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THIS WEEK’S FRUIT
Summerset Peaches
Bright yellow with hardly no blush to speak of, the Summerset is a freestone that boasts a bold flesh that has a strong peach flavor. Sweet and juicy but with a tart, acidic bite, it makes for a nice contrast as a follow-up to the extremely sweet Cal Red.
Flame Seedless Grapes
Firm, large and sweet the Flame Seedless grapes are one of the most popular varieties in North America. Enjoy these out of hand or try them in a variety of salads.
Emerald Beaut Pluots
A freestone plum, the Emerald Beaut is a delicate green that turns golden with a hint of a blush. It has a firmer texture than the Santa Rosa with a crisp almost crunchy mouthfeel. One of our most hardy fruit, the Emerald Beaut just gets sweeter and sweeter without losing texture as it ages.
Dapple Dandy Pluots
Playfully called the “dinosaur egg” pluot, the Dapple Dandy has marbled pink and green skin over delicate white flesh threaded with rose. Kids especially love this pluot for its distinctive coloration and the lack of tartness in the skin.
Flavor Heart Pluots
The Flavor Heart gets its name from its distinctively tapered shape. Its meaty, pale yellow flesh is very low in acid and the sweetness and color contrasts strikingly with its dark purple almost black skin. The Flavor Heart is quickly becoming a favorite amongst our pluot fans.
August Red Nectarines
The August Red is elegantly shaped and rich in flavor, with deep red skin and warm orange flesh. It’s taste and texture bring our nectarine season to a close beautifully.
A NOTE FROM SARAH
This past week brought warm sunshine and cooler breezes to the Farm. The season is changing and it shows in the intensity of the heat and length of the shadows as the sun rises in the east to warm the trees and sets behind Mt. Diablo in the west, cool breezes chasing it over the horizon. The pace in the fields is still frenzied with the picking of the Warren Pears under way and the harvest of our delicious Emerald Beaut plums. I will admit, when I see the bright cheerful green of the EB’s coming in from the orchards and the bins and bins of Warrens stacking up in the cooler I know I can take a deep breath and start to allow myself to relax. Harvest for 2014 is almost completed. Almost. There’s still a lot of work, but we’re in the home stretch.
The month of August brings the return to school for many of our children. Gone are the lazy mornings of letting kids sleep in while we parents linger a little longer over our cup of coffee or tea. Back is the frenzied chaos of get- ting everyone up, fed, lunches made and off to school on time. I don’t know about everyone else, but I dread packing lunches for my daughter, Analise(8). What can I put in her lunch that will nourish her mind and body while satisfying her 8-year-old taste buds? What will be eaten and not come home warm and crushed having been jostled around in a lunch bag all day? And of course, it’s carried home by an incredibly cranky child who hasn’t eaten all day. Yay. Thank goodness our Emerald Beauts are awesome in lunches. They hold up well if put in whole and if you cut them up, they don’t get slimy and mushy. Feel free to email us what you are putting in your kids lunches. I for one I would LOVE some fresh healthy ideas!
For the month of September we’ve partnered with the American Heart association in helping to create awareness of Childhood Obesity. We had our girls, Maddie (11), Millie (8) and Analise (8) share their favorite healthy recipes this past week. We’ll be sharing those with you as well as asking you and your families to share with us what you do to stay healthy as a family and what it is that your children eat that is delicious AND good for them. We’re pretty excited about this partnership and will be donating $1.00 for every sale we get online at www.froghollow.com for the entire month. If you haven’t yet ordered anything on our website, then remember that as a CSA member you get a discount AND for the month of September you’d be helping us donate to a really great cause. So, if there is anyone you have been thinking about gift- ing the taste of Frog Hollow Farm to, do it in September and help us donate to the American Heart Association!
Enjoy the last “free” days of summer. Rest well, eat well and be happy.
