- P I C K L I S T -
CHERRY TOMATOES - SHISHITO PEPPERS - SCALLIONS - GARLIC - MELON -
THYME - TULSI - ARUGULA - HABANERO - CARROT - LEMON CUKE - CORN
I’m going to go through the farm update in bullet points because I’m pooped and I’m fairly certain this is the best move for my current condition: Late August jello brain.
Fall CSA plans are currently in the works! Stay tuned for more info on that- expect an email in the coming weeks- and when posted, sign up ASAP if you want to continue to party with us until Thanksgiving.
Ok, I think we’ve all learned the weekly pattern- 3 days of insane heat followed by 3 days of damp conditions. It’s become a huge nuisance of when to do what and how to keep crops happy. That said, our melons and cherry tomatoes LOVE the heat. Eggplant supply is slowly getting better, and there are a good amount of peppers in the field. However we are ALL waiting for them to sweeten up and turn from green to red, yellow, orange, etc…
I survived the first CSA week without sidekick Kayleigh. Deep exhales here.
Oh and something I’ve been meaning to bring up: Just In case every week you go pick up your share and are constantly disappointed by the lack of dill and cilantro- I want you to know that I feel ya on this. Our first cilantro and dill crop got eaten by weeds, and our second just continues to putter through life, never really taking on much growth. I’m constantly visiting the current cilantro/dill planting and eyeing it up for new life, but goodness it is not loving its current home. If you are looking to make salsa, etc and are need of cilantro to do so- i might suggest reaching out to another farm. Sorry yall, sometimes crops just fail and it’s a total bummer.
For those entering into pack-school-lunch season, this box is for you!! School lunches made so easy with cherry tomatoes! Carrot sticks! Cut up melon! The kids will go nuts… or they will come home begging for dunk-a-roos and pudding snacks but hot damn we try!
PRO TIPS:
TULSI: Yall have alot of cherry tomatoes to get through and process, so I would recommend brewing your tulsi tea now (with honey to taste)- cool it down in the fridge and drink often over ice as the temps rise over the next few days. Add some mint sprigs and you will have the ultimate relaxing cool down. Completely necessary bevvy as we continue to get deeper into tomato processing time- it’s a work out!
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 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.
The sunday/monday meal: Roy (and much of our other crew) comes North from Jamaica to farm with us from May-November and has found ways to keep Jamaican flavors going up here in rural NH. For example the staple meal, rice and peas aka Sunday/Monday. A part of Roy’s Sunday ritual is to make food for the week. He calls it his Sunday/Monday. Sunday/Monday is rice and peas which is essentially the most delicious rice and beans. We went over the recipe this week while picking thyme and then I hit the internet for a writeup and low and behold, brooklynactivemama.com provides:
1/2 cup dark red kidney beans (dry)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 scotch bonnet pepper/ OR HABANERO!! Sadly not as fruity as a scotch bonnet but a great substitute nonetheless
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
3 sprigs thyme
2 cups Jasmine rice
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
3 scallions
2 cups water
Soak the peas (aka red kidney beans) in a bowl with the water for 24 hours, if you don't have that kind of time soak for at least 2 hours.
Chop the Scallion & Garlic
Once the peas are properly soaked (they will likely plump and absorb a lot of the water) place the peas and the water in a saucepan.
Fill the pot with additional water if needed--the water should be about 2 inches over the peas. Bring to a boil.
Add the garlic, scallions, & thyme. Add the salt & allspice. Add a full scotch bonnet (habanero) pepper (do NOT slice, put it in WHOLE).
Cook for 20 minutes. (Peas may cook quicker depending on how long you soaked them)
Continually add cool water as needed to make sure that the peas don't burn. Watch closely! You know that the peas are cooked when you can break the peas in half easily with a fork.
Remove and discard the scotch bonnet pepper. Add the coconut milk and the uncooked rice. Stir throughly.
Important: There should only be about a half an inch of liquid above the peas and rice. Turn stove down to medium/low and stir (I use a wooden spoon to make sure no rice sticks to the bottom) every 5-7 minutes until cooked.
In about 30 minutes you will have fluffy and yummy rice and peas!
A lot of folks ask if they can do this recipe with canned beans, I wouldn't recommend this as it increases the water content substantially.
GRILL!! YALL. Shmear your shishitos with olive oil - toss them on a grill- cook until blistered, sprinkle with salt, and devour immediately. While you're at it- if you haven't eaten your scallions from last week and you are feeling overwhelmed by this allium- add this to your bucket of shmearing oil and toss on grill. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.