Lettuce and other non-kale leafy greens typically go bad the quickest of all the veggies we get. A tip to help greens last a long as possible; if you notice any that are starting to look a little less than great, get rid of those leaves right away. As some start to deuterate, they will […]
We end up cutting the squash for you all out of necessity more than anything else. Because it ends up being one squash per full share from Nichols, to make half shares work we have to cut them so we figure best to do them into nice wedges for everyone. That way all you have […]
Cabbage is a great a rainy-day item. It will keep in the refrigerator for months, and you can always just cut a portion off the head to use, and put the rest back in the refrigerator for later (in a unsealed plastic bag).
A favorite tool I use when writing these blurbs is the website Apple Rankings. Written by comedian Brian Frange, it often gives extremely harsh but comical reviews of apple varieties. I’ll leave a blurb here from Apple Ranking’s review of Cortlands, but I promise these are tastier than it makes it sound. Discovered in 1898, […]
In 2018, Gala surpassed Red Delicious as America’s Most Popular Apple. If you’ve ever had one and found it underwhelming, don’t hold it against these. Apples are a great storage crop so grocery stores (the distributors they buy from) are able to take advantage of that and often source off-season Galas from around the world […]
The Cox Orange Pippin is an old variety, first cultivated in the 1820’s. Cox Orange’s are famous for their complex flavor so are a often in craft ciders. They’re extremely aromatic with notes of cherry and anise.
When Nichols sends us multiple varieties of apples, they’re usually mixed. Most of the time, we’re able to distinguish between the varieties and separate them out for you, but this week we just couldn’t tell the difference. Jonamacs are a cross between Jonathan and McIntosh. Initials are a cross between Gala and Redfree, which also […]
This will actually be the first time we’ve ever had pears in the shares from Nichols. I’m not sure which variety they are as Nichols didn’t note it in their list. Let us know what you think about them!
Back in July, when we first received green beans in the shares I noted that it would be the first of a lot. In the 3 shares since then (including this week’s) we’ve had green beans in each one. And now I’d expect this to be last. Green beans, likely many other of our favorite […]
We had Canada Golds as ‘new’ potatoes back in July. Now fully matured, they’re making a reappearance in the shares. Now the potatoes are fully matured, they’re best stored slightly warmer than refrigerator temperature (45-55F). Low cupboards generally work well and are what we’d recommend for where to store the potatoes now. However, if you […]
You’ll often see a similar variety in super markets branded as sun gold. Otter Oak has been growing this particular variety of gold cherry tomatoes for a couple of seasons, and Jarvi mentioned that people will usually start asking when they’ll have them as early as June.
We had this same variety of potato as ‘new’ potatoes back in the beginning of July, almost two months ago. Now the potatoes are fully matured and are best stored slightly warmer than refrigerator temperature (45-55F). Low cupboards generally work well and are what we’d recommend for where to store the potatoes now. However, if […]
This will likely be the last melon of the season. It was a bit of a slow start for melon this year, but boy did we get our fill.
These were a bit of a surprise in the shares today. They weren’t on the initial list from Nichols. But I’d call it a happy surprise. As the rest of the share start to look much more like fall, I’ll take these as a little last bit of summer.
Recently I’ve been opting to lightly blister peppers before chopping them to add to a salad, pasta, or vegetable medley. I lightly toss them in oil and then use high heat from either the grill or broiler to char slightly while softening the peppers without going all the way to mush.
I’ve mentioned this to a couple members recently, but the pinpointing the exact is difficult. Sometimes the melons seem like they would be the same variety from the outside, but then they’re different colors with different flavors once you cut them open. But whether its actually a different variety, or just different ripeness, or variety […]
A nice mix of some broad leaf and frilly greens. Crispy and refreshing, they would make a great salad for lunch during the warm afternoons of the next week.
Another familiar face from Spring, the perfumed, woody flavor of this bok choi is something I find just so pleasant. The small size of these mean all they need are a quick sauté/stir-fry finished with a splash of soy sauce and vinegar (seasoned, rice, or even balsamic would work) for an easy side dish.
Still freshly dug and not yet cured, these would be considered ‘new’ potatoes and are best kept refrigerated. They’re still perfect for any potato application (their size considering). Azziza was peeling the onions while I was cleaning these today and it made me think of the fried potatoes laden with onion that my grandma used […]
As fall rolls around, radishes make their return to the shares. We last had radishes back in March, and then I would have recommended eating them raw with a healthy smear of butter. But now with the cooler nights, radishes roasted until soft and juicy would be the perfect side to steak or tossed into […]
LindaMacs are an offshoot variety of the staple McIntosh. They ripen early, evidenced by being in the shares this week, and they are sweet with a bright acidity and have that classic McIntosh flavor often described as spiced, honey, or wine.
Bred by North Carolina State University, Covington sweet potatoes are great baking, mashing, and roasting. The simplest way to enjoy these is by baking whole at 375F for ~1hr.
The cool nights and sunny days are ushering the apple crop. From here on out, you can start building up your apple reserves for all you pie needs come the holidays.
From Le Guide Culinaire by Auguste Escoffier first published in 1902: “French [green] beans are one of the finest of all the vegetables but they need to be prepared with the greatest possible care. Their quality is such that they are nearly always good in spite of the faulty preparation they so often receive. French […]
I love how peppery this arugula is. On a sandwich, in an omelet, or as a simple salad, it is delightful. If you don’t like the spicy zesty-ness of raw radish, you might not like raw arugula as much. In that case, try roughly chopping and sautéing it with some leek. I’m a little torn […]
McIntosh apples are a classic variety. Originated cultivated in Upper Canada, they entered commercial production in 1870 and today are in the top fifteen apple cultivars in the US. Tart with a green apple flavor similar to Granny Smith. Cortlands are a McIntosh x Ben Davis hybrid developed in Geneva, NY in 1898. Striated green […]
The Oranos are the bright orange and are extraordinarily sweet with a zesty flavor. The Gypsys are the red and yellow, and have a more fruity flavor similar to fresnos (no heat though).
Another last of the season. We like to use eggplant in addition with other veggies (sautéed, roasted, or however) since it’s texture adds a nice variety to the crunchiness of most other vegetables.
The flavor of these carrots is wild. The distinctive aroma of carrots is due to terpenes. This family of compounds can have aromas ranging from flowery to citrusy to piney. In these carrots I notice prominent baking spices, like clove or cardamom.
One last round of Patty Pans will be the last of the summer squash. Earlier this week, we split some Patty Pans hamburger style and grilled, charring the outside but keeping the center firm. They were like squash cutlets.
This is the last corn of the season so we’ve left them whole again for grilling in this nice cool weather to close out the season. If you don’t have a grill, another option is to bake husk-on on a sheet tray at 350F for ~45 mins.
There Cipollinis in the shares a couple weeks back back. Sweet and disc shaped, these are great roasted whole, or used anywhere else you would use onion.
Similar to corn and eggplant, this will the last of the melon for the season. With that in mind, and because these are nice small ones, we left them whole for you to be able to delay the last few bites if you’d like. My preferred method for cutting melons is to first cut off […]
We have a theme this week of two varieties of the same veggie. It should be fun to compare the differences The Covingtons have brick orange skin, while the Carolina Rubys skin is well.. ruby.
Shelled beans might be the best benefit of being part of the CSA Club as shelling them is quite laborious. We typically put something on the TV and plod away at the beans, that way you all can easily enjoy them. The cold weather has baked beans or soup on my mind for these.
We’re always thinking about the balance between making things convenient for all, and making sure items last as long as possible. This week we opted to just leave the bell peppers whole to give you all some more time before you have to get around to using them.
This will be the first of a lot of apples that will be in the shares through the remainder of the season. The beauty of them though is that they will last for a good long time in the crisper box of the refrigerator. Last year, Lisa and I were still eating apples from our […]
Yukon Golds have a beautiful yellow tint with thin skins, making them an awesome all purpose potato. They’re great for soups, mashed, or just roasted. Think potato and leek soup. These are still fresh dug and I would consider them ‘new’ so recommend keeping them refrigerated.
We had baby leeks a few early last month when they were still small. Now they’re big boys, so I’ve cut them down into nice sized pieces that will be manageable to work with as you will.
As all peppers do when left to ripen long enough, the shishitos are a vibrant red. The surprise spicy ones are still there (and maybe a bit more spicy), but majority are not spicy, just sweet and fruity.
This is likely the last corn we’ll see in the share for the season. So with that we left them whole again for grilling in this nice cool weather to close out the season. If you don’t have a grill, another option is to bake husk-on on a sheet tray at 350F for ~45 mins.
The melon has been fantastic this year. We hope you all are continuing to enjoy it as much as we have been.
This is probably our least favorite variety of kale. Curly and a little thicker, it can often take some work to chew. Because of that, I like to both chop this kale small and either braise it, use it in soups, or in other situations with longer and moist cooking times to soften it as […]
Candy onions look just like your standard yellow but their flavor is mild and sweet. This lends itself well to slicing and serving raw over something like a salad, as well as roasting to further develop some of those sugars. We also like to pickle these, where their sweetness balances well with some acid.
“Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good.” – Alice May Brock
