8/27....share #14
It's the last share of August! This is still very much a late Summer share, but looking at the fields it won't be long before we begin to transition into more and more Fall produce. With any luck, many of the Summer crops will still continue well into October...but we'll also begin to harvest more things like storage onions, winter squash, potatoes, and cool weather greens to complement the tomatoes, peppers, and corn. It's been a challenge this year with the warmer weather, as a lot of our plantings have come on earlier than usual and not lasted quite as long. I have been stressing about this a bit all Summer, and I do wish I'd planted another planting of beans, beets, basil, and a few other things for the coming months, but on the whole it has worked out pretty well.
This is also the time of year when I begin thinking a lot about how to plan for next year...it is nice while things are still relatively fresh in my mind, to assess what we had too much of, what we could have had more of, and change the crop plan for next year accordingly. So if you have any feedback about the amounts of things in the shares, now is a great time to tell me! For example, if you feel like you would have liked a lot more broccoli, or you got way more onions than you needed....let me know! Of course, every household is different, so we're trying to strike a good middle ground...but it's always great to hear from you. Here's the share:
Arugula- While we should have tons of nice lettuce for September, most of it is still right around the corner and not quite ready. In the meantime, the arugula is doing great, and a lot of the late Summer crops go great in an arugula salad. We'll try to give you a nice big bunch.
Radishes- We are swimming in radishes right now. I planted way too many, and we have tons. They are really nice though, and easy to use. I have been amazed how many radish bunches we've been selling at the market this Summer! Radishes seem to have really caught on in the last few years. I don't know where to find "bresaola" on Whidbey, but you can use prosciutto in this recipe and it looks fancy and DELICIOUS! Uses your arugula too..
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/bresaola-carpaccio-with-gribiche-vinaigrette-235463
Sungold tomatoes- I made the recipe I posted a few weeks back with roasted sungold tomatoes with honey and olive oil. It was easy to do and really tasty. I served it with couscous. Check back to maybe week 10 for the link? I recommend it!
Peppers- The sweet peppers are finally starting to get some color. I am hoping to give everyone one of both varieties we grew this year, Atris, which is a bell pepper that turns green to red, and Gypsy, which is a really great specialty type that changes from pale yellow to coral colored. They are both very sweet and not spicy. We roasted some on the grill last night and put them on pizza!
Fennel- Also great to roast on the grill is fennel...just slice it in half, put a bit of olive oil and salt on it, and grill until it starts to blacken a little bit on the edges. Or if you like a nice licorice taste, just slice it thin and eat it raw in a salad, on a sandwich, or with a dip. From our friend Martha:
http://www.marthastewart.com/286398/fennel-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide
Beets- Beets are back in the share after some time without them. Beets and fennel make a great combo... here's a link to a whole list of recipes that include both:
http://www.epicurious.com/tools/searchresults?search=beet+fennel
Beans- As I said above, I wish I'd sewn another planting of beans....as it is, this might be the last ones in your share! Hopefully we can get one more pick out of them in a few weeks....we'll see. These are a green French fillet bean that are really nice and small. They are not quite as tender as they were in the early Summer, so I'd recommend cooking them rather than eating them raw.
Cucumber- The cucumbers just keep producing this year! We have had some incredible yields, and I feel like the quality has been top notch. They won't keep going forever, though, and as we will be into winter squash season in just a few short weeks, enjoy the cukes while you can!
Tonda onion- I also wish we had planted more onions this year! We do still have a lot of nice Fall storage onions that we haven't begun to pick, but our fresh onion varieties are disappearing fast. Enjoy these nice sweet and mild red onions. We've been putting them in all kinds of stuff...on pizza, in salad, in sandwiches.
See you all soon!!
ETP}
No comments:
Post a Comment