To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: Swiss chard, baby bok choi, lettuce, choice of arugula or tatsoi, colored peppers, butternut squash, salad turnips (with beautiful greens), garlic, banana fingerlings, sweet corn, and choice of an herb (cilantro, basil, chives). Reminder to use the “extras” bin for anything you don’t want to take
• Add-on shares:
  • Mushrooms: oysters
  • Fruit: paused
  • Flowers: paused

For those with half shares, this is “B” week. Remember to cross off your name when you pick up!

Serving Suggestions:

• Since Farmer John is suggesting we use our squash promptly after we receive them due to the struggles with this year’s crop, I figured that like me some of you may be looking for tips on freezing. We’re getting butternuts this week so that is specifically what I was researching today but I’m sure much of the tips translate to other varietals as well. There’s tons of “the best way” articles out there so I’ve distilled the main points here.
  • The main decision is whether you want to keep the squash cubed or pureed. Either way, you’ll start by peeling and seeding the squash. Then…
    • If you’re going to freeze it cubed, cut them into the desired bite size chunks. The optimal method would be to blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes to maintain their color and texture. However, I’m not sure I’ve ever cooked a squash recipe where keeping distinct chunks was necessary, so I will definitely skip the blanching step. If you have the freezer space, put the chunks on a sheet pan and freeze for an hour or two and then transfer to a ziploc for long term storage. Starting them separate will help keep the chunks from sticking together.
    • If you’re going to puree it, cut them into small cubes so they take less time to cook. You could boil them, but I would rather roast for some extra flavor (and browning). While they are still hot, smash them or use a blender/food processor for a smoother consistency. Even if you know the final recipe landing spot, I would only season with some salt and fight the urge to add flavorings like maple, garlic, etc. That way you have more flexibility later if plans change.

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: Kale, zucchini or butternut squash, choice of arugula or tatsoi (mostly arugula), colored peppers, lettuce, rainbow carrots, Japanese leeks (Negi), tomatoes, redskin potatoes, sweet corn, daikon, eggplant (for some), and choice of an herb (basil, cilantro, mint). Reminder to use the “extras” bin for anything you don’t want to take
• Add-on shares:
  • Mushrooms: choice of shitake or piopino
  • Fruit: golden supreme apples & Hosui Asian pears
  • Flowers: sunflowers

For those with half shares, this is “A” week. Remember to cross off your name when you pick up!

Serving Suggestions:

• For this week’s Serving Suggestions, I once again share one of my favorite CSA recipes: America’s Test Kitchen Walkaway Ratatouille. I share this recipe each year the first time we get the combination of zucchini, eggplant, onions, peppers and tomatoes. With the struggles of the eggplant crop this year, it seems like tomorrow is the closest we’ll get! (You’ll need to use a store bought onion or swap in the leeks and I’m sure it would still be good; and you can totally sub a 28oz can of peeled tomatoes and save your CSA tomatoes for snacking))
• It’s more of a stew than the beautifully shingled ratatouille you may think of but what it lacks in appearance it more than makes up for with flavor. We eat it in a number of ways, and it freezes well. Most frequently, we have it over pasta (think: big rigatoni so the sauce and veggies get stuck inside) or topped with over-easy eggs alongside crusty bread. It would go well over polenta, as a swap for plain tomato sauce on a pizza, or even cold on crostini like a bruschetta. However you serve it, you won’t be disappointed!

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: lettuce, beans, cukes, beets, red onions, colored peppers, fingerling potatoes, delicata squash, eggplant, sweet corn, tomatoes, and choice of herb Basil, cilantro, dill). Reminder to use the “extras” bin for anything you don’t want to take
• Add-on shares:
  • Mushrooms: lion’s mane
  • Fruit: paused this week
  • Flowers: paused this week

For those with half shares, this is “B” week. Remember to cross off your name when you pick up!

Serving Suggestions:

• Delicata squash in this week’s share is our strongest signal yet that fall produce is coming! I had never eaten delicata squash before becoming a CSA member and since then it’s become a favorite. I usually prepare it the same way — simply roasted with oil and salt, sometimes with a hint of honey or maple — so tonight I was looking for a new recipe. In the pantry I have a bag of pistachios that I’ve been enjoying so I decided to search for a combination of the two and found this: Pistachio Parmesan Delicata Squash. You prep the squash typically (see this primer if you need help) but before roasting press it into a mixture of chopped pistachios, shredded Parm and lemon zest. Sounds like a great idea!

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: lettuce, beans, cukes, colored peppers, sweet corn, salad turnips or beets, garlic, spaghetti squash, tomatoes, Blue gold potatoes and choice of herbs (cilantro, parsley, basil). Reminder to use the “extras” bin for anything you don’t want to take
• Add-on shares:
  • Mushrooms: oysters
  • Fruit: peaches & plums
  • Flowers: sunflowers

For those with half shares, this is “A” week. Remember to cross off your name when you pick up!

Serving Suggestions:

• This week’s NYT Cooking Weeknight Dinners newsletter shouted out a recipe featuring one of my favorite combinations: fresh corn and pasta. This one adds in jalapenos and feta for a spicy and creamy finish. After cutting the corn from the cob, I scrape them with the back of my knife to save all of the goodness left behind. Then, I toss the cobs in the pasta water to get every last ounce of their flavor.

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: lettuce, beans, rainbow carrots, cucumber, yellow onions and potatoes, sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, and choice of herbs (basil, mint, thyme,
  chives). Reminder to use the “extras” bin for anything you don’t want to take
• Add-on shares:
  • Mushrooms: lion’s mane
  • Fruit: John’s email is unclear, I think he means peaches for Tuesday groups but it’s possible fruit is paused until Friday groups
  • Flowers: no mention in John’s email

For those with half shares, this is “B” week. Remember to cross off your name when you pickup!

Serving Suggestions:

• My daughter loves reading the book Tomatoes for Neela, which is about a young girl learning to cook with her family. The back of the book has a cooked tomato sauce recipe that starts with fresh tomatoes that she’s been dying to make. We had used up the tomatoes from our CSA share so we stopped at the Montclair Farmer’s Market to buy some more from Farmer John. The recipe is straight forward and easy to customize:
  • First, you concasse two pounds of tomatoes (cut an X in the bottom, boil for 3 minutes, cool and peel; if you’ve never boiled and peeled fresh tomatoes for sauce, it can feel a bit finicky at first but it’s actually a satisfying step)
  • While they cool, lightly toast sliced garlic in oil over medium-low heat
  • Add the chopped tomatoes and their juice to the pan (carefully) and let it cook for awhile, stirring occasionally, and cooking with or without the lid depending on your desired consistency (we decided to blend ours for a more cohesive sauce)
  • Season simply with salt and pepper, maybe some dried herbs if you have them, maybe a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are too sharp
• We used ours in a few different ways:
  • Topping fresh farmer’s market ravioli
  • Dipping sauce for crusty bread (surprisingly good served cold)
  • Faux bolognese for a rice ball filling (browned beef with onions/garlic, added a scant amount of tomato sauce and a splash of cream and let it cook down for a few minutes)

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: Swiss chard, beans, beets, scallions, lettuce, red skin potatoes, sweet corn, tomatoes (in various forms), melons, and choice of an herb. Reminder to use the “extras” bin for anything you don’t want to take
• Add-on shares:
  • Mushrooms: shitake
  • Fruit: ginger gold apples & peaches
  • Flowers: mixed bouquet

For those with half shares, this is “A” week. 

We have two important notes to share about pickup this week so please see below…

• There is construction on Jill’s street this week and the road may be closed to through traffic until 4:30pm. If you’re able to, please plan to pickup after 4:30pm when the road is supposed to re-open. Due to the construction there is a chance the farm delivery may be delayed. Since there’s a chance for timing to be impacted tomorrow, I would suggest 1) checking your email before you leave and 2) joining the GroupMe for faster notifications. If you arrive while the road is blocked, see my map screenshot below; Central Ave going north is “no parking any time” while the other streets are only no parking on school days so you’d be fine to park there and make the short walk to Jill’s house.
• When you pickup, please remember to cross off your name. This is helpful because it helps Jill and the cleanup shift volunteer identify what may have been forgotten or is leftover. It is also helpful to know if the farm shorted us on any items. Last week when I picked up, there were only two pints of cherry tomatoes left but 5 names still on the sheet. So, we weren’t sure if we were shorted, if some members took more than intended, or if people forgot to cross out their names. I know it sounds trivial but it can save Jill headaches later!! 

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: Savoy cabbage, beans, carrots, lettuce, sweet corn, melons, garlic, tomatoes (slicers, cherry/ grape, and heirlooms) and choice of an herb (parsley, basil, dill)  Reminder to use the “extras” bin for anything you don’t want to take
• Add-on shares:
  • Mushrooms: oysters
  • Fruit: watermelon
  • Flowers: sunflowers

For those with half shares, this is “B” week. 

Serving Suggestions:

• When I think of cabbage, I typically think of winter preparations like stuffed cabbage or colcannon. With a head of savoy cabbage coming this week, I searched for some more summery options to enjoy. This cabbage slaw recipe uses a lemony vinaigrette dressing instead of something mayo-based so it is perfect for your summer outdoor parties. Along similar lines, this slaw recipe uses an applesauce vinaigrette for something that feels a bit more autumnal — perhaps a perfect side to have while you watch the first football games of the upcoming season. It also includes radishes which are a common CSA staple. I’ve never seen applesauce used in a dressing so I will definitely try this one out!

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: summer squash, lettuce, cukes, green peppers, white onions, broccolini or Savoy cabbage, fingerling potatoes or sweet corn, beans, tomatoes or cherry
  tomatoes, melons, and choice of an herb (parsley, thyme, or basil) Reminder to use the “extras” bin for anything you don’t want to take
• Add-on shares:
  • Mushrooms: shitakes
  • Fruit: peaches and red plums
  • Flowers: lisianthus or mixed bouquets

For those with half shares, this is “A” week. 

Serving Suggestions:

• Something unexpected may be in our shares this week: Korean Melons. Searching through all of John’s past updates, he’s only called out Korean Melons being included in the share a few times in the last ten years (once each in 2025, 2023, 2021, 2017 and 2016). It’s possible they were lumped in with a generic group of melons when he didn’t have enough of one type to call out, but I don’t recall ever receiving one. It’s not a guarantee our site receives them tomorrow but just in case I shared some additional information about the melons…
  • Other names: Oriental Melon or Chamoe
  • TLDR: Chamoe (참외) is a Korean yellow melon that tastes like a cross between honeydew and cucumber.
  • History & Ecology from Wikipedia
  • Quick “salad” recipe video that uses the juice from the strained seeds in the dressing
  • Popsicle recipe

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: summer squash, lettuce, cucumbers, red onions, rainbow carrots, beans, red cabbage, basil, tomatoes or cherry/grape tomatoes, watermelon, and sweet corn. Reminder to use the “extras” bin for anything you don’t want to take
• Add-on shares:
  • Mushrooms: not mentioned in update
  • Fruit: on hold for Tues groups (sounds like fruit will resume next week for us)
  • Flowers: mixed bouquets

For those with half shares, this is “B” week. 

Serving Suggestions:

• Growing up we always had a “corn butter” waiting in the fridge during the summer. It was a stick of butter that we pulled out each time we had corn on the cob (frequently). The butter would inevitably become misshapen, so we’d have to spin the cobs on the edges rather than the middle to even things out. It’s a strange memory that I had mostly forgotten about until my daughter was begging for corn on the cob last weekend. I bought some from the grocery store for us to have with dinner. I roasted the cobs, wrapped in foil, with generous pats of butter. When they came out of the oven though, it didn’t feel like there was good butter-to-cob coverage because of the steam and moisture. I thought of the “corn butter” of yore but we had just one stick left in the fridge and I didn’t want to ruin the whole thing. Sitting a cold pat on the hot corn never works, it just slips off moments later. So, I tried something new: I melted two tablespoons of butter and we brushed our corn with the melted butter instead. It was great and for such a simple “hack” I was surprised I hadn’t thought of it sooner. It would also be a great way to introduce other flavors mixed in with the butter for easy finishing. Maybe my daughter will have fond memories of “the corn butter brush” someday!

To view Farmer John’s latest update, click here.

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: lettuce, kale, cukes, zukes, beets, scallions, green beans, peppers, broccolini (or eggplant), and choice of an herb (summer savory, parsley, garlic chives). Reminder to use the “extras” bin for anything you don’t want to take
• Add-on shares:
  • Mushrooms: oysters
  • Fruit: on hold
  • Flowers: mixed bouquets

For those with half shares, this is “A” week. 

Serving Suggestions:

• Whenever I get a robust bunch of scallions I always have more than I need. So, today I sought out a recipe that would use a handful along with other CSA veggies this week. I found inspiration in this NYT Cooking recipe for Spicy Cucumbers with Mint, Scallions and Crushed Peanuts. I often use Eric Kim’s method of chunking and smashing cucumbers for a salad and will try that with this combo. The smashing creates interesting textures and helps break them down to absorb more dressing. The recipe is swap friendly so feel free to riff with whatever you have on hand — use whatever herbs come with your share, use pistachios or cashews if that’s the nut you have in the pantry, etc.