The Adamah Blog

West Hartford Week 10

August 16, 2012 at 11:17 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

We planted melons on a cool rainy day in late May. We tried to imagine the little plants as lush vines full of peak summer fruit but the gray sky and mud of that day made it hard to picture. This week, we marched through that same field, carefully trying not to step on the mat of vines and tossing ripe melons to one another down the patch. Occasionally we would pull a questionable one and decide that we had to open it up to check , “Is this one ripe?” Invariably, it was perfectly sweet and delicious, allowing us to revel in the season and live fully in the moment of high summer.

Harvest Notes

Cantaloupe You may want to eat these earlier in the week as they are quite ripe and we aren’t sure if they will last a whole 6 or 7 days. If you aren’t the type to eat a whole cantaloupe in one sitting, feel free to share with a neighbor and tell them about our CSA. Alternatively, you can freeze cantaloupe for sorbet!

Red Slicing Tomatoes It might be canning and freezing week for tomatoes. Remember, different tomatoes that we send are at different stages of ripeness so you may be able to let a few sit on the counter until the end of the week and some you may want to eat sooner rather than later. If you really want to keep some of the ripe tomatoes for a while, put them in the fridge but their taste will deteriorate somewhat.

Purple Slicing Tomatoes These heirlooms are super rich in flavor. Some are funny shaped but it is a worthwhile trade off for the taste.

Orange Slicing Tomatoes These orange heirlooms are a bit more acidic in flavor. Years ago in Washington state our friend Wynne, an organic apple orchardist, gave us some seeds she had saved from her tomato garden. We have saved seeds from crop each year since.

Basil Tomatoes and basil go so well together, whether in soups, salads, sauces or sandwiches, we thought you might need some this week.

Green Peppers A few more peppers for summer salads and stir-fries.

Eggplant Take your pick of Asian or Italian eggplant this week

LeeksPotato leek soup is delicious but summer leeks are also fantastic in many other dishes. Try caramalizing them (and I mean really cooking them for a looong time) and topping pizza or foccacia with them. They are a creamy, mild alternative to onions in almost any dish.

Summer Squash We grow a variety of different kinds of squash and zucchini but they all taste much the same.

Lemon Cucumbers Don’t let the funny shape and color of these cukes turn you off, they are incredibly juicy and delicious.

Green Cucumbers Pickles? Cucumber soup?