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This Week's Farmshare, August 8

For the second straight week, I've gone right for the small yellow tomatoes. They're super sweet and super delicious, and my family won't go near them. How lucky can a fella be? Cucumbers are a big hit in my house all around, so we're glad to see those coming too. And we've got almost enough tomatoes (and peppers) for salsa, but not quite.

Here's what's in the Harmony Valley CSA box this week, with words and pictures directly from Harmony Valley's e-newsletter:

  • Italian garlic: Crush garlic cloves and shake with oil and vinegar for marinades or dressings.
  • Sweet Spanish onion: If you have extra onions beyond what you are using in your everyday recipes, try slowly cooking sliced onions until medium brown and slightly crispy. Use caramelized onions as a garnish to top off a pasta dish or as a flavorful addition to any sandwich.
  • Green Top carrots: Shred carrots, chop the greens, and add to cooking rice, midway through cooking if you'd like the carrots tender, or at the end if you like them crunchy.
  • Savoy cabbage: Wedges of cabbage, brushed with oil, can be cooked on the cooler edges of your grill the next time you cook out. Keep the core intact to hold the cabbage slice together. Sprinkle with salt and serve with a wedge of lemon.
  • Summer squash: Grate raw squash into a creamy pasta salad.
  • Cucumbers: Use thin-sliced cucumber to garnish a glass of ice water (as opposed to lemon) for a refreshing and unusual treat.
  • Tomatoes, variety: Warm sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper are the perfect partner for a fried egg. Don't forget your toast, for sopping up the yolk and tomato goo.
  • Peppers: Italia, Green Bell, Jalapeño: Sweet peppers, left raw, make a crunchy, tasty addition to a turkey sandwich; simply slice them into thin strips and layer on toast with smoked turkey, salad mix, and Gouda or sharp Cheddar. Use your jalapeno in a batch of homemade salsa or add to a meat dish to add a little kick.
  • Salad mix: Use extra salad mix as a bed for serving meats or fish, to incorporate more raw greens into your diet.
  • Romance or Satina Gold potatoes: Wrap chopped potatoes, peppers, onion, salt and pepper in a packet of foil and lay it in the coals of a campfire (or your grill, if you happen to not be camping).
  • Green komatsuna: Broad, tender leaves are mildly sweet and work well in a raw salad, or can be wilted.
  • Celery

Turns out the celery is a little bit bitter, which I wasn't expecting. I've been making the greatest salads ever though - summer shares are the greatest. Did I mention that my CSA washes and bags salad greens? Sort of makes me feel guilty, but not quite.