Paula Red apple harvest has begun! These are the best early apple, nice and crunchy with more sweetness than the Early Macs…and just in time for school.
We are picking a new batch of corn and it is BEAUTIFUL. Yes, it is still best eaten the day you got it (the day we picked it), but you all know that by now 😉
Blueberries and melons have peaked and will phase out, but peaches are going strong and the apple season is really just beginning. This week brings more incredible peppers, eggplants, lettuces, squash and cukes, onions, broccoli or cauliflower, something green, potatoes and more. A kohlrabi might show up in your box or some type of cabbage, but sometimes I do not know these things until after the fact…like when you guys email me or FB post with “what is this?”
The kids are thrilled to have broccoli and they’ll eat that daily. Interestingly, they almost always ask for it steamed and they enjoy it best with a little mayo. That makes my life simple, well, except for Faith asking for broccoli soup! I do have a very simple soup recipe on the blog but have held off making it because it wasn’t really soup weather 😉
This is the best time for making large stir fry and casseroles, freezing the excess. Eggplant can be cooked up (I like it sliced and baked on a sheet) and frozen for later meals; peppers sliced up and frozen in a sealed bag or container are handy for your winter recipes. I freeze mine in larger bags and just take out a handful or two, as needed.
Check out veggie lasagna on the blog. I do love when you can substitute freely, omit at will and still have a good meal – all while using up a pile of veggies in the box 🙂
Member Aimee sent me a couple recipes this week, and coincidentally, we had made a similar tomato salad that week too, though I did not peel my
nectarines 😉 Naturally, peaches would work just as well!
Tomato & Nectarine Salad (adapted from Boston Globe http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/food-dining/2015/08/18/recipe-for-lamb-spiedini-with-peach-tomato-and-mint-salad/Y2cdZ4ZU1QVu8fMXfu2fIJ/story.html) 2 T red wine vinegar Salt and pepper to taste 3T olive oil 2 large tomatoes, seeds squeezed out, chopped 1 cucumber, peeled and seeded, chopped 3 nectarines, peeled, chopped 2 sprigs fresh basil, minced In a salad bowl, whisk together the vinegar, salt, and pepper. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, nectarines and basil.
Farm Dirt
School starts for our children this week. Not ready L I am hoping to find the time to get a great deal of our food put by while they are at school and in between shuttling to practices, dance, games, markets and CSA J
Some of it goes pretty quickly like freezing broccoli and other tasks are more of a day long venture, like canning salsa. I will be tackling the zucchini squares and cakes this week, as those are things the kids pack in their lunches all winter. I also need to get busy with the peaches, as that season will come to an end well before the broccoli is done.
This is really the best time of year at the farm for the great bounty coming in. It’s a blast to walk and see those long awaited crops that began as a seed way back in March, actually mature and delicious! Of course, Glenn will tell you it is the worst time to see that farm. I am not sure if that is because there is so much to pick that the weeding gets put on the back burner or if it is because there are crops that have been picked through and on their way out – or all of the above. It certainly doesn’t’ look fresh and new as it does in June. Regardless, I still think it is a perfect time at the farm J
Eat well,
Geneviève Stillman
