Wednesday, September 6, 2023

September 7, 2023 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Poblano Peppers

 


Cooking With This Week's Box

Caramelized Onion, Tomato & Eggplant Pasta
Photo from www.alexandracooks.com
Poblano Peppers:
Roasted Tomato and Poblano Soup (See Below)
Crispy Poblano & Potato Tacos (See Below)

Red and Yellow Onions:  

Porcelain Garlic:

Sweet Corn:  

Jalapeño Bottle Caps
Photo from www.chilipeppermadness.com
Red or Orange Italian Frying Peppers and/or Red Bell Peppers:  

Jalapeño Peppers:  

Large Tomato Variety:  

Melons:  

Watermelon:  

Orange Carrots:  

Red Prairie Potatoes:  

Tomatillos:  

Amaranth:  


Papas En Salsa
Photo from www.pinaenlacocina.com
Welcome to another week of Cooking With the Box! This week’s box is the classic late summer combination of vegetables and fruit, that are in the peak of their season right now.  We are nearing the end of watermelons, melons, and sweet corn, so get ready as we start to transition to fall. Next week we’ll likely have leeks, possibly some cauliflower and broccoli, and very soon winter squash!  But before we get there, let’s talk about this week’s featured vegetable—poblano peppers!  I really like the flavor and versatility of this pepper and often find myself recycling my favorite recipes from the past. That being said, I did source two new recipes for you this week, which are both pretty easy yet flavorful.  Check out this recipe for Roasted Tomato and Poblano Soup (See Below). This is a flavorful soup that you can customize to your liking. This is also a good soup to make now and pop in the freezer as a way of preserving some of the summer bounty. I also included this recipe for Crispy Poblano & Potato Tacos (See Below). While you most likely would think to prepare these for lunch or dinner, don’t rule this out as a breakfast item as well!  You could make these in advance and then reheat them just before serving.

This week we are harvesting our second planting of Amaranth. I included two of our most popular amaranth recipes from past newsletters. This Red Lentil Soup with Amaranth Greens is easy to make and very flavorful.  One variation I like to do with this recipe is to serve it with fresh cilantro and fresh, diced tomatoes. Of course, you could add fresh sweet corn kernels and/or diced peppers as well for a little additional layer of flavor. This recipe for Black Beans with Amaranth is another member favorite from the past.  This is another easily adaptable recipe.

We’re happy to include tomatillos in the box again this week.  While most think of using tomatillos to make salsa, there are other ways to enjoy this fruit. Two of my all-time favorite recipes are Roasted Tomatillo and Chickpea Curry and Spicy Pork & Tomatillo Stew.

As I mentioned in the beginning, we’re approaching a definite transition point in the season.  This is a really fun time of the year to cook and eat because there are so many different things to choose from!  We have had to be selective about what we can include in the boxes each week because there just isn’t enough room!  That likely isn’t going to change as we finish out summer and welcome fall.  Last week we finished harvesting all of our potatoes.  This week we’re focusing on topping and crating onions, but also hope to initiate winter squash harvest before the week is through.  We still have a lot of delicious vegetables to send your way, so get ready! Have a great week.

—Andrea 


Vegetable Feature: Poblano Peppers

by Andrea Yoder

While some peppers are just hot, poblano peppers offer a nice balance of heat along with flavor making them a versatile hot pepper. Poblano peppers are dark green with wide shoulders and a pointy bottom. They have a thinner wall than bell peppers, but thick enough that they hold up to roasting very well. In fact, roasting is the process that amplifies and develops the flavor of a poblano. As I mentioned, poblanos are a hot pepper with a mild to medium level of heat. 

Poblano peppers may be eaten raw, sautéed, grilled, or roasted.  Roasting peppers is very easy and can be done over a direct, open flame or in the oven.  If you have a gas stovetop, roast the poblanos directly on your burners over a high flame. If you have a small rack, you can put that over the burner. The other direct flame method is to roast them on a grill. If you want to use an oven, it’s best to roast them under a broiler.  Roast until most of the skin is blackened. You’ll have to turn them periodically to blacken all sides evenly.  Stay close and don’t walk away because sometimes this happens quickly, especially under a broiler.  Once the skin is charred, put the peppers in a covered bowl or a paper bag so they can steam and cool slightly for about 10 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, use the back of a knife to scrape away the skin.  Remove the stem and scrape away all the seeds from the inside of the pepper. Now you’re ready to add roasted poblano peppers to whatever dish you’re preparing!

While the shape of poblano peppers makes them a good candidate for stuffing with a filling, there are many other ways to use them.  They pair well with summer & fall vegetables such as tomatoes, sweet corn, sweet peppers, potatoes, zucchini, winter squash, sweet potatoes, and dried beans. They also pair well with cream, cheese, sour cream, and dairy in general which is a nice complement to their heat. Use them as an ingredient in tacos, quesadillas, and enchiladas. You may also choose to add them to casseroles, egg dishes, or sauces and dips.

Gerardo and Manuel taste testing
Caramelized Poblano Chile & Onion Dip
The appropriate storage temperature for peppers is 45-50°F, which is warmer than your home refrigerator should be. Peppers may get chill injury if stored for prolonged periods of time in temperatures less than 45-50°F. Thus, it’s better to store them at room temperature.  If they start to get a little soft, they are still good and should be used soon. They may also turn red in color, which is simply a sign that they are continuing to ripen. As with other peppers, they are easy to preserve by freezing them either raw or roasted. 

Crispy Poblano and Potato Tacos

Yield: 8 tacos
FOR THE POTATOES:
1 pound potatoes cut in bite-sized pieces
2 poblano peppers de-seeded and sliced
2 Tbsp taco seasoning
Oil, I used avocado

FOR THE SAUCE:
4 Tbsp mayonnaise 
2 Tbsp fresh parsley finely diced
1 clove garlic finely diced
½ lime juiced
1 tsp lime zest
salt & pepper to taste
hot sauce optional

FOR THE TACOS:
1 cup refried beans
8 corn tortillas
Oil, I used avocado
Pico de Gallo, lettuce, red onion, lime wedges optional, for serving.
  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  2. Add the potatoes, poblano, a drizzle of oil and taco seasoning to the baking dish. Toss to coat evenly. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes, flipping halfway. Be sure to keep an eye on the poblano so that it doesn't burn. Remove from the oven.
  3. Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Set it aside.
  4. Lower the oven to 400°F. Transfer the beans to a bowl and add a splash of water to make them easier to spread. Wrap the tortillas in a moist paper towel and place in the microwave for 30 seconds.
  5. Working one at a time, coat a tortilla in oil and spread a layer of beans on one side. Top the beans with some poblano slices and potatoes. Fold in half and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
  6. Place the tacos in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until crispy.
  7. Remove from the oven and serve with the sauce and optional toppings.
Recipe borrowed from www.thissavoryvegan.com.


Roasted Tomato and Poblano Soup

Photo from www.thecuriousplate.com
Yield: 4 

2 ½ lbs tomatoes, quartered
3 cloves Garlic, minced
4 whole poblano chile peppers
2 medium sweet, red peppers
1 large yellow onion, diced
32 ounces Chicken stock
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
Olive oil, as needed
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
For garnish: queso fresco, pepitas, fresh cilantro
  1. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with foil and spray with non-cooking spray.  
  2. Place the quartered tomatoes on one of the baking sheets along with the garlic, salt, and pepper. Drizzle the tomatoes with a bit of oil and roast for about 25 to 30 minutes.
  3. Next, cut the poblano and sweet peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds, stems, and membranes. Place the poblanos and bell peppers cut side down on the second baking sheet. Roast them alongside the tomatoes for about 20 to 25 minutes.
  4. Remove the peppers from the baking sheet and place them in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 15 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, peel off the skin, and roughly chop.
  5. Next, preheat a large Dutch oven to medium heat and add about 1 tbsp olive oil. Add in the onion and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes or until softened. Next, add in the tomatoes, peppers, chicken stock, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat. Simmer (covered) for about 15 minutes or until all the flavors have blended together.
  6. To serve: divide among bowls and garnish with toppings as desired.
  7. Variations:  If you prefer your soup on the creamy side, add a splash of milk or a dollop of cream to the mixture.  You may also make this a more substantial soup by adding tortellini, ravioli, macaroni or other short noodles you may have.  Additionally, consider making a fresh corn salsa to serve alongside this late summer soup.
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Wednesday, August 30, 2023

August 31, 2023 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Sweet Peppers

 


Cooking With This Week's Box

Basque Piperade
Photo from www.culinaryambition.com
Red and Yellow Onions:  

Musik Garlic:  

Green and/or Italian Zucchini:  

Silver Slicer or Green Slicer Cucumbers:  
Chocolate Oatmeal Zucchini Cookies
Photo from www.crazyforcrust.com
Creamy Cucumber Dill Salad 

Sweet Corn:  

Sweet Peppers:  
Corn & Pepper Pudding (See Below)
Greek Salad (See Below)

Jalapeño Peppers:  

Variety Bag of Tomatoes:  
Jalapeño Popper Bagels
Photo from www.delish.com
10-Minute Fresh Tomato Salsa 

Melons:  

Red Seedless Watermelon:  

Orange Carrots:  

Lacinato Kale:  

I say this every month, but how in the world has another month passed us by!?!  We are just a few weeks away from harvesting winter squash and this week the harvest crews have been bringing in bins of potatoes, carrots, beets, and rutabagas! Late August and early September is a bountiful time of the year as summer and fall collide, and this is the time of the year when sweet peppers are at their peak. Now that we’re seeing some gorgeous colors in the pepper field, it’s time to talk about what to do with sweet peppers.  Trust me, there will be more coming over the next few weeks! This week I chose two featured recipes, one raw and one cooked. With our fresh sweet corn, I thought this recipe for Corn & Pepper Pudding (See Below) was seasonally appropriate. I also like Alice Water’s very simple, but very tasty Greek Salad (See Below) which brings together fresh tomatoes, red onions, and sweet peppers in a refreshing salad. This recipe calls for fresh oregano, but you could also use fresh zaatar from your herb garden in this salad!
5-Ingredient Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
Photo from www.vanillaandbean.com

Another great dish to make around this time of year is Basque Piperade, a vegetable stew of sorts that originates from the Basque region near France and Spain.  The main ingredients are onions, peppers, and tomatoes. It’s commonly served as an accompaniment to eggs, grilled fish or chicken, or used as a pasta sauce.  Peppers and tomatoes are a natural pairing in this recipe, as well as others such as this 5-Ingredient Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup.  

It's a big melon week!  If you want to try something a little different with your melons this week, aside from just cutting them up and eating them, check out this Chili Lime Melon Salad or Chili Lime Watermelon, which also has fresh cotija cheese on it.  I also found this interesting recipe for Sicilian Watermelon Pudding. I’ve never had anything like this, but I would try anything with Sicilian origins as the Sicilians really know how to enjoy life and food!

I’m going to keep this week’s commentary brief as the harvest crew is going to be bringing in a load of carrots any moment now!  But before I close out, a little glimpse into next week. I’m hoping we’ll have enough poblano peppers ready next week for boxes, along with more tomatillos!  Mini sweet peppers will be coming soon, along with orange Italian frying peppers. Before long we’ll also have jicama and lemongrass!  Have a great week and I’ll see you in September! 

—Chef Andrea 

Vegetable Feature: Sweet Peppers

by Andrea Yoder

Mini Sweet Peppers
before they are ripe
As we continue our progression through the seasons, we are approaching another transition point. Within the season of “Summer,” I feel like there are sub-seasons. Zucchini and cucumbers mark the beginning of summer. Tomatoes take center stage in mid-summer, and peppers close it out. For me, the peak of the pepper season is one of the markers that late summer is upon us and will very soon be colliding with fall. Because of their place in the season, they pair well with all of the summer vegetables we still have available, such as tomatoes and eggplant.  They also play nicely with fall cauliflower, winter squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes and fall greens such as Broccoli Raab and kale. This week we’re focusing on sweet peppers, of which we grow several different types.  Of note, all peppers start out as green peppers when they are immature. While we eat green peppers, peppers are actually fully ripe and at their peak of sweetness and flavor if we let them turn color to be fully red, yellow or orange.  Most people are familiar with the standard bell pepper, which holds an important place in our pepper lineup as an early season green pepper.  Once we start seeing some color in the field as peppers ripen, we move on to more interesting varieties such as Italian Frying Peppers. Italian frying peppers are long, slender peppers that, despite their name, may be eaten either raw or cooked. We have both red and orange varieties, and both have good pepper flavor and sweetness, which we prefer to a red bell pepper.

Fully ripe Mini Sweet Peppers
We also grow mini sweet peppers which are our all-time favorite sweet variety. While there are many snack peppers available in the marketplace today, we believe our peppers are more flavorful than commercial seed varieties. We’ve been saving our own seed for 15-20 years and our variety is not just carefully selected, but also well adapted to our area.  While sweet peppers are delicious eaten raw, they may also be sautéed and roasted. You can roast peppers whole, over an open flame such as on a grill or just on your stovetop if you have gas burners. Otherwise, peppers may be roasted under a broiler in the oven. When roasting peppers, blacken nearly the entire exterior of the pepper.  Once blackened, put them in a bowl and cover them so they steam for about 10 minutes. Remove the cover and once they are cool enough to handle you can peel away the black skin.  Once you have roasted the pepper, it’s ready to use however you’d like.  Slices of roasted red pepper are a nice addition to sandwiches, grain, or lentil salads, or use them to build an antipasto platter. You can also use roasted sweet peppers to make a delicious cream sauce, dressing or soup.

Italian Frying Peppers
While pepper season usually lasts several weeks, peppers are one of the easiest vegetables to preserve and it’s worth putting some away to use throughout the winter.  I use them quite often in winter stir-fries, as a pizza topping, added to soups and stews, and scrambled eggs, etc. Even if I am limited on time, I know I can always successfully freeze peppers as they do not need to be cooked before freezing. At a minimum, freezing peppers requires the time it takes to wash the pepper and put it in a bag. If I have a little extra time, and to save some freezer space, I’ll actually remove the stem and seeds and cut them into smaller pieces.  Really, it’s that simple and you’ll really appreciate having them in the dead of winter!

Peppers are high in vitamins A & C as well as a whole host of other phytonutrients, so munching on a sweet pepper also has nutritive benefits. As far as storage goes, peppers are best held at a warmer temperature of 45-60 degrees. We recognize very few homes have this perfect storage environment, so we recommend you do your best. Personally, I choose to store them at room temperature. If you choose to put them in the refrigerator, I’d encourage you to use them within a few days as they can get cold injury with prolonged time at cold temperatures.  Sometimes my peppers start to dehydrate and get soft and wrinkly. This does not mean the pepper is bad, it may have just lost some moisture. If this happens to you, don’t throw it out, rather use it in a cooked preparation such as soup or if you want to use it raw, do so to make a pepper puree or pepper sauce. 

Corn and Pepper Pudding

Yield:  4 servings

3 eggs
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
2 Tbsp minced onion
½ cup chopped sweet red pepper
5 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 cup half-and-half
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 1 ½ quart souffle dish or casserole.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until light and frothy. Stir in the corn, onions, and bell peppers.
  3. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, a large pinch of cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt. Add to the corn mixture, stirring to blend. Stir in the butter and half-and-half and mix well. Pour into the prepared dish and place the dish in a baking pan that is larger than the dish containing the pudding. Pour hot water into the baking pan to reach about one-fourth of the way up the sides of the dish.
  4. Carefully transfer the baking dish to the oven. Bake the pudding until the top is golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe borrowed from Williams-Sonoma Cooking at Home, by Chuck Williams.

Greek Salad

Yield:  4 servings

2 small, ripe tomatoes
1 medium cucumber
½ small red onion
1 small to medium sweet pepper
¼ cup black olives
4 ounces feta cheese
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
2 tsp fresh oregano or zaatar, chopped or torn 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  1. First prepare the vegetables and combine together in a medium mixing or serving bowl.  Prepare the tomatoes by removing the core at the stem end and cutting them into wedges or bite-sized pieces.  Cut the cucumbers in have lengthwise and remove the seed cavity. Cut into thick, bite-sized slices. Peel and thinly slice the red onion. Remove the stem and seeds from the pepper and slice thinly. Once all the vegetables are in the bowl, season lightly with salt and toss to combine. 
  2. Prepare the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, combine red wine vinegar and lemon juice along with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking to combine. Stir in the fresh herbs. 
  3. Add half to ¾ of the vinaigrette to the bowl of vegetables and gently toss to combine.  Taste and add more salt, black pepper and/or vinaigrette as needed. Allow the salad to sit for a few minutes to let the flavors blend together. Just before serving. Gently toss the salad again and garnish with the feta cheese and olives.
Recipe adapted from Alice Waters’ book, The Art of Simple Food.
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Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Inspections…Opportunities to Learn & Make Improvements

By:  Richard & Andrea


Operating a farm is not just planting, harvesting, washing, and packing vegetables. It’s also accountability, certifications, maintaining integrity, upholding standards and a lot of record keeping!  Over the course of a calendar year, we undergo several different inspections, a part of doing business for us as well as many other companies. Some of the inspections we undergo happen annually while others may occur every few years, spontaneously, or in response to an application or the like. Welcoming an inspector onto the farm can be intimidating sometimes, but we’ve come to look at inspections as opportunities to learn, grow and improve which means we walk away better than we were before!  Over the last month, we have undergone two on-farm inspections, so this is a topic that’s pretty fresh in our minds!  We thought we’d take a little time this week to share a glimpse into the inspection side of farming.  

We ease into the new year without any inspections scheduled for the month of January, but we take advantage of this first month to get ready for our first inspection which is usually scheduled for mid-February. The inspection I am referring to is our annual housing inspection with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. This is a required inspection and is a necessary part of our application process for receiving H2A work visas for our workers. Even though we’ve been doing these inspections for over 20 years now, we learn something new and make additional improvements to our housing every year!  In recent years we’ve added Emergency Exit signs near all the door and window exits…in both Spanish and English!  We also make structural improvements such as remodeling a bathroom in one of our houses to convert an old tub to a more useful shower and replacing kitchen cabinets and flooring. We also regularly replace light fixtures and ceiling fans that wear out, repair leaking faucets, replace worn out furniture, and washers and dryers as needed….which can be quite frequently given the amount of heavy duty laundry that moves through those machines each week!  Of course, we also take care of the usual things such as replacing batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, making sure the beds have mattress covers and all the required bedding components, check to make sure the water heaters are working properly along with all the plumbing, and a long list of other requirements.  We have a total of three properties where we house our H2A employees and the inspector visits each property.  It’s a long inspection process, but a necessary part of being able to move forward with our application to get our crew members here for the season!  

Fire Training and
Extinguisher Inspection!
We typically don’t have any inspections in March, but sometime in early spring we contact a local team to come out and inspect our vast collection of fire extinguishers!  We have so many that they usually camp out in front of our shop for most of the day and work out of their mobile unit. We take fire safety very seriously and want to make sure our fire extinguishers are available and functional if and when we need them! We have fire extinguishers in all of the buildings on our main farm, in all of our housing units as well as in nearly all of our sheds and outbuildings. Additionally, we have fire extinguishers in our delivery trucks and on the three pick-up trucks that have additional fuel tanks on them for refueling. That’s not all though, we also mount a fire extinguisher on our propane forklift, the flamer and the bulldozer.  We are really thankful that they can come to the farm to do these inspections as it would be quite an ordeal to have to take them all into town! While we seldom need to use them, thankfully, we do find great peace of mind in knowing they are accessible and in working order should we have an emergency and need to use them!

Color Coded Brushes to Prevent
Cross-Contamination!
Once the growing season is underway, we have to schedule our annual organic inspection with our certifier, MOSA. As a certified organic farm, this is obviously a big inspection for us and a critical one at that! The timing for our organic inspection varies from year to year as the certifier likes to see our operation in the different seasons of production. Some years we have our inspection in late April or early May so they can inspect the woods where we wild harvest ramps while we’re actively harvesting.  This year they came in late July, which gave the inspector the opportunity to see our happenings mid-season, including our peak summer grazing pastures for our animals. We have a pretty thick file and it takes one to two days of onsite inspection plus some follow up as needed to submit additional documentation as requested by our reviewer.  This is a very thorough inspection. We submit paperwork in advance of the inspection as well as having documents available at the onsite visit for review. The inspector looks at everything from water tests for the packing shed processing water to receipts for our seed purchases. Over the past two years they have focused more on the animal side of our operation and we had to provide receipts and documentation for all of our animal feed purchases as well as any additional supplements we gave them (e.g. aloe pellets and essential oils used for their face rubbers).  As part of the inspection we also undergo at least two audits.  One audit is done for our meat sales and the other for vegetable sales. We have to provide documentation that demonstrates we only sold what we produced, so the production records need to be in alignment with the sales records.  This is one way they verify our integrity and sniff out fraud in operations. Another main focus over the past two years has been verifying our integrity related to the seeds we are purchasing. As organic growers, we are required to purchase organic seed whenever it is available. If organic seed is available on the market but we do not purchase it, we have to provide documentation for why we did not use it. Sometimes the seed is in short supply, and we have to substitute untreated seed, while in other cases the quality of the seed may be compromised for some reason (e.g. low germination) and we opt to go with the untreated seed.  All of this needs to be documented! We have file folders, electronic documents, and binder after binder that we consult along the way to provide the inspector with everything they ask for. It’s intense, but manageable if we are diligent about keeping good records throughout the year.  We also care about the integrity of the organic label and wish for all organic inspections to be conducted so as to uphold the organic standards industry wide!

Irrigation Pump & Filter Trailer
Given we’re in a drought year, irrigation is a primary topic in our thoughts and conversations from day to day.  This is another area where we are held accountable with oversight to ensure we’re using irrigation water responsibly.  We can’t just go drop an irrigation pump in any waterway we want to and pump any quantity of water we want or need.  We have to obtain an irrigation permit from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for each of our different pumping sites. This can sometimes be a long application and review process that at times has taken up to three years to complete! They establish a benchmark, which is the level we use to determine whether or not we can pump water. If the water level falls below the benchmark, we cannot extract water from that site. They come out with their surveying equipment and measure the benchmark to a very tiny margin of error. Throughout the irrigation season we have to monitor and record the benchmark water level, along with detailed records showing how much water we’re extracting.  At any point in time the DNR or a member of the public may ask to see our records and at the end of the season, we upload all of our irrigation records, and it becomes public record.  We’ve been pumping irrigation water from the Bad Axe River and our smaller creeks for over twenty years with no negative impact to the ecosystem or the wildlife in our area that depend on this water for life, habitat, and nourishment proving that it is possible to work in harmony with nature!

A place for everything and
everything in its place!
At the beginning of August, we welcomed our longtime inspector and food safety advisor, Dr. Kolb, back to our farm for our annual food safety inspection. We’ve been working with Dr. Kolb and Ceres Certifications International for over twenty years now.  We have been voluntarily doing annual food safety inspections for many years before it ever became mandatory by law, and because of that we’ve been able to stay ahead of the curve and create a “culture of cleanliness” that we hold in high regard on our farm.  Every year he has given us new challenges, doable improvements, one step at a time. He has told us, “when I come around the last curve on the road as I approach the farm and see clean fields and perimeters, no brush piles, no junk piles, all is in order, I know it will be a good inspection.”  This year he concluded our inspection visit by telling us “you are a model farm!”  Wow, we appreciate hearing that from a man who has inspected many farms across the country! Now don’t think he let us off easy.  We have a list of improvements we need to make to our policies and practices over the next year, including implementing a new “Plasters Policy” which involves establishing a system for being accountable for every band-aid used on our farm! He also encourages continuing education, so over the next year we will be investing in additional training on HACCP analysis for agricultural operations and improving our processes and policies along the way.

In addition to the inspections I’ve already mentioned, we also expect a visit every few years from the state food safety team to complete an onsite visit related to the FDA’s enforcement of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).  Our insurance company also likes to keep us in check, so they set us up with a Safety Audit every few years. We’ve found this to be very helpful and educational.  Last year the inspector asked us to secure the propane tanks we use for our propane forklift in one of our storage facilities. Of course, she told us a story about another client that did not have their back up tanks properly secured and one tumbled over and exploded. Ok, point taken! Within a few days of her visit, we had installed a safety chain to secure the tanks! Thank you!

Inspections can be intimidating, but we have been fortunate to have inspectors who take our inspections as an opportunity to educate us and help us make positive improvements to our operation. Inspections help us see our farm from a different perspective which can help strengthen our processes and keep us on our toes.  There’s no way around inspections, so we might as well make the most of the experience and use it as a way to improve and expand.  For you, our customers, inspections, and third-party audits provide you with the reassurance that we are doing what we say we’re doing!  We value integrity and want others to be held accountable as well, so we’ll keep on showing up and doing the best we can!

As we wrap up this year and head into another calendar year and growing season, we’ll start our preparations for next year’s inspections.  Over the winter months we’ll consult our lists of notes that we’ve made over the course of the busy season for improvements we want to make to our record keeping systems, filing systems, procedures, policies, etc. to make us stronger and help us pass our inspections with flying colors!  One important thing we emphasize is that while we may prepare for inspections, we don’t do anything different while the inspector is here than we do every other day of the year.  When you operate to the standards, inspections are just a technicality. The day-to-day operations are in check, and you have nothing to fret or worry about! 

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August 24, 2023 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Tomatoes

 


Cooking With This Week's Box

Sierra Blanca Onions and/or Red Onions:
Creamy Eggplant & Caramelized Onion Dip
Photo from www.minimalistbaker.com
Tomato & Onion Salad 

Italian Garlic:  

Green and/or Italian Zucchini:  

Silver Slicer and/or Green Slicer Cucumbers:  

Teggia Shell Beans:  
Fresh Stewed Beans with Tomatoes
Photo from www.italianfoodforever.com
Fresh Stewed Beans with Tomatoes 

Green Beans:  

Sweet Corn:
Macaroni Corn Casserole
Photo from www.southernliving.com

Green Bell or Green Italian Frying Peppers:  

Jalapeño Peppers:  

Large Tomato Variety:  
Roasted Ratatouille (See Below)
Melon Cooler
Photo from www.foodhero.org

Assorted Melons:  

Red Seedless Watermelon:  

Orange Carrots:  

Carola Gold Potatoes:  

We are in the peak of summer, and it doesn’t get much better than a box full of sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, melons and watermelons!  This week our focus is on tomatoes and let’s face it—there are so many different ways to enjoy tomatoes!  Our feature recipe this week is one of my favorites and it’s simple, Roasted Ratatouille (See Below).  I like to double this recipe and freeze it in portions. It’s a great way to preserve all of these summer flavors and it makes winter meal prep very easy.  I add this into scrambled eggs, use it as the base for pizza, toss it with pasta, or serve it over steak. And in the spirit of inspiration for how to use tomatoes, I found this article entitled 80 Fresh Tomato Recipes to Make All Summer Long!

Greek Potato Salad
Photo from www.thehealthfulideas.com
Potatoes are back in the box this week, but I’m leaning towards more cool fare which is why my mind went to a cold potato salad.  This Greek Potato Salad with Feta looks very tasty.  Along the lines of summer salads, check out this Green Bean Salad with Toasted Almonds and Feta or this Italian Green Bean Salad.

And what are you going to do with this week’s tasty, sweet corn? Well if anyone is up for an adventure, I hope you’ll try this recipe for Mini Coconut Corn Cakes with Corn Cob Jelly.  If you do try this, please post in our Facebook group, and let us know how it turns out!

Alright, I’m signing off so I can go check on things in the packing shed.  I hope you have a great week, enjoy some tasty summer fare, and get ready for more summer goodness next week including colored peppers and possibly some tasty canary melons!  

—Chef Andrea


Vegetable Feature: Tomatoes

by Andrea Yoder

While this isn’t the first week you’re receiving tomatoes, we thought it would be an appropriate week to bring this summer favorite to the forefront!  This week we started picking tomatoes from our second field, but the first is still in strong production! While we are in the peak of tomato season, we hope to have several more weeks of tomato harvest, fingers crossed. Tomatoes are a staple crop that we rely on, not only during the height of the summer, but also as a vegetable to preserve for use throughout the winter as well. If you’re interested in putting some up for the winter, we encourage you to take a look at our Produce Plus offerings for next week.  Don’t wait too long to place your order as we never know for sure how long tomato season will be!  

Roma Tomatoes
We grow a variety of tomatoes but have tried to strike a balance between tomatoes that are interesting, delicious, and able to travel in a CSA box, but also ones that have good yields and disease resistance. We do our best to keep our fields healthy and productive, but in hot, humid, and rainy years disease can quickly take hold of a crop and result in a rapid end to the season. So, with these attributes in mind, we sift through the seed catalogs and narrow our selections to just a few possibilities. This year we grew four varieties of small tomatoes, two Roma varieties, twelve other varieties including gold and red slicers, Japanese pink, and a few heritage heirloom tomatoes.

Heritage Heirloom Tomatoes
Let’s take a moment to talk about these heritage heirloom varieties.  Many people look to heirloom varieties for the best flavor. Unfortunately, many lack the disease resistance and yields we need. In more recent year’s seed breeders have developed a class of tomatoes they are calling “hybrid heirlooms,” or “heritage” heirloom tomatoes. These varieties have an heirloom parent that brings the look and flavor of heirloom tomatoes, but they were combined with a more reliable hybrid variety that brings a more comprehensive disease package. This is perfect for our growing conditions as we can offer you a variety of interesting colors, shapes, etc. while still growing a tomato that has excellent flavor and actually has decent production!

Marsalato Tomatoes on the vine!
Tomatoes are delicious eaten both raw and cooked. Variety can be a factor in deciding which tomatoes are better eaten raw versus those whose flavor and characteristics may be enhanced with cooking. Some varieties are more “fleshy,” meaning there is more flesh and less juice (e.g., Roma tomatoes and the ruffled red Marsalato tomatoes). These tomatoes are often better choices for cooking down to make sauce and soup as they result in a thicker finished product. If you’re serving tomatoes raw, aesthetics may come into play as well, so you’ll want to choose a mix of those pretty heritage heirlooms.

Canned Tomatoes
Tomatoes are also a popular selection to preserve for use year-round and there are a variety of ways you can preserve them. You could do something such as tomato jam or make salsa and can it. Of course, you can also can tomato juice, diced tomatoes or make tomato sauce to can or freeze.  I often don’t have a lot of time during tomato season for complicated preservation, so I tend to go the route of either freezing tomatoes whole or freezing tomato puree.  If you want to freeze tomatoes whole, simply wash them and cut out the core. Pop them into a freezer bag and put them in the freezer. When you thaw them, they will collapse and be juicy, but that makes them perfect for using in soups, chili, sauces, etc. You can choose to either pull the skins off before you use them, or I usually just blend them into the sauce. For my quick method frozen sauce, I just chop up any extra tomatoes I have, skins and all, and cook them down on the stovetop in a wide pan. Once they have cooked down, I cool them and puree them in the blender. Pour the puree into freezer bags and lay them flat to freeze into “pillows.”  In the winter, when I have more time, I pull out the puree and turn it into spaghetti sauce, etc. If you’re interested in preserving tomatoes for use during the season, don’t think you need to have any experience or special equipment.  You can start simply with the basic method I described and build up to canning or more involved methods if you wish. 

Drying tomatoes is another great way to preserve tomatoes.  You can do this in a dehydrator or a low heat oven.  Slice the tomatoes into even thickness and lay them out in a single layer to dry.  Once dried, you can store them as slices or grind them into a powder.  This is a great preservation option if you are short on space.

The ideal storage temperature for tomatoes is about 50-55°F. If held at temperatures less than this for extended periods of time, tomatoes will suffer chill injury that affects the texture of the skin and flesh as well as robbing the tomato of its flavor. You may receive some tomatoes that are still a little on the green side. It’s best to ripen these on your kitchen counter at room temperature and eat them or preserve them as soon as they are ready.  When you get your box home and unpack your tomatoes, we encourage you to wipe them dry of any excess moisture or condensation and then place them at room temperature where you can keep your eye on them. When they start to get soft, it’s time to prioritize eating that one!

Roasted Ratatouille

Photo from www.alexandracooks.com
Yield:  1 to 3 quarts

12 ounces eggplant, chopped into 1-inch pieces
20 ounces tomatoes, chopped into 1-inch pieces
12 ounces zucchini, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 bell or Italian frying peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 medium to onion, large dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ to ½ cups olive oil
2 to 4 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. 
  2. In a large roasting pan, combine the tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, onions, and garlic. 
  3. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, thyme, and 1 tsp of kosher salt.  Pour over the vegetables. Toss to coat. Season with pepper. 
  4. Bake for 30 minutes, then stir well. Bake for another 30 to 45 minutes, or longer if needed until the vegetables are all very tender and the released juices are beginning to thicken. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper as desired.
  5. Once cooked, you may either serve right away or freeze it for later use. This dish may stand alone or serve it with pasta, polenta or spooned over bread.  It is also a great base layer for pizza or spooned on top of focaccia bread.
Recipe borrowed from www.alexandracooks.com.
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