In The Box: 7, Madison
Except for the fact that it’s been in the high 80s all week, it’s really starting to look and feel like autumn here in our pretty valley. The bees are out in force, the pumpkins are oranging-up and the neighbors have had us over to pick and press Paula Red apples. I had to clean fallen tree leaves off the salad mix before I harvested it this morning!
The growing season is nearly over for most vegetables in southwest Wisconsin, with a few hardy exceptions that we’re still popping into bare rows from previous crops: spinach, salads greens, salad turnips, collards, kale, red cabbage, Swiss chard and broccoli will take us nearly through til frost. The Napa cabbage, beets and snap peas are a few weeks old and growing nicely. But this week we’re enjoying a traditional late-summer harvest of juicy melons, plump tomatoes, crisp beans and spicy basil. Here’s what’s in the box:
In The Box 7, Madison Delivery, September 5, 2007
Edamame Soy Beans – Sooooo yummmmmy! We eat these once a day. Sometimes twice.
Green Beans – These Kentucky Blue Pole Beans are the absolute stars of our late summer gardens. Clambering over fences, trellises , neighbors and each other, these unstoppable vines produce a curtain of skinny crisp pods. Every day.
Autumn Colors Salad Mix – These tender lettuces have been growing in dappled shade through drought and flood most of the summer. Finally, it’s ready to eat! We’ve changed the color and texture up a bit with greens from our baby beets.
Nasturtium Leaves and Flowers – If you want even more color in your salad, add some of these spicy flowers and splotched “Alaska” variety leaves. I like these on top of baguette toast, topped with goat cheese – and a bloom!
Moon and Stars Watermelon – These heirloom melons are supposed to be dark green with yellow spots of random sizes. The leaves on the vines turned out spotted, but the melons are solid!
Mini Melons – We planted lots of little musk and water melons, but most started rotting on the vines during the flood. The few that survived are cute and sweet, but some didn’t ripen up in time. We hope we’ve sent ripe ones home with you!
Hard Squash – The dark green are Acorn. The small green/orange and cream speckled are Carnival. The oblong are Delicata and the Turban is a variety for which I can’t find the label.
Basil – Still beautiful. Be sure to store this, and salad and beans, in a CLOSED plastic bag.
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Peppers – Green sheep nose and yellow sweet frying peppers.
Radish – These varied radish were seeded in to mark the rows where our fall carrots were growing. It seems that the tiny carrot seeds washed away in the flood waters, but these radish are happy as can be. White German Beer, Spanish Black, oblong French Breakfast and a few Red Meat.
Goat Cheese
Herbs: Your herb bag this time has a few new things you could try in the Goat Cheese. Chives, Sage, Orange Thyme and Lemon Balm. The latter is a very citrus-y herb, also called Melissa. Actually a mint, lemon balm is commonly used as a calming influence in herbal remedies. You might like to utilize it in a salad dressing or tea. Here are some recipes:
Lemon Balm Infused Oil
1 cup of oil
1/2 cup of fresh herb
Let stand 4-5 days at room temperature and the herbs will settle to bottom. Put into clean jars, discard the herbs and store in the fridge for up to 6 months.
Lemon Balm Tea
1heaping tablespoon of dried leaves or 2 tablespoons of fresh leaves for each cup of boiling water
Or make sun tea by placing herbs and cool water in covered jar in the sun for a few hours.
Strain, add honey.
