In this Week's Box

When you get this box home, put everything except the tomatoes in plastic bags in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. Tomatoes don’t ever go in the refrigerator. The tart taste that gives tomatoes their characteristic flavor results from a chemical reaction that gets disrupted by the cold. I like to store tomatoes out on the counter, or in a fruit bowl, and I would definitely recommend opening the cherry tomato clamshell to get more air circulation (although this creates the hazard that opportunistic grazers – such as small children and grandparents – will soon eliminate the tomato population).

Broccoli Raab - Leafy green broccoli raab is not actually a broccoli, and it has lots of other names, like rapa, rapini, turnip broccoli, and Italian turnip; these other names actually hint much closer at its genetic history, being more-closely related to turnips and rapeseed (canola) than it is to broccoli. Its appearance and flavor remind me of a disheveled cousin of broccoli. It has a somewhat more intense flavor than broccoli, and is very popular in Italy and many parts of Asia. It can be cooked in a number of ways, but my favorite is to braise it with a sweet Italian sausage and serve over pasta, as in the recipe below.

Carrots with their tops - We did our first carrot harvest this week, in the mud. Green Top Carrots are a holdover from our farmers market days, when we used their enhanced presentation to announce the start of our carrot season. After a winter of stored carrots, the fresh carrots are almost shockingly tender and crisp – I tried the fresh harvest alongside some of last fall’s carrots that I had leftover in the crisper drawer in my refrigerator, and the difference in mouth feel brought home just how much the eating experience goes beyond mere flavor.

Red Crisphead Lettuce - I have been loving the red crisphead lettuce this week, and I think you will too. Its bold flavor and firm texture holds up nicely under a heavy blue cheese or Roquefort dressing.

Escarole - Escarole has milder and sweeter leaves than many of its chicory cousins, and can be cooked or used raw in salads. The paler, inner leaves have a more delicate flavor.

Greenhouse Cucumbers - Greenhouse Cucumbers surged into production on the farm this week. Because we grow them inside, they don’t need the thick protective skin normally found on cucumbers, so you can just slice them and use them with no preparation at all. Unlike the kind you usually see plastic-wrapped in the grocery store, we grow our cucumbers in the soil, which gives them a fantastic flavor. Sliced and served sprinkled with sea salt (I like to use a red Hawaiian salt for dramatic color), it is hard to beat these cucumbers for summer time simplicity and flavor.

Green Garlic

Lettuce Mix

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Greenhouse Cucumbers

Fennel