Week 10

Two kinds of peaches-summer lady and elberta. Fire sweet and fire pearl nectarines. The plums are fortune and satsuma.

There are only two more weeks of summer fruits. Many of the local peaches are done for the season. I’m going to miss these treats. The grapes are beginning to come to market, along with figs. The Valley has a big fig celebration next week in honor of this ancient fruit still grown here.

this week’s csa offerings

These grapes came in the csa box. Called champagne grapes, they are very tiny berries that explode in your mouth with sweet juice. It’s a once-a-year treat from our csa grower.

Hot July Day

Today was Ladies Who Lunch at Batterup Pancakes, a small family-run restaurant in my neighborhood.

That’s my friend Gladys who brought Helen, my other friend, and me some of her first cherry tomatoes. I ate mine immediately while we caught up with one another and attempted to decide what to order at this breakfast specialty house.

Being noon, we all bypassed the breakfast offerings and went with salads and sandwiches. Since I am on the lookout for a good local hamburger, that was my selection. I was not disappointed and would return for another burger when the craving hits. We have three places in the bay area where we get excellent burgers and a beer. No beer at Batterup, unless you count root beer, which I had.

After lunch I swung by and picked up my csa boxes. Here is Week 7′s stone fruit offering:

Middle of the summer

This is Box 6 of our summer fruit subscription. Since there will be 12 boxes, this is the middle.

There are three plum varieties in this assortment, along with one peach variety and one type of nectarine that we’ve had before.

The nectarines are very ripe so we are quickly devouring them.

Week 5

Last Saturday, while we were in San Mateo taking care of grandchildren, there was a major celebration in this area-the Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee. A group from our church went to this where local growers brought their best fruit to be tasted.

Two of the most popular fruits from that big party are in my box–Earlirich peaches and June Pearl nectarines.

I will be interested in seeing how good these two stone fruits taste in comparison with other pieces and if I agree with the crowds at the Jubilee.

Yellow and white

As in peaches and nectarines. This is Week 3 of the csa fruit boxes Sadly, there are only three pluots, and the note says it’s the last of that variety. This variety has dark red flesh and tastes like a Santa Rosa plum of yesteryear that I remember as a child.

Although cool it’s still summer

This is Week 2 of my CSA fruit box. Even though we had a ferocious wind storm yesterday and temperatures have dropped to 70, the summer produce is coming in bountiful amounts.

This week’s box contained two kinds of peaches, princess time and spring snow; two nectarine varieties, red Roy and rose diamond. There are a couple of flavorosa pluots and a few earliqueen plums.

Notice those names? These are organic heirloom varieties. Not just white peach or yellow nectarine.

Looking forward to lovely fruit for the next week.

It’s been a produce-laden summer

Although summer arrived late to the San Joaquin Valley, it made a glorious time once it got here. The fruits and vegetables have been outstanding, and our CSA box has been overflowing every week with wonderful goodness. I chose to get an additional box each week of stone fruit and have swooned at the wonderful selection. I had thought last week was the end since it was the twelfth week, but I was totally surprised today when I went to pick up the veggie box and found one more fruit box. Another swoon.

The veggie box had lots of goodies like potatoes, lettuce, onions, peppers, and even an eggplant. Also tomatoes and grapes that you can see in the bowl with all the fruit:

The farm from which we get our CSA box, TD Willey Farms, is known for a special type of basil. Last year they had a hard time getting their crop in because of a type of mite that attacked the plants. Being all organic, they had to figure out how to get rid of the mite without chemicals. It was a long process, and this summer the basil has been spectacular, as you can see from the big bunch that just arrived:

Among the box of stone fruit was one unusual fruit. Shaped like a pluot, colored like a peach, with skin like an apricot, meet Bella Royale, a peacotum:

Outside

 

Inside

A peacotum is a brand new hybrid developed by Blossom Bluff Orchards that combines peach, apricot, and plum genetics into a single fruit with the qualities of all three. We only got one of these gems, and it was delicious. Can’t wait until next year.

Like peas in a pod

I got a big bag of spring peas in my CSA box this week.

Terry was gone all day, editing and delivering video. It was a hot, almost summer-like afternoon with temperatures in the 90s. A good time to shell peas.

They went quite well with the chicken and rice casserole I fixed for dinner last night.

Peach season

For the summer, my CSA offered a stonefruit collection each week along with my usual box of produce.  I jumped at the chance because the producer has a small farm with one-of-a-kind trees and the fruit usually goes to fancy restaurants in the LA and Bay area, not to local grocers.  Here was my chance to have tree-ripened fruit that was grown only a few miles from my house, much of it of heirloom quality.

It has been wonderful.  My only complaint would be too many nectarines and that’s because I am not a big fan of that stonefruit but my neighbor has been delighted to take my extras.  We are now in the heart of peach season, and here is what I got yesterday (just peaches, there were also nectarines and plums).

Three kinds of peaches

Although I love to just eat a fresh peach, I also like to bake with them so today I decided to make peach dumplings.  I wrapped a piece of puff pastry around each peach after I had peeled, halved and filled it with sugar, spices and butter.  Sprinkled more sugar on top and baked for about 25 minutes.  Delicious.

Peach dumpling

I’m thinking about making some peach salsa as I got tomatoes, onions, and a jalapeno pepper in my produce box.  Just need to find a recipe.