In the share this week:
1 lb tomatoes
1 medium garlic bulb
1 bunch red onions
1 lb green beans
2 green/purple peppers or mixed eggplant
1 bag salad mix
1 bunch sweet basil
Thoughts from Farmer Anna:
The tomatoes are on! When we first start picking tomatoes, they seem to ripen at such a trickle and I wonder when we'll have enough to give in all of our shares. Then all of the sudden - boom - we are harvesting pounds and pounds of them every other day. Most of the tomatoes in this first round are really nice heritage varieties. These varieties are crosses between different types of heirloom tomatoes. Heirlooms are known for their amazing and complex flavors, but most of them have poor resistance to many fungal and other diseases. By crossing varieties together to produce a hybrid tomato, delicious flavors are maintained and disease resistance is improved. Being a certified organic farm, this is especially important for us because we are not using chemical sprays to control disease on our plants. This is also the reason that we grow most of our tomatoes under cover in hoophouses. Too much rain and soil splashing on the tomato leaves, encourages disease and the plants die off much more quickly. Controlling how much water the plants get also prevents some of the skin cracking as fruits ripen.
This share is such a shift from the previous few weeks. We have so many new crops to share! In addition to the tomatoes, there are green beans, garlic, red onions, and peppers or eggplant. With both tomatoes, basil and garlic in your share, you might consider making bruschetta. This recipe uses cherry tomatoes, but any tomato works well for this tasty summer appetizer:
Most of you probably have tried and true green bean recipes, but if you are looking for some inspiration, we enjoy making a tahini sauce for our beans. You could also add in your bell peppers if you are getting those this week (Tues and Wed shares). Something like this recipe:
If you are getting eggplant this week (Thurs and Sat shares), this veggie pairs really well with tomatoes, onion and garlic. I like the sound of this pasta recipe below. Also, this site looks like an amazing resource for CSA friendly recipes in general:
The rain early this week is keeping us from some of the weeding that I'd like to get done. Instead, we are keeping up with seeding flats for fall crops, working on our new walk-in cooler, and finishing processing the dried garlic. If it dries out a bit later this week, we'll pull the first onions to start curing in the greenhouse. It looks like we'll have a good amount of nice red and yellow onions this year. Hope you all have a wonderful week!