LOCAL PICKLING CUCUMBERS!
A 3 pound bag of pickling cukes for all of your pickling needs! These are some good Cucurbits.
Order here!

LOCAL HEIRLOOM TOMATOES!
Two pound bags of heirloom tomatoes from Atlas Farm are ready to go! These tomatoes are outstanding!
Order here!

MAINE WILD BLUEBERRIES!
Organic Maine wild blueberries are still available! We're offering 5lbs boxes of these fantastic low-bush blueberries. We'll fill your orders as supply permits!
Order here!

BANANAS
You can order organic bananas by the pound on our add-on order form! It's a great way to mix things up if you get an all-veggie box!
Order here!

VERMONT MAPLE SYRUP
Organic Maple Syrup from Dwight Miller and Son Orchards in Dummerston, VT is back in stock! Great for baking and pancakes as well as mixing in yogurt!
Order here!

STRAWBERRIES
One pound containers of strawberries from California are now available. Kids love them as will your inner child!
Order here!

This week's rain is a major relief. Last week, a drought advisory was issued for Northeastern and Central Mass. Some irrigated crops really explode under these conditions, and as Wally Czajkowski, owner of Plainville Farms and supplier of this week's green beans said to the Globe, it can be hard for growers when everything's ready at once. We try to do what we can to help our local growers move the things they've got a lot of, and late last week we got a telephone call from Gideon Porth at Atlas Farms: suffice to say, it's all tomatoes all the time out in the Atlas fields in Deerfield MA. If you recall last year Atlas was also bursting with tomatoes around this time, this year they cut their tomato acreage by 1/3 and they've still got the fair red fruits coming out of their ears. This week, almost everyone besides the only-fruit box folks will be getting a good amount of field-grown salad tomatoes from Atlas. Slice them up for salads or make some pasta sauce (Check out this recipe!), or just eat 'em straight up! They're great any which way.

And in more tomato news, we're going into our second week of heirloom tomatoes, also from Atlas Farms. We are tempted to eat these ourselves every time we walk by them in the cooler, so order some quick! We have 2 pound bags of mixed heirlooms (from Green Zebras to Valencias to Mr. Stripeys), you can get these bags as an Add-On here.

Atlas pickling cukes continue to roll in. We've got another pickle recipe for you this week, this one is quick and excellent. For those folks who want to try out making a larger amount of pickles, we've got Atlas pickling cukes in large, 3 pound bags as Add-Ons, for all of your pickling needs. Get 'em here!

For the first half of the week we will have Green Leaf lettuce from the Happy Valley Farmers' Co-op in western central Mass, and Atlas Green Leaf will return for the second half of the week. Many of you will be seeing the fine Atlas Kale again this week. If you have kale/greens on your no list, you may want to consider removing it and trying out the following chili recipe submitted by Boston Organics' customer, Morgan on her blog. Many of you will also be getting some more green beans from Plainville Farms in Hadley.

The Paula Red apples from Dwight Miller Orchards in East Dummerston VT are continuing this week. We should mention, it's pretty important to keep early season apples refrigerated until you're ready to eat them. We'll be supplementing the local Paula Reds this week with early season Ginger Gold apples from Washington State. (See a simple apple sauce recipe here.) Pluots from California return this week too.

We'll be getting another shot of the five pound boxes of the Wild Maine Blueberries this week. Orders seem to be slowing down as most folks have stocked their freezers, so we've cut back on our orders to Burke Hill Farm for this week. Orders are filled on a first come first serve basis! Make sure to get yours while they are still available!

Change is afoot with eastern Massachusetts' own Equal Exchange. They're in the midst of a reënvisioning of their packaged coffees. For us and you, the quality and quantity of their coffee we carry won't change, but the package design and prices will. From this week forward all regular coffees will now cost $6.45 versus $9.00 and the decaf will drop to $7.95 from $10.50. Over the next few weeks you will also notice a new bag design. Start stocking up now and take advantage of this great new pricing!

It does, in fact, feel like it's getting cooler, but 80 degrees in the sun is still summer. Read below for some suggestions about ensuring your deliveries are kept fresh if you're not able to receive them immediately.

As a reminder, if there is ever anything missing from your order or if there is a quality issue, please let us know. Your feedback will help to make sure that you are receiving the best possible service we can provide.

And in a final brief note, you may notice a dapper new green Boston Organics baseball cap resting on the head of your delivery driver. We just got them in this past week, and everyone loves them. They are organic cotton and made in the United States! Look for more information on the cool company we worked with to make these hats in future newsletters.

It was great to see all of you who came out to the Boston GreenFest this past weekend! Please do enjoy your produce and have a wonderful week! Call or email us any time with suggestions or questions about the service.

Thank you!
The Boston Organics Crew

Dogma Box Update: A box consisting of items sourced as close to Boston as possible.
This week we've got Dwight Miller Orchards (East Dummerston, VT) Paula Red apples. Lakeside Organics (Hadley, MA) is providing corn and bunches of carrots, and Pedersen Farms (Seneca Castle, NY) is continuing with the Edamame. Atlas Farms (Deerfield, MA) is providing the mixed summer squash, the field grown salad tomatoes, the green bell peppers and the pickling cukes. For the first half of the week, the Happy Valley Organic Growers' Cooperative in western MA will be sending the green leaf lettuce, for the second half, Atlas will take over. Enterprise Farms (Whately, MA) is supplying dandelion greens and baby bok choy, the latter of which we've included a recipe for.

No-Lists! You can create a new no-list right up until 12PM on the day before your delivery, so feel free to change it whenever you would like to! On occasion we may receive a mix of lettuces (red/green leaf/romaine) and/or a mix of summer squashes (patty pan, yellow squash, zucchini). If you strongly dislike a particular type of summer squash or lettuce, we recommend adding zucchini and/or all types of lettuce to your no-list.

WARM WEATHER! School season is almost upon us but we’ve still got at least a few weeks left of temperatures in the 80s, and we want your produce deliveries to stay fresh! Let us know if you need to move your drop-off location indoors or to a shaded area until the autumn. If you would like to leave a cooler out for us, your delivery driver will transfer as many items as possible from your new box into your cooler to help keep things fresh. If you would like to leave a cooler out, please leave a note on it that says "Boston Organics Delivery" and leave some icepacks in there too!

Recipe Search! You can now search for past recipes on our blog. Simply type in the main ingredient into the search bar, and all past newsletters that have relevant recipes will be returned. We plan to improve on this, but it is a start. We are always looking for recipes and cooking tips to share. Please email them to us at service@bostonorganics.com, or feel free to post them on our Facebook Page. (For those that submit a recipe/tip, you may find a surprise in your delivery!).

For more produce storage tips, please visit the storage tips section of our website.

RECIPES

Quickles (or, Quick Pickles)

Any moderate amount of cucumbers
1.5 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Thinly slice your cukes. Combine them with the sugar and salt in a small mixing bowl, toss to coat. Let the mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Rinse the cukes off in a colander, dry them, and sprinkle upon them the remaining sugar. Wait 5 minutes, and enjoy!

(Tested, named and approved by Jay here in the warehouse, originally from Momofuku, via The Paupered Chef)

·

Tomato Sauce for Pasta

- 1 lb ripe tomatoes
- 1 head garlic, cloves peeled and halved
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

This will make enough for a pound of pasta if you like a bit less sauce, or a half pound if you like your pasta well-sauced. Cut an X in bottom of each tomato and blanch in a large pot of boiling water 10 seconds. Immediately transfer tomatoes with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to cool, then peel, seed, and chop. Cook garlic in oil in a small heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, red-pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes - 1 hour. Season with salt, to taste.

(Based on a recipe from Gourmet, May 2008)

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Braised Baby Bok Choy

- 1 c chicken or vegetable broth
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 bunch baby bok choy, trimmed
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Bring broth and butter to a simmer in a deep large heavy skillet. Arrange bok choy evenly in skillet and simmer, covered, until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer bok choy with tongs to a serving dish and keep warm, covered. Boil broth mixture until reduced to about 1/4 cup, then stir in sesame oil and pepper to taste. Pour mixture over bok choy.

(Based on a recipe from Gourmet, October 2000)

·

Apple Sauce

- 1 lb. Apples
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 cup apple cider, or water
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 3-inch cinnamon stick

Peel, core and cut the apples into large chunks. Toss them with the lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Place the apples and remaining ingredients in a large, heavy pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover partially and cook until apples are very tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover the pot and cook 5 minutes more. Remove the pot from the heat and discard the cinnamon stick. Coarsely mash the apples with the cooking juices. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate, covered, until ready to use, up to 5 days.

(Based on a recipe from Parade, October 2000.)

BOSTON ORGANICS GUARANTEE
We pride ourselves on delivering high quality produce to you in every box and filling your order correctly. We only want to send you produce that you can use, and by the nature of the service, every now and then we may miss an item or a bad item might slip by us. If you are missing an item or you receive produce that you are dissatisfied with, please let us know. We will add produce of equal value into your next delivery to compensate you or issue a refund.

Produce items and item sources are subject to change without notice due to the nature of the produce market. Click here to view our policies.

Have suggestions or a great recipe to share? Please let us know!
service@bostonorganics.com · 617.242.1700 · bostonorganics.com