It’s been such a hot week. While we complain and sweat and drink and try to cool ourselves off, there are actually those who are elated by the heat and humidity. One of them is the star of this week’s Newsletter!
At this very time, our eggplants are making their debut at Chubeza (to stay with us till autumn), as the sweltering outdoor temperatures remind them of their birthplace
Somewhere within the onset of the Great Heat, the middle of summer break, and the ideal moment for a family getaway, I had the chance to reflect a bit on the paradox of Family Vacations. My conclusion: they’re like summer itself – sometimes lots of fun, and sometimes sticky and crowded (and nearly unbearable). So in this vein, I thought I would tell you of some ancient families ties that accompany us throughout this scorching summer.
Two messages regarding Chubeza veggies: Our baladi eggplant has grown this year to really big dimenentions. It’s not because it was picked too late, it’s
Okra likes to prance around using her fancy name “Lady Fingers,” indicating that she must be treated with gentle respect. Before cooking, the tip must be gently cut off, taking care not to hurt the pod. In olden times, when a groom’s family wanted to “check out” a bride, they handed her a knife, a pile of okra, and put her to work. If she was able to properly slice it, this was a sign she was gentle and skilled.
Already 5,000 years ago, Chinese Caesar Shennong, considered to be the father of Chinese agriculture, declared soy one of the five most sacred types of grain essential to Chinese culture (together with rice, wheat, barley and millet). Its origins are in North China, from a wild plant named Glycine Ussuriensis.
The process of soy domestication, probably one of the first crops to be cultivated by man, began around the 11th century BC, both as food and for medicinal purposes.
It’s fascinating to ponder what this crop, which has served mankind from ancient times, has had to endure from when it was grown in Chinese fields over 5000 years ago mainly as green manure to improve the soil and enrich the earth for future crops. Today soy has morphed into a source for glue, dye, synthetic fiber, soap, ink, candles, lacquer, a rubber substitute, and of course, biodiesel fuel. From a sacred and dignified seed to a genetically-engineered, labeled, patented prisoner.
It’s been two full weeks since the official arrival of summer. At June’s end, we were rewarded several additional days of not-terribly-hot weather, but from last week, those long, scorching days moved in to stay.
These are indeed Days of Beginning – the beginning of summer, which is already knocking at our door, and the beginning of an abundance of vegetables. The hot temperatures and the long daylight hours propel the upright corn stalks to soar, bloom, struggle, fertilize and produce heavenly sweet yellow cobs. The cucumbers are now ripening at a brisk summer pace. We’ve already bid a fond farewell to the fakus, more of an “end-of spring” crop. The tomatoes are blushing furiously as they becoming tastier than they could ever get in winter, joined by their cute little cherry tomato sisters in the juicy, joyful red procession.
Each year, the summer brings a bevy of new vegetables, among them the rich array of tempting varieties of Chubeza’s squash and pumpkins. This ensemble comes in green, yellow, orange or beige, dotted and striped, smooth and coarse, round, elongated, pear-shaped, pinecone shaped, sharp, flat, small, large, and even extra-large. What a field day for the lovely colorful curcurbitas (Latin for a genus of the gourd family), all so beautiful and tasty!
This year we grew six different squash varieties, from the giant Tripolitanian pumpkin which can neatly transport a shoeless princess, through the middle-sized Napolitano pumpkin, the familiar butternut squash, the oh-so-orange Amoro squash, the distinctive spaghetti squash, all the way to the compact, fits-in-the-palm-of-your-hand green acorn squash. This broad range spans varieties that differ on the outside and within, varying in colors from yellowish green to salmon to dark orange, and in taste – a mild neutral flavor, or nutty or sweet, and in texture: moist and juicy, dry and starchy or long, thin spaghetti-style.
If these quantities seem overwhelming, fear not! We remind you that you needn’t use them right away. On your kitchen counter or in a wicker basket on the living room table, they’ll keep beautifully while enhancing your décor with a flair. If you keep them dry and ventilated, they’re good for another month or even two! If they start growing a thin spider-like web, just wipe it away with a dry cloth.
Over the past few weeks, your boxes have proudly hosted the king of summer, his royal highness The Corn. Each year he accompanies us from June to December. Corn is evidently one of the first crops the Americans
learned to grow some 7,000 years ago, but it was starchy and hard and not sweet at al… Over the years, due to a natural mutation, the sweet corn was created, with double amount of sugar.in its carnels. Since then, we are blessed with the sheer joy of sinking one’s teeth into a fresh ear of corn.
This year we are also growing white corn, another variety of sweet corn, but you probably won’t be treated to tasting totally white corn. If you come across cobs with white kernels, they will be bi-colored, with white and yellow kernels together… Why? We actually planted white corn, but several beds away was yellow corn. Since corn is pollinated by the wind, some of the pollen from the yellow corn reached the ovaries of the white corn flowers, transforming various kernels to yellow.
Summer officially arrives this week, and though this spring has been very gentle and (mostly) not-too-hot, we know without a doubt that the hot, heavy days are just around the corner. Yet while we moan and groan about the oppressive heat, the watermelon remains unfazed. It just loves the heat, a throwback to its origins in the southern part of the African continent, the Kalahari Desert. In the scorching desert, the watermelon, boasting a more-than-90% water content, was an important and vital source of liquid to humankind and wild animals. The difficulty in choosing a good watermelon is an old story. Even in its wild form, the sweet watermelon is identical on the outside to a bitter watermelon, necessitating the thirsty passerby to punch a hole in the watermelon rind to test its taste.