This week marks the start of the sumer season at the Tempe CSA, so I thought I'd discuss some of the vegetables and fruits that grow to maturity during this period of time. The produce that I discuss will not necessarily show up at the Tempe CSA because that is completely dependent on what the Crooked Sky Farm is able to provide us with, but these are great options to grow in a personal garden if gardening is one of your hobbies! There are a lot of fruits that grow during the summer, so I think that some of our members at the CSA will be happy with the variety that they will receive this season. For instance, last week we received watermelon for the first time since I started my internship and many people were excited to see them.
Some other fruits that show up during the summertime are apples, plums, apricots, berries, melon, cherries, grapes, limes, mangos, and peaches. It would be great to see some of these selections at the CSA because I know that there are a lot of fruit lovers out there. However, if we do not get them in at the CSA, Arizona is know for having a great climate to grow fruit trees in. Anyone can easily plant one of these trees if the have a place to put them so that they can enjoy these delicious selections during the summer. While they make take a few years to mature, if residents have a permanent place that they are living or if they can become a part of a community garden these are both viable options.
Sadly, the summer season has lost us many members at the CSA due to people going on vacation or moving away. Hopefully the new members that have joined and the existing members that have renewed will be able to continue on with us in future seasons so that the Tempe CSA can continue to grow and provide great local and organic food to people in the city.
We've had a few new and interesting options in the two weeks since the new season started, and I'd like to take the time to talk about them because there were a lot of members that had not heard of them before! We have a much smaller turn out this season than we did last season due to many of our members traveling for the summer or moving, but all of the new selections that we have had this summer have made our returning members very excited! First, we have purslane pictured on the right. It is considered to be a weed, and this was the question of many of the members that came through the CSA on Thursday. The whole plant is edible in its entirety, and it can be used for many different culinary options. As many members who already knew about purslane mentioned, it is a great leafy vegetable to cut up and add to a raw salad. Other uses include adding it to a stir fry or a soup for some extra flavor. Last, it is similar to spinach so it can also be cooked this way for those who enjoy the taste! It can be found in many countries all over the world, and it has more of a sour or salty taste so it can be coupled with many different foods! I enjoyed it so much that I started eating it raw while I was finishing up the day at the Tempe CSA last Thursday, and I am hopeful that we are able to get some more this week!
The next new option that we received last week were tomatillos, pictured on the left. There were some members that were very excited about this selection and some that had never heard of it before. I was in the latter category, so I decided to do some research to find out about them! They were first grown in Mexico and are often found in different Mexican dishes, especially in green sauce, but now they are grown throughout the Western Hemisphere. The fruit has a husk that it grows inside, and at full maturity they reach a bright green color. They have a tart or sour taste, so many people do not enjoy eating them raw and would rather roast them or mix them in with vegetables and spices. I have yet to try mine, but I will probably use it to make a salsa with some chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic, and jalepeno! I look forward to hearing what some of our members have chosen to do with their share in the past week so that I can pass that information along to those who have not yet figured out a good way to use them!
