Hi everyone!
We hope you’re as excited as we are about the fridge restock after the break! Our trip up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was absolutely incredible. If you’ve never been, the drive is definitely worth it. When we stopped to see Lisa’s family in Wisconsin, we were able to pick-up a new larder item that we’re excited to have available; Maple Syrup. Lisa’s cousin Tucker has been managing the woods on their family farm, and has begun tapping the maple trees to make syrup. Last year he tapped about 50 trees and was able to produce about 10 gallons of maple syrup using his self-made wood-fired stove. We waiting on some labels from Tucker, but once we get those we’ll have the maple syrup available for purchase so keep an eye out for that!
After the UP, we did a quick road trip to visit my Grandma. A big part of this year’s break was sharing news with family, and now we’re thrilled to share it with you all as well —Lisa and I are expecting a baby! Lisa is due in mid-January and we’re overjoyed to start this new chapter. We’re hoping to continue Gard Mo and the CSA Club next season but are still working through the logistics along with the co-op study group to make sure it’s manageable. We’ll likely ask for your feedback and ideas as we figure things out, so stay tuned!
The shares this week are filled with the best of summer, and I don’t anticipate it slowing down for the rest of the season.
Hope you all enjoy the share!
—Ben
This group has tried the full rainbow of zucchini; grey, green, and now yellow. Although summer squashes (Cucurbita pepo) originally from the Americas, zucchini was first bred and cultivated in northern Italy in the late 19th century. Zucchini translates from Italian as “little squash.” The French took to calling them “courgettes”, meaning nearly the same thing —little squash. For whatever reason, us Americans took to the Italian name, while the Brits went with the French courgette
It’s been awhile since we’ve had radishes, despite them being heavily featured in the beginning of the season. These ones have a pretty spicy bite to them. We typically suggest cooking the radishes as a way to mellow them out. Pickling them will also mild out that spiciness, while making them a little more funky. To pickle them, slice them thin and follow the liquid portion from this quick pickle recipe.
There are two different varieties this week. One I’m pretty confident are sugar cubes; a highly regarded variety of muskmelon that is hard to beat. The other is maybe Milan, but it’s tough for me to say.
Edamame are immature and still-green soybeans. We left them in the pods still, since eating them straight out of the pod is a fun way to enjoy them. This article outlines a couple different ways to cook edamame. Or shell the edamame and use the beans alone in a dish like this succotash.
These are also often called ‘Hericot Verts.’ They’re a slender variety that are prized for their flavor. I promised back in July when we first got green beans that they would be regularly featured in the shares, and this season has not disappointed. In case you didn’t know, you can click the blue link below each produce item to see all of our recipes featuring that particular veggie.
Jarvi from Otter Oaks described these as an asian/middle eastern variety. They’re similar to the ones we had back in the 5th share. Try out this Adobo Baingain Bharta recipe from Azziza (last year’s CSA Club assistant).
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.
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).”
Romas are the most famous variety of plum tomatoes. These are more fleshy than heirlooms or slicing tomatoes, making them great for making a sauce with as they are less watery. But they still taste pretty great just for a salad or sandwich also.
