Week 13

Hello Everyone,

The rain is great for all our fall plantings and seedings.  We have now entered into the final third of summer, and Week 13 marks the half way point in the CSA season!  How appropriate that we have some late summer greens to help round out our tomato-centric diets.

Expect the following produce this week:

Lettuce

1 bunch arugula

1 bunch raab

Provider Green Beans

Carrots

Tomatillos*

Hot Peppers*

Tomatoes

Sweet Peppers

Basil

Pick-Your-Own-Flowers

And, to round it off, we will have another well-stocked “extra bin” this week!

*Since we have noticed these items are not “popular” we offer them as “free choice.”   We want you to be able to take what you will use, but please be mindful of others who may want to take some of these items as well.

Member Recipes: Tomato Easy Freeze Salsa

The following recipe is from home-cook guru Dawn.  She found a way to preserve salsa ingredients in the summer in order to enjoy them during the colder months of the year.  Using this method takes little time and effort, but the pay off is big.  Here’s what she wrote to us:

I heard about this last year and tried it. I enjoyed fresh salsa all winter with my last batch just last month.

I am doing it again this year.

Freeze washed/dried whole tomatoes— when defrosted they will pop right out of their skins!  I vac-saved bags of 8-12 roma tomatoes along with tomatillos and hot peppers.

[To Make Salsa:]

Defrost a bag of tomatoes and a small one of tomatillos, each of which [holds] a hot pepper.

First toss some fresh garlic, cilantro and sweet onion into the food processor — process it and then squeeze the tomatoes from their skins right into the processor along with the tomatillos and hot pepper. I will also add a chipotle from a can in there too. *we love the chipotle flavor*   Process and then stir in some fresh lime juice and sea salt to taste.

Honestly– as good, if not better than the salsa I make with the fresh tomatoes during the growing season. Something about the freezing that breaks the fibers just right maybe?

Everyone who tries it wants to take some home. Which is fine as it makes at least a quart plus a bit more.

If you like salsa and know what you pay for it— I estimate I save between $80- 100 doing this (probably more).  I freeze enough to make 12 batches of salsa.

A Call for Pickles

Next Tuesday is our last week of August!  We will feature pickling techniques and recipes for beans, beets, carrots and onions.  If you have a great tried and true pickling or chutney recipe involving in season veggies, and are willing to share it, we would love to hear from you.