8/26/26 Congrats Leo & Katie - on the farm we’re still celebrating peppers!

This is a continuation of last week’s newsletter write up on Peppers, last week we had a focus on Hot Peppers and this week we’re focusing on Sweet Peppers.

Peppers themselves originated in the Americas, they arrived in Europe following Columbus’s voyages in the late 1400s and spread remarkably quickly throughout the Mediterranean. Italy embraced them especially enthusiastically, developing regional varieties selected for everything from sweetness and frying quality to heat and drying. Today, peppers are so closely associated with Italian cuisine that it’s easy to forget they were a relatively recent arrival from across the Atlantic.

Our primary Sweet Peppers are on rotation this week after going into Family Boxes this year are all Italian Sweet Peppers. Some of the smaller smoother ones being specifically Corno di Toro or “horn of the bull”. The big ones are a a mix of two varieties, Perfect Italian Sweet & Perfect Golden Italian, that are from a favorite small seed company in Colorado (Wild Mountain). Although Cornos are slightly thinner walled, these are bred to be vigorous, do well in cold climates sweet and thick walled. They are mixed together and we can barely tell the difference.

A cute note about the Corno di Toros we grow Carmen and Escamillo. Carmen, one of the, was named after Carmen from the opera, while its yellow counterpart Escamillo was named after Carmen's bullfighter love interest—which is especially apt for a pepper whose name means bull’s horn.

We love these Italian Sweet Peppers better than bells. Maybe because bells haven’t done well for us. BUT we are giving Bell Peppers a try again this year as we have certainly upped our pepper game over the past couple of years. You won’t see those for at least a few weeks.

We also have Lunch Box Peppers in our Pint Share and hopefully moving their way around. These are adorable little sweet peppers—essentially snack-sized, with thin, crisp walls, very few seeds, and lots of sweetness. They’re perfect eaten whole right out of the fridge, tucked into lunches, dipped in hummus, or quickly blistered in a hot pan.

Lastly we’ll have a few Jimmy Nardellos. They are technically also an Italian Sweet Pepper but they are much thinner bodied and thinner walled. We had some germination issues so there fewer than we would like. It has a particularly wonderful history. In 1887, Giuseppe and Angela Nardiello immigrated from southern Italy to Connecticut carrying seeds of their family's favorite pepper. Their son Jimmy continued growing and saving it, eventually giving the seeds to Seed Savers Exchange. More than a century after those seeds crossed the Atlantic, farmers like us are still growing them.

A note on peppers in general. The redder or yellower they get, the sweeter they get! A green and a red pepper can actually be the same pepper at different stages of ripeness. As the fruit matures, chlorophyll breaks down, other pigments become visible, and the flavor gets sweeter and fruitier. So when we harvest these fully colored peppers, we've left them on the plant considerably longer.

Fall Workshops coming up - THIS WEEKEND!

Our Fall Home Farmer Workshops are coming up on 8/29 and 9/12. Come join us to talk about autumn and winter farming, cover crops, direct seeding and more.

This Week’s Box

Baby Bok Choi

🍅 Mixed Tomato Quart 🍅

Rainbow Chard (SR) OR Toscano Kale (WC)

Sweet Peppers (SR) OR Eggplant (WC)

Summer Squash (SR) OR Cucumbers (WC)

Strawberries (SR) OR Cherry Tomatoes (WC)

Genovese Basil (SR) OR Parsley (WC)

Family: Panisse Lettuce & Scallions

Produce Notes & Recipes

So now let’s talk about what to do with your Italian Sweet Peppers!

You certainly can chop them into a salad or eat them raw, but I'd vote for heat. These peppers were made for frying, blistering, roasting and grilling. Here are three directions you could take them:

1. Italian Fried Peppers with Garlic & Basil
Slice the peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds. Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a skillet and cook the peppers over medium-high heat until blistered and beginning to collapse. Lower the heat, add sliced garlic and a pinch of salt, and cook until the peppers are completely silky. Finish with torn basil and a splash of red wine vinegar. Pile onto toasted bread, tuck into a sandwich, toss with pasta, or eat straight from the pan.

2. Blistered Sweet Peppers with Tomatoes & Feta
Halve the peppers lengthwise and toss with olive oil and salt. Roast at 450°F until browned and blistered, about 15–20 minutes. Add a handful of cherry tomatoes for the last 8–10 minutes. Finish with crumbled feta, basil or parsley, olive oil and a little vinegar or lemon. Serve warm with crusty bread to mop up all the juices.

3. Sweet Pepper Pasta with Garlic & Parmesan
Cut the peppers into long strips and sauté slowly in olive oil with sliced garlic until very soft and beginning to caramelize. Add a splash of pasta water and toss with hot pasta, Parmesan and lots of black pepper. Finish with basil and another drizzle of olive oil. The peppers almost melt into a sweet, silky sauce.

Enjoy!!

We do not have a lettuce this week but we do have a delightful crop of “Baby” Bok Choi. Some of it is not quite so baby. If you want a green salad, certainly those of you with kale can make a kale salad or here’s an idea for Bok Choi. I guess our kids do better with raw greens than cooked so we tend toward that in our kitchen, but it’s also so tender and yummy. We often just chop a bit into our salad, but here’s an idea for a salad all on it’s own. Of note, Bok Choi also makes a very smooth green smoothie, last night Farmer Paul did Bok Choi, Apple and protein powder (I do Bok Choi, Cucumber and Apple).

Baby Bok Choi Salad

• 1 bunch baby bok choi cleaned & sliced (the white stems thin)

• 1 cucumber, sliced (optional)

• Leftover roasted/grilled chicken or tofu (optional)

• Chopped Nuts (peanuts, almond, cashews)

• 1.5 Tbs rice wine vinegar

• 2 Tbs soy sauce

• 1 Tbs olive oil

• 2 tsp sesame oil

• 2 Tbs apple or orange juice (optional)

• 1 tsp grated ginger

1. Whisk vinegar, soy sauce, oils, juice and ginger together.

2. Pour and toss over bok choi, cucumber and protein. Garnish with nuts.

We did a switch on Cucumbers and Summer Squash this week. We were remiss on doing this earlier in the summer because it keeps those of you on bi-weekly schedules on a similar product too long

’Tis the season for so many recipes with tomatoes. I made the below this weekend and the jammy sweetness of the tomatoes was divine.

Do keep in mind that we have BULK tomatoes on the add-on store. This is great for canning or freezing but also Gazpacho or tomato soup. The item on the store has my basic recipe for frozen roasted tomatoes - an amazing way to bring summer sweetness into winter.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Jammy Tomatoes & Garlic

• 1 lb boneless or bone-in chicken thighs

• 1½–2 lb ripe tomatoes

• 5–6 cloves garlic, smashed or sliced

• ½ onion, thinly sliced, optional

• 2–3 Tbs olive oil

• 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste

• Lots of black pepper

• ½ tsp red pepper flakes, optional

• 1 tsp dried oregano or a few sprigs thyme/rosemary

• 1 Tbs balsamic or red-wine vinegar

• Big handful fresh basil or parsley

• Optional: Parmesan or feta for serving

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Put tomatoes, garlic and onion in a baking dish. Toss with about 2 Tbs olive oil, ½ tsp salt, pepper, herbs and pepper flakes. Roast 15 minutes to get the tomatoes collapsing.

2. Add the chicken. Season thighs generously with salt and pepper. Nestle them down among the partially roasted tomatoes. Drizzle with a little olive oil.

3. Roast uncovered another 20–30 min, depending on whether your thighs are boneless or bone-in. Chicken thighs are particularly good taken beyond the minimum safe, 175–185°F makes them more tender.

4. Make it saucy. Remove the chicken and stir 1 Tbs vinegar into the tomatoes, scraping up all the browned bits. If the tomatoes have produced lots of liquid, put the pan back in the oven for another 5–10 minutes to concentrate it.

5. Finish heavily with fresh basil. Taste for salt and vinegar. You want the tomatoes rich, jammy, garlicky and just a little acidic.

Extra Shares

Lettuce Share: Panisse & Kolibri 🥬

Bunched Greens Share: 🌈 Rainbow Kale

Herb Bundle: Thai Basil

Summer Pint: Lunch Box Peppers🌶️