Week 20 Lists

Please keep bringing back your boxes.  This last week or two, please bring bags to take your produce home in so that you can leave the boxes behind and not risk keeping them through the winter. The boxes are pricey and bump up the price of the shares when they have to be replaced prematurely.

This is the last regular pickup week for the season.  Those that weathered the very sparse spring with us (signup before June 22nd - email me if in doubt) will get an extra box next week in thanks for your early patience.  Don't forget to sign up for the winter CSA to keep the food flowing.  I have to accentuate just how special local seasonal produce is running through the winter.  It is incredibly hard to find!  I promise you will be missing all these fresh veggies before Thanksgiving rolls around -- guarantee your supply!

Top: white patty, cantaloupe, tomatoes, turnip greens
Mid: broccoli, pears, raspberries, okra, San Marzano tom, arugula
Bot: lemon cuke, nectarine, Marisol pepper, eggplant, Armenian cuke,
marketmore cuke, peaches, plums

SMALL
white patty pan
marketmore cucumber
lemon cucumber
Armenian cucumber
broccoli
nectarines
peaches
plums
spinach
arugula
tomato
San Marzano tomatoes
raspberries
turnip greens
cantaloupe
purple eggplant
okra
Marisol peppers
pears

Raab, golden raspberries, yellow squash, bitter melon,
yellow pattypan (Frankenstein'd with something)

MEDIUM
broccoli raab
yellow squash
bitter melon
golden raspberries
yellow pattypan
extra pears
extra red raspberries

Top: Napa cabbage, Japanese cuke, blackberries, strawberries, red cabbage
Mid: romas, cherry toms, green basil, purple basil
Bot: young spaghetti squash

LARGE
napa cabbage
Japanese cucumber
blackberries
strawberries
green basil
purple basil
purple cabbage
young spaghetti squash
cherry tomatoes
roma tomatoes
extra peaches
extra plums

New this week, we have okra, eggplant, and fresh basil.  All pretty straightforward.  Maybe place a paper towel in the bags with the basil to keep them fresh.  The okra and eggplant would probably benefit from being wrapped loosely in their plastic bags in the crisper.

That eggplant is an Asian variety -- a little skinny for the typical eggplant parmesan, but not impossible.  Try it in a stir-fry, tempura battered, or roasted with other vegetables.  After cutting them up for cooking, eggplants benefit from a bit of salting before cooking.  Salt them, leave them to sit wrapped loosely in a towel or paper towel for 30 minutes, then rinse them before cooking.  It will remove the excess moisture and improve texture.

The arugula is a little exotic to most people, but very accessible once you experiment a bit.  It is a very sharp, peppery green when raw, but just pleasantly bitter when cooked.  In smallish amounts, add it to salad.  It is also fantastic wilted by the heat of a meat or 'meaty' topping (tempeh has a nice quality, as does nicely crisped tofu) that is hot from the oven or skillet (think a bed of arugula greens topped by sliced pork roast, potatoes, and olive oil just before heading to the table).  This week, I did a quick saute of cottage bacon, onions, garlic, and apples, and put a triple handful of chopped arugula into the skillet as a pot of pasta finished up.  Toss it all together and tasty occurs (especially if a little cream finds its way into the mix).