Tomatillos, Okra and More!

We are at the heart of the season now and summer veggies are peaking. This past week, we received fresh garlic - which simply means it has just come out of the ground and hasn't cured. I am sure you have or will notice the garlic hanging all over the barn. We will receive all this garlic that is hanging from now through the winter shares into 2019! Use the garlic we receive now as you would any other garlic, but store it in the fridge. Note that it is potent at this stage so you may want to try it and use a little less than normal - unless of course you want to scare the vampires away!

We had a nice surprise with the tomatillos on the U Pick board this past week. It is one of the veggies I didn't appreciate until I was an Anchor Run member. Tomatillos look like small green tomatoes and in fact in the same family. Nutritionally speaking, they are low in calories, high in dietary fiber and good contributors of vitamins A, B, C, K as well as the minerals potassium, magnesium and copper. Tomatillos store very well in the fridge, lasting for at least 2-3 weeks. I normally use them once I have 2 weeks worth of my share. A lot can be done with tomatillos - raw, they can be added to salads or used to make a salsa, either as a primary ingredient or in combination with tomatoes. Some of my favorites on this site from over the years include Chicken Stew with Tomatillo Sauce - I make batches of the sauce when I receive my share and freeze it in 2 cup batches. Then I can use the sauce as either a salsa or as the base for the chicken recipe, which comes out delicious as written but is really stepped up when put in a pressure cooker. Also, Grilled Salsa Verde and the Slow Cooker Chicken or Pork Chile Verde are both amazing!

Okra is another veggie I didn't know much about until Anchor Run. I had used it in making my version of Gumbo, but since I always make it in the winter for Super Bowl, I had only used frozen okra. Okra is a nutritional powerhouse, containing the vitamins A, B, C, E and K, plus calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron. Okra does not store for very long and is best used within 3-4 days. Some of my favorite recipes on this site are Easy Indian-Style Stewed Okra, Louisiana Shrimp Gumbo (a much lighter version than what a "typical" gumbo is - this one also includes celery and celery leaves), and the Okra with Corn and Tomatoes.

Enjoy the harvest!