DOOR STEP HARVEST Weekly Delivery Newsletter 8/15/11 This week, the seasonal fresh picked produce you’ll find at your doorstep is: Misc. Cherry Tomato, Beets, “Yard-long” Beans, Summer Squash, small Spaghetti Squash, Okra, Crenshaw Melon, Cantaloupe, Green Bell Pepper, Lambs Quarters, Culinary herb bag (rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, basil, peppermint), Corn Silk, Flower Bouquet (Surprise Lilly, Pineapple sage, Zinnia, Salvia, and Rose of Sharon), and the surprise of the week (Popcorn!).
News from the garden
Okra is blooming and producing but the sudden cooler weather has slowed production (temporarily). Tomatoes are ripening and beginning to set. Scarlet Runner Beans and carrots are growing well. The bugs killed many of the squash and cucumber plants but the survivors have set and are beginning to ripen. We planted more squash just before I left for scout camp but the roofers stepped on most of them. The beet growth has come to a halt in this heat so we continue to harvest them as “babies.” Late green beans are blooming and we like this variety better than the French heirlooms that were too delicate for our climate. Sunchokes will be blooming soon. Corn is past its season, so now we are delivering the silk. Yard long beans are happy in the heat and going strong. The Asian pears at Grandma’s are growing larger in this rain. The plum tree I planted two years ago had tasting quantities of plum for the first time this year, but, while we were in California at my Aunt’s wedding, someone picked (stole) them all, so we won’t have any this year. Too bad for them the plums were not even ripe (their yellow skin needed to turn red first!) Crenshaw melon and cantaloupe look good and are constantly ripening; new melons are even setting now that the weather has cooled. Enjoy these in your deliver this week. Spaghetti squash and Delicata squash have set and are ripening. The first of the harvest is in this week’s delivery. I planted more potatoes for fall this past week. Autumn olive berries are looking good for fall harvest. Bell pepper and tomato are still slow but should pick up as the weather cools.
**Okra: Delicious chopped and fried or added to soup for thickening.
**Lambsquarters: are still coming strong.
**Green Bell Pepper: (Wiki-Fact: While the bell pepper is a member of the Capsicum genus, it is the only Capsicum apart from Capsicum rhomboideum that does not produce capsaicin,[1] a lipophilic chemical that can cause a strong burning sensation when it comes in contact with mucous membranes. The lack of capsaicin in bell peppers is due to a recessive form of a gene that eliminates capsaicin and, consequently, the “hot” taste usually associated with the rest of the Capsicumgenus.)
*/**Red Beets (Wiki-Fact: It is best known in its numerous cultivated varieties, the most well known of which is the purple root vegetable known as the beetroot or garden beet. However, other cultivated varieties include the leafy vegetables chard. The “earthy” taste of some beetroot cultivars comes from the presence of geosmin. Researchers have not yet answered whether beets produce geosmin themselves, or whether it is produced by symbiotic soil microbes living in the plant. Nevertheless, breeding programs can produce cultivars with low geosmin levels yielding flavors more acceptable to consumers.)
**Tomato: Heirloom varieties of cherry tomato this week are Chocolate (the one that looks green), golden cherry, red, and other Misc.
**Yard Long Beans (green): these beans get to be very long. Cook them as any other green bean either whole or chopped small. (Wiki-Fact: The crisp, tender pods are eaten both fresh and cooked. They are at their best when young and slender. They are sometimes cut into short sections for cooking uses. As a West Indian dish it is often stir-fried with potatoes and shrimp.)
*/**Culinary Herbs: Rosemary, Basil, Thyme, Sage, rosemary, and Oregano WARNING: herbs are not washed.
*Herba Mentha Pepperita: On hot summer days, I make a peppermint tea by filling a quart jar half full (NOT half empty) with the fresh peppermint leaves, and fill it with boiling water. Then we let it cool, sweeten it, and enjoy.
**Summer squash: Under this category, we have yellow squash (normal sized and delicate tender babies for “gourmet” recipes), zucchini, delicata, and a mini spaghetti squash. It is their first full harvest.
**Corn Silk: Pour boiling water over corn silk and steep for a refreshing summer beverage. (Wiki-Fact: Corn silk is used in Asia for kidney problems, diabetes and high blood pressure and is a diuretic.)
*/**Flowers: Surprise Lilly, Pineapple sage, Zinnia, Salvia, and Rose of Sharon.
Surprise of the week is Home Grown Popcorn! This is our first experience with miniature popping corn. We’ve popped two batches. The first batch (1tbsp) turned out super delicious and perfect (just tiny). The second batch didn’t pop and just burned up. Still learning about this one… good luck… just pull the kernels away from the cob and pop as usual.
*= organically grown in my 4-H garden on Cedar Street **= grown in my 4-H garden at Grandma’s house near Talmage