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

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: beans, colored peppers, summer squash, radishes, broccoli
  or Napa cabbage, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, gold potatoes, scallions, goldenberries (for those who have not received them yet) and choice of an herb.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: paused this week
  • Flowers: paused this week
  • Mushrooms: yellow oysters
  • Eggs: not mentioned in this week’s update from John, but assuming yes

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

Serving Suggestions:

• John’s update this week offers details about bulk tomato purchases for those who like to can or freeze. If you’re interested please see his note at the bottom of the attached update. For those who might be considering the bulk tomatoes, but are not experienced in preserving them, I compiled a few helpful links:
  • National Center for Food Preservation (see the menu on the left side)
  • Ball’s Tomato canning recipes (tested recipes from the most famous name in preservation supplies)
  • Food52 recipe (simple, no bells or whistles)
  • Reddit thread on why you can’t safely can diced tomatoes at home (something I did not know and judging by the comments is not common knowledge among home cooks)

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

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: Swiss chard, beets, beans, colored peppers, garlic,
  tomatoes, sweet corn, squash or cucumbers, red skin potatoes, and choice of an herb. (We will be sending goldenberries, the South American cousins of the ground cherries over the next few weeks, as availability allows.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: nectarines & plums
  • Flowers: sunflowers
  • Mushrooms: chestnut & lion’s mane
  • Eggs: not mentioned in this week’s update from John, but assuming yes

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

Serving Suggestions:

• Garlic returns to our deliveries this week after a month-plus off. I was just thinking about garlic because when we visited the Caldwell Marketplace this weekend for some pre-bbq shopping, my daughter just had to have a loaf of Nicolo’s bread. Her and I ate most of it before lunch so it didn’t make it until dinner but it would have made for a wonderful loaf of garlic bread. So, I’m thinking I need to get another loaf of bread. The key to making good garlic bread is thinking ahead — softening a stick of butter on the counter for a few hours, and in this case, roasting a head of garlic. Smash the two together in a ramekin with a hearty pinch of coarse salt making a paste that you can easily smear on the split loaf. Bake at 350 for like 10-15min until the crust is crispy but before it takes on much color. You might not need much more for dinner, but consider a tomato cucumber salad alongside.

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

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: Swiss chard, colored peppers, rainbow carrots, beans, yellow onions, banana fingerling potatoes, either zukes or cukes, green or savoy cabbage, tomatoes, and choice of an herb (parsley, marjoram, thyme).
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: grapes & peaches
  • Flowers: mixed bouquets
  • Mushrooms: oysters
  • Eggs: not mentioned in this week’s update from John, but assuming yes

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

Serving Suggestions:

• I’ve been a subscriber to Milk Street magazine since their charter issue. I don’t read every issue cover to cover any more but I occasionally a recipe will catch me like a eureka moment. I haven’t tried this recipe for Butter Braised Tomato Soup just yet but my next batch of CSA tomatoes are destined for the Dutch oven. We often try to enjoy all of our CSA tomatoes raw to get their full potential but this recipe feels like it gives the tomatoes the reverence they deserve. (apologies for posting a photo of the printed recipe, I couldn’t find a non-paywall copy of it anywhere online)

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

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: kale, lettuce, peppers, beets, squash, cucumbers, beans, scallions, red fingerling potatoes, tomatoes, basil, and watermelon (as supplies last).
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: Zestar apples & red plums
  • Flowers: sunflowers or mixed bouquets
  • Mushrooms: yes, but no specifics
  • Eggs: not mentioned in this week’s update from John, but assuming yes

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

Serving Suggestions:

• One of this week’s extras will be hot peppers. If you don’t typically grab them when they are available, snag a few this week and try this recipe: Candied Jalapenos. My aunt makes a huge batch of these candied jalapenos annually and cans them to give out to family. They are a hit any time I serve them! My favorite is alongside a top-your-own chili bar where I have toppings like sour cream, scallions, shredded cheese, Fritos and these jalapenos lined up for people to customize their bowl. They are also tasty baked into cornbread, on top of a hot dog, atop nachos, or anything else you can think of. One thing she adds to give them a little extra kick: a finely sliced habanero.

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

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: Peppers, beans, beets, summer squash, red onions, melons, red
  skin potatoes, tomatoes, ground cherries or cherry tomatoes, and choice of an herb (parsley, thyme, summer savory).
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: nectarines & watermelon
  • Flowers: yes, but not specifics
  • Mushrooms: not mentioned
  • Eggs: not mentioned in this week’s update from John, but assuming yes

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

Serving Suggestions:

• Last week we were looking for a quick weeknight recipe to use up our CSA green beans. My wife found this recipe from NYT Cooking for a green bean salad and we used it as inspiration for an even simpler version. We snipped, blanched and shocked the beans, then tossed them in some bottled dressing, and added in roughly chopped basil, olives and cherry tomatoes. The beans were pleasantly crisp and surprisingly our four year old daughter kept asking for more!

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

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: Peppers, beans, beets, summer squash, red onions, melons, red
  skin potatoes, tomatoes, ground cherries or cherry tomatoes, and choice of an herb (parsley, thyme, summer savory).
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: white peaches & red plums
  • Flowers: yes, but not specific
  • Mushrooms: oysters
  • Eggs: not mentioned in this week’s update from John, but assuming yes

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

Serving Suggestions:

• One of our favorite spots to eat in The Caldwells is The Original Pancake House. A signature dish on their menu is a “dutch baby” which is a hybrid between a pancake and an eggy souffle. I tried my hand at making one for the first time and was surprised at how well it came out. The savory dutch baby recipe I used as my starting point is from Kodiak brand since I had their baking mix in the pantry. I can see it being an easy weeknight building block for a meal full of CSA staples. Try it topped with a chopped tomato cucumber salad, or lightly dressed greens, or soft scrambled eggs mixed with roasted vegetables, or some combination of them all.

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

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: rainbow carrots, lettuce, eggplant, peppers, beans, garlic, sweet
  corn fingerling potatoes, tomatoes, basil, either cherry tomatoes or ground cherries and watermelon or another type of melon (cantaloupe, galia, honeydew, etc.)
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: not this week, returning next week
  • Flowers: sunflowers
  • Mushrooms: TBD
  • Eggs: not mentioned in this week’s update from John, but assuming yes

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

Serving Suggestions:

• Ground cherries have always been one of my CSA faves. They have an interesting flavor and are not commonly found at typical grocery stores. In John’s update today he mentioned something I had not heard before: they fall to the ground when they are ripe, hence the name. They pop up a few times during the middle of the CSA season and I try to enjoy them as simply as I can when we get them. That typically means just eating them out of hand or halved on top of salads. Somebody online suggested a salad with them, roasted beets and goat cheese — sounds delicious! Another recipe for gooseberry (another name) jam essentially sounds like my basic Thanksgiving cranberry sauce: berries, water, citrus peel/juice, sugar. I just may need to skip the out-of-hand eating this year and make a batch, with cranberries mixed in for a more familiar flavor, for the holidays.

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

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: Lettuce, Swiss chard, summer squash, beets, eggplant, peppers, sweet corn, cukes, yellow onions, beans, and choice of an herb (parsley, thyme, mint).
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: not this week
  • Flowers: sunflowers or a mixed bouquet
  • Mushrooms: yellow oyster mushroom
  • Eggs: not mentioned in this week’s update from John, but assuming yes

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

Serving Suggestions:

• Every year I remind our members of the Ratatouille recipe from America’s Test Kitchen which is a quintessential CSA recipe. You’ll have just about everything you need this week (but use canned tomatoes, not the fresh!).
• We should see some hearty greens for a few more weeks. If you’re looking for a use for this weeks swiss chard, try this white pizza from NYT Cooking. I had never made a white pizza and I surprised just how good it was. I made a few swaps: CSA spinach for the kale, half & half for the cream, and a cast iron skillet for the sheet pan. It made for a great new way to use up some greens that wasn’t just a salad or sauteed.

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

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: lettuce, choice of kale or collards, Swiss chard, green cabbage, eggplant, choice of an herb (parsley, thyme, marjoram), white onions, summer squash, cucumbers, and green beans.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: not this week
  • Flowers: sunflowers or a mixed bouquet
  • Mushrooms: lion’s mane mushroom
  • Eggs: not mentioned in this week’s update from John, but assuming yes

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

Serving Suggestions:

• In his update, John called out the white onions and how you could use the inner stalks as you would the bulb for less waste. It immediately made me think of a Youtube cooking video from Andrew Zimmern that I saw today. In the video he made an onion-forward pasta that comes together with pantry/fridge ingredients. The biggest ingredient is patience: you need to give the onions time to fry and drive all the moisture out. It reminds me of another favorite, Samin Nosrat’s fried shallots. Zimmern’s recipe is behind a paywall, but between his newsletter entry and video on the dish you’ll be able to put it together. I don’t have enough onions on hand to try it today but will definitely make it soon!

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

This week’s share will include:

• Veggies: lettuce, chard, choice of kale or collards, bok choy, choice of salad turnips or beets, sweet onions, Napa cabbage, eggplant, summer squash, cucumbers, and choice of herbs (dill, cilantro, parsley, summer savory).
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: cherries & peaches
  • Flowers: snapdragons, maybe sunflowers
  • Mushrooms: oyster mushroom
  • Eggs: not mentioned in this week’s update from John, but assuming yes

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

Serving Suggestions:

• Getting CSA eggplant always makes me think about a specific roasted eggplant dish I adapted from a Rick Bayless recipe. The recipe calls for topping hard-roasted eggplant with a spicy chipotle-forward salsa negra. It’s the kind of sauce where a little goes a long way and you can keep it in the fridge for a long time, so make a batch and plan on using it all summer long. (I skipped the black bean part of the recipe but if you were trying to make it a more hearty main dish the added protein from the beans would be perfect.)
• Here are the recipe and video from Rick’s website to hopefully inspire you to give it a try!