First cherry tomatoes
Two new items in this week’s share are sweet onions and savoy cabbage. The sweet onions we grow are Ailsa Craig, which is a white Spanish onion that was developed in Scotland. Sweet
onions aren’t exactly sweet but they are mild and are great in sandwiches and salads. I don’t recommend cooking them, since they are so mild. Store them in your refrigerator since they have not been cured and won’t last too long at room temperature. We’re still offering a selection of cabbage this week, with savoy cabbage added to the mix. If you’ve never used it, savoy cabbage is great in soup or stew because the leaves add a pleasing texture
and flavor. Not as tender as smooth cabbage, so it’s best cooked.
Cherry tomatoes
The first ripe cherry tomatoes are here! This year we have three kinds of cherry tomatoes. Our red variety is Peacevine, which is an open pollinated version of Super Sweet 100, the red cherry
tomato we have grown in the past. The orange variety is Sungold, a very sweet flavor that we never tire of. We also have a few sun-drying tomatoes in the picking garden. They look like
elongated cherry tomatoes with a point on the end. They are excellent for drying, because, like a paste tomato, they have a low water content.
Garlic harvesting
We’ve started pulling our garlic this week, which you’ll see in the farm stand. We will be bunching the garlic and hanging it to cure. If you have a few minutes, help us out and tie up a bunch or two!
-Farmer Aaron, CSA manager
Simple Summer Squash Pasta
4 zucchini or summer squash, about 8” long, cut into coins or 1” wedges
1 onion, sliced
a few garlic cloves, sliced
8 oz penne or similar shape pasta
8 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes
4 basil leaf clusters, chiffonade
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
olive oil
salt & pepper
In a large ovenproof pan, cook onion in about a tablespoon of oil. Cook until soft and starting to brown. Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Meanwhile, toss squash on a baking sheet with a few tbsp of oil, salt and pepper. Broil until well browned and fully cooked, tossing
them around a few times. When the pasta is done, drain and add to the onions along with
the squash, garlic and basil. Season with salt, pepper. Mix together, then top with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. Broil until the cheese is melted and the cherry tomatoes are
bursting. Serve warm or chilled.
How to chiffonade basil:
Pluck leaves from the stems and stack about 5 leaves. Roll them up using the long side. Hold the basil cigar down with one hand and make thin slices with a very sharp knife.
- recipe I made a few days ago on a whim
Easy Refrigerator Pickles
These pickles are best after chilling for a day.
8-10 pickling cucumbers or 4-5 slicers
1/2 cup white vinegar
3-4 dill flower heads
1/4 cup sliced onion
3 tsp salt
Slice the ends off the cucumbers, and slice them thinly. I like using a mandolin but a food processor or your knife would work. Pack the cucumbers, dill and onion in a big jar and pour
vinegar and salt in. It will seem like there’s not enough liquid, but the cucumbers will release
enough. Shake it up to mix and keep at room temperature for a few hours. Slosh around a few times. Then store in the refrigerator, mixing every so often.
recipe from smittenkitchen.com
Vegetables
Lettuce
Summer Squash/Zucchini
Cucumbers
Green Beans or Artichokes
Cabbage- Napa or Savoy
Sweet Onions
Kale
Herbs of note
Mints, Chives, Garlic Chives, Oregano, Lovage, Sage, Thyme, Dill, Bronze Fennel, Summer Savory, Marjoram, Parsley, Cilantro, Borage, Lemon Basil, Basil, Lemongrass
Cut Flowers
Sweet Peas, Yarrow, Calendula, Bachelors Buttons, Amaranth, Sunflowers, Black-Eyed Susans,
Shasta Daisies, Cleome, Zinnia
Important Dates
August 1: Fresh chicken pickup