Hello friends!! 

First things first - take this as a gentle reminder to get your orders in for tomorrow by TONIGHT!

On that note, we were just looking at the calendar and are amazed that we've already been doing our Harvest Boxes for 12 weeks! The summer has really flown by - wild that we emerge into September in just a few days! We've got lots going on for us right now, but one thing that we gotta mention right away is that this is our last official week of Harvest Boxes (in the usual format).

Originally we were planning on continuing the Harvest Boxes right through till October, but right now we're getting pulled away from that schedule because we're MOVING!

For the past year we've been temporarily based in Kelowna, but we're really excited to say that in September we are going to be moving out to a small cottage in Lake Country that is located right next door to the farm! We're extremely excited to be in such close proximity to the gardens and are already starting to imagine/plan/strategize for big moves next season.

For this reason we are going to taking a bit of a step back throughout September. We will still be doing sales - just not necessarily the same Harvest Boxes that we've been doing up until now. We are happy to invite anyone to come up to the farm if you haven't yet visited and we can show you around and do a custom harvest. We will also still be doing a few 'pop up' days of sales at the Kelowna address - think kind of like a mini farmer's market. Please reach out any time if you are wanting to pick some veggies up; we're also open to doing some deliveries. Follow along on our instagram (@tomatodaily_halfacre) for more updates on what kind of Fall crops we have ready throughout September & October.

SO!

Pick up this week will still be same as usual - Thursday evening in Kelowna between 5 - 7. In addition to this, we also want to invite anyone who is interested to come up to the farm Saturday afternoon for a little tour, and to pick up your veggies straight from the farm. We'll have some extra glasses of wine on hand, and we'd love to sip a bevvy with you. If you're planing on coming up then, please just let us know via an email and we look forward to seeing you!

ANYWAYS - This weeks items include:

Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Ground Cherries, Corn, Leek, Beets, Cucumber, Jalapeño peppers, Grilling peppers (shishito), Swiss Chard, Garlic, Herbs, and likely a few odds and ends we have kicking around.

Shishito

The perfect pepper for those of you who are interested in a hot pepper, but are a bit "heat-hesitant". They make a perfect side to any dish in my opinion; minimal effort and with some direct heat (grilled) each pepper transforms into a soft, crunchy, flavourful one-bite experience. This is a great simple recipe that also makes use of some beets!

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/beets-with-pecorino-pecans-and-shishito-peppers

Jalapeño

It’s time to quick pickle again, this time with Jalapeño! We will provide a jar if you don’t have one - just let us know.

https://www.loveandlemons.com/pickled-jalapenos/

Swiss Chard

We have grown a lot of chard this season, unlike most of our greens we planted, chard was the one that survived the heat wave, and had the least amount of insect damage. So for these reasons alone we love Chard, and it is beautiful. We have been cooking it up in many ways but our favourite has been in our breakfast scramble. Photos below are from Carla Lalli Music's wonderful book Where Cooking Begins.

Cantaloupe

Some fun cantaloupe recipes to try out! Probably the most excited about the last one… I’m a huge creamy fruity cocktail fan. But of course you can just eat it straight ;-)

Cantaloupe & Cucumber salad; https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cantaloupe-and-cucumber-salad

Cantaloupe with bacon cashew crumble;

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cantaloupe-with-bacon-cashew-crumble 

(for a vegetarian option, substitute the bacon for some oyster mushrooms) 

Tiki Cantaloupe coconut cocktail; https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/tiki-cantaloupe-coconut-cocktail

Ground Cherries

SO these are a new one for us. We weren't totally sure what to expect, but these are delicious! Check out this little write up to get all of your questions answered:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/five-ways-to-eat-ground-cherries-98470003/

You will without a doubt gobble these up like candy in one setting, share with your friends & family, maybe. 

Hmmm... I think that's all we have for now. But don't worry, this won't be the last time you hear from us. Thanks again to EVERYONE for your support this summer. Been a wild ride and we wouldn't be doing it if we weren't able to share the veggies with all of you wonderful people. As always, don't hesitate to get in touch.

Ta for now,

Forest, Graeme & Tomato