Week 6; August 8, 2013
What's in the box?
rainbow chard
broccoli
salad mix
tender sweet cabbage
eggplant OR cauliflower
bell peppers
sweet onions
cucumbers
cilantro
zucchini/ summer squash
fennel
broccoli
summer squash/ zucchini
tender sweet cabbage OR red cabbage
salad mix
sweet onions
bell peppers
cilantro
cucumbers
Notes on the box...
This box is calling out for a big vegetable stir-fry! Onion, broccoli, summer squash, bell pepper, cabbage, and eggplant topped with some chopped cilantro! yum!
Cabbage can be stored in your crisper or just on a shelf in your fridge (though the outer leaves may dry out some this way). It will last for at least a month, but always tastes better fresher. This variety is wonderful for fresh eating. Slaws or salads are perfect. There has also been some kimchi experiments happening around here and this cabbage has proven very nice for that as well.
Salad mix is from our friend's farm, Burning River. We are doing a crop swap this season and he's the salad mix master! Burning River uses the same chemical free, sustainable growing practices that we do, and we really admire him as a farmer. We washed this mix, but since there was a lot of rain the night before it was harvested, the leaves got splashed with dirt and sand. It still had a bit of grit when we had some with lunch, so another wash is in suggested.
Sweet Onions are a favorite summer treat for us. They are not cured, so they need to be stored in the fridge and used within a couple of weeks. They are so nice and mild and sweet! They're great for fresh eating or for carmelizing. Otto enjoyed one the way he enjoys apples. I didn't expect him to be too pleased when he grabbed one and took a big bite out of it, but he just kept right on eating it until it was gone!
The zukes and summer squash really kicked it out this week, which means the plants are likely winding down. Remember that zucchini and summer squash can be used interchangeably. So you can make summer squash bread and it will be just as lovely as your zucchini bread.
Eggplant keeps trickling in slowly. We hope we are getting to everyone with it. The long skinny ones are an Asian variety and are fantastic for stir fries. A few people got the first of the Italian globe type. We hope warm enough weather keeps up for these to keep coming on. Eggplant is a great example of a vegetable that many people think they don't like until they try it fresh. It will keep longest if you are able to keep the moisture up, so in your crisper and in a plastic bag will make it last longer.
Cilantro should be stored in an open plastic bag in your fridge and used soon. It's a wonderful herb, but not the best keeper. It's young and tender and a lot less stemmy than the stuff you get in the store. You can wash it and chop up the whole bunch without having to pull the little leaves off of the stems. There will be another round of cilantro next week (hopefully with some TOMATOES!)
Single shares... see previous post for information on fennel.
Recipes...
[yumprint-recipe id='10']Savory Zucchini Cakes
On the farm...
The weather cooling off has slowed some of the summer crops, but we are pretty sure we will have tomatoes for next week. FINALLY! Some other things we are looking forward to for next week will be potatoes, carrots, green beans, and more cilantro. Oh, and maybe some sweet corn, too!
Remember to mark your calendar for the harvest party! September 14 here at the farm. We will post directions and more closer to the date. We really hope to meet you there!
Josh and the cilantro harvest
