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THIS WEEK’S FRUIT:
Cal Red Peach
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
The beloved Cal Red is in a class by itself and is the “Oh my God” peach! A relatively new variety and a California native, the Cal Red was bred by University of California botanist Claron O. Hesse in the mid 1960s. Aptly named for the Golden State, the Cal Red is a beautiful golden peach marked with a gentle, sun-kissed blush.
August Red Nectarine
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
A late season nectarine that is elegantly shaped and rich in flavor, with deep red skin and warm orange flesh.
Flavor King Pluot
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
A dark-skinned pluot with red flesh, it has an intense rich flavor combined with sweet, spicy tones that are reminiscent of the Santa Rosa. A nice acid bite and firm texture that softens beautifully as the fruit continues to ripen, the Flavor King is amazing out of hand and equally good for baking.
Flavor Heart Pluot
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
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.
Red Seedless Grapes
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
Enjoy these out of hand or try them in green salads, chicken salads, or fruit salads. Grapes can be enjoyed from the counter within a few days of receiving your box or refrigerated to enjoy them further into the week.
A NOTE FROM CHEF BECKY:
Dear CSA Members,
We are at the peak of harvest right now, and I’m not even talking about the peaches; the Cal Reds are waning and the O’Henry’s are done but Summerset and Autumn Flame peaches will be here soon. The plums are peaking, with Emerald Beauts starting, and our new variety Crimson Royale coming on strong. Hosui and Shinseki Asian pears are coming on now and they are looking abundant, with Shinko close behind. And did I mention apples? The Pink Pearls and Gravensteins were picked this week. The pears came off last week and are tucked away nicely in their own special cold storage unit.
The orchard is busy, yes, but the garden is cranking out lots of basil, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, peppers and especially, tomatoes. With the heirlooms and the sauce varieties, the kitchen is working like crazy to keep up with all that the farm is producing. You can barely walk through the kitchen cooler now, with all the dried fruit, pallets of apples, picking totes stacked high full of tomatoes, peppers and squash, waiting to be roasted or to be made into soup, and carts full of cooling tomato conserva. We work double shifts this time of year as we cannot get everything done during the day shift. Jose owns the day, with fruit freezing and drying and pastry and conserve making. In the late afternoon, Maria and her crew make the new summer squash soup, crackers, tomato conserva and roasted tomatoes. They also prep the basil and process it for freezing so we can have pesto all year long in the shop and they roast the peppers for the roasted pepper sandwich and make pomegranate jelly when needed. Right now it’s all about tomatoes. We are processing over 3000 lbs of tomatoes per week, and that will go on for another 3 weeks at least. It will be frozen and will be the main ingredient of our Frog Hollow Farm ketchup, which is coming soon.
I am so thankful for the abundance of delicious fruits and vegetables that we have here and for all the great people who work here and make all this happen and, to you our CSA members for supporting us in trying new things!
Bon Appetit!
Chef Becky
