People are creatures of habit. At the farmers markets every week, our customers love to ask questions about romanesco and kohlrabi (what is that and how do you cook it?), and comment on the colors of our produce. Most people have never seen a purple cauliflower or many of the other varieties that we bring to the market. It’s fun to hear “I didn’t know that beans came in so many different colors,” because it opens the door to educating people about the wonderful varieties that can’t be found at the grocery store. Getting them to try something new isn’t always easy, though.
The way that we have that conversation with you, dear CSA member, is by putting these wonderful, delicious, and unique vegetables in your boxes week after week. We imagine the look of surprise and delight (hopefully!) when you open the box and find items that you wouldn’t necessarily pick for yourself. We try to be thoughtful about choosing things that are a little off the beaten path but still familiar. Sometimes we miss the mark, but for the most part we hope that it makes your dinners a little more interesting and fun.
Week 6 Box
Beans
Green Cabbage
Cucumber
Eggplant
Kale
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Herbs: Chives or thyme
Large boxes add:
Cauliflower
Lettuce
Extra: Cucumber, potatoes, tomatoes
In other news, with the spike in temperature last week our chickens decided to go on strike. Their egg laying decreased by about 40% pretty much overnight! We’re hoping this isn’t a repeat of last season when the egg production ran much, much lower than we anticipated. On the bright side, we learned a lot about caring for birds during hot weather so we’ve been able to pick up the distress signs early and act quickly to keep them cool, modify their diet, and provide them with supplements to ease the heat stress.
Check out this week’s recipes for eggplant, kohlrabi, and cabbage. Click here for all posted recipes.