From next week, Manu, our expert baker, will be taking a three-week break (August 11-30). To stock up, order now via our order system.
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Yiftah Bareket, a baker , chef and a good friend, heartily invites you all to join him for a vegan colorful summer menu cooking workshop which will change your cooking experience forever.
Cooking with Yiftah is an inspiring once-in-a-lifetime experience, reminding us what nutrition is all about. Highly recommended for those interested in natural food, so rare at this time.
The event: Friday, August 2, 9:00-14:30 in the Alfasi site, Tel Aviv (near Yaffo). Places are limited, so hurry up and register now!
The workshop will conclude with a delicious meal for all.
In addition, Yiftah has received requests to repeat the sourdough bread workshop in the Tel Aviv area. For anyone interested in hosting him in his/her house (all you need is a home oven and spacious area), he will be happy to conduct the workshop during August.
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It’s the end of the month again…
The month ends this week, and we will be billing your cards on Tuesday for July purchases. Please make sure you inform us by Tuesday morning of any changes. Last-minute changes will be balanced next month.
We would like to remind you that you are now able to view your billing history in our Internet-based order system. It’s easy. Simply click the tab “דוח הזמנות ותשלומים” where the history of your payments and purchases is clearly displayed.
Please make sure the bill is correct, or let us know of any necessary revisions. At the bottom of the bill, the words סה”כ לתשלום:0 (total due: 0) should appear. If there is any number other than zero, this means we were unable to bill your card and would appreciate your contacting us. Our thanks!!
Note: The invoice title is standard for all bills. It reads: “Vegetables, fruits, dates.” This does not mean we bill you for something you did not purchase. If you only received vegetables, you will only be billed for vegetables. Not fruit or dates…
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Black-Eyed Beauties
So today Shalom appeared on the threshold. I’ve known Shalom for over a year, but never quite caught his last name. In my contact info he’s termed “Shalom Okra.” Last year he arrived out of nowhere and asked if we grew okra. We told him we sure did, and after he examined the pods with careful enthusiasm, he bought a whole crate of them (10 kg!) to happily take home. To our amazement, he arrived again two weeks later to purchase more okra… But, this time he took notice of the Thai yard-long beans and was hooked. It was love at first bite.
This week rolled around, and lo and behold, Shalom returns. When I asked how he knew the okra and Thai yard-long beans had just begun their summer debut, he simply responded: I smelled them. And I believe him. Yes, it is true. Over the past weeks the black-eyed peas have begun ripening in nice quantities, making a formal announcement that summer is at its peak. The black-eyed peas (V. unguiculata ssp. Sesquipedalis) are relatives of the common bean, chickpeas, soy, fava bean and other members of the Faboideae family we so love to munch on. Like them, the black-eyed peas wear two outfits: the green dress, eaten in long green pods, and the dry ensemble where only the dried-up seeds are consumed.
We grow two types of black-eyed peas (lubia): the “short” classic type (short, but still longer than the green bean) and the Thai yard-long beans, which are the first to ripen. Although you have already met the Thai yard-long beans in your boxes, they are generally lesser known, which is why we will dedicate this week’s newsletter to this remarkable vegetable.
In English it is known as the yard-long bean, bora beans, long-podded cowpea, asparagus bean, pea bean, snake bean, or Chinese long bean. All names relate to its various characteristics: this bean originates in South-East Asia, hence the “Chinese” or “Thai” title, and can reach the lofty length of one meter (though it’s generally harvested young, at approximately 30 cm., measuring 1 cm in thickness). It brings to mind the asparagus in diameter and length, and because of its flexibility, may resemble a thin, green snake (to those of you with overactive imaginations). Its taste ranges between that of green beans and fresh black-eyed peas (not as sweet as the beans), whilst the texture is more like the black-eyed pea, less crunchy than the green bean and more flexible and bendable.
It needs more heat than the green bean, and deals quite well with the months of summer heat (which certainly cannot be said about green beans). It is seeded in late spring, and we trellis it like peas, on poles with a net spread between the stalks on which the young plants climb efficiently and expertly. The blooming begins within three months with a couple of beautiful flowers on each pole, resembling two butterflies. A couple of beans ripen from those two, adjacent to each other at the ends, like a couple of twin green worms (I just managed to think up a new name!)
These beans must be harvested with care, as the bloom pole continues to develop flowers throughout the season. Contrary to green beans or peas, it grows slowly and yields pods only after more than three months (compared to two or less), but we can harvest from it on and on, till the temperatures drop in wintertime.
The Thai yard-long bean can be harvested, like at Chubeza, at a young stage, at less than 30 cm and at the thickness of 1 cm, and used like one would prepare a fresh black-eyed pea or green bean. You can also allow the pods to mature on the plant and use the black, red or white (depending on the variety) seeds as you would dry black-eyed pea pods or any dry bean.
We grow the green type with black seeds inside, but all over Asia there is a wide and colorful variety. The pods themselves come in green and reddish-purple and the seeds are black, white, brown, red, and more…
The Thai yard-long bean can be used in recipes calling for green bean or fresh black-eyed pea, including soups and quiches. In China, it is easily stir- fried, and actually the original bean to have been used in stir-fried dishes. It tastes wonderful with fish and even pickled. The yard-long bean is rich in vitamin A and contains a good quantity of vitamin C as well.
Some of the recipes included this week range from easy to complicated, but they’re all delicious. But if you don’t feel like lighting a cooking flame in this scorching summer, you are welcome to grab a long snake bean and simply… nibble.
Wishing us a week of summery abundance and a feeling of true vacation,
Alon, Bat Ami, Ya’ara and the Chubeza team, nibbling and sweating away
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WHAT’S IN THIS WEEK’S BOXES?
Monday: Lettuce, butternut squash/pumpkin, bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, Thai yard-long beans/okra, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, dill/arugula, corn. Small boxes only: garlic chives
In the large box, in addition: Nana (mint), kale/New Zealand spinach, leeks, radishes
Wednesday: fresh red onions, butternut squash, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, chives, arugula/nana, okra / Thai yard long beans, eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, corn – for small boxes only
In the large box, in addition: a slice of pumpkin, New Zealand spinach, leeks, potatoes
And there’s more! You can add to your basket a wide, delectable range of additional products from fine small producers: flour, sprouts, fruits, honey, crackers, probiotic foods, dried fruits and leathers, olive oil and bakery products too! You can learn more about each producer on the Chubeza website. On our order system there’s a detailed listing of the products and their cost, you can make an order online now!
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Recipes:
Mae Karal Curry (String/ Yard long Beans)
Ideas for using and a stir fry recipe
Chinese Long Beans with Cracked Black Pepper
Long Bean, Cucumber, and Tomato Salad