P I C K L I S T
WATERMELON - ARUGULA - LEMON BALM - POBLANO PEPPERS - SWEET CARMEN PEPPERS -
HABANADA PEPPERS - BEETS - RED ONION - RED FINGERLING POTATOES -
EDAMAME 0R GREEN BEANS - CHERRY TOMATOES - SERRANO PEPPER (HOTTIE)
A list of all the celebrations converging at once: Fall Equinox, Sukkot, and CSA DAY.
While I am totally exhausted at the thought of taking the time to honor any of these holidays, I am completely enamored with every single one of them.
First, enter the Fall Equinox: which for me translates beyond pumpkin spice everything (especially since we lost our winter squash crop to drought back in June). As a farmer, the equinox forces you to stop at a certain time of day. By 7pm the world is dark, and unless we bring headlamps to the field there is no point in further picking raspberries/cherry tomatoes/etc… The day is now equal parts light and dark and I feel it in my tired zombie farming bones that it is imperative to pay respects to the equinox and begin to go inward… in other words- it's time to slow the f down and take a little rest.
SUKKOT: Enter the Jewish harvest holiday. A time to celebrate the land, the crops, etc… This kind of negates what was previously mentioned about taking a little rest… But it does encourage the farmer to not only pick the crops, but also EAT THE CROPS (which is actually a pretty novel idea, as before kiddos Ray and I relied on too many hot dogs and potato chips for Summer season caloric intake).
Lastly, we have your favorite weekly holiday and mine: CSA DAY!! Yall are pretty familiar with this one by now, so i’ll leave it up to you to party the way you like with all that veg.
AND NOW A TOTAL NON SEQUITUR THAT I CAN'T SEEM TO SHAKE: Last year at this time we had experienced our first frost and it was devastating. Also, let it be known that the 10 day forecast is currently frost free.
OH and a quick note from the field: If you need to find any folks from the crew- search no further than the raspberry crop by the farmstand or the trellised cherry tomatoes on River Road. I’m pretty certain we are on week three of non-stop picking… Tim remarked on the abundance, “by the time you finish picking a row, the end where you started is ripe again. Cherry tomatoes or raspberries probably inspired the original snake eating its own tail universe analogy.” Good one Tim, Good one.
PRO-TIPS:
Lemonbalm: I LOVE THIS HERB. I brew these leaves nearly nightly with hot water for the perfect bedtime tea. Do it and you will surely fall in love with this evening ritual.
Rajas con Crema is an easy Mexican dish that combines roasted poblano peppers with onions, Mexican cream, and melted cheese.
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, plus more to taste
3/4 cup Mexican crema* (store bought or homemade, I USE CREME FRAICHE!)
1 cup shredded Oaxaca cheese*
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place poblano peppers on top. Set your oven rack directly underneath the broiler and turn the broiler on high.
Broil poblanos in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the skin is blackened and blistered. Carefully flip them over and broil for another 5 minutes, or until the skin is blackened and blistered on all sides.
Remove them from the oven, loosely cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil or plastic wrap to keep in some of the heat to help them steam, and let them sit for 5 minutes.
Pull and rub off as much of the loose skin on the peppers as possible. It doesn't have to be perfect. (View some step-by-step photos on how to roast poblano peppers.)
Transfer poblanos to a cutting board, discard the stems and seeds. Cut poblanos into strips and set aside.
Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes, until softened and translucent.
Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
Add roasted poblano pepper strips, Mexican crema, and salt. Stir together to combine and cook for 2 more minutes.
Add shredded cheese and stir together until the cheese completely melts. Remove from heat and serve immediately in warm tortillas or with tortilla chips.
ISABEL’S TIPS: I highly recommend using Mexican crema if you can find it. More and more large grocery stores are starting to carry it. It’s typically found in the dairy aisle near the cheeses and milks. If you can’t find it, a good substitute is crème fraîche. Or better yet, you can make your own Mexican crema at home.
Oaxaca cheese is recommended because it melts smoothly and gives the dish a luxurious stretch. You can typically find Oaxaca cheese in the specialty cheese section or the dairy section in your grocery store. Specialty Hispanic grocers also commonly carry it. If you can’t find it near you, you can use monterey jack cheese or mozzarella.
AND FOR THE LACTOSE ADVERSE:
By Diana Kennedy Yield: 6 APPETIZER OR 4 FIRST-COURSE
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup thinly sliced white onion
Salt
1 pound poblano or Anaheim chiles (about 6 medium chiles)—charred, peeled, with stems, seeds and veins removed and flesh cut into narrow strips
1 cup strong beer
6 ounces medium-sharp Cheddar or domestic Muenster cheese, cut into thin slices
Heat the oil in a deep, nonreactive, medium skillet or shallow flameproof casserole. Add the onion, season with salt and cook over moderate heat until translucent.
Add the chile strips, cover the pan and cook until just tender but not soft, about 4 minutes. Add the beer, increase the heat to high and boil, uncovered, until it is absorbed by the chiles, about 7 minutes. Spread the slices of cheese over the chiles and heat until melted. Serve immediately.
AND IF YOU NEED FURTHER POBLANO INSPO, GOOGLE CHILE RELLENOS!!
Habanadas!!: YALL! These little habanero peppers are heatless! They have that same smoky fruity flavor of a habanero but with 0 heat. You can impress all your friends with the obvious party trick of eating a whole “hot” pepper with out breaking sweat- or just enjoy them on their own. I love them.
Roast your peppers!! YES, you are right- you do have an insane amount of peppers this week. I totally encourage you to roast and keep in olive oil in your fridge OR roast and freeze. We roast a ton of peppers each fall to consume all winter. They are awesome in soups, pizza, sauces, etc.