The other day I was familiarizing Carrie, who joined our farm staff some seven weeks ago, with shishito peppers, and as I did so I regaled her with a story from ten years or so ago, when I planted a hot pepper variety indistinguishable from a sweet bullshorn, and the two varieties got mixed up in the field until it was anybody's guess what we were about to put into our mouths. Then I proceeded with the instruction, noting, to my frustration, that one of the patches of peppers bore slightly smaller fruits than the other two. Well, Carrie picked the peppers, as instructed, and I later put them away, mixing the baskets together as I put them in boxes, and swiping a few for my dinner, pictured above. When I went to eat them I realized that half the peppers were not, in fact, shishitos, but the moderately hot pepperoncini peppers I decided to plant one winter's day, shivering and dreaming longingly for heat. Oops. So, this week, and this week only, the shishitos and pepperoncinis are mixed together. I recommend cooking them as pictured above, in a hot pan with oil, until soft and just starting to brown, then eat the whole thing (except the stem) seeds and all. Pepperoncinis are only a bit hot, much less than a jalapeno, so that even I can handle them without much difficulty.
Also we are offering a product this week I'm calling "rapini senza testa". It is broccoli raab which I planted too early for the normal flower buds to develop and so we harvested it for its greens. If you enjoy the flavor and slight bitterness of broccoli raab, this green is definitely for you! If you don't,, I advise you to steer clear, and wait a week or two until the kale becomes ready for your greens fix.
Also I wanted to let you know that some of the beets we are offering this week were grown by my friend Menno. It is very rare I buy in a product from another farm, but I didn't have a good beet crop myself (so far-- there are some currently growing) and Menno did. He is not certified organic, but Menno grows chemical free and I have complete trust in his integrity.
