Every week I pull a random share out of the boxes, arrange the vegetables so they're all visible, and take a snap shot for the blog. Not all of the shares are exactly the same, there's a lot of variation in the harvest. So, when we pack the shares, we aim to give everyone a good share but not identical shares. Occasionally we have a little extra of something and a few shares will get a little bonus, or one crop is on rotation. In that case I try to avoid the shares with extra and take a photo that's more representative. Today I realized after taking the photo that the share I picked has beans, which are on rotation and are not in everyone's shares.
There's a lot of variety in the shares this time of year. Today's share has summer standards like lettuce, squash, cucumbers and tomatoes. The tomatoes really slowed down with the rain but I'm hoping they'll pick back up with some heat. Besides those summer standards there are also a few other items. Basil comes back around as does cilantro. The cilantro is harvested with the roots which are edible and are typically used in some Asian cuisines to add flavor.
Beets make their first appearance this year. These are kestrels which we actually transplanted after a few early beet plantings failed. Both the roots and tops are edible. It's a small quantity so I'd suggest peeling and shredding on salad, or grating them into rice and then frying them in patties. You could add the cilantro root here as well.
Sweet peppers are early this year, and so tasty. I'm hoping for a sunny warm fall to maximize the yield on these as they're one of my favorite fall treats.
Finally: shallots! Shallots are one of my favorite alliums, milder than onions with much better storage qualities. I tend to use them a little more like garlic than onion, finely mincing them for salad dressing, or carmelizing a few to top a bit of vegetables or pasta. The full crop is out of the ground so this is probably the only distribution for the year.
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