Big Beautiful Beets, Red or Golden & Lots of Green Peppers + Tomatoes!

Food & Farm Notes for July 11, 2026

The gourmet deer at Henry’s Farm discovered his FENNEL this week, tip-toeing through the rows and munching out the delicate center stems and fronds of each plant. They haven’t gone for the bulbs yet, but fearing that likely next step, Henry went ahead and harvested nearly ALL the fennel this evening, munched and as-yet un-munched.

So you will see a huge amount of fennel — both full-size single bulbs, and smaller bunched bulbs — ALL at SPECIAL PRICES when you buy 2 or more!

Check out some of the mild, sweet, and mellow recipes for cooked fennel below — especially the Baked Fennel with Parmesan from our friend Leigh Omilinsky, executive pastry chef/partner at Daisies, who says it tastes like pepperoni pizza when prepared this way! (If you haven’t been to Daisies yet, it’s at 2375 N Milwaukee Ave, and you should go!)

All of Henry’s nice big bunches of big ONIONS and SHALLOTS, including the fabulous Walla Walla Sweets, will also have special prices when you buy two or more bunches. Mix and match, and stock up!

Because of all the rain we’ve been having, the BEETS have grown very big very fast, so you will see lots of big beets, and very big bunches. In other words, as Henry says, “This week you get a lot of beet for your buck!”

One bunch of beets — Red or Golden — is 3 pounds or more, which is indeed a lot of beet for your buck!

There will be a lot of GREEN PEPPERS this week, but you probably won’t see them again until August. That’s because they were planted in a low part of the bottom field that has had standing water for quite a while now and some plants are not doing well. So we’ll rescue all the green peppers that we can tomorrow, and hope for dry weather that will allow the plants to recover, re-grow, and set more fruits by next month.

And Henry says there will be a respectable amount of TOMATOES this week — both heirloom tomatoes from the hoophouse and a few cherry tomatoes from the field.

You’ll also see tomatillos, so it’s a good week to make salsa!

Food Notes: Grilled, Roasted, Sauteed & Braised FENNEL

Cooking transforms fennel from a bright, crunchy, anise-y salad-type vegetable into a buttery, sweet, and tender treat.

Here’s the fabulous Baked Fennel with Parmesan from our friend Leigh Omilinsky, executive pastry chef/partner, at Daisies.

"I like to slice the fennel really thin and put a fair amount of olive oil on a sheet tray so the fennel is about halfway submerged. Throw some Parm on the fennel and cook it in the oven until the fennel gets soft and the cheese gets bubbly. It oddly tastes like pepperoni pizza. So delicious."

Here are some other simple ways of cooking fennel.

1. Roasted Fennel (Caramelized & Sweet)

Cut the bulb into wedges while keeping the core intact so the pieces don't fall apart.
Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.
Cover with foil and bake at 450°F for 20 minutes
Remove the foil and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes until the edges are golden brown and caramelized. Finish with shaved Parmesan cheese.

2. Braised Fennel (Tender & Aromatic)

Braising is a classic French and Italian technique for mild, melt-in-your-mouth fennel. Here’s a step-by-step braised fennel and carrot recipe from The French Cooking Academy on YouTube. Or just follow these basic steps for braised fennel, which is great on its own, or with fish, chicken, or beef.

Cut the fennel bulbs into quarters, and place in a pan with a flavorful braising liquid (e.g. white wine, stock, and lemon juice or a bit of tomato water)
Add aromatic herbs like parsley, thyme, or bay leaves.
Drizzle with olive oil, cover, and let it simmer or steam on low for about 35–40 minutes until a knife easily pierces the center. [

3. Grilled Fennel (Smoky & Charred)

Slice the bulb lengthwise into about 1/2-inch-thick planks or wedges and brush generously with olive oil and season with salt.
Cook over medium-high heat on a charcoal or wood grill for a few minutes per side.

See you Saturday, and be sure to get some fennel!