Welcome to the Boston Organics Blog!

Summer starts a little later in New England than in other parts of the country, but when it finally gets here we're treated to a delicious bounty of stone fruit, greens, and other delicious treats. For new Boston Organics customers, there might occasionally be items in your box that you're not familiar with. We've put together our Summer Produce Guide to provide you with a snapshot of what's to come this season.

What's not to love about salsa?!? It's good for you, easy to prepare, adds a fresh vibrancy wherever it turns up and easily feeds a crowd. Plus there are unlimited variations beyond the classic salsa fresca, with its timeless combination of tomatoes, garlic, onions, cilantro, salt and lime.

What would the perfect fruit look like? It would probably be sweet and juicy. It might have a bright, edible skin so you don’t have to worry about messy peels and rinds. While you’re at it, you’d want to make it easy to grow and sturdy enough to take with you without getting smooshed like a brown banana at the bottom of lunch bag. Do you have an image in your head yet? Does it look something like this:

This is a pluot, a beautifully constructed hybrid-cross between a plum and an apricot. Some people consider pluots to be the perfect fruit, but it’s also very much still a work in progress. Though the first successfully controlled cross between a plum and an apricot occurred more than a century ago, most people are unfamiliar with pluots. And those who are fortunate enough to have tasted these juicy fruits are often filled with questions about the mysterious hybrid.

Fortunately, Boston Organics is here to take you “beneath the peel,” giving you a better understanding of the mysteries behind the organic pluot.

Around these parts summer is pesto season! With the plethora of herbs and other pesto-friendly vegetables available during our New England growing season now's the time to capitalize on the bounty while filling your freezer. That way you'll have the taste of summer all year round.

Good food is the foundation of good health. Health scientists, and we’re sure most of you, would agree that optimal nutrition is critical to promoting health, improving general well-being and reducing the risk of developing certain diseases. Well, those principles are gaining traction in the Food as Medicine movement which recognizes the potential of food to help prevent and manage chronic disease. Many doctors aim to prevent, limit or even reverse disease by changing what patients eat. The movement has been around for decades, but it's making inroads as physicians and medical institutions make food a formal part of treatment, rather than relying solely on medications. Responding to studies, many insurers are even providing subsidies to cover produce prescriptions for clients: the health benefits are that dramatic!

Celery (Apium graveolens) is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae, which also include, carrots, parsley and fennel. It has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks, leaves or hypocotyl (think celery root) are eaten and used in cooking. Celery seed powder is used as a seasoning and is particularly good with coleslaws and sprinkled lightly on macaroni and cheese.

This Fourth of July make veggies the star of your backyard barbecue! With loads of local organic produce in season, we’ve created a delicious Independence Day menu that will satisfy your family and friends while utilizing the bounty of fruits and vegetables in your Boston Organics’ box.

Stone fruit has an element of nostalgia, bringing to mind memories of sweet, sticky hands on a hot summer day—picking through pint containers of little yellow-orange fruit at the farmers’ market and popping open vats of aromatic preserves put by for colder times. Luckily, we don’t have to wait until peak summer in New England to enjoy organic stone fruit season! 

Throughout the year, Boston Organics’ network of farm partners supplies us with fresh, local produce. These relationships are at the heart of what we do. One special star of the late spring/early summer local season, for more than 15 years, is Atlas Farms, which at the moment is keeping our Boston Organics Community in baby bok choy, leafy lettuces, kale and chard and collard greens. And as the season progresses we'll have summer squash, poblano peppers, fennel and evermore greens!