Welcome to September! Today has been a cooler and breezy day on the farm. For those of you who were able to travel during this Labor Day weekend, we hope you enjoyed your time away. We are picking the first of our slicing tomatoes this week. It is funny that they are called “Early Girls”! We usually start harvesting them much earlier than this!!
What’s in Box #14?
Salad Mix: More delicious greens for you this week. For best storage, keep greens in the fridge, in a plastic bag or other covered container, with just a little bit of moisture to prevent wilting.
Tomatoes: Early Girl variety. The first ones of the season. A low-acid slicer. These are dry-farmed in one of our greenhouses which makes the flavor more intense.
Napa Cabbage: A great time to make slaw or kimchi.
Sweet Onion: Candy variety. These are harvested fresh and have not yet been cured for storage. So, please keep them in the fridge for longer storage.
Potatoes: Nicola variety.It is still a great time for potato salad. These should keep well for a while too, so you could save them for soup when the fall weather arrives.
Fennel: Orion variety. Crunchy like celery with an anise flavor. The bulb can be eaten raw or cooked. Flavor will lessen when cooked. The small feathery fronds can also be used as garnish/herb in many dishes. Excellent in slaws, salads and stir-frys.
Zucchini: Raven variety. Great sliced and grilled. Use in place of noodles as a hot or cold dish. These can also be used to make sweet pickles, if you are into preserving.
Recipes:
Tomato Sauce
When tomatoes are in abundance it’s difficult to find a way to eat them all. This is an easy way to use up your plethora of tomatoes in a delicious way. ~ Heather
Ingredients:
Yields enough to coat ½ pound pasta
– 1 quart of early girl tomatoes peeled
– 1 clove garlic minced
– 1 tbsp. sugar
– 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Sautee garlic, then add tomatoes, sugar, balsamic vinegar, and sugar into a large pot. Simmer until thick. Serve any way you please and enjoy!
lickmyspoon.com/recipes/tomatoes-an-addiction-early-girl-tomato-sauce/
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Sweet and Sour Napa Cabbage
Napa cabbage is certainly a pretty vegetable and can be shredded and added to a whole variety of dishes. However, this recipe lets your cabbage truly stand out and will make a great side dish for nearly any meal. ~ Laura
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-sour-roasted-napa-cabbage-wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon grated garlic
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 head napa cabbage, cut lengthwise into quarters
1. Place a large roasting pan in oven. Preheat oven and pan to 450 degrees.
2. Combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Coat cut sides of cabbage with cooking spray or olive oil. Place cabbage cut sides down on preheated pan; bake 6 min. Turn cabbage onto other cut side and bake an additional 6 minutes Remove pan from oven.
4. Heat broiler to high. Brush cabbage evenly with oil mixture; broil 3 minutes or until browned and caramelized.
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Roasted Fennel Pesto
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/08/roasted-fennel-almond-pesto-recipe.html
I absolutely love pesto and am a fan of any ingredient that can be used as a pesto base. Try this unique recipe and keep this pesto on hand for an addition to a dish, a spread, or as a dip. This recipe incorporates the whole fennel, which I think is cool to do in a single dish. ~ Derek