“We have more food in this country than any other, and more diets to keep us from eating it.” ~ Yogi Berra
Week 14 produce
- Potatoes
- Italian basil
- Bell peppers
- Hot Peppers-jalapeño/habanero/wax
- Eggplant
- Swiss chard – single/half
- Mint – single/half
- Cucumbers – single
- Green onions – single/full
- Green beans – full
- Sweet corn – full
- Radishes – full
- Bok choy – full
Farmer notes
- Fall crops popping up for next week: watermelon, winter squash, beets
- Hot pepper selection (see photo with description) can be frozen, dried, or made into salsa/sauce (see recipes)
- Summer crops are now finished: tomatoes, summer squashes, basil, sweet corn, cucumbers
- No more seeds or transplants go into the open field for this season
- We are beginning to plant in our hoop house for the fall share
- Sign up online for the fall share is now open – delivery dates are Th. Oct. 27th, Tues. Nov. 8th and Tues. Nov. 22nd
- Fall harvest gathering is Saturday, October 15th beginning at 2 – please try to RSVP if you can so I can plan for food
- Wash all of your produce before you eat it
- Please return any boxes and ice packs to us
- Thanks and have a wonderful weekend
What is Edible Food?
This is a question as interesting and crucial to ponder now as it has ever been. Is food edible if it is high in nutrition, if it is pleasing to our senses of sight/smell/taste/texture, if it merely does not make us sick? Is highly processed food void of nutritional value more edible than bruised windfall?
We have all grown up in a culture excessive with food choices: restaurants, fast food, convenient stores at every turn, grocery chains filled with aisle after aisle of foods from around the world all neatly arranged and packaged for our easy access. And yet the percentage of folks living in poverty without the access to this food continues to grow and more than 40% of our organically grown food never leaves the field because we, as consumers, say that we demand a certain ‘look’ in order for us to purchase it.
Don’t get me wrong, I am in this same boat with you – trying to answer the question of edible food – trying to grow and to decide what I put in the boxes for my members and what to leave in the field or add to the compost pile. I grew up with a family of 15 and food was not in excess. We did our share of gathering elderberries and mulberries from the ditches, gleaning the gardens and orchard for tasty leavings, and paring away at fruits in order to make the most of the ‘good’ stuff. A special treat every late summer was when the bruised and over-ripe peaches went on sale before being thrown out at the store. It may have been the price, the high percentage of sugar content, or the philosophy not to waste, but these sweet gems were thoroughly enjoyed on the spot, and then all winter long from the canning jar.
I welcome your comments on the contents of the box selection and I definitely recognize the need for us to continue to have a conversation in regards to edible food. I will no longer plant a third succession of sweet corn, as an example, since it is so prone to diminished size and more worms.
– Norm Gross
After my first few weeks here at EDF, my relationship with bugs had changed. Previously, I would react with mild terror (I’m not one to play it cool). The spaces where I worked or lived had zero tolerance for creepy crawlies. To be sure, I still have a healthy respect of the web makers, shadow seekers, and stinging pollinators. However, I’ve developed a curiosity towards their lifestyle. Mainly, they tend to like the same foods I do. I notice it every time I harvest green beans and see the skin has a tiny chomp-shaped mark. Some beetles prefer potatoes (red or white). Certain worms know how to find sweet corn. They sample the husk and sometimes the corn before settling on the sugary kernel. Although it gets frustrating to see so many ears that wouldn’t make it to market, we catch it early enough to still have plenty of good eating. I’m still startled when a bug falls on my head; now I know some plants where they might appreciate being placed.
– Samson Peters
This week, you’ll find 3 different types of hot peppers in your boxes:
Wax: Scoville rating between 1,000 and 15,000. Tastes great atop salad or pizza or as a pickle.
Jalapeño: named for the town of Xalapan Veracruz, Mexico, this iconic pepper can rates between 2,500 and 10,000 on the Scoville scale. The Spanish invaders found Aztecs selling them at market.
Habanero: meaning “from Havana,” rates between 100,000 and 350,000 on the Scoville scale. In Peru, archeologists discovered a habañero from 6500 BC. By the 18th century, the pepper had traveled so far that taxonomists mistook it for a Chinese pepper and named it Capsicum Chinense.
Scoville Heat Units are a way of measuring how hot a pepper is. After bell peppers, wax peppers are the most mild peppers you’re receiving this week, and habaneros are the most spicy (wear gloves or wash hands thoroughly after preparing).
All of these peppers would be great in salsa (use a food processor to pulse-blend tomatoes, peppers, onion, etc., to desired texture), stir fry, etc.
Peppers can also be hung to dry for later use, or preserved via canning. A few weeks back, we posted a simple hot sauce recipe. Patrick (one of our interns) has modified this recipe and has been canning hot sauces for use/gifts during winter.
1 – Put the following into a food processor:
- 3-5 fresh hot peppers, stems removed (leave seeds in)
- (1-2 Habanero peppers and an extra tomato would likely be plenty of heat)
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves, skins removed -or- 1 tomato, cut to remove stem
- 1 medium onion, cut in chunks
- Pulse-blend until this is coarsely chopped
2 – Coat a medium saucepan with 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil and empty the contents of the food processor into it. Sauté the mixture in the skillet for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3 – Add 1 cup of your favorite vinegar (white vinegar has a high acidity great for water bath canning) and continue cooking for 10 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt while mixture cooks.
4 – Blend (an immersion blender works great) until everything is completely pulverized. Continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes. The sauce will thicken, so if you prefer a thinner hot sauce, add more vinegar as desired)
5 – While your sauce is on its last round on the stove, prepare canning jars. (Ball offers a thorough water bath canning description on their website. I cut some corners in this process, so use your preferred method.) Place jars and new lids in a pot of water (make sure jars are entirely immersed) and bring nearly to a boil.
6 – Carefully remove them when your sauce is ready (still hot), then ladle in the sauce leaving 1/4-1/2 inch room for air at the top, wipe the rim of the jar, and seal the lid. Flipping the jars over may help them seal. Let the jars sit for 12 hours before flipping upright, then check the seals periodically over the next week or two.
Enjoy!
