THIS WEEK’S FRUIT:
Pink Lady Apples
A cross between the Golden Delicious and Lady Williams, the Pink Lady is a crisp and juicy apple with a tart finish. Pink skins and a creamy white colored flesh that resists browning makes, this an excellent apple for salads and slicing.
Store on your counter out of direct light for 4-5 days. Refrigerate after to maintain crispness.
Warren Pears
This is Frog Hollow Farm’s signature pear and for good reason.It has a classic Euro- pean texture, very soft and juicy with a silky sweetness that avoids the typical grittiness found in most pears.
Pears are ripe when wrinkled and yielding slightly near the stem. Pears will store well in the fridge once they have reached your optimal ripeness.
Shinko Asian Pears
The Shinko is a large pear with its round shape slightly flattened. The skin is bronze with brown russeting and its juicy, creamy white flesh has a subtly rich flavor. One of the last pears to pick, it comes off the tree with a butterscotch note to its sweetness.
Enjoy these from the counter within 5-7 days.
Fuyu Persimmon
Chieci Farm, Live Oak, CA
The Fuyu has a crisp texture and delicate sweet flavor. They have a beautiful orange to red hue when ripe. They can be eaten out of hand with skin on or peeled.
Store on the counter for 3-5 days or refrigerate for longer enjoyment.
Hayward Kiwi
Chieci Farm, Live Oak, CA
Originally known as the Chinese gooseberry due to its Chinese orgins. Hawyward Wright, a New Zealand nurseryman propagated his plants by grafting and they eventually became the preferred cultivar of growers due to their sweet flavor and thin skin.
Ready to eat when they yield to gentle pressure. Store these on the counter for 4-5 days. Refrigerate for up to two weeks.
Hass Avocado
Abounding Harvest, Los Gatos, CA
Creamy in texture, nutty in flavor, with a small to medium seed. The Hass skin is easy to peel and darkens from green to purplish-black as it ripens.
Avocados will yield to pressure when ripe. Store on the counter.days. Refrigerate for up to two weeks.
Early Girl Tomato
The Early Girl is a tomato with quintessential old-fashioned tomato flavor and bright red color. They are know for their meaty texture and are ideal for sandwiches, salsa and stews.
Tomatoes are ready to eat. For best flavor, store on counter and eat within 4-5 days
A NOTE FROM FARMER AL
Early Girl Tomatoes
Dear CSA Members,
So sure, everybody grows them – they’re almost as common as grass. Backyard gardeners, school gardens, and yes, even Frog Hollow Farm has Early Girl Tomatoes. And every time I eat one I realize why…they are just so delicious! They are also versatile and can be used in stews, soups, salsas and salads!
Frog Hollow Farm’s bounty of late harvest Early Girl Tomatoes is a result of serendipitous events. We planted them for a new kid on the ketchup block – Lisa Murphy. You’ll soon see Lisa Murphy’s amazing ketchup sold at specialty stores under the Sosu brand.
We are delighted to announce that the Early Girl Tomatoes ripened beauti- fully. As tomatoes are new to our farm, we were surprised to see tomatoes that were planted so early flourish so late in fall. We then learned that farmers who specialize in tomatoes often plant Early Girls early for summer production and much later for fall production. This is one of the secrets to farming this amazing hybrid variety!
Although Early Girls are new on Frog Hollow Farm, tomatoes were the first commercial crop I grew as a beginning farmer in Hawaii back in 1974. Those tomatoes were a new hybrid called “N-69” created by the University of Hawaii for local conditions in the Hawaiian Islands. I can still remember the thrill I experienced when these first red tomatoes began to ripen on the vine.
Now, almost 40 years later, I’m still as thrilled and excited as ever to be grow- ing tomatoes, one of my favorite things to eat.
