What's on your table?

For those of us removed from the day to day of food production, who only interact with gleaming displays of identical fruits and veggies in the produce aisle, it can be jarring to come across a potato fresh from the ground and still crusted in living soil.

We often set the food we see in the supermarket as the standard for how all food should taste and look and be. Buying direct from a farm is not going to look like buying mass produced food from a supermarket, and it's all the better for that difference.

Grocery store culture demands unlimited access to a huge amount of food at all times. We buy out of season tomatoes and wonder why they taste like nothing. We cut open a bleached-clean potato thats been in storage for nearly a year and complain about it going bad. 

The produce you receive from my farm may have imperfections, it may have small bug bites, and it's likely to be dirtier than you're used to.

It's important to me to include produce like this in Veggie Boxes to reduce food waste and increase awareness that the manicured perfection we've all become used to from the grocery store comes at a cost: of pesticides, GMOs, huge amounts of food waste, and so many more harmful practices. I believe eating and supporting organic farms means shifting our perspectives a bit! And yes, perhaps some more washing up.

There are customers who exclaim in excitement that 'the bug bites on my kale let me KNOW that it's organic' or spot the dirt on their potatoes and ask how to get the soil so black and rich in their own gardens. 

And there are customers who ask for tomatoes in their Veggie Box in April, not yet knowing that they don't come into season until mid June, or who aren't used to having to wash the dirt from their carrots before eating. 

One customer is not better than the other. They're just on a spectrum of un-learning the grocery store. Of re-learning how to eat seasonally, locally, organically. We all are. And that's a beautiful thing to be learning about in the modern world!

There's so much joy in waiting all year for a taste of the season's fist tomatoes and blackberries and cucumbers. Of knowing that your potatoes and onions are fresh from the field of your local farmer instead of some warehouse on the other end of the world. 

Let's celebrate these opportunities to connect with what makes us a living breathing part of this world. 💜

In this week's Veggie Box:

Sungold & Supersweet Cherry Tomatoes, Potatoes, Pattypan Squash, Sweet Peppers, Sugar Beets OR Cucumbers

Recipes + Tips:

• If you’ve never cooked with pattypan squash before, they’re a little different from other summer squash. They have a funky shape similar to that of flying saucers – short, squat, and round – and their texture is a bit more firm, which makes them perfect for stuffing! I usually opt for sausage, pepper + potato stuffing (perfect for this week's veggie box) but also love this variation with rice, peppers + tomatoes.
• Beet, zucchini, tomatoes and more all make a gorgeous and tasty Puff Pastry Tart. Use your Pattypan Squash just like any other zucchini here and in other reccpies - sauteed, ribboned and more!
• Summer panzanella - this bright, bold salad is a great showcase for pattypan squash + chery tomatoes.
• Patty Pan Squash is a unique and fun summer squash variety, and we loved this Grilled Patty Pan Squash with crumbled goat cheese, served alongside the pasta salad below.
• I've had this pasta salad on repeat for weeks now, with minor variations depending on what's harvesting that day. It couldn't be easier to whip up the dressing in the bowl and then add your cooked pasta + chopped  veggies! This variation, more deli antipasto inspired, included salami, pepperoni + goat cheese in addition to the tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and onions. 

• • 
  • The Dressing: Red wine vinegar, garlic powder, salt, Encompass Infused Olive Oil + Lemon Pepper Rosemary Seasoning. 
  • When cooking the pasta for the above pasta salad, I reserved half - and the water it was cooked in - for this super fresh and simple veggie pasta that hit ALL the spots. This is one of those simple, classic summer dishes that embodies seasonal eating and relies on high quality fresh ingredients!
  • Start by sautéing onions + garlic in butter until caramelized. Add halved Cherry tomatoes, a robust parm or asiago, and a hefty splash of your reserved pasta water, covering and simmering for a few minutes until tomatoes are soft. Pour over your pasta + in this case, some leftover grilled squash. Top with fresh basil, Finishing Salt + our Infused Olive Oil!
  • Shop Farm-Grown Goods for local pick up + nationwide shipping
• These beet patties with potato are crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. They make a delicious, healthy snack, side dish or vegetarian meal!
• This week's baby sugar beets are perfect for roasting whole, which brings out their sweetness. Oven roasted baby beets layered on top of a bed of lush creamy hummus with pops of pomegranate and pine nuts. This is a delicious side dish to serve for lunch or dinner.
• Roasted Beet, Baby Kale and Brie Quiche. Don't worry though, if you aren’t into beets you’ll still love this. I mean, did I mention the brie? I don’t think I did. There is BRIE in the this quiche.
• One pan Italian Sausage, Potatoes + Sweet Peppers. I may or may not have tailored Veggie Boxes this week for the purpose of including potatoes and sweet peppers specifically for this recipe...
• The best use for any leftovers from the above sheet pan - breakfast hash with potatoes + sweet peppers!
  
• A fun twist on the classic summer side dish: grilled pepper potato salad with creamy mustard dressing. Full of sweet peppers, crispy potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, green onions and lots of fresh herbs. If you need a side dish for any summer cookouts…this is it!
  
• Portuguese Baked Chicken Thighs with Potatoes Peppers and Olives. The recipe is super easy. The ingredients are boneless skinless chicken thighs, baby potatoes, zucchini, red and yellow bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, lots of garlic, green olives and paprika. Toss everything together, throw it in the pan, and bake!
• Grilled Personal Pattypan Pizza: I saw this recipe and thought, 'how fun would that be for kids!" but I don''t know who I'm trying to fool - this sounds delish and fun for adults too!
  

Made to Make Farm to Table Easy: