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

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: beans, salad turnips, leeks, red-skin potatoes, choice of tatsoi or arugula, lettuce, zucchini or delicata squash, green cabbage, eggplant or peppers, and choice of an herb.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: on hold while more apples/pears ripen
  • Flowers: none this week
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “A” week.

Serving Suggestion:

• This week we may get our first delicata squash of the year. I couldn’t help but see flashbacks to one of my all-time favorite CSA dinners that I shared here in 2018. You may not have all the same ingredients on hand that I did, but that’s kinda the point: halve them and fill up with whatever you have lingering in your pantry.

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

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: swiss chard, beans, carrots, shallots, red fingerling potatoes, butternut squash, shishito peppers, radishes, Napa cabbage and choice of an herb.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: hardy kiwi berries and gala apples
  • Flowers: sunflowers
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “B” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• This week, John ended his update declaring “it is feeling like soup weather.” As I write this, watching Monday Night Football with the windows wide open, I couldn’t agree more! Yesterday I made a big batch of potato soup with the CSA potatoes I had collected the last few weeks. You could easily adapt to add or subtract whatever you have on hand. Here’s my basic “recipe” I follow each time I make potato soup…
  • Crisp some pancetta or bacon in a big, heavy pot. Use a slotted spoon to remove it so you leave behind the fat.
  • Sweat some chopped onions (and/or scallions whites, leeks, shallots) in the fat, adding olive oil if needed. Add some seasonings — I keep it simple with salt, pepper and smoked paprika.
  • Sprinkle in some flower to make a roux with the fat, let it cook two minutes until the bottom of the pot dries.
  • Deglaze with a cup of water/broth, stirring and scraping vigorously. You will literally see the starches gelatinize. Don’t use too much liquid or you won’t be able to stir aggressively and you won’t get the right effect. It’ll look separated for awhile, keep stirring until it comes together.
  • Add 2/3 of your chunked potatoes before adding the rest of your liquid, that way you’ll limit splashing. (I don’t bother peeling them but definitely rinse them, CSA potatoes have a lot of dirt!)
  • Add the rest of your liquid, 4-6 more cups worth depending on how many servings you are aiming for.
  • Cook until your potatoes are soft and mushy. Use an immersion blender to buzz the soup until smooth. Add your reserved potatoes and cook in the pureed soup until soft, about 20min. This would be a good time to add anything else you want to stay bite-able in the final soup, like carrot chunks. If you want to add something quick-cooking like corn, wait until the final few minutes.
  • Serve topped with the reserved crispy pancetta/bacon, sliced scallion greens, sour cream, shredded cheese, or whatever else you like to pair with a baked potato.

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

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: swiss chard, beans, red onions, beets, spaghetti squash, shishito peppers, bok choy, red-skin potatoes, sweet corn, and choice of an herb.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: Sweetie apples and Santa Rosa plums
  • Flowers: sunflowers
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “A” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• Looking back through old CSA posts, I believe this is only the 4th time in the last 5+ years that we received shishito peppers. One of them was earlier this year but it was a “B” week so those like me with a half share missed them. I’m looking forward to give them a try since they are not something I have much experience cooking. I plan on keeping it very simple… Toss them with oil, throw them in a fully preheated heavy skillet, cook until they blister and have some dark splotches, sprinkle with some crunchy finishing salt. Sounds like a great chef’s treat while dinner cooks!

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

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: beans, kale, rainbow carrots, garlic, melons, sweet corn, colored peppers, tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, zucchini, and choice of an herb.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: ginger gold apples & nectarines
  • Flowers: mixed varieties that dry well
  • Mushrooms: *** note: this week will include enoki mushrooms which the grower reminds us need to be cooked and not eaten raw! ***
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “B” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• Last year I stumbled on this NYT Cooking recipe for a Carrot Tart with Ricotta and Feta. I had just received a batch of rainbow carrots from the CSA so it was perfect timing. Even better, I had puff pastry in the freezer (always keep one on hand!). Since the recipe is behind a paywall, here it is broadly…
  • Roll out your puff and score a border around the rectangle so as it bakes you get a bit of a crust.
  • Thinly slice your carrots (or other veg) lengthwise, toss in oil, s&p and any other seasonings you want to try.
  • Roast the puff and the carrots separately for about 20 minutes until you have some color on both and the carrots are starting to get tender.
  • Pull them out of the oven and stir together a 2:1 mixture of ricotta and feta cheese with some garlic and herbs. The recipe calls for a food processor but that feels like unnecessary dishes.
  • Spread the cheese over the puff pastry, then layer with the carrots. Put back in the oven for another 20 minutes until everything is nicely golden, the edges of the pastry are shatteringly crisp, the carrots are very tender, and you get a little browning on the exposed parts of cheese.
  • Cut into rough squares, top with some olive oil and flaky salt

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

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: sweet corn, beets, Swiss chard, tomatoes, gold potatoes, scallions, lettuce, beans, melons, and choice of an herb.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: peaches & apples (fruit was not available in time last week, this week’s fruit is a makeup for last week)
  • Flowers: no flowers this week
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “A” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• I often find that I struggle with using the CSA melons. They aren’t a big hit with my family and there’s only so much honeydew I can do so I went looking for some new ideas…
  • Something I am sure I saw in old cookbooks and forgot all about: wrap some prosciutto around a piece of melon for a sweet and salty nibble (kinda like Summer’s answers to bacon wrapped dates?)
  • The Kitchn combines melon ribbons (hopefully you have a mandoline) with some tender herbs and roughly chopped nuts for a summery side
  • We all have bananas in the freezer right? This recipe combines them with melon and yogurt to make a smoothie

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

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: beans, cukes, eggplant, carrots, red skin potatoes, leeks, kale, lettuce, tomatoes, melon or sweet corn, and choice of an herb.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: peaches & zestar apples
  • Flowers: sunflowers
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “B” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• John said that groups will continue getting ground cherries on a rotating basis until the crop runs out. In our house we usually end up eating them raw, either out of hand or topping salads. In case I want to cook up the next batch I found some good-looking recipes to share:
  • Ground Cherry Salsa (would be a great place to add some tomatillos if you have too)
  • Ground Cherry Jam & Marinade
  • Ground Cherry Coffee Cake

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

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: squash, cukes, red cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beets, kale, white onions, fingerling potatoes and choice of an herb. Some groups will receive ground cherries, and/or melons or corn as available.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: peaches & blueberries
  • Flowers: no
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “A” week.

Serving Suggestion:

• Over the years I have shared my favorite ratatouille recipe from America’s Test Kitchen a few times. This is our first delivery of the year that has everything you need! (Although, I suggest saving your tomatoes for fresh/raw applications and use a 28oz can of whole tomatoes instead.)

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

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: Summer squash, cukes, beans, eggplant, peppers, kale, green
  cabbage,carrots, onions, tomatoes, and choice of an herb.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: plums & nectarines
  • Flowers: no
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “B” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• Too hot to cook? Got home too late to bother making dinner? How about a “dipping dinner” where you cut up some of your fresh CSA veggies, including those crisp green bell peppers, and raid the fridge with anything and everything you can use as a dip?
  • Hummus: everybody has an opened half-eaten container right? Freshen it up with a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of the good olive oil and maybe some chopped herbs
  • Salad dressing: thick dressings like ranch and blue cheese are always a favorite and are only a cap twist away
  • Quick Green Goddess: start with a big dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream, then chop whatever herbs you have on hand, and be rough about it so they bruise and give up a bit of their moisture and a green tint to the mixture, stir to combine and season with s&p
  • The OG Onion Dip: nothing beats the nostalgia of dried onion soup mix stirred into sour cream (I typically buy two boxes whenever I think of it so there’s always an extra packet hiding somewhere in the pantry)

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

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: squash, beets, eggplant, tomatoes, cukes, red-skin potatoes, garlic, beans (wax and haricot vert), swiss chard, and choice of an herb.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: peaches & cherries
  • Flowers: yes
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is “A” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• Tomatoes!
  • The first few CSA tomatoes must be eaten off the cutting board simply with flaky sea salt. I didn’t write the rules, I just follow them!
  • Once you devour those first salty slices, turn your knife to one of my favorite quick summer sides: tomato cucumber salad. I’ll chunk up some tomatoes and cukes, I usually go with irregular shapes to be more visually appealing, and then toss them with some olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt & pepper. If I have any red onion on hand I’ll shave some tiny slivers in as well. Let it sit in the fridge for a bit to get cold and then serve alongside anything from hot dogs to a loaf of bread with butter.
  • You could spin the tomato salad another way and go with a panzanella. Tear up chunks of leftover bread, toss them LIBERALLY with oil, then season with salt/pepper/paprika/whatever you like, and bake them at like 300 for 30min or until they get crisp and browned. I’ll use a saved bread bag/ziploc for this so you can shake and thoroughly coat the bread pieces. Using a lot of oil will help them get the fried crouton texture you get at a good diner with your pea soup. Just before you’re ready to serve, toss the croutons with your tomato salad so they just barely get crispy-gone-soggy and enjoy.
  • If your first thought with fresh tomatoes is a BLT, try out my trick for an easy yet satisfying BLT that I posted last year.

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

This week’s share will include: 

• Veggies: Zucchini, lettuce, cucumbers, sweet onions, spinach, “Red Thumb” fingerling
• potatoes, beets, scallions, broccoli or cauliflower, choice of an herb.
• Add-on shares:
  • Fruit: paused this week
  • Flowers: yes, TBD
  • Mushrooms: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
  • Eggs: expected every week unless we hear otherwise
• For those with half shares, this is a “A” week.

Serving Suggestions:

• I have a bunch of onions building up in my kitchen. Some are half-used and hoping to be used before the compost bin gets them. Some are already sliced from a dinner I never got around to making after I prepped it (thanks Summer). Some are ends and scraps in the freezer waiting for a stock project. Some are still whole and hanging on from my half share two weeks ago. I plan on making a big batch of caramelized onions and am using this space to brainstorm some uses for them:
  • One of my favorite quick dinners is fresh pierogies sauteed with butter, oil and caramelized onions. Bonus points if you have a chunk of non-Italian sausage hiding in the back of the freezer that you can defrost. Heck, we all have hot dogs laying around in the summer so cut two on the bias and call it an American sausage!
  • I have a roll of crescent rolls in the fridge looking for creative use. I was thinking about rolling a teaspoon of caramelized onions inside and then brushing them with the oniony fat to encourage a deeper browning. Served alongside whatever pantry/freezer soup you have on hand and it’ll feel like you spent more than 15 minutes on dinner.
  • When I’m feeling like “pizza” but don’t really want to make pizza but actually want a pantry raid flatbread, I’ll reach for a frozen garlic naan to use as a ready-made crust. Crisp it plain in the oven for a few minutes then smear your onions on top. Then, crumble on whatever cheeses you have on hand — some mozzarella, some cheddar, some feta, maybe even some gorgonzola for a real punch — and cook until things are melty and heated through.
  • A list about caramelized onions that doesn’t mention soup would feel incomplete. Everybody seems to have their favorite French Onion Soup recipe so I won’t go too deep. But, I will say that one of my favorite restaurant soups is a Seven Onion Soup that I used to get regularly at a place that has since closed. I don’t remember the exact varieties they included (think: white, red, yellow, Vidalia) but they also added leeks and scallions. Some of those are CSA staples, as are things like chives and garlic scapes which would fit right in. If you have the time to caramelize all your onions now, your future self will thank you for making a hearty pot of soup just a quart of beef broth away. Don’t limit yourself to just one type of onion when making soup!