2016 CSA Week 14

Good evening fellow CSA members,

If you enjoyed last week's share I have some great news for you! This week's share is quite similar, with just a few subtle differences in quantities (more or less of some items).

As a refresher:

Produce	Storage	Longevity
summer squash and zucchini	unwashed, in fridge	1-2 weeks
green beans	unwashed, in fridge	3-4 days
tomatoes	room temperature	about a week
sweet corn	shucked or with husks on in coldest part of fridge	enjoy as soon as possible
eggplant*	unwashed, in fridge, wrapped in a paper towel in crisper	5-7 days
cabbage*	unwashed, in fridge	up to two months
bell pepper	washed or unwashed in fridge	1-2 weeks
cucumber	washed or unwashed in fridge	1-2 weeks
blackberries	unwashed, in fridge	3-5 days

*Just as last week, your share will include either eggplant OR cabbage.

Friend and CSA member Amanda Horn said she used last week's share in some vegetable soup she canned for the winter. How delicious does that sound? Completely unrelated, and nothing you would ever want or need to know, but any time anyone mentions vegetable soup I am reminded of the one and only craving I had my entire pregnancy, for only one day, exactly one week before I went into labor: Vegetable soup. So now I have very fond feelings for vegetable soup.

I also received a recipe this week for Zucchini Parmesan Crisps. I haven't had a chance to try it yet but I immediately knew I wanted to share it with all of you. And, as recipe sites often do, clicking on that recipe led me down a trail of many other delicious dishes. Fried Cheese-Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms. Stuffed Zucchini and Red Bell Peppers. (I bet any color pepper would work fine.) Cappellini with Spicy Zucchini-Tomato Sauce. The list could go on. Click on any of those recipes and then follow your own trail.

If you're like me, you may have trouble believing we're 14 weeks into our 20-week share. Now with August officially here, the end of the CSA season doesn't seem as distant to me as it did back in May. My thoughts are already turning to the fall and winter shares. If you have enjoyed the CSA so far, I would like to encourage you to consider the other shares offered by Sustainable Harvest Farm.

Ford and Amanda have a delightful fall produce share filled with squash, sweet potatoes and other fall veggies, along with shelf-stable products and some glorious greenhouse goodies. I've told Ford and I will tell you: I have tried and enjoyed all of the SHF shares, but the fall vegetable share is my absolute favorite share that they offer. I think I take fresh produce for granted in the summer, but to get fresh produce in the fall is a treat. On top of that, many of the products in the fall share last longer so there isn't as much pressure or stress to use them right away before they spoil.

Pork Carnitas Street Tacos. If I had the recipe, I'd share it. :)

If you can find pork and beef that tastes better than SHF, please tell me about it because I would love to eat it! I am a serious meat-eater and I'd put theirs up against any I've ever put in my mouth.

I mention this to you now for two reasons. Because their shares usually fill up fast. Last year I got a small meat share and supplemented some months by adding extras. Before the share even ended there was no extra meat to purchase. Not unusually, Ford had sold out quickly. And secondly, friend and winter CSA member Celinda DeGough recently sent me a text to ask if SHF meat was also included in the blog posts because she had just eaten one of the "top five meals of her life." And it included pork from her winter meat share. It made me look forward to the meat that's coming my way, and I wanted you to be able to get in on it too!

As always, I'd love to hear the ways you are using your share. And please let me know if you have any questions!