They call it the Green Machine:
{photo credit: Baker Creek Seeds}
We call it delicious.
It’s a cantaloupe that is green inside when ripe! It tastes much like a honeydew melon, but with the texture of cantaloupe.
{Photo credit: Baker Creek Seeds}
We don’t grow much fruit (that people think of as fruit….we love to remind people that anything with a seed inside is a fruit, botanically speaking). But of course we mean real fruit – the really sweet stuff. But this year we grew some nice watermelons and cantaloupes. (Our kids are suddenly glad to be growing up on a farm. They don’t get as excited about freshly picked eggplant.)
We’ll have some of these melons at market tomorrow, and they are available for our Market Share CSA members to pre-order. And there are also delicious savory options, including eggplant. PLUS – we are debuting a new savory bread variety this weekend: Roasted Pepper and Onion. The test loaves this week were nothing short of incredible.
Curious about how to best store your produce? See this Guide to Storing Fresh Produce. It is comprehensive and very helpful!
**Farm Share CSA Members: Please remember there are no Farm Share the week of August 28th through Sept 2nd.**
Saturday’s/Monday’s Farm Share will most likely include: Salad Mix, Lettuce, Sweet Peppers (orange and red…some snack size), Slicing Tomatoes, Garlic, Summer Squash, Shishito Peppers (these are the wrinkly, sweet, green ones that are meant to be cooked/blistered…see below), and either Fairy Tale Eggplant OR Green Beans OR Cucumbers.
Farm Share CSA Members – Third and final payments were due Aug 1. (If you’ve paid the correct amounts all along, $225 remains due for vegetables, $53 for Bread Shares.) Not sure what you owe? You can check on your balance here. If you have already paid in full, Thank You!
Vegetable Notes & Recipe Suggestions…also cataloged on our Recipe Page and see our Pinterest Page
Fairy Tale Eggplant – These miniature eggplants are very sweet in comparison to the usual varieties available in grocery stores. About Eggplant in general, from the website The Kitchn: “Most varieties {of eggplant] will take to stir-frying, grilling, and roasting in slices to be enjoyed as is (or roasting whole to be peeled and puréed). You can toss eggplant with pasta — excellent with tomato sauce, a touch of cream, mozzarella, and basil) or dredged in breadcrumbs and cornmeal and pan-fried or baked.” We slice in half length wise, roast in the oven at around 375-400 until tender. Drizzle with a Honey Balsamic Glaze and enjoy! Excellent served on top of slices of baguette or crostini…with parmesan and perhaps also a Tomato & Garlic Salad (though in our experience this salad is not better the next day as the author states….we think it is best eaten the day of…any leftovers are best the next morning alongside an omelet or scrambled eggs). Or see this Grilled FairyTale Eggplant with Garlic and Mint recipe. Everyone will be getting these Eggplants over the next few weeks.
Okra – Okra rarely features in our Farm Share because we know it’s not a favorite for many people. We really love it, and always serve it as Roasted Okra. It’s still gooey inside but crispy on the outside. It is also fabulous in Curry: Spiced Okra Curry or as Bhindi Masala. See also these 10 Best Okra Recipes.
Summer Squash – Quick Summer Squash and Bell Pepper Gratin is a delicious dish. Sauteed Summer Squash with Thyme & Almonds looks delicious and is on our list for this week. Summer Squash Casserole is a real comfort food (though only 1 pound of squash is in your share this week and the recipe calls for 4 pounds…adjust accordingly). Summer Squash and Goat Cheese Custard has us intrigued and is now on our to-make list.
Shishitos – Reminder: These are the small, green, wrinkly peppers. They are not spicy. They are meant to be blistered whole and enjoyed with simply oil and salt or a sauce of your choice. Southern Living just posted this video of Charred Shishito Peppers. (That video has some great tips! But we still disagree that some of them are hot…we haven’t found a hot one yet.)
Sweet Peppers – Red or orange, they are not spicy. These are great raw as snacks, sliced and filled with hummus or cheese, or sliced and stuffed and baked. Pinterest has a bazillion Stuffed Sweet Pepper recipes.
Green Beans – Ours are so yummy raw as a snack that we rarely eat them cooked. When we cook them we saute them lightly in a fry pan with sesame oil, grated fresh ginger, and a splash of organic soy sauce/Bragg’s liquid aminos. We like them still crunchy so we don’t cook them very long – just a little.
Tomatoes – Panzanella is delicious. (And our bread is wonderful in it.) Tomatoes are amazing with just a little balsamic vinegar, feta cheese, and perhaps basil. We eat Fresh Salsa for days upon days this time of year. And…adding slices of tomato to really good Grilled Cheese sandwiches is just wonderful.
This week’s harvest (and baking) includes:
Cilantro, Fairy Tale Eggplant, Beatrice Eggplant, Garlic, Lettuce, Microgreens, Okra, Onions, Shishito Peppers, Sweet Orange & Red Peppers, Salad Mix, Spearmint, Summer Squash, Tomatoes (slicers and cherries, available in bulk!)…and our Organic Hearth Baked Bread (Baguettes, Roasted Pepper and Onion, Whole Rye, Seed, & Raisin loaves for this weekend)
{Our farmstand is open Thurs & Friday with most of the above items…see here for updated inventory}
2017 Market Share CSA Members: Reserve your selection online to pick up Saturday, Aug 12th at our farm, at the Brandermill Green Market, or at the Farmers Market @ St. Stephens.
Anything remaining after CSA shares are distributed and our farm stand is shopped… we’ll bring to the Brandermill Green Market or the Farmer’s Market @ St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in the West End of Richmond. Keep an eye on what we have available via the online farmers’ markets: FallLineFarms.com and Local Roots Food Coop.
Enjoy ~
Janet, Dan, & the whole Broadfork crew
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