Hi everyone!
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 19th.
I follow a number of local farms—Nichols and Otter Oaks of course, but others as well—because I love hearing different perspectives on the growing season. One of my favorite newsletters is from Tracey from Three Sisters Garden, whose recent one really resonated with me. She wrote about the challenges of quality standards as a small business, and I loved how she put it:
We don’t have an advertising department, using only social media, and word of mouth to attract new customers. That means we must be brutally critical of what we do here. Keep the bar high, and do everything we can to cleanly make our way over that bar with each bag and box we pack, every time. With many of you, I do not necessarily meet you, so our relationship develops entirely with your satisfaction after receiving your order….
We want you excited to look into your box or bag, anticipating all the goodness inside. We know you could be purchasing from other, larger, more diverse, farms, but the vast majority of you have chosen to stay with us since the very beginning. That says to me that we are doing something right.
Gard Mo and the CSA Club have been incredibly fortunate to have steadfast support from the beginning, and we’ve always strived to deliver the highest quality produce to you. But once it leaves our hands, we don’t always know how it holds up—or whether it fully meets your expectations. That’s where you come in!
Your feedback is invaluable to us. If something isn’t quite right—whether it’s produce that doesn’t last as long as it should, a share that feels a little light, or even just a preference for how things are packed or prepared—please let us know. We’re always looking for ways to improve and make the CSA Club an experience you’re excited to share with friends and family.
We hope you love this week’s veggies, and as always, don’t hesitate to reach out.
—Ben
Similar to the cucumbers, we received greenhouse versions of cherry tomatoes early in the season. We’re into ones from the field now and boy are they tasty.
Another step along the size ladder of zucchinis this week. Still not so much that the texture is compromised, but enough that the amount can start to be a little overwhelming. Zucchini bread is a nice way to use it in a different format. If you grate a large one, or a couple, you’ll probably have more than what you need for the recipe. I like to freeze it in 2 cup portions so that way I can pull out exactly what I need to make another batch with ease. You’ll appreciate it come fall.
We had some pickling cucumbers from the greenhouse at the beginning of the season but now we’re into the abundance of field cucumbers. Just because they’re called pickling cucumbers doesn’t mean they aren’t delicious fresh. But… you could probably just do both; so here’s our quick pickle recipe, or give lacto-fermentation a try.
Le Guide Culinaire, first published in 1902 by Auguste Escoffier, is a cornerstone of classical French cuisine and is still taught in culinary programs today. In it, Escoffier offers guidance on green beans, emphasizing simplicity. He had this to say:
“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 [green] beans should be used fresh and must not be cooked for long in boiling salted water. They are best when still a little firm to the bite but not, of course, the least but hard.”
You’ve probably heard this called cantaloupe, but cantaloupe is a very specific variety of melon that is pretty rare in the U.S.. Nichols generally lists these as ‘varietal melons’ since they grow and aggregate lots of varieties making it difficult to individually name. With the non-orange melons, I can do an okay job of figuring out what variety they are, but there are so many different varieties of orange muskmelon that I can’t confidently say which each is. I can say though they’re very tasty with notes of spice that resonate with me as coriander and clove —sort of bubble gum-y.
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.
A member of the brassica family, collards have a deep savory flavor in comparison to kale. It’s hardy, and stands up well to long slow braising. Check out our recipe here.
Nichols mentioned they’re harvesting one of their best broccoli crops ever—so we’re in for a treat. Broccoli belongs to the oleracea group of brassicas, cultivated specifically for its tightly clustered flower buds. As Harold McGee explains in On Food and Cooking:
“extra flower-stalk tissue develops, fuses into thick ‘spears,’ and then goes on to produce clusters of small green flower buds.”
