In this week’s box:

Tomatoes
Fairy tale Eggplant or Italian globe eggplant
Okra (only sites that did not get it last week)
Red leaf lettuce
Baby romaine lettuce
Edamame Beans
Yellow or purple Potatoes
Celery
Garlic
Bell Peppers
Sweet frying peppers

Fruit share: Gala (red and yellow apple, great for fresh eating), McIntosh (light green with pale red/pink blush; this is a classic cooking apple) and Jonathon (darker colored red and green apple; somewhat more tart than Gala, but also a great fresh-eating apple)

Farm notes:

Everyone knows summer begins with Memorial day, is in full bore by Independence day and ends with Labor day. We usually don’t do much to celebrate these summer holidays, but they do provide us with helpful markers for determining where we are in our season.

By Memorial day all of the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant should be in the ground. The potatoes need to be hilled, sweet potatoes planted and squash and beans should be growing quickly. Around Independence day the winter squash needs to be planted. Fall crops should already be growing in the greenhouse and the garlic all hung and mostly dried down in the barn. Finally around Labor day we are planting the final outdoor transplants (broccoli and lettuce). The only direct seeded crops that can still be planted are quick crops such as radishes and arugula.

Even though we spent this Labor day harvesting it certainly felt like a holiday because of the light soaking rain that persisted through most of the morning. Hopefully it will help speed along the fall crops which have been a bit slow to get established with the hot, dry weather.

Recipes

Romesco Sauce (roasted red pepper and almond sauce) We recommend tossing this pesto like sauce with roasted or boiled potatoes

Cous Cous with Edamame, tomatoes and chickpeas (use fresh tomatoes instead of canned)

Eggplant and potato curry (You can add okra, celery, or peppers to this. You can also get pre made curry sauces at the grocery store)

This okra recipe comes from a CSA member who uses okra often
Vegetarian Stewed Okra (Bamia)
(adapted from A Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden)

2 lbs fresh okra
1 large onion peeled and cut into wedges
1 lb tomatoes, skinned, seeded and sliced
6-7 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground coriander
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper

Wash the okra and cut off the hard stems, but leave on the tops.

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onions, garlic and coriander for about 10 minutes stirring often till softened and starting to turn golden. Add the okra and continue to saute till they start to soften, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and saute for 3 more minutes. Cover with water and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered on very low heat for 1 hour. Check periodically to see if you need more water, but most of the water should evaporate. Add lemon juice and simmer for 15 minutes. Check for salt.

Can be served hot or cold