August 9 or 12 CSA

Your share this week includes:  1 yellow bell pepper, 1 antohi romania sweet pepper, 1 pound of red onions, 1 bunch of parsley, 2 small bulbs of fennel, 1/2 pound of okra, 1 head of garlic, 2 acorn squash, 3 pounds of a mix of japanese black trifele and garden peach tomatoes.
(You'll be weighing out your own tomatoes at the market pick-ups...those of you picking up elsewhere will have a paper bag with the tomatoes in it.)

Storage: fennel and parsley in bag with the air squeezed out in your refrigerator.  Okra in your fridge.  If its going to be a few days until you eat the okra, transfer it to a bowl or a paper bag...it will get moldy quicker in the plastic bag.  All other things can be kept on your counter.

Acorn squash is the first of many winter squashes you'll get the rest of this CSA year.  They do not keep well so eat them soon.  There will be other varieties later that you can keep for longer.  Both of the peppers are sweet.  If you want hot peppers, you are welcome to take a few from the market stand.  If you want a large quantity for hot sauce or such, let me know and we'll give you a discount price. 

Pepper and Onion Salad
from Chez Panisse Vegetables
Seed and slice thin some peppers of different colors and varieties.  Slice a small to medium red onion very thin and toss together with the pepper slices, some pitted nicoise olives, and a spoonful of capers rinsed of brine.
Make a vinaigrette with red wine vinegar and good olive oil, and season with chopped garlic and jalapeno pepper(or another hot pepper variety) and red pepper flakes.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.  Cut basil leaves (or parsley) into a chiffonade and sprinkle over the salad.  This salad should be spicy and robust; taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

An Okra Recipe on Epicurious
The share this week also has just about all the ingredients for a good gumbo.  Or you can just oven roast the okra in a hot oven for about 20 minutes tossed in olive oil and salt.

This week is the 14th box of 22.  Over the next few weeks we'll be harvesting all the winter squash varieties and you'll see those in your share.  There will be sweet potatoes in the last couple of boxes.  Pole beans are on their way. Greens and lettuce will return in September.  Carrots and beets and radishes are sprouting in this cool and wet weather...