Week 18, 9/28 & 10/1

The harvest for tomorrow is still underway but here's the plan:

1. Napa cabbage or choi - Last Saturday we distributed a lot of Napa Cabbage and will do so again tomorrow.  You might consider making kim chi with it.  Some of the heads are HUGE - take a smaller one if the larger ones are overwhelming for you. You can use this fresh in a salad or sautee it or use it to make kim chi. 
2. Maybe lettuce - not Wed. but if we don't distribute napa cabbage Sat then we'll hand out lettuce then.
3. A bunch of radishes (white or red, some are longer) or a daikon radish.  The daikon is also huge - some up to a foot or more in length.  They are actually tasty raw now.  Some people use in soups.  Some people roast.  Some people grate it and add to tuna or other salads for a little spicy additive.  We use in kim chi or eat it raw.  Enjoy!
4. Some beets.  They are quite sweet now.  Some are small but they're still tasty.
5. Potatoes - watch for green skins.  If there are any, peel them off before you cook them.  Most are not green but green skins in root crops are not good to eat and can be carcinogenic..
6. Some beans.  The beans have slowed down but are still producing and are still tasty even when huge.  Try them.  Maybe one more week to enjoy the fruits of summer.
7. Choice of either eggplant or summer squash or tomatillos or something else - the fruiting veggies are slowing down with this cold weather.  We're still offering what we are able to harvest.  (the summer squash is coming from the hoop - an experimental planting that's doing pretty well)
8. Sweet peppers
9. Spicy peppers
10. Senposai - this is a mix between mustard and cabbage but I don't find it as spicy as mustard.  The leaves, when mature, are huge.  It's relatively sweet.  Maybe you can make cabbage rolls with this or saute it like any other green.  Soup is always an option.
11. A bunch of chard
12. A head or 2 of garlic
13. A bunch of arugula. You can eat it fresh or sauteed or try making pesto or using it to make pizza.   Yum!
14. Tomatoes - The tomatoes in the field are almost done as the plants don't like this continuously wet weather.  But the tomatoes in the hoop are still producing.  This is good.  We'll continue to have some fresh tomatoes for at least a few weeks.  Hope you enjoy!
15. Basil, parsley & cilantro
16. A sunflower for seeds - try soaking these in a brine (3/8 c. of kosher salt to 8 c. water) for 8 hours then drain and dry in the oven on a very low temp.  The temp can be higher but make sure to stir them often as they will burn quickly.  Some people also toast in a skillet.  If you've roasted pumpkin seeds before, this is the same process.  Eat the shell and all.  Quite tasty and nutritious.
17. Herbs - a mix of various herbs as available
18. Flowers - It's a bit mucky in the flower patch but the flowers are still doing well.

I'll try to post a picture tomorrow when the harvest is all together.

Week 17, 9/21 & 9/24

This week's box contains the following:

1. A bunch of kale
2. A bunch of chard
3. A bunch of arugula
4. A large bag of lettuce - this is going to need to be soaked in a sink to fully clean it.
5. Some cabbage - these are small heads of famosa cabbage which is a savoyed cabbage.  
6. Either tomatillos or eggplant
7. Beans - we shelled some of the larger yard-long beans for lunch today.  Then I sauteed them in some oil.  They were kind of dry - like a cooked fava - and crunchy.  It added a nice texture to the slaw and kale.
8. Tomatoes
9. Sweet peppers
10. Spicy peppers
11. Winter squash - either acorn or spaghetti or carnival.  There will be only one more serving of squash this season.  The squash didn't do well at all.  At least we have some.
12. A head of garlic
13. A large bunch of choi
14. A large handful each of cilantro
15. A large handful of basil
16. A large handful of parsley
17.  Herbs - tarragon, thyme, oregano, & sage
18. U-Pick flowers - enjoy them before the frost!

Thanks!

Summer - Week 16, 9/14 & 9/17

Hello all.  When you pull into the driveway today, try to stay on the gravel area for as much as possible.  Pull in to a parking spot and then back all the way out to the gravel before turning.  It's pretty sloppy and the ruts are becoming deeper as people turn around in the grass.  Thanks.

If you are short on a veggie or have any requests for next week, let me know.  We harvested winter squash a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately there is not a lot of it due to the early hot, dry weather, followed by the extremely wet weather.  And what did make it is small.  I will probably have enough for everyone to have 2 squash and will start distributing them next week or so.

Today's share is still being harvested and is projected to contain:

1. Lettuce - Romaine, Buttercrisp or baby salad mix
2. Beans
3. Collards or kale - some of this is from the hoop.  Those plants are huge and tender.  Kale = Winterbor or Red Russian.  Saturday might also include Lacinato (Dinosaur).  Collards = Variegated or Champion.
4. Onions
5. Garlic
6. Sweet Peppers
7. Spicy Peppers
8. Tomatoes
9. Eggplant or squash or okra or tomatillos (depending on availability).  The summer squash is now done.
10. Komatsuna Summerfest or choi or tat soi
11. Basil
12. Parsley
13. Melons - If you've already had 2 (or 1 if you're a half-share member), please leave the melons for other members (unless the board says otherwise).
14. Sorrel.  I used about 1 cup of this in a beef stew the other night in place of lemon zest.  It wasn't quite as strong as zest but worked nicely.
15. Maybe beets or carrots
16. Herbs - including some cilantro that is flowering but is still good for salsa.  Some might include seed pods (green coriander).  Sage, Oregano, rosemary.
17. U-Pick flowers - Up to 20 stems from the flower garden.

Summer - Week 15

We're in that time, before the frost, when the heat-lovers are still producing and the leafy veggies are coming into their own.  We hope you enjoy it.  I have a suspicion that we'll have an early frost this year.

Here's the plan for this week:

1. FunJen asian lettuce - this is a mild brassica.  It was bred as a "lettucey cabbage" so I'm going to treat it as a lettuce.  It has a more pronounced flavor than lettuce but is tender and tasty.
2. A bunch of arugula
3. A pint of cherry tomatoes
4. Up to two pounds of beans - still your choice of Northeaster (long, flat bean), Purple Podded Pole bean, Gita (yard long bean) or Fortex (long, round green bean).  All beans can be treated and cooked as you would a green bean.  Lately we've been blanching our beans (drop into boiling water for 2 minutes then drain) and then tossing into a skillet with a little oil and soy sauce - until the soy sauce kind of carmelizes and coats the bean.  Very tasty this way.
5. Summer squash or cucumbers or both, if there is enough.
6. Spicy peppers
7. Okra or eggplant
8. Sweet peppers - again, watch the Jimmy Nardellos (long either red or red and green peppers).  They're supposed to be sweet and most are but a few are still REALLY hot.  Taste them up by the stem or try a seed.
9. Basil - enough for pesto
10. A heads of garlic (2 if they're small)
11. A melon - we'll see if there are enough for everyone this week.  They're almost done.
12. Chard - this is beautiful right now.  It's coming out of the hoop and is quite tender.
13. Tat soi
14. Slicing tomatoes or maybe some San Marzano roma tomatoes
15. Herbs as available on the table - most likely mint, thyme, oregano and rosemary
16. U-Pick flowers - 15 - 20 stems