Some Assembly Required

A bowl of Alabama rip blueberries

The beauty of farm fresh produce is that there really isn’t a whole lot that needs to be done to make these fruits and vegetables shine. Sure, some only get better with a little blast of heat (we’re looking at you, okra) or a slow braise (cabbage, that would be you) but on the whole, the less you fuss with these items the better. 


From our own Harpersville, AL farmstead, we have cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, cutting celery (looks like Italian parsley but tastes like celery)and those happy dahlias. Our blueberries are delicious eaten out-of-hand, but try swirling these into a pint of softened vanilla ice cream and freezing until company arrives. Serve scoops with a little drizzle of our lemon verbena syrup and a sprig of fresh mint.  The leeks this week are a great stand-in anywhere your recipes call for onions. Why not fry a few slices to toss in your weeknight salad, for a little extra crunch? 


The peppers this week are fantastic and might be begging to be stuffed and baked like this. If you make extra, they freeze beautifully; just seal them up well before they hit the freezer.  Speaking of things that freeze well, cabbage rolls are another one to make once and enjoy twice. Martha makes a great version. If you’d like something slightly more sophisticated, try this Food52 recipe for whole roasted cabbage using what Hamm Farm has shared with us.

Our favorite baker, Corey Hinkel, is on vacation this week so there is no bread, but we do have some gorgeous pink-eyed peas from Clayton Farms. If you’ve never tried your hand at homemade pea cakes, this is your week to do so. This recipe has them with a classic comeback sauce that everyone loves. Serve with grilled bone-in chicken breasts or a pork tenderloin and dinner will come together in no time.


Extra Notes:

If you have not had a chance to visit our new Pepper Place neighbor, Son of a Butcher, we highly suggest you make time to do so, after picking up your weekly CSA share. This full-service butcher shop is owned and operated by Evans Meats, the same company who supplies to many of Birmingham’s award-winning restaurants. Son of a Butcher is located just to the right of OvenBird.

Lady peas

What is in the box?

From Friends

  • Cabbage | Hamm Farm

  • Squash | Clayton Farms

  • Peaches | Wayne Headley

  • Pink Eye Peas | Clayton Farms


    From Stone Hollow Farmstead 

  • Leeks

  • Cherry Tomatoes

  • Blueberries

  • Tomatillos

  • Cutting Celery

  • Dahlias 

  • Pepper Mix — Banana & Bell


Milk Share

  • Cow’s Milk  | Stone Hollow Farmstead - Harpersville, Alabama

Cheese / Yogurt Share

  • Buttermilk

Flower Share

  •  Foraged bouquets of Peppermint, Kalalilies, Gladiolus, Sunflowers, Dahlias, Dill Blossom, Wild Bee Balm, & Scabiosa

    *Although many of the flowers and filler are edible, please refrain from eating these as they have been resting in water filled with a solution to help preserve the life of your cut flowers for maximum enjoyment.

Dahlia in the field

Leave a comment

Historically enjoyed by farm workers to keep hydrated on long hot days, Drinking vinegars are tart, tangy infusions of fruits, spices and OACV.