It is mid-week, and we are finishing up the Shares for all the members with the last Shares being picked up tomorrow from 4:00-6:00 p.m. here at The Farm. The Store will be in full swing with Flathead Cherries (both ORG and Conventional), ORG Pink Lady Apples and a new variety called Pacific Rose, more of the full flavored ORG Apricots and Red Plums. We are trying a new avocado called Lamb which is also a Hass variety out of California. I brought in a flat of ORG Strawberries that are smelling up the refrigerator…in a good way! More of the small pineapples, and a new citrus: Minneola’s, along with Rio Star Grapefruit and lots of lemons and limes. And the usual ORG Bananas, ginger root and turmeric, herbs, and salad greens with clamshells of Spinach. Extra’s hot peppers and veggies in the glass cooler, and more!
Just a head’s up on what the Garden has provided for us this week in the Shares:
Bagged Broccoli and a head of Cauliflower. Cauliflower is not a creature of heat–so some have yellowing and slightly flowered heads, but the flavor is the same and tender. (All broccoli and cauliflower should be consumed fresh if you want to avoid the strong ‘radishy’ flavor that develops the longer it sits in the fridge.)
Continuing with the Cucumbers (because they are continuing!) each Share has either the long snaky Striped Armenian cucumber with 2 Slicers (Corinto or Olympian), or the Chinese Suyo with 2 Slicers. Thursday’s group will have the Suyo (maybe 2) and Tasty Jades. I apologize if you are not a cucumber fan–but…this is what the garden is producing in abundance right now…that and Summer Squash….but it will not always be this way–I promise!! Lemon Cucumbers are just starting to produce, and as we finish up filling orders for picklers, we will have the Harmonie’s available as Snack Cucumbers and the large ones as Slicers. (We have 1# bags of Snack Cucumbers for sale in The Store–no Lemon cucumbers this week.)
We also included more of the purple Islander peppers, but they are thicker-meated and even better than last week! The Yum Yum Snack Peppers are producing, so maybe next week! Other Bell Peppers are coming along, too–I like them thick-meated and blocky.
The new vegetable of the week is Mei Qing Bok Choi, commonly known as Asian Greens or sometimes Chinese cabbage. It is yummy in stir fry (recipe at http://www.lloydcraftfarms.com under the Recipe tab) with other vegetables, or by itself with mushrooms and onions. Do not over-cook or it can become rubbery and loose its texture. Secret to a good stir fry is high heat, and a short time of cooking–this can be accomplished by preparing all the veggies before you start cooking them. I like the sesame seed oil as it can handle the high heat. If you aren’t comfortable making the stir fry sauce consider buying one–they are not bad!
This Thursday’s Shares will have the first harvest of white Onions, our favorite Sierra Blanca’s! Chelsea and I peeled them today, and laughed and cried the whole time– 🙂 I think they are super cooked, which is how I like my onions! Onions are a good addition to the Bok Choi, along with the smaller summer squash which is suitable for stir fry.
For the Extra’s Table, if we can figure out where to put it, we’ll have some Zucchini ‘boats’ for those that love to grate and freeze them for there winter bread, and lots of slicers to take as gifts…and I mean lots: 235 to be exact!
See you tomorrow! The Farmer’s Wife–
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