Woah Oh We're Halfway There!

Tomorrow's distribution marks the halfway point of the season (24 week season with 2 one-week breaks). It is our 12th week, although we have already taken one of our week breaks. We expect that the next week break will be at some point when the summer vegetables begin to taper off and the fall vegetables come in. We will keep you posted when we expect that break to be.

How have you thought the season has gone thus far? For me, now that we are back to our own home and kitchen (you may remember that we were shacking up with my parents last summer, awaiting Amelia's arrival and didn't have an easy time using all of our veggies), we are savoring the fruits of Michael's labor. The other night we grilled a variety of our vegetables (leeks, eggplant, tomatoes and peppers) coated with olive oil, salt and pepper in a grill basket over charcoal. It made a simple, and delicious, side dish.

I am looking forward to see what next week's harvest includes (hopefully lots of tomatoes) so we can highlight Michael's delicious work at Amelia's first birthday party! I know that we will have plenty of melons to offer our guests for a refreshing dessert (don't worry, there will be cake, too!).

Speaking of melons, Michael tried to explain to me some complicated something-or-other about the storage of the melons harvested on Monday. In essence (I am going to give you the Cliff's Notes version because it's been one heckuva week (although it is only Wednesday) and I am exhausted), heirloom varieties are extremely more sensitive than conventional varieties, whether they be fruits or vegetables. This sensitivity is often why you only see heirloom offerings at farmer's markets and other specialty markets. They do not ship well and do not store well (for instance, heirloom tomatoes have a much thinner skin and are, therefore, more prone to bruise, split and early rot). On the flip side, heirloom varieties are SO MUCH tastier. In fact, my dad boldly proclaimed that our prudens purple heirloom tomatoes are the "best tomatoes I've ever had!" We try to select heirloom seeds when given the opportunity and when it is not cost prohibitive. We hope that you've enjoyed what we've produced to date!

This week's share will include: tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, leeks, garlic, potatoes, asian greens, beets, eggplant (hopefully), peppers, and squash.