Many of you have asked for a list of what might be available this season in our CSA. Here’s a short-list of the produce that you should expect throughout the season. This list can be especially helpful for those exploring new veggie options 🙂 This list was compiled by the head farmer and manager of Three Chimney Farm, Ruby Goldner.
List of Vegetables in CSA Shares
Kale (varieties — Lacinato, Red Russian, White Russian): can be chopped and sautéed, chopped and massaged with salt to make a wilted salad, made into kale chips in the oven, eaten raw, used as a wrap, and put in soups
Chard (white or yellow): same as kale, though stalks also make good additions to soups and pickling cans
Lettuce: pretty self-explanatory! Try using as a wrap, it’s fun!
Radishes (french breakfast, sora — red round, watermelon and black later in the season): chopped or sliced into salads, chopped into sautés, added to soups at the end, pickled, and eaten raw as a snack or with dips
– Tops can be sautéed or added to salads for a kick.
Turnips (hakurei): white globe, use same as a radish. Again, tops can be used in various ways. (You might think these are “white radishes” but they are actually turnips! They are not spicy at all and actually a bit sweet.
Carrots: pretty self-explanatory! Fun fact, they’re delicious. But maybe don’t eat the tops. Compost them.
Beets: pickling them makes the brine a nice color as well as makes it taste good. Roast ‘em, slice ‘em on salads, eat them raw? The latter is not my fave but some people like it. Eat the tops! Cook them! They’re chard!
Microgreens: whelp, they’re over for the season, but we all like a little spice on our salads, right?
Barese: mini-chard! — These are an heirloom swiss chard, called Barese. They can be used in a salad or sautéed just like chard.
Choi: a little on the small side because of the flea beetle damage but totally edible despite it — no diseases will be conferred. I would sauté these as it brings out their flavor. Using in a salad gives a very very slight tang to the dish.
Pickling cucumbers: ummmm, it’s in the name (you can also eat non pickled 🙂
Cucumbers: if you aren’t eating these with Tajin, then please go get some Tajin.
Green/white striped zucchini: grill it, sauté it, purée it into a weird smoothie, salt it in long flat strips before you use it and make it into a veggie parm wrap (instead of eggplant)
Eggplants (long purple, long white, globe purple): sautéed, grilled, same as zucchini with the salt trick for eggplant parm, purée it into an interesting cold soup (cook it first then chill it), and of course, baba ganoush
Yellow squash (patty pan or longneck): my suggestion? Butter or olive oil and a grill (or a sauté pan)
Tomatoes: do anything you want, but again, use Tajin when eating raw — cucumbers and tomatoes with Tajin on a hot summer day and a beer or glass of wine is the new charcuterie board but way cheaper and more satisfying
Butternut Rugosa (the best butternut): scoop out and stuff open faced, bake whole and eat without any seasoning (it’s really sweet!), cut in half and roast with all the things (butter, herbs, salt, pepper, any spice you can think of, any combination of spices you can think of), purée it into a delightful soup, use it instead of ricotta in any dish that calls for ricotta but make sure you purée it first with butter to fluff it up
Melon: just eat it raw, maybe add some Tajin.
Fennel (baby or not-baby): chop into salads, slice into salads, pickle, sauté, eat raw (baby fennel raw is a sweet, sweet delight), roast when large
Sage, Garlic, Parsley, Cilantro, Basil: the uses are only bound by your imagination, or whether or not you taste soap when you eat cilantro — I like to put cilantro on salads, or make it into a cilantro sauce with lime juice and garlic, but that’s me
Hot Peppers – We have a variety of hot peppers, from jalapenos to habaneros. We also grow our own 3CF cayannes. These are super spicy so you cautiously!
Shishito/Padron mix – If you haven’t had Shishito peppers before, you haven’t lived. It’s very simple: Give them a little oil, put in a cast-iron pan, sear / blister them on high heat, and add course sea salt to taste. Can be eaten with lemon/soy sauce but not necessary. These peppers have an umami flavor and one in every 10 are super hot!
Sweet “lunchbox” peppers – these are going to be your sweet colored bell pepper. Not spicy at all, great for raw, grilled, or anyway you want them.
Onions – hmm I feel strange writing an explanation here. Although … eat the green tops or you’re missing out!
