Growing for Taste

In the winter months I find myself elbow deep in seed catalogs carefully combing through descriptions and reviews of different varieties of veggies. I take notes on 'days to harvest', how well a certain variety responds heat or cold or disease, what it looks like, how it stores and how it yields. But most importantly, I choose varieties that taste good; tomatoes with complex flavors, cucumbers with no bitterness, asian greens with just the right amount of spice, melons with higher sugar content, sweeter onions, and juicier carrots. I am constantly tweaking and experimenting with new varieties and combinations to have vegetables that are good to grow but more importantly to eat. That's why in the coming weeks you'll probably see some types of vegetables that you may not be familiar with: asian cucumbers, trombocino squash, striped tomatoes, chioggia beets, round zucchini and red carrots. These are vegetables that we've come to know as the best tasting varieties we can find but they don't look "normal". We encourage you to try them and ask questions and tell us what you think. We're pretty sure you'll be convinced.

Some veggies coming your way in the next few weeks: asian cucumbers (go juicy and not bitter at all), asian eggplant (tender skins, no bitterness), green zebra tomatoes (they're ripe when they're green!), chioggia beets (italian sweet beets) and many more.

In the share this week:

kale

swiss chard

beets

carrots

summer squash

cucumbers

salad mix

head lettuce

arugula

cabbage

napa cabbage

hakurei turnips

spring onions

fennel

radicchio

parsley

dill

Yellow Squash with Lemon, Parsley and Parmigiano

This will work perfectly with a patty pan squash or round yellow zucchini we call "Eight Ball"

Ingredients

  • 3 medium yellow squash, sliced lengthwise paper-thin on a mandoline
  • 1 lemon, juice and zest
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons picked parsley
  • 1/2 cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • Kosher salt
  • Black pepper

How to make this recipe

  1. In a large mixing bowl, toss squash with the lemon juice, zest, oil, parsley, salt and black pepper and serve.

 

Malaika SpencerComment