Peppy Peppers!

VEGGIE OF THE WEEK:
PEPPERS!

Sweet Green/Red Varieties: Carmen, Round of Hungary, Jupiter, Peacework
Hot Varieties: Jalepeno

SAY WHAT?

"The misleading name pepper was given by Christopher Columbus upon bringing the plant back to Europe. At that time peppercorns, the fruit of Piper nigrum, an unrelated plant originating from India, were a highly prized condiment; the name pepper was at that time applied in Europe to all known spices with a hot and pungent taste and so naturally extended to the newly discovered Capsicum family." ***wikipedia.org

WHAT'S IN YOUR BOX?

Sweet Potato Greens
Multi-Colored Pole Beans
Soybeans
Parsley and Mint
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Peppers
Okra
Garlic
Marinated Roasted Peppers

Farmer John's Cookbook is chalked full of delightful recipies and information about tasty tasty vegetables. Below is one such example. He recommends putting these on sandwiches, pizzas, pasta dishes, hummus or omelette dishes and I completely agree.

6 bell peppers
1/3 cup olive oil
1 TB sherry or red wine vinegar
2 tsp scallions or onions
2 tsp minced fresh parsley
2 tsp minced fresh oregano or marjoram
2 tsp honey (optional)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt

Roast peppers and let cool. Peel and seed peppers. Cut them into thin strips and place them in a bowl.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a large jar, cover with a lid and shake shake shake.

Pour marinade over the peppers and let sit for at least 2 hours.

These will store in the fridge for about a week.

Okra Folklore!

FEATURED VEGGIE OF THE WEEK: OKRA!

VARIETIES: RED BURGUNDY AND CAJUN JEWEL


RECIPE TIME!
** Okra Curry**

1 pound white or red boiling potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced medium
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 teaspoon coarse salt
14 oz fresh tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
large fistful kale leaves
1 pound okra pods, trimmed and cut on an angle into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon curry powder

"Cook the potatoes until just tender in a large saucepan filled with salted water. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a heavy pot and cook the onion and garlic, seasoned with salt, gently until the onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juices, red pepper, kale, okra and the cooked potatoes, drained. Stir in coconut milk and curry powder. Bring pot to a simmer, cover and cook until okra and kale are tender, about 30 minutes. Adjust seasoning and serve, either as a side dish or over brown rice.

For a more classic curry, you could also add toasted spices such as cumin and mustard seed. Since we keep coconut milk and curry powder in the pantry there was no need to go shopping at all. "

***theslowcook.blogspot.com

WHAT'S IN YOUR BOX?

Garlic
Okra
Winter Squash
Tomatos
Basil
Cucumbers
Summer Squash
Mulit-colored Pole Beans
Celery

SAY WHAT?

Okra seed was used as a coffee substitute throughout the south during the civil war.

"Parch over a good fire and stir well until it is dark brown; then take off the fire and before the seed get cool put the white of one egg to two tea-cups full of okra, and mix well. Put the same quantity of seed in the coffee pot as you would coffee, boil well and settle as coffee."

Recipe from: The Southern Banner [Athens, GA], February 11, 1863"

Tomatastic Tomatoes!

FEATURED VEGGIE OF THE WEEK: TOMATOES

Holey moley heavenly varieties of tomatos:

Green Zebra: heirloom ripening from green to yellow
Cherokee Purple: the best tasting heirloom I’ve tried
Amish Paste: a huge tasty pastey Fargo Yellow Pear Cherry: nature’s candy


THE FAT SANDWICH!

A tiny farm original creation and an absolutely tasty treat! This sandwich will take you from lunch to dinner sans snack...or will it?

1 ripe tomato
6 leaves of fresh basil
2 pieces of bread, toasted
1/2 avocado, thinly sliced
1 boiled egg, sliced
1 Tbsp cream cheese
1 Tbsp veganaise or mayonaise
2 slices of cheese (the stinkier the better though any will do)

Spread cream cheese on one piece of bread and mayo/veganaise on other piece. Add avocado, egg, tomato, cheese, and basil. Put it all together, and pack on the calories!

SAY WHAT?

The word tomato (aka the love apple) comes from the Aztec [Nahuatl] tomatl, literally "the swelling fruit".

***wikipedia.org

WHAT'S IN YOUR BOX?

Tomatos
Celery
Summer Squash
Cucumbers
Basil
Parsely
Pole Beans or Okra
Sweet Potato Leaves
Lambsquarter
Onions

STORAGE TIPS! DO NOT REFRIGERATE!

Tomatos can be put in a brown paper bag to speed up the ripening process. You know they are ripe when they yield a bit when squeezed. For long term storing, freeze them in sauces or salsas.

Sensational Celery!

FEATURED VEGGIE OF THE WEEK: CELERY

VARIETIES: VENTURA BIODYNAMIC CELERY
I think Farmer John of Angelic Organics said it all when he said this about the celery that he grows on his CSA farm outside of Chicago. "Our celery may look and taste more vibrant than what you are accustomed to. (Some of you might even say it tastes "aggressive.") This is because we do not blanch our celery plants by hilling soil around them to exclude light. Blanching would make for paler, juicier stalks--but our deep green unblanched celery is especially wonderful for cooking. Save the light colored, mild inner stalks for eating raw.


RECIPE TIME!** Chilled Celery Soup!!**

2 Cloves Garlic
1 Sweet Onion
8-10 Celery Stalks and some of their Leaves
BUTTER! or Olive Oil
2 or 3 Asian variety Cucumbers (those are the long ones.)
1 Qt. Plain Yogurt (I prefer full fat, but lowfat is ok too.)
1 Ripe (Unbruised!) Avocado
Zest and Juice of 2 Lemons
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Chop and sweat onions, celery and leaves and garlic in butter or olive oil until soft. Peel (or don't!) and seed cucumbers, chop them into 1" chunks. Put everything in the blender or food processor, process until smooth and liquidy. You may have to do this in batches. Run the resulting deliciousness through a fine mesh sieve if you have one or not if you don't. Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve chilled with sour cream or creme fraiche. I think it would be good with bacon crumbled on top and some of those celery leaves chopped up really fine. ENJOY!
**a tiny farm original recipe. Let us know what you think.**

WHAT'S IN YOUR BOX?

Garlic
Celery
Heirloom Lettuces
Basil
Cucumbers
Summer Squash
Mulit-colored Pole Beans
Irish Potatoes or Cabbage

SAY WHAT?

"In the course of history, celery has been known by many names, and touted for many uses. The name "celery" in the English language is thought to have been derived from the French word "celeri." In turn, celeri came from the Greek version of the word. This vegetable/herb even made an appearance in Homer's Odyssey as selinon." ***indepthinfo.com