Hi everyone,
It’s hard to believe we’re already a third of the way through the season—which means we still have two whole thirds left to savor! The shares are full of summer favorites as the shift from leaves to fruits (botanically speaking) is happening. Nichols reports that the field tomatoes are full of fruit and flower, melons are close, and the first sweet corn is in this week’s shares! The rain we had recently was a huge help for them, but it didn’t come without cost. Nichols received 70 mph winds along with the 3″ of rain leaving them with a bit of damage. Fortunately, nothing that can’t be repaired but every distraction from harvest at this point in the season is not what you like to see. If you happen to see Nichols at a farmers market, make sure to let them now how much we appreciate the work they do!
Quick reminder that our summer break is coming up so that means there will be an extra week between this share and the next. This groups next share will be August 16th.
We hope you love this week’s haul!
—Ben
There were spring onions in earlier share. These are those, all grown-up. Nichols now will take the ones that have an intact exterior papery skin and cure them so that they’re able to be stored through the fall. However, a number will have not as nice of a papery exterior and won’t be able to be stored. Those are the ones that we get to eat! With a thinner skin and pretty dirty, we peel them, and clean them up but that means they need to still be refrigerated.
You’ll often see these called hungarian hot wax peppers. They’re the variety that you’ll find pickled and on a salad bar, or as a pizza topping option. You can use them any way you would a jalapeno, or other medium spicy pepper.
A common cooking tip for eggplant is to salt it before you cook it. The reasoning is usually that it helps remove some of the bitterness. I don’t know if that’s necessarily true, but salting it does cause some of the air trapped in cells to be released. This gives the eggplant a more dense texture which helps with even cooking, so even if the bitterness rationale for salting doesn’t make sense, I think the practice of doing it makes difference.
A classic partner for green beans is mushrooms. This perfect combo is partly thanks to some shared flavor notes between the too. Octenol is a flavor compound prevalent in green beans, as well as mushrooms, that is often described as earthy. Another characteristic flavor in green beans is a flowery note that balances the earthiness well, and that’s thanks to the compound linalool.
We had collards in the shares about a month ago. This time we decided to give the stems, along with the greens. Why the change? Well I cut off a piece of the stem and ate it. It was less fibrous and way tastier than I thought it would be so I wanted to make sure that everyone is able to enjoy it also. We’re constantly learning more about the vegetables we get, and different ways to use them. My mom definitely taught me not to put random things in my mouth, but I have yet to find a better way of getting to know vegetables.
First corn of the season so we opted to give you the corn pretty much whole. That way you have the opportunity to grill the corn if you feel like it. Husk-on is our preferred way for grilling so that the corn can steam a bit. 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. Or, just toss in the oven on a sheet tray at 350F for about 45 mins and you’ll have perfectly roasted cobs.
Cucumbers and squash are both part of the cucurbit family, which also includes melons. Globally cucumbers are the second most consumed cucurbit, only behind watermelon. These are sweet, crisp, and absolutely adorable.
There are a number of particular varieties that fall under the category of ‘slicing cucumbers.’ They all have thin skin without the bitterness of typical garden varieties.
A relative of tomatoes, despite looking so different on the plant (they grow with a papery husk). Most commonly used for sauces, particularly salsa verde. My favorite way to make salsa verde is to roast the tomatillos with onion and chile peppers until they are slightly charred and soft. Then you just blend it all up and add salt to taste.
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).”
