The Japanese Sweet Potato sandwich is coming back onto the menu. Enzo created this super-addictive sandwich after Farmer Ray had an extra good “bumper crop” of sweet potatoes and no outlet for them. Several years ago, I went with a group of staff members to watch Next Barn Over crew harvest our sweet potatoes, and I can still hear the sounds. Roots ripping, farmers laughing, boots squishing mud, iPhone cameras snapping. Quiet fields with the occasional pickup truck driving past. Some of the sweet potatoes were so big that year that the farmers were taking the kind of photos you’d take if you caught a big trout.

Ever since joining Clover, I think a lot about chickpeas. A. LOT. I think about the nutty-buttery flavor they have raw, the deep savory edge they get when cooked, their creamy richness when blended up in our housemade hummus. I think about their protein punch (one cup = 14.5 grams of the good stuff, 20% of your recommended daily amount), their high fiber, iron, and Vitamin B count. I think about how pretty they are, with that distinctive curved ridge and little pointed peak that tells you this ain’t any old bean: THIS IS CHICKPEA.

If you’ve been by the restaurants lately you may have noticed these big flats of heirloom tomatoes on the counter. We decided to bring back an old favorite: the Heirloom Tomato! It’s super simple, designed to celebrate Kitchen Garden heirloom tomatoes in all their glory. This time we added Pesto to the mix: mayo, pesto, sharp cheddar, a thick slice of heirloom dusted with salt and pepper, all folded into our house-made pita. The Heirloom is going away tomorrow (Weds 9.3) to make way for a brand new…