For the past few days, Hokuto City has been hot and humid during the day, with sudden downpours and heavy evening showers, making the weather exactly what the 72 seasonal divisions call "tsuchiuru ote mushi atsushi" (soaked earth and hot and humid heat). However, once the sun goes down in the evening, it cools down quickly, and for now, air conditioning isn't even necessary when sleeping at night. In the mornings, the temperature is such that you'll want to cover yourself with a thin blanket. Living in Hokuto City at a high altitude, the cool summer nights are a very appealing feature.
This difference in temperature between day and night is a bit harsh for summer vegetables. In order to protect themselves, they grow long roots and absorb various minerals from the soil to build strong bodies. As a result, the vegetables have a stronger, deeper flavor.
Eating vegetables with high resistance will also strengthen your body's resistance. During this time of year, when the intense heat and air conditioning can weaken your body, be careful about what you eat, take good care of your health, and enjoy the summer!
Now, here are the contents of this week's vegetable set.
This week's vegetable set
Contains 8 to 9 of the following vegetables:
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New potatoes Freshly dug new potatoes! They are a variety called Hokkai Kogane, characterized by their golden color and dense flesh. When fried, they are creamy and fragrant. They don't fall apart when cooked, so you can add them to curry, stew, or oden to enjoy their deep flavor. |
Green beans This is a variety of Koshigaya green beans that has been cultivated for many years. They are large and soft even when harvested, with a moderate texture and a subtle sweetness, making them a traditional green bean. Boil them until golden brown and dip them in miso or mayonnaise to enjoy the aroma of the beans. They are also great in tempura and stir-fries. |
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eggplant This year, the trees have grown so large that they are not producing much fruit, but the taste is excellent. This is a variety called "shinkuro nasu" (pure black eggplant), which is now rare. It pairs extremely well with oil, making it delicious in classic deep-fried dishes and miso stir-fries. It has a subtle sweetness when eaten raw, and if you rub it with salt and lightly pickle it overnight, it makes a delicious, crunchy pickle. |
Korinky It is a member of the pumpkin family, with a striking lemon yellow color. You can eat the skin and seeds raw, so slice it thinly or shred it and use it in salads. It is also delicious roasted or stewed. It has a unique aroma that will become addictive. |
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cucumber Cucumbers are starting to come in little by little! They're a summer staple. They're low in moisture and have a crunchy texture. They're best eaten whole with miso. Chop them, rub them with salt, drain the water, and add them to salads or dress them with vinegar and miso. |
molokheiya This sticky vegetable is highly nutritious and has a great effect on relieving fatigue after a heat-related illness. Remove the leaves from the stems, boil them briefly, then chop them up to create a sticky texture. Mix them with natto or tomato. If you're adding them to soup, there's no need to pre-boil them. They make a delicious, thick soup. |
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carrot This year's carrots are growing slowly. Although they are small, they are fragrant and packed with sweetness. These soft and crunchy carrots become even sweeter when cooked slowly. They are delicious sautéed, roasted, or coated in batter to make carrot cutlets. The leaves have tough strings, so please use only the soft tips. |
cherry tomatoes This pack contains two varieties: the red fixed variety "Stella" cherry tomato and the dark pink black cherry tomato. Due to shipping restrictions, some tomatoes may not be fully ripe, so please wait until they reach their delicious color before enjoying them. Enjoy them as they are, add them to miso soup, or simmer them down to make a tomato sauce. |
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Perilla leaves Perilla leaves look similar to shiso leaves, but in Korea, they are used to wrap grilled meat. Wrapping grilled meat and sauce in fresh leaves is sure to double your appetite. Place fresh leaves in a storage container with enough soy sauce to cover the leaves and leave for about three days to soak in the soy sauce. This makes them a great addition to rice. |
Green shiso This is a classic Japanese summer herb. Enjoy it chopped as is as a condiment. Pickled in soy sauce, it goes incredibly well with rice! |
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Green peppers and manganji This year, eggplant, bell peppers, and manganji peppers are starting to harvest a little late. They're finally starting to come in! We want to deliver them to you as soon as possible, so we're bringing them in little by little. Bell peppers have little bitterness and are delicious eaten raw! They're also delicious stuffed with meat or stewed. Manganji peppers are a staple at our barbecue. Grill them whole and drizzle with sauce to enjoy their sweetness and aroma. Some of the peppers in this set have changed shape during the home-seeding process, but they're still delicious. |
Large tomatoes These large tomatoes are a variety called "Sekaiichi" (World's No. 1), which we continue to grow ourselves. They are fresh and sweet, and so delicious you'll want to bite into them one after the other. They are great in salads, marinades, or combined with mozzarella cheese and basil, sprinkled with olive oil and salt (caprezze). They are also delicious as juicy tomato cutlets, deep-fried in batter. |
Morning glory It's called "Indian spinach" in English, and like spinach, it's rich in minerals. It can be used in the same way as spinach, in stir-fries, miso soup, salads, and more, and can be used in both Japanese and Western dishes. When boiled and chopped, it becomes very soft and creamy, which is perfect for invigorating a tired stomach in the summer. I personally like to stir-fry it with tomatoes, eggs, and bonito flakes. |
Water spinach As its name suggests, this vegetable has a hollow stem. It is very popular in Southeast Asia and is mainly used in stir-fries. Simply season it with garlic, chili peppers, and fish sauce to enjoy its delightful crunchy texture and unique flavor. It wilts easily, so if it starts to lose its vitality, cutting off a small portion of the root and placing it in water will make it crisp again. |
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Bonus: We've grown seedlings from seasonal flower seeds, and we've included a small selection of the various flowers we have. Please enjoy placing them in a vase. Since they're organic, you can also sprinkle the petals in your bath for a soothing experience. |
The state of the fields
The fields dry out due to the sun and high temperatures during the day, so we lay grass mulch around the base of the vegetable plants. This prevents the soil from being washed away with water during heavy evening showers, allowing the vegetable roots to grow well. However, it is also important to weed the area before laying the grass. Weeds may grow through the gaps in the grass and grow well thanks to the grass mulch.
The carrots that I planted during the rainy season have started to grow. About three leaves have appeared, so I'm going to thin out the parts that are crowded together. Carrots are part of the Apiaceae family and like to grow by competing with each other, so I thin them out while maintaining a moderate distance from the neighboring plants. As they grow, they become crowded again, so I need to thin them out several times. The leaves of the thinned carrots are soft, and they are also great when made into tempura ♪
I don't force myself to do farm work during the hot hours of the day, and instead choose work that can be done indoors or in the shade, or just take a break. The other day I added red shiso to the pickled plums I was making. I removed the red shiso leaves that I had harvested that morning from the stems, rubbed them with salt, squeezed out the bitterness, and spread them on top of the plums. It was a refreshing and enjoyable moment to watch the plum vinegar that rose from the plums turn pink as soon as it touched the red shiso. Normally, this would be the time to dry them, but this year I'm going to dry them a little later.
I cut off the roots of the broccoli sticks I harvested during the spring and cleaned them up, and new shoots have appeared! If I start growing them now, they should be ready in time for the autumn harvest. I'm amazed at how resilient broccoli is.
notice
-We are currently selling organic garden bouquets, which are popular as gifts.
You can find it in the [Products] tab on this page. It can be bundled with the vegetable set. Please take a look.
Without chemical fertilizers or pesticides
The main focus is on seasonal flowers grown in a field with a variety of vegetables, grasses, and insects.
We will deliver an organic garden bouquet with herbs, perennials, and branches, along with the scent of the soil and wind of Hokuto City.
There are many types of flowers that you don't often see in flower shops,
The main focus is on small flowers that are not too conspicuous but are like a microcosm, and flowers that look natural.
This is a bouquet that can be displayed casually in your everyday life.
・We accept single item purchases of vegetables that are harvested in abundance.
We're currently experiencing a bumper crop of freshly dug potatoes. You can purchase more from the [Products] tab. We hope that these generous servings of vegetables will further enrich your everyday cooking.
We are now accepting new orders for our vegetable set subscription.
We still have spaces available for our popular vegetable set subscription, so please share it with your friends, family, and colleagues.
