze out any liquid. Eggplant should always be cooked to eliminate solanine, a naturally occurring toxic substance.

CAULIFLOWER: Cauliflower is best eaten soon after it is harvested but will keep for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator if wrapped loosely in plastic. Remove the outer leaves, rinse, and trim off any blemishes or brown spots.

To cook florets, steam for 15-20 minutes. To cook the whole head, remove the core and steam for 15-20 minutes. (Overcooking will result in a strong odor and flavor)

Stir-fry florets with other veggies; add to Indian or Asian curries; top steamed heads with lemon and butter or Parmesan cheese or serve raw with a vegetable dip.

HEIRLOOM TOMATOES! You may be receiving some of these beauties in your box this week. Heirloom tomatoes are a non-hybrid, open pollinated cultivar of the tomato, which means that their seeds have been saved and selected over the years for different desirable tomato traits. The varieties that we grow here on the farm are “Copia,” the orange and yellow tomato, “Cherokee Purple” and “Cherokee Chocolate” the darker red/chocolate colored ones, “Dr. Wyche” the yellow variety, “Ginny’s Purple,” the pink tomato, and “Berkeley Tie Dye,” a orange/red zebra striped tomato (not pictured above).

Some of them may appear green on their shoulders, but that is just the way these types of tomatoes grow, and if the rest of the tomato is soft to the touch, they are ripe and ready to be enjoyed. They will taste delicious paired with the basil in your box this week. Slice and sprinkle with fresh basil, and drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar for a delicious fresh tomato salad.

We love the flavor of heirloom tomatoes, and they are loving this hot weather! The crew has been bringing in over a thousand pounds a week, and we haven’t even reached the peak of the tomato harvest!

  Recipes!

Heirloom Tomato Recipes from marthastewart.com

Lemony Fried Cauliflower from saveur.com

Eggplant recipes and tips from epicurious.com

We also got a delicious recipe idea from Patrice Em on our Facebook page… she said, “I roasted yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, carrots, and green onion in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, 400 degree oven… and then pureed it up with just a tiny bit of water. Best roasted veggie soup I’ve ever had. Yum.”

News From the Field

Jabrila’s message to you this week is “Welcome to Summer!” The boxes are filling with the warm weather crops, and we are transitioning the harvest into more of these vegetables and out of the cool weather crops like bunched greens and sweet onions. We will be giving you more bunched greens and storage onions in the fall, but now you can look forward to more tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and eggplant. They will also be harvesting the first of the green beans next week and cilantro will be coming on soon!

I am excited that the crew has been taking photos and sending them to me, as it is sometimes tricky for me to get out in the fields every week with Genevieve. Tyson took some of the tomato photos above, and Jeremy also sent in this awesome photo from the tractor seat, that I will leave you with, of the cabbage harvest this week. I hope you all stay cool and enjoy the overflowing bounty of vegetables in your box this week!

-Sara