Wednesday, September 4, 2024

September 5, 2024 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Sweet Peppers

 


What's In The Box

Italian Garlic: Garlic and Tomatoes are a classic pairing. Check out this week’s recipe inspiration for links to a few recipes pairing these two well-suited ingredients!

Red & Yellow Onions: Yes, red, and yellow onions may be used interchangeably, but they do each have their moments where they shine. Red onions are an excellent choice to include in fresh tomato & cucumber salads during the late summer season. Yellow onions are a great selection if you are creating the flavor base for sauteed vegetables or soup.

Green and/or Italian Zucchini: We will continue harvesting zucchini as long as the plants are producing and as long as the first frost holds off! But the reality is that this crop will be coming to an end in the near future. Now is the time to make your favorite zucchini recipes before the season ends!

Orange or Red Italian Frying Peppers: These long, slender, brightly colored peppers are one of our favorite sweet pepper selections because they are not just sweet, they also have great flavor! Enjoy them raw, roasted, sautéed or grilled.

Orange Ukraine or Red Bell Peppers: Orange Ukraine peppers resemble a bell pepper except they have a pointy bottom instead of a blocky bottom. Their color is actually red orange, and they have a thicker wall, similar to bell peppers. We have been saving our own seed for the Ukraine pepper for many years and this variety is not available anywhere else!

Variety of Large Tomatoes: As always, remember to take your tomatoes out of the paper bag we have packed them in as soon as you get home. Place the tomatoes on a plate or clean towel and allow them to ripen at room temperature. If you notice any spots starting to form, it’s time to prioritize using that one. If you catch it early you can cut out the affected area and use the remainder of the tomato. Do not store tomatoes in the refrigerator unless you have cut into them. Longer storage in refrigeration will diminish their flavor.

Silver or Green Slicer Cucumbers OR Orange Carrots (not pictured): Our cucumber production is starting to decline, so this week's boxes will receive either cucumbers or orange carrots.

Sweet Corn: We are harvesting our final planting of sweet corn, and it is possible this may be our final delivery. There is a chance we may be able to pick a smaller quantity next week, but no guarantees! This week’s variety is characterized by large cobs. Cut the kernels of corn off the cob and use as you wish. Reserve the cobs and add them to soups, stews, broth, and/or stock and extract their corn flavor!

Red Seedless Watermelon: Store your watermelon in the refrigerator and eat within a few days. The varieties we grow are seedless, however you may see some immature seeds called “pips.” To get 100% use out of your watermelon, pickle the rind, or add it to a stir-fry!

Sugar Cube Melons or Variety of Miscellaneous Melons: Most boxes will contain a small, personal-sized cantaloupe called Sugar Cube. It’s round with a netted rind and the flesh is orange, sweet and fragrant. We are also picking smaller quantities of a variety of other melons including a canary melon with bright orange skin and a new variety of honeydew melon that has netted skin and a yellowish-green hue on the rind.

Sauté Mix or Baby Arugula: Your box this week will contain either Saute Mix or Baby Arugula. Our first crop of baby greens was ready before the baby lettuces, so we mixed them together with some spicy arugula to create a flavorful sauté mix. The greens in this mix are tender enough to eat as a salad, or you can lightly cook them.

Purple or Yellow Cauliflower or Broccoli Romanesco: Our fall brassicas are coming in a bit ahead of schedule, but we’ll take them as they are a great accompaniment to our late season vegetables! Cauliflower and Romanesco may be used interchangeably. All three of this week’s selections are tasty and beautiful when roasted, especially alongside roasted sweet peppers, garlic, and red onions!


Vegetable Feature: Sweet Peppers

Green Bell Peppers
We grow a variety of sweet peppers to send your way throughout mid to late summer.  Peppers do not tolerate frost, so we hope to either be done picking peppers by the first frost or we cover the plants with row covers to protect them from the cold.  Depending upon when we see the first frost, we can sometimes continue picking peppers for a few weeks after the first cold spell!  

We start out our delivery season with Green Bell Peppers. While it is common to eat green peppers, you’ll find the flavor of a green pepper is more mild without a lot of sweetness.  This is because green peppers are immature.  All colored peppers start out as a green pepper.  As the fruit ripens on the plant, it makes a transition from green to its fully ripe color.  As this change occurs, natural sugars develop in the fruit making it not only sweet but also flavorful.  

Red Italian Frying Peppers
While we used to focus more on growing Red Bell Peppers, we found that we actually prefer Italian Frying Peppers.  Italian Frying Peppers are a sweet pepper that turn either red or orange in color.  They have a more elongated, slender shape that is pointy on the end and they  may be eaten raw or cooked.  

We also grow a unique variety that we call Ukraine Peppers.  Ukraine peppers are a sweet pepper that resemble a small bell pepper.  When fully ripe they are orange-red in color and have a blocky top that tapers to a point at the bottom of the pepper.  They are similar to a bell pepper, but with a pointy end and more orange-red flesh.

Orange Ukraine Peppers
Lastly, we grow Mini Sweet Peppers! As the name states, mini sweets are a small sweet pepper.  They are one of the sweetest, most flavorful peppers you’ll likely ever taste.  When ripe they turn red, yellow, or orange, depending on the plant. We actually save our own seed, which is a labor of love given there are only a few seeds per pepper!  However, it's worth our time because our strain has exceptional flavor and is acclimated to our growing region.

Preparation & Usage: Peppers are versatile in use. They can be eaten raw or cooked and pair well in dishes with other summer vegetables such as potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes and eggplant. Peppers mark the transition from late summer into early fall, and as such can dance on the line between summer and fall which means they also pair well with sweet potatoes, fall greens, and winter squash to name just a few. Peppers are often roasted to not only develop their natural sweetness, but to also give them a smoky flavor. You can roast any kind of pepper, but generally those with a thicker wall will yield better results.

Mini Sweet Peppers in the Wash Tank
Peppers are one of my favorite vegetables to preserve and use throughout the winter.  They can be frozen raw or roasted, either whole or cut down into smaller pieces, strips or diced.  When you want to use them, just pull them out of the freezer and use them as a pizza topping, put them on sandwiches, or add to soups, stews, sauces, etc.  You can also preserve peppers by dehydrating them.  For most peppers, you’ll want to cut them into strips or smaller pieces so they dehydrate faster.  Peppers with a thinner wall are best for dehydrating.

Please note, while many recipes call for “Red Bell Peppers,” any sweet pepper will generally do fine as a substitute.  You’ll need to use your best judgement as to how many of whatever sweet pepper you are using is equal to one bell pepper.  Typically I substitute two Italian frying peppers for one red bell pepper.

Storage Tips: Store peppers in a paper bag and avoid extra moisture that can cause spoiling. Keep peppers in a warmer part of our refrigerator or at room temperature.

Health & Nutrition: As a pepper ripens, the nutrient content changes as the color does.  Colored peppers can contain as much as 60% greater levels of antioxidants and other nutrients, including Vitamins C, A, E, K, B6 and folate, than the non-ripe green peppers.


Summer Panzanella (Italian Bread & Tomato Salad)

The addition of sweet peppers to this traditional Italian tomato & bread salad adds another layer of flavor and color to this tasty, rustic late summer salad. Use any sweet pepper along with your favorite fresh tomatoes!

Yield:  4-6 servings as a main dish

6 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces stale bread, torn into bite-sized pieces
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp finely minced garlic
2 to 3 cups chopped sweet peppers and/or cucumbers
3 to 4 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges or bite sized chunks
Baby greens, for serving
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, torn or cut into ribbons
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  1. Heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bread and stir often. When the bread is crisp, 4 to 6 minutes, remove from heat.
  2. Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette. Combine the salt, vinegars, mustard and garlic in a large bowl.  Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the remaining ¼ cup olive oil. Add the bread, vegetables, and tomatoes, gently folding them into the dressing.
  3. Spread the greens on a serving plate. Pour the contents of the vegetable bowl over the greens. Top with basil and freshly ground black pepper.  Serve immediately.
Recipe sourced from Alana Chernila’s book, The Homemade Kitchen.
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