Hi everyone!
The shares this week usher in the peak season; sweetcorn, new potatoes, and peppers have arrived. Farmers that I’ve heard from are saying that the season is a full two weeks earlier than what is typical. Todd Nichols of Nichols Farm had this to share about harvesting corn last week:
“Today we are both harvesting our first sweetcorn of the year and planting our last sweetcorn of the year. This is record early. It was planted record early and the temps have been good. Corn is a real measure of cumulative warmth. There is no doubt our climate is warming.”
While we are fortunate to be able to enjoy all this delicious produce early this year, these shifting conditions don’t bode well for predictability and stability in the future. All the reason to be building out robust and decentralized food systems.
With artichokes in the share (guide for artichokes linked below), we figured a tasty dip would be perfect, and this roasted pepper mayo recipe fits the bill. This is actually a vegan, tofu-based mayo, but don’t let that scare you away. It’s also convenient if the idea of eating raw egg weirds you out.
Hope you all enjoy the share!
-Ben
We have two varieties of (new) potatoes in the share. Norland Reds are a red skinned waxy variety of potato, but in general could be used for anything that a potato could aspire to.
Fun green variety of cauliflower. Broccoli and cauliflower are botanically just varieties of the same species, the same way granny smith and macintosh are varieties of apples. Brassica oleracea is the name of the species which also includes cabbage. Instead of being red vs. green like in apple, varieties of brassicas differ in the way the stalks, leaves, flower stalks, and flowers develop.
It’s supposed to be hot over the next few days. The curly leaves of this variety are awesome for clinging onto lighter dressing, perfect for a refreshing salad.
We hope you all aren’t getting tired of the summer squash. This season was pretty crazy that we had it so early. We sometimes like to shred summer squash or zucchini and freeze it for late in the year. Freeze it in 1 or 2 cup portions to make it easy to use in your favorite zucchini bread recipe.
From On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee:
“In the United States, pungent capsicum fruits are generally called ‘peppers,’ or ‘hot peppers,’ terms that stem from the early Spanish identification of capsicum with black-pepper pungency. The native Nahuatl word was ‘chilli,’ which gave rise to Spanish ‘chile,’ and in turn to American ‘chili’ (both a capsicum-flavored stew and the powder used to make it).”
New potatoes are an early summer treat. Harvested before full maturity, new potatoes have a thin papery skin and should be kept refrigerated. While raw they have a crisp texture that reminds me of jicama, but cooked they are extremely creamy and keep their shape well which makes them perfect for potato salad.
We went ahead and cut these into sticks similar in shape to baby carrots. This way they are ready for easy snacking or are a simple cut away from diced. 70% of all carrots sold in the US are baby carrots. That fact was one the inspirations for Gard Mo, and we think that it demonstrates the convenience problem that makes eating local food difficult for most people. We hope we’re helping to solve that problem.
Artichokes are truly a treat. The smell of them reminds me of sandalwood or incense. They take of bit of work and unfortunately because they oxidize quickly, it can’t be done ahead of time. Here is a great article on how to trim and steam artichokes. If you don’t have a lemon on hand, distilled vinegar would also work. Then all you need is a tasty sauce to dip the artichoke in. Artichokes also have a tendency to make other food taste particularly sweet thanks to a compound called cynarine, so maybe don’t serve with that special bottle of wine.
This week we opted to give you the corn pretty much whole. That way you have the opportunity to grill the corn if you would. Husk on is our preferred way so that the corn steam a bit while on the grill. Soaking the ears beforehand will help keep the husk from burning, but we’ve trimmed most of the excess off so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue either way.
We’ve moved on from spring onions and into full fresh summer onions. Without a curing step though, these haven’t formed the papery exterior yet and are best kept refrigerated so we just go ahead and peel them for you as well. These in particular are super sweet with only a mild flavor and crisp texture.
These are long slender varieties, which makes them a little easier to cook with. The old adage is to salt eggplant before cooking to reduce bitterness. I don’t know if it necessarily does that, but salting them does collapse air pockets in the eggplant that helps it cook more evenly.
