What did your CSA farmer send you?

06 August 2021, 11:42 AM

wtg

This week's haul includes zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, kale, cucumbers, beets, eggplants, corn (lots of corn) and watermelon. The tomatoes in the bowl off to the right are from my garden.

And the beets are almost as big as the baby watermelons...

06 August 2021, 12:27 PM

Steve Miller

quote:
Originally posted by Qaanaaq-Liaaq:
One of the farm stands sells herbs only so I bought some mint which is not usually stocked in supermarkets.

Not sure if this is a problem in colder climates, but around here mint is NOT something you want to get loose in your yard. It can run 100 feet or more and wants to take over everything.

06 August 2021, 04:29 PM

wtg

It's invasive here, too. I only plant it in a container that I place near the veggies. The bees love the mint flowers.

06 August 2021, 06:26 PM

BeeLady

Ours this week is a bit smaller..We have had SOOO much rain it has slowed the harvest.

That and because I help pack them, if a box comes up short, I defer to a customer so my share is a bit lighter than the norm.

Today is Tokyo Bekana , carrots and heirloom potatoes, fennel.
I passed on beets (I still have some from last week.)

I did get an extra tomato or two (they have splits in them) and the garlic is from our staff stash, the less than perfect that we offer to all who work here. My plan is to make pesto this weekend.

I asked for the garlic while in the greenhouse yesterday. I LOVE to clean garlic. We all sit around on milk crates and clip off the stalks, roots and peel the outer layer of paper to reveal the beautiful head beneath. It is such a satisfying chore.

Even better, this garlic was planted by all of us after a staff meeting on the farm last fall. Love, love, love my job.

07 August 2021, 04:03 PM

big al

quote:
Originally posted by wtg:
It's invasive here, too. I only plant it in a container that I place near the veggies. The bees love the mint flowers.

When I was growing up, our septic tank was allowed to discharge onto the surface in a pasture below the house rather than drain into a leech bed. The area around that discharge was rife with mint growing in what was probably very fertile but maybe not too sanitary soil. I used to pull a few leaves off the plants as I passed by to chew for the refreshing flavor.

Big Al

--------------------------------
Money seems to buy the most happiness when you give it away.

Why does everything have to be so complicated, all in the name of convenience. -ShiroKuro

A lifetime of experience will change a person. If it doesn't, then you're already dead inside. -MarkJ

07 August 2021, 04:21 PM

big al

quote:
Originally posted by BeeLady:

Today is Tokyo Bekana

I had never seen that variety of oriental green before. I'm used to seeing bok choi and napa cabbage in our local xupermarket, but continue to be surprised by the varieties of vegetables that I never heard of. Maybe I need to visit the oriental market again and look at the produce section. My biggest problem there is I have no idea what I'm looking at sometimes or what to do with it if I buy it.

Our CSA has been focused largely on things I'm accustomed to eating, such as lettuce, sweet corn, bell peppers, tomatoes, a cantaloupe this week, various onions, celery, blueberries, and so on. A kohlrabi a few weeks ago was probably the most "exotic" vegetable we've received.

I'm pleased to hear that you job is so satisfying.

Big Al

07 August 2021, 04:45 PM

Steve Miller

quote:
Originally posted by big al:
Maybe I need to visit the oriental market again and look at the produce section. My biggest problem there is I have no idea what I'm looking at sometimes or what to do with it if I buy it.

We used to have an International market near here that carried all sorts of produce I have never seen before.

I saw an Asian guy there selecting a Dragonfruit and I asked him what it was. He told me, and I asked him what it tasted like. He told me it was terrible - bitter and full of seeds.

When I asked him why he ate it if it was so awful he told me that he really didn't know and bought it anyway.

11 August 2021, 05:30 PM

wtg

Today I happened to see an episode of America's Test Kitchen that showed how to prepare Pasta alla Norma, a Silician dish that features eggplant. We got a couple of small eggplants from Farmer John last week and hadn't cooked them yet, so off I went to cook dinner.....

ATK came up with a novel way to cook the eggplant. Half inch dice and a little bit of salt. Line a plate with either paper coffee filters or paper towels that have no printing on them. Cook the eggplant in the microwave for 10 minutes or so.

You later cook it in a skillet in a small amount of oil to get a bit of browning. It worked out really well! Would be great for ratatouille, I think...

I forgot the anchovies (

) , but I did add some Kalamata olives and capers just because they sounded good. Fresh basil from my garden.

https://gastronomyblog.com/201...01/pasta-alla-norma/

Recommended! (as is the Gastronomy blog...lots of possibilities for future experimentation...)

11 August 2021, 06:02 PM

BeeLady

quote:
Originally posted by big al:

I had never seen that variety of oriental green before. I'm used to seeing bok choi and napa cabbage in our local xupermarket, but continue to be surprised by the varieties of vegetables that I never heard of. Maybe I need to visit the oriental market again and look at the produce section. My biggest problem there is I have no idea what I'm looking at sometimes or what to do with it if I buy it.

Our CSA has been focused largely on things I'm accustomed to eating, such as lettuce, sweet corn, bell peppers, tomatoes, a cantaloupe this week, various onions, celery, blueberries, and so on. A kohlrabi a few weeks ago was probably the most "exotic" vegetable we've received.

I'm pleased to hear that you job is so satisfying.

Big Al

Big Al, we are nonprofit urban farm that serves most customers on food assistance. As a city with the second largest Cambodian population in the US, among others (East African,Nepali,and Syrian included) we poll our customers to ask them what they want to see in our markets. We evaluate the feedback before we do our seed ordering in the winter.

The bonus is that we ALL get to try new things we have never tasted before.

I SO wish you could see our community gardens where many immigrants grow their favs from home..It is amazing!!

11 August 2021, 06:15 PM

Mary Anna

I forgot to take a picture, but I got zucchini, jalapenos, some melons I don't recognize (1 large and 2 small), basil, okra, garlic, new potatoes, a red tomato, and a yellow tomato.

I'm going to cook the tomatoes and garlic with some eggplant out of the garden, olives, garlic, and a dollop of pesto I made out of last week's basil, then serve it over pasta.

I'll probably slice the big melon, too, because it seems really, really ripe.