P I C K L I S T
Plum Tomatoes - Cherry Tomatoes - Jalapeno - Sweet Peppers (yellow and orange carmen) -
- Cilantro - Corn - Red Onion - Yellow Onion - Garlic - Melon - Kale
HOLY CHERRY TOMATOES EVERYONE! As berry season closes up shop, we enter right into the afternoon cherry tomato pick and the plants are dripping with these summer gems. In fact all plants are dripping in everything. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for- this is when the harvest comes flooding in! The fields are overflowing and I feel like an actual vegetable goddess every damn day filling bushel after bushel with all the bounty. But I need you to know that this moment is fleeting! Come January we will all be extra deep in hibernation (cheers to COVID) pulling jar after jar of roasted canned tomatoes off our pantry shelves- and ziploc bags of berries out of our chest freezer. And by March we will be tired, sick of the white cold slop, and our pantries and freezers will be nearly empty. So yes, its pretty perfect right now, but remember THE LIGHT LEVELS HAVE CHANGED (!!!!), it will get cold, plants will die, and back to woolies and hot drinks for a million days ahead. Where am I going with this? Hop on the preservation train. Call the farmstand to order your bushels of green beans (dilly beans!), cases of tomatoes (sauce! Salsa! etc!) and, pounds of basil (pesto!). Everything you need to eat to get through the winter, we are picking RIGHT NOW. So this week, go pick up your ball jars, ziplocks, lemon juice, and get roasting, pickling, fermenting. You can place special orders for bulk crops by calling the farmstand: 603-298-5764
Also, I was once a novice at all this (I did not grow up on a farm) and yes the world of food preservation can be daunting. But get yourself any book, and just get started. You will be ELATED in February- you got this people!
And in case you are wondering, now would be a good time to make/can/freeze so much salsa. (Your chips will thank you)
TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES:
Salsa!!!
Jenny’s note: The following write up on Salsa is from https://www.bonappetit.com/story/salsa-formula and I am thrilled to have found this guide. Bottomline, no 2 salsas are the same- but here is a week of CSA crops with everything you could possibly want to create YOUR perfect salsa… ok, ok its missing limes… and salt… but its got acid, its got heat and leaves. So warm up your tortillas, pickle your red onions (more on that later) and get chopping… P.S. this by no means replaces the best/easiest tomatillo salsa recipe of all time (THANKS CLAIRE!!) - you can look forward to that when the tomatillos are fully ripe and ready to party.
Rick Martinez shows us the way.
No taco is complete without a stop at the salsa bar, and we’re always down with the classics: mild-yet-smoky salsa molcajeteada, deceptively spicy jalapeño verde. But why stop there? You can make a salsa out of just about anything—as long as you get the ratios right. Use this handy formula to select by the seasons, the flavors, or just whatever you have hanging out in the back of your fridge. The possibilities are infinite.
1. Pick a fruit, veg, or both
Start with 3 cups of your favorite fresh produce, or mix a few together.
Tomato
Tomatillo
Stone fruit
Tropical fruit
Melon
Cucumber
Jicama
Berries
2. Choose your heat
Add 1 of the following chiles—fresh or dried work fine.
Jalapeño
Serrano
Habanero
Chipotle
Árbol
Cascabel
Fresno
Thai
3. Throw in some herbs
One handful should do it; just make sure they’re nice and fresh.
Cilantro
Mint
Parsley
Tarragon
Basil
4. Add the non-negotiables
These ingredients always have your back.
1 cup chopped onion
1 chopped garlic clove
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. kosher salt
5. How much time you got?
10 minutes: Throw all your items into a blender.
20 minutes: Chop everything into cute little cubes for a pico de gallo vibe.
30 minutes: Char everything but the herbs on a grill or broiler to maximize smoky flavors, then toss it all in the blender.
YOUR MELON:
Some of these beauties are picked under-ripe! Wait for your melon to take on a sweet aroma before you slice in. Once fragrant, devour accordingly.
Your plum tomatoes: If any of your plums appear greenish or light colored, leave them on your counter to ripen up to that deep red we all know and love
TIME: 3 HOURS
I know what you’re going to say: “You want me to turn on my oven in the middle of the summer for three freakin’ hours? Are you insane?” And all I can say is, well, yes, but also the oven is so low that I swear it won’t heat up your apartment (home) in any noticeable or annoying way.
Cherry, grape or small Roma tomatoes
Whole cloves of garlic, unpeeled
Olive oil
Herbs such as thyme or rosemary (optional)
Preheat oven to 225°F. Halve each cherry or grape tomato crosswise, or Roma tomato lengthwise and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet along with the cloves of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, just enough to make the tomatoes glisten. Sprinkle herbs on, if you are using them, and salt and pepper, though go easily on these because the finished product will be so flavorful you’ll need very little to help it along.
Bake the tomatoes in the oven for about 3 hours. You want the tomatoes to be shriveled and dry, but with a little juice left inside–this could take more or less time depending on the size of your tomatoes.
Either use them right away or let them cool, cover them with some extra olive oil and keep them in the fridge for the best summer condiment, ever. And for snacking.
JENNY’S NOTE: ALSO THESE ROASTED BABIES WILL CAN EASILY AND FREEZE EVEN EASIER