This weeks’  share contains:  2 pounds of potatoes, 1/2 pound of garlic, 1 pound of red onions, 1/4 pound of French Grey Shallots, 1 bunch of carrots, 1 bunch of sorrel, 1 pint each of shishito and aji dulce peppers.

Potatoes store in the refrigerator, garlic and shallot and onions store in a dry cool and not direct light spot.  Carrots and sorrel store in fridge.  Peppers can be kept on the counter.

The aji dulce peppers, though they look hot, are only as hot as black pepper.  They make a great flavored simple syrup that is delicious poured over vanilla ice cream, over a simple cake, to flavor fizzy water.  They’re also good in salsa, beans, in a relish with onions.

The grey shallots need to be used within the month.  They make wonderfully flavored salad dressings.

Sorrel is a lemony flavored herb that is great with potatoes.  There are potato and sorrel soup recipes and potato and sorrel gratin recipes that we love.  I also like it as a pesto.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015967-potato-and-sorrel-gratin

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/273084/sorrel-potato-soup/

You can make a great vinaigrette using dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, shallots that is yummy over warm chunks of boiled potatoes.

Hey all!  Sorry I haven’t made a blog entry the last 2 weeks.  The rain gave us a bit of a break and we were planting all we could.  The rains that began in mid-July and have persisted regularly since have greatly affected our ability to plant on schedule and so we are in a lull now and will be for a few weeks.  The boxes will get a little redundant but will be good food and some will be things you can store if you don’t feel like eating them now.  Potatoes will store best in your refrigerator.  Onions and garlic can be stored in a corner of your kitchen that doesn’t get direct sun or in a cabinet.  There will be no winter squash as it died in the WAY TO MUCH rain.  Sweet potatoes will be coming early October.

This weeks’ share:  2 pounds sweet yellow and orange bell peppers, 2 pounds Yukon Gem potatoes, 1 bunch leeks, 1 celeriac, 1 pint cherry tomatoes, 1 quart small plum tomatoes.

The plums and cherries are great oven roasted and then made into a sauce or salsa.  They freeze well once roasted too.  To roast them, I cut them in half, arrange on a sheet pan, sprinkle with salt, oregano, black pepper and olive oil then roast until somewhat browned and dry looking on the surface.  In a hot oven (450 degrees) this takes 20-30 minutes.  In a warm oven (250 degrees) in takes 2-3 hours.

I made a good soup last night with CSA box ingredients.  Chop into thin circles the bunch of leeks and slowly saute in butter with thyme, salt and pepper until soft and somewhat browned.  To the leeks add de-seeded and coarsley chopped bell peppers, peeled and diced celeriac, potatoes chopped into cubes.  Stir all vegetables together and let saute for a few minutes.  Add enough veggie or chicken stock to barely cover and let simmer until everything is soft.  Send thru a food mill or food processor, return to pot and let simmer together for 15 minutes more.  Serve with hot pepper relish or croutons.

This weeks’ share contains:

1 pound of green beans, 1 pound of okra, 1 pound of summer squash, 1 bunch of leeks, 2 Italian eggplant, 1 pint of shishito peppers, 4 pounds of tomatoes.  If you like hot peppers, please grab a few each week while we have them.  We don’t put them in the share much as most folks don’t like them.  You can grab them from us at market of is you do the farm pick-up get them at the stand!

You will need to weigh out your own tomatoes.  There are several varieties so you can get different ones.  The weather pattern has been rough for the tomatoes.  we are doing everything we can to keep them alive but there is nothing we can do to avoid splitting.  The amount of rain we are getting (daily showers of 1/4 inch to 2 inches for 3 weeks now) cause the fruit to split but they still taste great!  Just need to be used quickly.  I suggest tomato pie, salsa, soup, sauce.

The shishito peppers are not hot.  They are best charred in a cast iron skillet and sprinkled with salt and lime or grilled.  They make a great appetizer or addition to tacos.  You do not need to remove the seeds as they are easy to eat.

This is likely the last of the summer squash.  Lots of crops are succumbing to mold in this extra wet environment of late.

Leeks are best cooked rather than raw.  You can use them in your tomato pie.  They are great in soups and lentils as well.  Cut them in half and then into half moon pieces and wash.  Especially the part close to the leaves holds dirt.  pat them dry and saute in some oil and or butter for about 5 minutes while stirring, then put a lid on and turn to low and let cook until very soft (melted), then add to your dish.  They lend much flavor to anything.

Roasted Okra and Summer Vegetables, from Root to Leaf

1 pound okra washed, capped and halved lengthwise, 1 small onion, 3 cups total of any variety of other summer vegetables (squash, green beans, tomatoes), slat, freshly ground black pepper, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil and mint

Preheat the oven to 400.  Combine okra, onion, and other vegetables in a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and toss well to coat.  Transfer to a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet and spread out in a single layer.  Roast until the vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes.  Toss with fresh herbs. (I prefer to let them get a little bit more browned than just tender.  Also, I like parsley, cilantro, anise hyssop or a combination of all the herbs as well.)

Share contents:

1 bunch basil, 1 pint cherry tomatoes, 2 pounds sauce tomatoes, 2 pounds Baltic Rose potatoes, 1 bunch onions, 1 pound yellow wax beans, 1 head of romaine, 4 cucumbers, 1 purple bell and 1 Carmen sweet pepper.

Your tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and basil are not in the box.  You’ll weigh out your own tomatoes, grab a pint of cherries and a bunch of basil in addition to the contents of 1 box per share.

You can make a great summer salad of blanched wax beans, halved cherry tomatoes, and a basil- red wine vinaigrette.

The sauce tomatoes cook into a lovely sauce but they are also good for fresh eating.

This week:  1/2 pound “Jimmy Nardello” peppers (sweet!), 2 Italian eggplant, 1 garlic, 1 bunch yellow onions, 1 bunch purple carrots, 2 pounds squash / zucchini, 2 suhyo long cucumbers, 1 head romaine, 1 head summer crisp, 1 pound tomatillos and 1 jalapeno.

The peppers look hot but they are a very sweet Italian heirloom frying pepper.  Use them anywhere you like to have sweet peppers.  They are especially good sauteed with onions and eaten as a side with eggs, beef, or grilled vegetables.

The tomatillos make a great salsa when roasted with onions and garlic, then pureed. Add some fresh onion, a jalapeno, and lime juice and  salt and enjoy!

Tomatoes are coming!  You will get them in your box next week as well as green beans and yellow wax beans.

I hope you have a great week!