August 16th, 2023
What’s in your share?
Salad Mix
Cherry Tomatoes
Heirloom and Slicing Tomatoes
Yellow Onions*
Poblano Peppers*
Sweet Italian Frying Peppers* or Bell Peppers
Celery*
Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers* (small, greenish yellow/orange)
Jalapeno Peppers* (small, green)
*Yellow Onions - are one of two onion varieties we grow for storage. Onions never steal the show, but we rarely make a meal without them. We’ve just harvested our onions and they are starting to cure, so these onions are fresh out of the field and not yet intended for long term storage like the yellow onions you will receive for the rest of the season. Yellow onions tend to have a high water content, making them sweeter tasting and great for sautéing, roasting, or caramelizing.
STORAGE: Store out of the fridge in a cool dark place, away from potatoes
Levon hung out with me in the greenhouse all morning while it poured rain outside. What a handsome guy.
*Poblano Peppers - are my favorite pepper. Their flavor is so unique - when green, they’re like a smoky green pepper with the slightest hint of spice - when ripe, their color changes to the most beautiful chocolate cherry color and the flavor sweetens. Ripe poblanos, when smoked, are what is known as the ancho pepper. We love cooking our poblanos - green or ripe - on an open flame or charcoal grill, charring the skin and then peeling it off to add the flesh to salsas, guacamole, tacos, or burger patties before they’re cooked.
*Sweet Italian Frying Peppers - are a staple on our farm. Carmen (red) and Escamillo (yellow), despite being named after the lovers in the French opera, are both Italian varieties. The flavor is extremely sweet, the walls thick and juicy. We use them in any way that we would use a bell pepper; grilled, roasted on a fire, sautéed with onions and mushrooms in fajitas, or cut into slices and dipped in hummus or baba ganoush.
This is the first tomato hornworm we’ve found this year. We see the signs of the caterpillars; munched leaves and the droppings they leave behind, but we’re not seeing the caterpillars. Various birds have been taking residence in our high tunnels and we have a theory that they are helping us with pest management by eating the caterpillars before we can get to them.
PEPPER STORAGE: We try not to overload our members with peppers, but if you find them piling up, we highly recommend taking a little time to cut them and freeze them. We never blanch or do anything fancy with our frozen veggies - we simply don’t have time in the height of the summer and the veggies maintain their quality through the winter.
*Celery - is way harder to grow than you’d think - and its taken us a few seasons to get the hang of it - but we nailed it this year! It requires a lot of water and nutrients, and this drought has truly made us appreciate that we have the luxury of permanent irrigation in our entire acre-sized field. We know there are celery haters out there (Sam is one) but it has a place in lots of dishes. The “strings” can be a turn-off, but peeling the convex side will get rid of those fibers, leaving the creamy flesh. Here is a great tutorial for various ways of How to Cut Celery.
CELERY STORAGE: Celery can last for up to a month if stored properly. First, cut the greens off! These will be the first to expire, and could potentially compromise the life of the ribs. Wrapping your entire head of celery in tin foil WITHOUT THE GREENS may be the best way to store it. Don’t squeeze the foil so tight that it clenches around the celery - you want it to be able to breathe a little -but make sure its closed all the way. Keep it in the crisper drawer of the fridge and it should last for up to a month. More potatoes are coming your way in the next couple weeks, so don’t feel like you need to use up all the celery this week.
*Hungarian Hot Wax and Jalapeno Peppers - are peppers we know not everyone is excited about, but its the perfect time and share for making salsa, fajitas, and sauces. If you are excited about them - great! If not, find a friend (or chicken) who is.
Recipes to try
Delicious and Simple Celery Soup
Southwest Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Four Methods for Roasting Poblano Peppers
Poblano Pepper Beef Chili (masa isn’t necessary, it just thickens the chili. Also, instead of using canned tomatoes - use fresh ones!!!)
Look at this celery haul! We had an awesome harvest crew get these bad boys out of the field yesterday to make room for fall broccoli.