July 16th, 2025
What’s in your share?
Cherry OR Heirloom Tomatoes
Carrots
Salad Mix
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Japanese or Italian Eggplant
Romaine Lettuce
Eggplant- Japanese or Italian: We love both, but they have their differences. The Japanese variety is smaller, reducing cooking time. Because of its shape, there is less concentration of water in the bulk of the fruit, making it ideal for sautéing and skewering. The Italian variety is probably more familiar. The fruit is meatier, making it ideal for layering and grilling in rounds. The water content is higher, so if you’re going to roast it in halves, we recommend scoring it (see photo) to create more surface area for water to evaporate while cooking. The skin on Italian varieties is thicker than the Japanese variety. This is the link to last week’s newsletter with LOTS of info about eggplant!
We’re trying something a little different this season with our cherry tomatoes: instead of waiting until the tomatoes are at their peak ripeness, we are hoping to harvest them a little underripe so that they’re not bursting and cracking after they go through the delivery process. This means some of them may have to ripen on your counter for a few days, but we think its better than broken, sticky tomatoes! Those Sungolds sure are sweet, but they have mighty thin skins and just don’t last long once they are ripe. Bare with us as we traverse this learning curve! Tomato season is upon us. Thanks for the photo, Matt Filipiak!
Romaine: At our house, we’re admittedly total tomato brats and never buy them out of season, so the first BLT is like an annual holiday around here. SO, in case you also celebrate: the heirloom and slicing tomatoes will be in shares next week, and I guarantee that this romaine will stay fresh until your next share. So if you’re hoping for the first BLT of the season, save some leaves (keep them in a bag or container, as always)! The romaine wasn’t going to last in the field for another week, otherwise we would have waited until until everyone got tomatoes.
RECIPES TO TRY
Smashed Zucchini (in case you can’t view the link above)
Best Ever Greek Pita (it is seriously the best)
Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad (I was really offended by the idea of “smashing” veggies last season, but I totally get it now, and I’m likely never going to cut cucumbers into slices for a salad ever again. Life changing hack. I cut off the ends, peel stripes from the skin, and put the whole cukes into a plastic bag (just a scrap grocery bag we have lying around that i will throw away, and wail on it with a rolling pin. If you have stress management issues, this is a good practice.)
I was really offended by the idea of “smashing” veggies last season, but I totally get it now and I’m likely never going to cut cucumbers into slices for a salad ever again. It’s a life changing hack - especially if you want your cukes to soak up a marinade more effectively. I cut off the ends, peel stripes from the skin, put the whole cukes into a plastic bag (just a scrap grocery bag we have lying around, which I will throw away after this), and wail on it with a rolling pin until pieces are just a little bigger than bite size. If you have stress management issues, this is a good after-work exercise! Dump the smashed cucumbers into a colander and salt them and wait for about 15 minutes, turning with your hands every so often, to drain excess moisture. Mix into your favorite salad. *This is not the recipe posted, its a version with yogurt and green garlic and rice vinegar and cilantro that I made up. Its fun to play with your food!