Hot Peppers

Red Rocket Cayenne

5-6” long red peppers with a sweet and hot flavor that are 10 times hotter than jalapeño. Great for drying into powder or adding to dishes for a hot kick.

Magnum Orange Habanero

These small green to bright orange peppers have a strong heat combined with fruity, citrus notes. A key ingredient in Jamaican jerks, but also great in hot sauces, slaws, salsas, or dried for later use.

Lemon Drop

Lemonly yellow 2-3 inches in length with a clean, uncomplicated slightly citrusy heat. Good for making into hot sauce and drying.

Red Thai Chili

Red or green thin, fiery little pointed peppers that are popular in Thailand for flavoring dishes and great for drying.

Jalapeno

This well known green spicy pepper has a medium to hot heat great for all traditional hot pepper needs such as sauces, salsas, stuffing, and pickling. Can be harvested green or red. Smoked red jalapeños are chipotles.

Sugar Rush Peach

Long, peach colored peppers with super sweet, peach-pineapple, smoky flavor and a nice rush of steamy hotness!

Bhut Jolokia Red (Ghost Pepper)

Also known as the Ghost pepper, this red wrinkly pepper is one of the hottest peppers in the world reading over 1,000,000 Scoville units. Great for making intense hot sauces or adding a kick to any dish.

Puma Pepper

Beautiful 2.5-3 inch long fruits with brushstrokes of tangerine and violet, bursting with habanero level heat. Great for making hot sauce!

Hungarian Hot Wax

Yellow, red or orange 3-4 in long peppers with medium to hot heat great for stuffing, roasting, and pickling.

Hot Paper Lantern

Wrinkled, red, lantern-shaped fruits that are 3-4" long with a sweeter, smokey, but hotter taste than habaneros. However, unlike habaneros the heat is slow, meaning you’ll be able to taste the sweetness and light smokiness before the heat. Great for drying, sauces, pickling and salsas.

Brazilian Starfish

Red star shaped juicy fruits with complex floral and fruity tones that offset a medium hotness that can exceed the heat of jalapeños.

Filius Blue Pepper

Compact plants with small violet-blue fruit that are medium to hot.

Leutschauer Paprika

Red pepper with a medium to hot heat that have a sweet aroma and crisp texture great for smoking, drying, and grinding to a delicious spicy powder.

Santa Fe Grande

Spicy, 4-inch peppers, pale yellow, orange or red in color and quite warm; makes pretty pickles and salsa.

Korean Dark Green Pepper

3-4-inch slender peppers that are dark green to red in color with a very spicy and hot flavor. Great for authentic kimchi and other Korean dishes.

Jamaican Scotch Bonnet

Named for their unique shaped fruits which resemble the Scottish “Tam o’ shanter” or “Tammie” hat, these orange to yellow peppers are similar to habaneros in heat and flavor but are a little sweeter with hints of apples and cherries. Great for sauces, slaws, and adding a Caribbean flare to any dish.

Sweet Bonnet

Like the Jamaican Scotch Bonnet but with significantly less heat! It should be milder than a jalapeño. The perfect pepper for making mild Caribbean recipes.

Habanada

A truly heatless habanero! Has the floral sweet flavor of a habanero but no heat. Looks like a habanero but instead of a rounded bottom, it has a pointed bottom. Great for eating fresh.

Closed bridge over flooded waters

Dear KCSA community,
 
The newsletter was on hiatus last week. But we are back with a farm update.

First, due to the torrential rain expected during pick up hours tomorrow, for this week only, we will be open to all members scheduled to pick up/u-pick on Wednesday (8/5) from 9am-12pm, in addition to our usual 1pm-7pm hours on Tuesday (8/4). Sticking to your allocated time windows is not important this Tuesday, either! The storm is predicted to be at its heaviest from 1pm-4pm. Please remember overflow parking is in the Kimberton Waldorf School.

Further, as most of our Friday members know, signs are up diverting traffic away from Kennedy Bridge. I can confirm that the bridge is, in fact, now closed. We have been told that this time it is only for a week...members should expect periodic closures in the future. For those not in the know, Kennedy Bridge is the covered bridge crossing French Creek at W. Seven Stars Road, right beside the Kimberton Waldorf School.
 

This means if you are driving to the farm from Kimberton/Phoenixville area, on W. Seven Stars Road, you should take follow the following detour:

• Turn right on Hare Hills Road, north, toward PA 23 and PA 724

• After you cross the metal grated bridge, take a left on Miller Road.

• Follow Miller Road until the T-junction and then take a left on Hickory Grove Road.

• Follow Hickory Grove Road until the T-junction and then take a left on W. Seven Stars Road.

• The farm will be on your right just over the hill.

---

WHAT'S IN THE SHARES THIS WEEK!
LETTUCE, SWISS CHARD, DANDELION, DILL, ZUCCHINI, CELERY, GARLIC, COLLARDS, LEEKS, EGGPLANT, PEPPERS, TOMATOES, CUCUMBER, & SUMMER SQUASH
U-PICK:
CHERRY TOMATOES, TOMATILLOS, GROUND CHERRIES, FLOWERS, HERBS, & BASIL.

---

We have a few new vegetables soon to be on the share since our last communication: celery, garlic, collards, peppers and eggplant. On u-pick we have cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, and ground cherries

The celery is being harvest a little early due to some disease. It is difficult to grow celery. As one variety is worse off than the other, however, we think it might be seed-related. Nonetheless, when fungal spores get established, they spread quickly! We'll probably never be able to grow big celery hearts like the ones you can get in the store, but our bunches are perfect as a nice crisp, tasty, summer treat!

Heads of garlic will also be making their first appearance on the share. Members should note that we have sorted the garlic into larger, smaller and open bulbs. The open (damaged) bulbs will be on the share first as these have the shortest storage capacity. The smaller bulbs will be next. And by the time we are getting into our larger bulbs, we'll be sorting through them again to set aside the bulbs we'll need for seed. We have two varieties this year: German Hardy and Creole. German hardy are big bulbs with a few big cloves. The creole are smaller with more cloves. The creole has a slight reddish tinge to the skin as well.

Eggplant is self explanatory. We have a long, skinny Asian variety and a more bulbous Italian variety. Eggplant can be a little temperamental, so these will ebb and flow.

Collards are just coming in and hopefully they'll last through the fall. Expect a little insect damage!

And finally our sweet peppers are ready! We have a few varieties that will make it on to the share. Long term members will be familiar with our Sullivan Favorite Italian Frying Pepper. More information on them will be forthcoming in a newsletter in the next couple of weeks!

Avoid the flood!

Andrew

Ground Cherries/Tomatillos

• As the name suggests, ground cherries are ready to be harvested when they fall from the plant and land on the ground. They should be golden yellow and, as they are a tomatillo, they are presented in a similar colored protective husk.

• Ground cherries are very versatile, suitable in both sweet and savory dishes. You can just unwrap the fruits and eat them raw, like cherry tomatoes, but they also lend themselves as a nice addition to salsas, salads, jams and baked goods.

• Our tomatillos should be harvested from the ground or when the husk is full on the plant. We have the traditional larger green and purple variety and a smaller golden variety is that is the missing link between ground cherry and tomatillo. Tomatillos are usually cooked before they are used in salsas and sauces.

RECIPES

Guajillo and Chile de Arbol Salsa

• 3 or 4 guajillo chiles

• 1 or 2 chilies de arbol

• 8 ounces tomatillos, husked and rinsed

• 1/2 cup chopped onion

• 1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon minced cilantro

Rinse the guajillos and chiles de arbol, then pat them dry. In a dry, heavy skillet over medium heat, toast the chiles, turning constantly, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Put the tomatillos in a medium saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower and simmer for 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the tomatillos from their cooking water to a blender. Put the toasted chiles in the cooking water and re-hydrate for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the chiles, then remove their stems and seeds. Put the chiles, onion, salt, garlic and cilantro in the blender with the tomatillos and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and let cool before serving. (Pure Vegan by Joseph Shuldiner, p75).

Tomatillo Sauce

Ground Cherry Coffee Cake

Ground Cherry Pie

Ground Cherry Salsa

---

For more information see:

The Encyclopedia of Food

Specialty Produce

Eggplant

• Called aubergines in France, the fruit was christened eggplant in the Americas in the middle of the eighteenth century because the most common variety cultivated was the shape and size of goose eggs.

• Eggplants are best suited for grilling, pan frying, baking, broiling, sautéing, roasting but no matter the cooking method, eggplant is best when thoroughly cooked because longer cooking will bring out a creamy texture and ease its bitter flavor.

• It is a great substitute for meat in vegetarian dishes.

• They pair well with tomatoes, squash, peppers, stewed meat, grilled and baked fish, chicken, chickpeas, lentils, herbs such as basil, mint, cilantro, and parsley, as well as cheeses such as fresh cow's milk and aged sheep's cheese

• Best stored at room temperature but can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Putting them in plastic bags is not recommended.

RECIPES

Baba Ganoush

• 1 medium eggplant, washed

• ¼ cup tahini

• 1 clove garlic, crushed

• ½ tsp cumin

• ½ tsp smoked paprika

• juice of ½ lemon

• ⅛ cup fresh parsley

• salt and pepper to taste

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Bake the eggplant at 425 degree F for 50 minutes, let cool. Once cooled, peel off the skin with your hands and let the inside flesh cool for 5 minutes. Add the flesh along with the rest of the ingredients to a food processor. Blend until smooth. Eat with warm bread, pita or vegetables https://www.mediterraneanliving.com/recipe-items/baba-ganoush-mediterranean-eggplant-dip/

Garden-Style Eggplant Parmesan

Jamacian Jerk Eggplant Steaks

Curried Eggplant & Chickpea Soup

Ratatouille 

Easy Vegan Eggplant Meatballs 

Simple Almond Chicken, Chickpea and Eggplant Curry

Eggplant and Cabbage Dinner Frittata

---

For more information see:

The Encyclopedia of Food

Specialty Produce

Collards

• Collards are broad leafy greens that are in the Brassica family, related to kale, broccoli and cabbage.

• Pairs well with garlic, pork, chicken, grilled steak, mushrooms, potatoes, apple cider vinegar, lemon, bay leaves, bacon fat, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, tomatoes, and chiles.

• Collards are best eaten fresh and can be added to soups, stir fries, smoothies, juices, and made into wraps.

• Collards are the quintessential green of the South. The most popular way to eat it is to slowly simmer the greens in a flavorful and spicy broth loaded with ham hocks. 

• Store in a plastic bag or container in the refrigerator but you can also blanch and freeze them for longer storage.

RECIPES

Southern Styled Greens

• 2 pounds collards greens (1 bunch), rinsed

• 1 tbsp oil

• 1 cup, ¼ in diced salt pork

• 1 cup diced onion

• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes, optional

• ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

• 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock

• ½ cup water

• ⅓ cup white vinegar

• 1 tsp hot pepper sauce

Cut off and discard the tough stems. Cut the leaves across into 2” ribbons. In a large stock pot, over medium-high heat, add the oil and the diced salt pork, and cook until light golden brown and crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and let cool. Add the onion to the pot and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes, then add the red chili flakes, black pepper, and collard greens. Stir every few minutes or until the greens have wilted down. Add chicken stock and water and cover. Cook for 30- 40 minutes, remove the lid, increase the heat to high and add the vinegar and hot sauce. Season as desired. Place into serving bowls and sprinkle with salt pork (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/southern-collard-greens-recipe-1922015)

White Bean and Collard Green Soup

Butternut Squash & Collard Green Bruschetta

Vegan Collard Green Wraps 

White Bean and Collard Greens Spaghetti with Lemon and Turnips

---

For more information see:

The Encyclopedia of Food

Specialty Produce

Celery

• Celery has a juicy and crunchy flesh with a mild salty flavor. Both stalks and leaves are edible, but use leaves sparingly since they have a more concentrated celery flavor.

• Did you know that celery is so crunchy it is used by Hollywood special effect designers to create the sound of breaking bones in movies!? 

• Celery is one of the main ingredients in mirepoix, a soup staple made up of 50 percent onion, 25 percent carrot and 25 percent celery.

• Celery is great for soups, but is also good for eating raw with dips or hummus, sauteing in dishes, braised with vegetable stock and wine, or baked with cream and cheese into a gratin.

• Best stored uncut in a container or bag in the refrigerator.

RECIPES

Celery Gratin 

• 1 bunch celery, thinly sliced crosswise

• ¾  cup grated Pecorino cheese

• ¾  cup heavy cream

• Salt & Pepper

• 1 cup coarse breadcrumbs

• 3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and lightly grease 4 individual or one large oven-proof casserole dish. In a bowl, mix together the celery, cream, 1/2 cup of cheese, salt and pepper. Divide the celery evenly between the dishes, or place in the larger casserole, cover, and bake until fork tender, about 30 to 35 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, parsley, remaining cheese, and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the celery and return to the oven and bake another 10 minutes or until lightly browned. https://www.italianfoodforever.com/2012/11/celery-gratin/

Savory Chicken & Vegetable Pie With Hazelnut Crust 

Buffalo Chicken Chowder 

Tuscan Summer Minestrone with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

Easy Green Juice 

Miso Tahini Hummus with Celery Sticks 

---

For more information see:

The Encyclopedia of Food

Specialty Produce

Tomato Orthography

Dear KCSA community,
 
I feel it prudent to give the members a veggie update this week, so, for those who remember, perhaps we’ll pick up where we left off with last week’s newsletter, next week….
 
We managed to squeeze in a special treat on the share Friday—shishito peppers and tomatoes! Over the next few weeks, we should see some more tomatoes and peppers.
 
Shishito peppers are a Japanese frying pepper. They are a few inches long and are generally harvested when green (although they can be harvested red as well). As the name suggests, they are frying peppers, but are more often skewered and grilled. The skin and flesh are very thin and blister quickly, for an easy chargrilled delicacy. An old farmer’s tale is that, 1 in 100 are hot. I’m not sure I believe it as I think I’m in the centurion shishito eating club and have yet to have a hint of non-grilled heat in ‘em!
 

Speckled Roman, Grandero, & Orange Banana (l-r)

Marmalade, Jet Star, Martha Washington, & Cherokee Carbon (l-r)

Although many of our tomatoes may look like heirlooms this season, we technically only have one (the Speckled Roman paste tomato) available due to some…you guessed it…problems in spring. After spending lots of time nurturing our wide variety of heirlooms, they literally turned brown over night! We lost several of our favorite open pollinated varieties, too—the difference between an open pollinated and heirloom variety is age! In fact, all heirlooms are open pollinated but not all open pollinated tomatoes are heirlooms. Further, the word heirloom would appear to not follow the rule: I before E except after C!
 
Anyway, as we do follow the mantra “hope for the best, plan for the worst,” we did have some spare hybrid seedlings ready to go as back-ups. So, this season we will have heirloom Cherokee Purple and Brandywine lookalikes, called Cherokee Carbon and Martha Washington; a big, juicy, orange slicer called Marmalade; and, according to Jo Robinson’s Eating on the Wild Side a red “medium-sized, globe-shaped, mild flavored…high in antioxidants,” tomato named Jet Star.
 
In addition to the solitary heirloom Speckled Roman, and our go- to red paste tomato Granadero, this year we also have a yellow paste tomato called Orange Banana. We also have a wider selection of cherry tomatoes coming to u-pick. Members will be please to know that we ditched the determinates and have gone back to the indeterminates, so the cherry tomato harvest season should run right up to the first frost. Fingers crossed!

---

WHAT'S IN THE SHARES THIS WEEK!
LETTUCE, KALE, SWISS CHARD, DANDELION, DILL/PARSLEY/ CILANTRO, ZUCCHINI, SCALLIONS, LEEKS, PEPPERS, TOMATOES, CUCUMBER, & SUMMER SQUASH
U-PICK:
FLOWERS, HERBS, BASIL, BEANS, PEAS, & STRAWBERRIES

---

Leeks will also be on the share this week. These are being harvested a little premature as we need the space. Hopefully, members will be able to tell the difference between the mild leeks and the more pungent scallions. If in doubt, the leek greens are trimmed, and a little darker and flatter, than their more oniony counterpart. This second flush or scallions replaced our white bunching onions that were decimated in spring by the corn maggot. A good decision, you’ll agree!
 
The Euro cucumbers are done for the season. Picklers are winding down and so are the slicers. The summer squash and zucchini are also starting to slow down. They’ll be on the share for a few weeks yet, but in less abundance. There should be more zucchini and cucumbers toward the end of summer, however, members should consider that the last planting will not be as productive as the first!
 
We have had a good 8-week stretch of head lettuce (yes, we’re only 8 weeks in!), but in this heat they tend to either go into thermal dormancy or go to flower (bolt) really quickly. We will continue to sow, transplant, cultivate and water them, but during the end of July through August, they won’t be nearly as consistent.
 
The kale is suffering in this heat as well and there will be a break between the spring and fall planting soon. The beets and carrots are done until fall. We are sowing the next succession soon, so plan on their return in October.
 
Cheers,
Andrew

Garlic breath

Dear KCSA community,
 
Breathing is an essential life process. In the northern hemisphere, from the winter solstice to the summer solstice, the earth exhales a long slow breath into the cosmos as the sun slowly grows from its lowest point in the sky (shortest day) until it reaches its peak (the longest day). From the dormancy of winter to the flurry of spring this earthly exhalation pushes vegetative life up toward the sun.
 
At KCSA, this is epitomized by growing hardneck garlic. Individual cloves are planted toward the end of fall (around Halloween), catching the tail end of this inhalation and ensuring some root growth before winter. With that foundation, and after some winter dormancy, the greens start to sprout in early spring, pushing through the soil surface.
 
A few weeks before the summer solstice, flowers start to emerge from the hardneck garlic. This is another way garlic reproduces, via its seeds. It is much easier to propagate a new bulb from just a single clove, however, so we snap the stems off before they flower and bunch them as a delicious spring treat—garlic scapes! This, in turn, forces the last of the plant’s energy into the growing the bulb.
 
A week or so after the summer solstice (around 4th July) it’s time to dig the bulbs up. To maximize storage potential, you want the bulb to be tight. We then dry them in a warm, shaded area that is well ventilated. After curing for a few weeks, the garlic is trimmed, sorted for seed garlic and stored in a cool, dark place. Our garlic is currently curing. It will be on the share in a few weeks. Please remember, you should not store bulbs of garlic in the fridge! Cold temperatures can alter the taste.
 

---

WHAT'S IN THE SHARES THIS WEEK!
LETTUCE, KALE, SWISS CHARD, DANDELION, DILL, PARSLEY, ZUCCHINI, SCALLIONS, BEETS, CARROTS, CUCUMBER, & SUMMER SQUASH
U-PICK:
FLOWERS, HERBS, BASIL, BEANS, PEAS, & STRAWBERRIES

---

The earth’s deep inhalation begins after the summer solstice and continues through the winter solstice. After expending its internal forces, the earth begins to inhale energy from the cosmos. Traditional “hoedown” storage crops such as sweet potatoes, winter squash, thrive during this inhalation. The slips, or transplants, are established pre-summer solstice, but most of their growth happens as the days get shorter and shorter. The first hard frost ends their growing cycle in SE PA about 8-10 weeks before the winter solstice. Incidentally, both sweet potatoes and winter squash are also cured for storage and should also not be stored in the refrigerator. We have these treats to look forward to in fall.
 
Like perennials, many fruiting annuals like the best of both worlds. Sown in spring, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants like to get their vegetative habit established during the earth’s exhalation and produce their delicious bounty during its inhalation. Tomatoes should be on the share soon! Cucumbers and summer squash are included in this group. Due to the humidity in our region, however, they are more prone to disease, so they never last as long as they can…in theory.
 
Other, shorter day annuals that are grown in spring and fall are more in tune with the lunar cycle. In biodynamics, planetary bodies are also recognized as having an influence on plant growth. There is also an optimal time to sow seeds for plants that you either harvest for the flower, fruit, leaf or root. Luckily, we have the Stella Nutra Calendar to help us with our sowing schedule. More about this next week…
 
Best,
Andrew