Produce Subscription (Week 33)

The boxes are getting heavy, use caution. And the melons are almost here, just to add a few more pounds to future boxes and grey hairs to Roger’s box-packing-logistics head! (Poor Rog.) It is truly a nice problem to have— how to fit it all.

If you have any mid-season feedback to pass on, please do so. We definitely take notes on things that will be effected next year, and will make adjustments on things we can impact yet this season. Let us know how things are going.

Another native pollinator on the flowering cilantro (come for the cilantro, stay for the peppers, and squash, and melons, and, and, and…)

No “Carrots in Love” prize claimed from last week. This week’s a hot one; see below.

The poundage of vegetables is growing in your boxes this week; I think all boxes will just about top 20# so be careful lifting (your back and the bottom of the box!):

Cucumber Some regular slicers, some seedless slicers and a couple munch-from-the-hand plump picklers.

Tomato, cherry variety Bumped up a notch in volume.

Tomato, slicer and paste variety Reminder— DO NOT refrigerate. Allow them to red-up at room temp.

Lettuce mix Ok, this will be the last for a few weeks; honest.

Cauliflower We are newbies at this veggie; see what you think. (A handful of ya’ll will be getting your cauliflower next week; very sorry.)

Zucchini Snuck just one in!

Zephyr squash Can’t do without a couple o’ zephyrs.

Cabbage (Napa) One more round of napa cabbage for some Asian cabbage salad. (Those without cauliflower received an extra Napa as down payment for next week’s cauliflower.)

Sweet pepper variety Can’t fit them all in the box; some big honkers this week.

Pepper (Jalapeno)
Onions, white

Basil Pesto time!

Cilantro A little tomato, onion, jalapeno and cilantro…viola!

Parsley Believe me, 1-2 springs in your green smoothies; you will be surprised. And tons of lycopene, phytonutrient to fight cancer!

Recipes for your consideration

A creamy soup made so simply by the blending of the cauliflower, so very low fat. Simple and easy. Can’t go wrong with basil, even if cauliflower gives you pause.

Creamy Cauliflower and Basil Soup
1 ½ # cauliflower (approx 1 head)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup vegetable stock/broth or water
1 tsp sea salt
2 cup plain almond, flax or rice milk
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ cup chopped fresh basil or parsley

Trim leaves from cauliflower head and trim stem(s) from florets. Chop stems and keep separate. Break florets into 1" pieces.

In large pot, heat olive oil and sauté onion for 5min, then add cauliflower stems. Sauté 5min more. Add florets, broth/water, and salt; cover. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10min, until cauliflower is tender.

Uncover and scoop out 2 cups cauliflower and reserve. Transfer the contents of the pot to a blender, add almond/flax/rice milk and blend until smooth. Pour back into pot with reserved cauliflower, add black pepper and basil/parsley; and stir until heated through. Serve hot.

Can you possibly pair fresh produce with the old college standby, ramen? Gasp! Try it on for size, it’s quite good. (Just don’t look for it to top the “good for you” charts.)

Napa Cabbage Salad

Brown in 2 T. olive oil: 2 pkgs oriental ramen noodles (broken into bite-sized pieces), 3 oz unsalted
sunflower seeds, 4 oz sliced or slivered almonds.

Fine chop 1 sweet onion or 6-8 green onions and shred 1 large Napa cabbage.

DRESSING (whirl in blender):
1/2 c. red or white wine vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil
1 c. sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp dry mustard
2 pkgs ramen seasoning

For Your Reading Pleasure

Well, it’s not farming or vegetables or even terra firma related. But it is a wonderful book about one small corner of our world as experienced by someone who loved the wild as we do. I was lucky enough to read it while on the Sea of Cortez on a research expedition back when I was a wee-tad.

(From Wikipedia) The Log from the Sea of Cortez was written by American author John Steinbeck and published in 1951. It details a six-week boat expedition he made in 1940 at various sites in the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez. It is regarded as one of Steinbeck’s most important works of non-fiction chiefly because of the involvement of Ricketts, who shaped Steinbeck’s thinking and provided the prototype for many of the pivotal characters in his fiction writing.

Farm News

The tomatoes are blushing faster! But since I could see my breath when I was coming in tonight at 10:30pm, I don’t think they will be hurrying to change any time soon. Grrrr. (or rather, Brrrrrr!)

Scratch and sniff!

I really wish ya’ll could smell these little gems; they are “Lemon Drop” marigolds and we have them scattered around the production fields for the eye, the pollinators, the soil enhancement and the nose! Wow, they are a wonderful scent on a sunny afternoon.

Produce Bonus: Find the “Red hot jalapeno” and then drop us a line with the photo and you win a prize next week.

(FYI: Red jalapenos are dried on the bush, smoked and used to make chipotle chilies. Huh, who’d a thunk?)

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the vegetables.

Roger and Lara