Week #13; Seven weeks of corn

Staggered corn plantings.

This week’s sweet corn is week #3 of seven plantings.  If all goes according to plan, we will have seven straight weeks of corn for you.  You told us you want steady corn (and lots of it!) so this is it.  This is a very nice batch this week, of our favorite ‘Vision’ variety.

We have small sweet corn fields scattered around the farm.  You can see staggered plantings in the photos.  The top photo, taken July 15, shows a field with three sequential plantings, transplanted one week apart.  The youngest are the wispy ones on the right.  The bottom photo shows corn closer to maturity.  The rows on the left should be ready to harvest in three weeks.  The taller ones on the right should be ready in two weeks. 

Salsa box!

We’re sending ingredients to make a batch of salsa this week, with tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño chile, and cilantro. For adventurous salsa makers, corn kernels are great too.

Veggie List & Veggie Notes
Week #13, August 10/11, 2023

– Weekly shares
– BiWeekly/ purple
– Sampler/ A group

Sweet corn, 9 ears
Yellow Doll watermelon
Slicing tomatoes, 3 lb
Cherry tomatoes, 1 pint
Green beans, about 1 lb
Bell peppers, red or purple, 2
Silver Slicer cucumbers, a handful
Cucumbers, 2 or 3
White onion
Cilantro, 1 bunch
Jalapeno chile (HOT), 1

Next week’s box will probably contain sweet corn, melons, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onion and more.

White onion – These are more pungent onions than the Walla Wallas that we’ve sent in recent weeks.  We consider them intermediate between Wallas and yellow storage onions in both pungency and ability to be fried.  In other words, these will fry better than Wallas but not as well as a yellow onion.
Storage:  These can be stored at room temperature or refrigerated.

Cilantro (small bunch, fragrant leaves) – Used in both Mexican and some Asian cuisines.  Good to season stir-fries, salad dressing, salsa, etc.
Storage:  Cover and refrigerate.

Jalapeno chile – I suspect most of you are familiar with these small green chiles.  Good flavor and medium heat.
Storage:  Refrigerate.

RECIPES by PHOEBE
Phoebe is back and sharing recipe duties with Deb, who has been a trouper while Phoebe was away. I am lucky to have these two fabulous helpers!

Creamy Tahini Chicken Salad

A Mediterranean spin on chicken salad! A creamy tahini-yogurt dressing coats tender chicken breast, juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, and artichoke hearts. I love it on a sandwich, with crackers, or stuffed into pita bread.

Serves 2 to 4
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 slicing tomato (8 ounces), cut in a ½-inch dice
½ large cucumber (6 ounces), peeled if skin is thick, seeded, and cut in a ½-inch dice
4 canned artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed, cut in a ½-inch dice
¼ cup kalamata olives, pitted and torn
Pita bread, optional, for serving

Creamy Tahini Dressing
¼ cup tahini
¼ cup whole milk Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, grated
½ teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons water, plus more as needed

At the bottom of an 8×8-inch baking pan or other shallow dish, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken and flip to coat in the marinade. Set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Transfer the chicken to the baking sheet and bake for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 165°F when pierced with an instant read thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and water. The dressing should have a creamy but pourable consistency. If it is too thick, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.

Cut the cooked chicken breast into a ½-inch dice. Place it in a large bowl and add the tomato, cucumber, artichokes, and olives. Pour in the dressing and fold to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately with pita bread, if desired.

Photo by Jeanine Donofrio

Homemade Salsa

From Love & Lemons
If you’ve never made homemade salsa before, this is the week to try it! It’s easy to make in the food processor, and it has a fresher, brighter taste than typical jarred salsa. Great on your favorite Mexican dishes or with tortilla chips.

Photo by Eva Kolenko

Elote

From Love & Lemons
One of the most delicious ways to eat grilled corn on the cob! Slather the ears with mayo and sprinkle them with Cotija cheese, chili powder, cilantro, and lime for a flavorful side dish or snack.

Photo by A Beautiful Plate

Charred Green Beans with Cilantro Vinaigrette

From A Beautiful Plate
Char this week’s green beans in a hot oven or on the grill. Then, toss them with a simple cilantro dressing for a zesty side dish!

Photo by Spoon Fork Bacon

Best Corn Salad

From Spoon Fork Bacon
If you’re looking for an out-of-the-box corn salad recipe, this one might be for you. It has a few unique elements:

1) Charred halloumi cheese offers a rich, salty contrast to the sweet corn kernels.
2) It has a brown butter dressing, which gives it nutty depth of flavor.

The recipe calls for chives, but you could sub in a little diced white onion for a similar savory kick.

Photo by Andrea Bemis

Summer Crunch Salad

From Dishing Up The Dirt
This salad recipe was made for this week’s box! It features sweet corn, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and bell peppers, all tossed in a tangy vinegar dressing with some creamy goat cheese. Swap out the parsley for cilantro.

Photo by What’s Gaby Cooking

Castelvetrano Greek Pasta Salad

From What’s Gaby Cooking
This pasta salad recipe would be great for a simple dinner, packed lunch, or picnic. It’s filled with chewy pasta, briny olives, tangy feta, and lots of veggies—you’ll use some cucumber, cherry tomatoes, peppers, and onion from this week’s box.

Week #12; Abundance

We are wealthy in watermelons.

Wow, the farm is incredibly productive right now.  This is common in a drought year on a vegetable farm IF you have irrigation.  Everything is growing strongly, probably because diseases are low during the dry weather.  Insect populations can go either way in a drought but seem to be at normal levels right now.  It was great to get rain over the weekend but it soaked in quickly and we are irrigating again already.  

I’ll be honest.  We’re pretty whipped by the extra work, so I don’t have much to share tonight except a beautiful evening sky over the barn and silo.  The farm is absorbing all our attention and energy right now.
Take care,
Beth

Tomato Care

Ripe (top) and less ripe tomatoes (bottom).

We are heading into peak tomato season.  Yeah!  Ripe tomatoes are delicious but highly perishable so let’s talk about their care.

Ripeness:  Each delivery, we pack a mix of ripe and less-ripe tomatoes so you can stretch them through the week.  In the photo above, the top two tomatoes are ready to eat.  The bottom two tomatoes can ripen at room temperature for a few days.

Storage:  Tomatoes retain their best flavor and texture when stored at room temperature, no lower than 55 F.  I encourage you to spread your tomatoes on plates so you can watch them.  Eat the ripest ones first, or any showing flaws.  
However, you should refrigerate your tomatoes if they are fully ripe and you don’t expect to eat them right away.  It is better to sacrifice a little flavor and texture than to let your tomatoes spoil.  Also, fully ripe tomatoes are less sensitive to chilling injury.

They might need washing:  We handle the ripe tomatoes as little as possible to avoid bruising.

(Left)  The yellow arrow shows small inconsequential flaws that will grow with time.  Eat now!
(Right) The purple arrows show leaf residue bits stuck to the tomato.  Wet the tomato and the residue will come right off.

Veggie List & Veggie Notes
Week #12, August 3/4, 2o23

– Weekly shares
– BiWeekly/ green
– Sampler/ D group

Sweet corn, 9 ears
Carrots, 2 lb
Slicing tomatoes, ~2.5 lb
Cherry tomatoes, 1 pint
Green beans, 0.8 lb
Cucumbers, ~2
Silver Slicer cucumbers, 2 or 3
Green bell pepper, 1 large
Zucchini &/or yellow squash, ~1 squash
Walla Walla onion
BY SITE: muskmelon OR Yellow Doll watermelon

Next week’s box will probably contain sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, melons, onions and more.

Sweet corn – There are far fewer caterpillars than last week.  This is good news.  If you see browning at the tip, cut off the tip before shucking the corn.

Green beans – Storage: Store in the warmest part of your refrigerator.

Cucumbers – We’ve begun harvests from our second cucumber field.  These are beautiful, beautiful cukes.  You’ll notice less scarring now, which is typical as we move from an older to younger planting.  We are sending both green slicing cukes plus a special variety called Silver Slicer.  These smaller cucumbers are thin-skinned, like pickling cucumbers, and have delicious flavor.  No need to peel these ones.  For that matter, there’s no need to peel the green cucumbers either, unless you receive an unusually large one.  We will distribute the green and Silver cucumbers by site over the coming weeks, as we harvest them.

Walla Walla onion – Please refrigerate your Walla Walla this week.  They are not storage onions, and the recent hot weather is not good for them.  Keeping them cold is your best option.

Muskmelons (some sites) – Refrigerate or let ripen at room temperature for up to two days, max.

Yellow Doll watermelon (some sites) – Watermelons can be refrigerated or stored at room temperature until they are cut.  Once cut, they need to be refrigerated.

You’ll get a mix of slicing cucumbers (green) and Silver Slicer cukes (white) over the coming weeks.

RECIPES by DEB

Photo by DebsLunch

Summer vegetable stir fry with peanut sauce

You can adapt this recipe using what you like and have on hand. You need about 8 ounces of protein, plus 4-6 cups chopped vegetables (not counting onions and garlic!) to serve four. I used ground turkey, but you can sub ground pork or chicken or tofu. My stir fry has green beans, carrots, yellow summer squash, and bell pepper, but again use what you have. The peanut sauce recipe makes about 2 cups and you’ll only need one so will have extra for another purpose. This is a plain & simple peanut sauce that you can jazz up by adding Siracha or other hot sauce, and is great as a dip with cucumbers or steamed broccoli, and on sauteed chicken, or to make cold noodle salad. You can also top your stir fry with marinated cucumbers – here’s a pic; method in the week 11 newsletter (in the headnote for the Spicy Peanut Noodles with Cucumber recipe).

Serves 4-5
Takes about 45 mins. to 1 hour

Peanut sauce:
1 cup peanut butter, natural smooth or crunchy or commercial will all work fine
3 tablespoons lime juice or rice or cider vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey
approximately 1/2 cup coconut milk or hot water or a combination to thin

Stir fry:
1 cup white or brown rice
kosher salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 ounces ground turkey or pork, or firm tofu, crumbled
2-4 cloves garlic, minced or put through a press
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup sliced onion
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 to 1 1/2 cups green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces – measure after cutting
1 medium yellow squash or zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into chunks
1 green or red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup of the peanut sauce
1 tablespoon Siracha or other Asian hot sauce, optional
Optional toppings: salted roasted peanuts, more hot sauce, cucumbers tossed with a little rice vinegar and salt, as discussed last week under Spicy Peanut Noodles with Cucumber.

1. If using brown rice, start cooking that first. Start white rice after you make the peanut sauce. Combine the rice and two cups water in a sauce pan with a lid. Bring to a boil, uncovered, add a pinch or two of kosher salt, then cover and turn the heat way down. Check after about 45 minutes to see if the water is absorbed and there are steam holes through the rice indicating it’s done.
2. Make the peanut sauce: Combine all the ingredients except the coconut milk or hot water in blender or a bowl, and either blend or whisk to combine. Add coconut milk and/or hot water until you get a good pourable consistency.
3. Cook the stir fry: Pour the oil into a deep wide skillet with a lid and heat over medium. Add the turkey or other meat, or tofu crumbles, and cook stirring, and if using meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and salt and pepper, and stir until fragrant. Add the onions. At this point add the veggies in order of the length of time they take to cook, and cover the pan for a few minutes to steam the veggies a bit – add a few tablespoons of water if things start sticking. In this version, start with the carrots, then green beans, and finally squash and bell pepper. Total cooking time will be about 15 minutes.
4. When all the veggies are cooked to your liking, add the peanut sauce and Siracha. Mix to coat everything with the sauce and once it’s bubbling, cook for a few minutes uncovered to meld. Taste to see if it needs more salt, peanut sauce, or Siracha, and serve over rice with optional toppings.

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Photo by DebsLunch

Corn and green bean salad with cherry tomatoes and nuts

You can cook the corn for this salad using any method you like: steaming, as Beth suggests (Veggie Notes/ Sweet corn), boiling, or even roasting, on the grill or in the oven (see this link for oven roasting in the husks) or on the stove in a grill pan. You’ll need about 4 ears of corn, so if you cook up a bunch of corn to eat on the cob, you can use the leftovers!

Dressing:
1 large clove garlic, minced or put through a press
2 tablespoons white wine or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar, plus more to taste
2 teaspoons grainy or Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad:
3-4 cups corn kernels, cut from about 4 ears of corn
2/3 to one pound green beans, cooked and cut into 2 inch lengths
3/4 cup toasted nuts, coarsely chopped – I used whole almonds but walnuts or pecans would also be good
9-10 cherry tomatoes cut in half

1. Make the dressing: Combine the garlic, vinegar, sugar, and mustard in a small bowl or spouted glass measuring cup. Whisk in the oil until emulsified. Season with salt & pepper. Alternatively, combine everything in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake to combine.
2. Add the corn and green beans to a large mixing bowl, and toss with most of the dressing. Add the nuts and cherry tomatoes, toss again, and taste to see if it need more dressing or seasoning. This salad is good right away, but can also be chilled overnight – bring to room temperature and add the nuts right before serving.

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Photo by Christy Denney

Corn Salsa Recipe | The Girl Who Ate Everything

From The Girl who Ate Everything
This corn salsa recipe also provides a few more suggestions for how to cook your corn. I suggest saving the cobs for veggie stock; see this 2020 Tipi newsletter for tips on corn cob stock, under ‘Sweet Corn Risotto with Corn Cob Broth & Cherry Tomatoes’.  Feel free to omit cilantro, and sub Walla Walla onion for the purple onion – place the chopped onion in a strainer and rinse with cold water if it seems strong, then drain and add to salsa. You can also omit the jalapeño or use jarred or canned chiles, or a few dashes of red pepper flakes if you don’t have fresh.
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Roasted Carrot Hummus | Foolproof Living

From Foolproof Living
There are plenty of versions of dips with roasted carrots out there; this hummus from Foolproof Living is gluten free (if served with gluten free dippers) and vegan – and will surely appeal to any hummus lovers.
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Photo by DOTDASH Meredith Food Studios

Marinated Cucumber, Onion, and Tomato Salad | Allrecipes.com

Recipe by BogeyBill from Allrecipes.com
This marinated salad only takes a few minutes of chopping, and because it’s marinated, it’s actually better made ahead.
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Roasted Tomato Cream Sauce | Midwest Foodie

From Midwest Foodie
As this recipe says, you can use whatever kind of tomatoes you have for this sauce – the roasting process concentrates even the juicier slicers. It calls for 3 pounds of tomatoes, which is about what we got this week, but it makes 5 cups of sauce, and that’s more than you need for a pound of pasta. So, if you don’t want to devote all of this week’s tomatoes to sauce, you could halve it and still have enough for a pasta dinner. You can simply omit the fresh basil if you don’t have any, or substitute dried.
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Photo by Tieghan Gerard

Smashed Cucumber and Watermelon Feta Salad | Half Baked Harvest

From Half Baked Harvest
This recipe from Half Baked Harvest combines the watermelon & feta salad that’s been popular for years, with the smashed cucumber technique that’s we’ve been hearing about much more recently. Muskmelon can sub for watermelon if that’s what you get in your box – or try this cantaloupe and feta salad, with fresh mint. The salad will taste good without the fresh herbs, or you can sub small amounts of dried – about half a teaspoon of dill or basil. Like all Half Baked Harvest recipes it calls for avocado, which you can omit. Persian cucumbers are small and seedless, and a combination of 2-3 of our silver slicer and regular cucumbers will work fine here, and you can seed the green cucumbers if you wish.

Week #11; Sweet corn begins.

Our garlic crop is harvested and safely drying.  It was a sweaty, grimy harvest but very, very satisfying.  It does not matter how many showers I take; I will smell of garlic for days.  We were glad to get rain last night and doubly glad that the garlic was safe before it started.

Once the bulbs are dry enough, we’ll start packing them in the boxes.  
Beth

Veggie List & Veggie Notes
Week #11
July 27/28, 2023 (Th/Fri sites)

– Weekly shares
– BiWeekly/ purple
– Sampler/ C group

Sweet corn, 7 ears
Muskmelon
Broccoli, ~2 lb
Cherry tomatoes, 1 pint
Slicing tomatoes, a few
Carrots, 2 lb
Globe eggplant, 1
Zucchini &/or yellow squash, ~2.5 lb
Cucumbers, 2 or 3
Walla Walla onion

Next week’s box will probably contain melons, tomatoes, carrots and more.

Sweet corn – Now it’s summer!  
Advice about bugs.  This is organic sweet corn.  Many ears have caterpillars or bug damage at the tip.  I suggest cutting off the tips before shucking the corn.  Sweep the trimmed tips into the compost and you will never see the bugs.  Going forward, not every harvest (nor every ear) will have the caterpillars.  They come and go as the moths fly in from the south.  I’ll give you an update here in the newsletter each week.
Storage. Sweet corn is best when fresh, so we encourage you to eat it asap. Store in the refrigerator, in the husks if you have the room, or husked and placed in a container or plastic bag.
Cooking.  It is quicker to steam sweet corn than to boil it.
1.) Stand ears of corn upright in a tall pot. Put one inch of water in the pot.
2.) Bring the water to a boil. If the corn is cold when you begin cooking, steam for 5 – 6 minutes. If the corn starts at room temperature, steam for 4 – 5 minutes. The cooking time will vary somewhat depending on how many ears are in the pot. Pay attention to how the corn smells. The scent changes once the corn is ready. Another clue: water will bead on the corn until it is cooked. Don’t overcook it.

Muskmelon – Most are ripe and ready to eat.  Some need to ripen a day or two on your kitchen counter.  Refrigerate within 2 days.

Broccoli – Some of the broccoli is loose because of the warm weather but it all tastes great.  Refrigerate.

Carrots – Refrigerate in the bag.

Tomatoes – Store your slicing tomatoes at room temperature.  It’s only a few so you’ll eat them quickly.  Cherry tomatoes can be refrigerated.

Eggplant – For best flavor, store eggplants at room temperature for 2 – 3 days.  If holding for longer than three days, store in the warmest part of your refrigerator.  Eggplants do not store well for long periods of time.  

RECIPES by DEB

Photo by debslunch

Zucchini & Pinto Bean Enchiladas

This recipe for enchiladas and homemade enchilada sauce is very versatile! You can keep it strictly vegetarian or add meat, or do a vegan version using vegan cheese. Here I’ve used zucchini and pinto beans, but you could sub in corn or summer squash, and use purchased enchilada sauce if you don’t have time to make the sauce. Both the sauce and the enchiladas freeze really well, and if you want to add meat, I suggest 1/2 pound of ground beef, pork, turkey, or bulk chorizo. Brown the meat with the onions and then add any other vegetables you wish to use.

Serves 6-8
Takes about an hour and 15 minutes including baking

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth, preferably home made OR one 14.5 oz. can of broth plus enough water to make 2 cups (about 2-3 tablespoons)
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder (You can control the heat of the sauce by using mild or hot chili powder. I often use part chili powder and part ground Ancho chile. Penzey’s is a good source.)
Optional, if you like heat: 1 chile from a can of chipotle chiles in Adobo sauce, finely chopped, plus a few spoons of the sauce
1-3 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
salt and black pepper to taste

For the filling:
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
3/4 to 1 pound of zucchini or summer squash or a mixture, cut into bite-size chunks
1 cup of pinto beans or corn
3/4 to 1 cup finely chopped onions
salt and black pepper to taste

For assembly:
8-10 flour tortillas
1/2 pound cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Make the sauce: measure the oil and flour into a sauce pan and whisk to combine. Heat the broth in the microwave – a spouted glass measuring cup works well for this – and pour it into the pan while whisking until smooth and thickened. Add the chili powder, Adobo chile and sauce, tomato paste, and brown sugar and whisk until smooth. Simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Make the filling: Heat the oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent. Add the zucchini and cook until it is just tender, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the beans (or corn if using).
3. Assemble the enchiladas: Heat the oven to 375°. Microwave the tortillas briefly (45 seconds to a minute, depending on your microwave) to make them flexible. Pour a thin layer of sauce into the bottom of a 13 x 9 baking dish. Fill each tortilla with 1/3 cup of filling, top with about 2 tablespoons of grated cheese (reserving about 1/4 cup of cheese for topping), tuck the sides in, and roll neatly. Place the enchiladas in the baking dish as they’re rolled.
4. Pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas. Place the baking dish in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes until bubbling. Top with the reserved grated cheese and return to the oven for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Serve the enchiladas with sour cream, chips, and salsa of your choice.

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Roasted Eggplant Spread Recipe | Ina Garten

From Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Family Style
This quick and easy spread from Ina Garten, the doyenne of upscale comfort food, can be served as an appetizer or as the centerpiece of a light summer meal if accompanied by some protein. It also makes a tasty omelette filling. If you don’t have red bell peppers to roast along with the eggplant, you can use jarred roasted red peppers – just add them to the food processor with the other vegetables – no roasting required!

Since we have two pounds of broccoli this week, I’m including two cheesy main dishes that both feature broccoli.

Photo by Deb Perelman

Broccoli, Cheddar and Wild Rice Casserole | smitten kitchen

From smitten kitchen
With this recipe, Deb at smitten kitchen “saves” a traditional Midwestern hotdish, typically made with canned cream soup and frozen broccoli. Deb says as a child she envied friends who ate things like this regularly, since they were never served in her home, and when she decided to research and develop the recipe she was warned by other foodies it would be awful. Her recipe definitely meets the challenge!
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Photo by Diana Chistruga

Easy One-Pan Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese

From The Spruce Eats
I chose this stove top mac & cheese since I think it has the best macaroni to broccoli ratio: 8 oz. noodles to 12 oz. broccoli. It calls for frozen broccoli, but you can use fresh by simply adding the chopped broccoli to the macaroni cooking water when the pasta has about 5 minutes to go rather than the one minute suggested for the frozen.
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Photo by Laura Davidson

Spicy Peanut Noodles with Cucumber | A Beautiful Plate

From A Beautiful Plate
One inspiration for any one running out of cucumber ideas is to use the cucumbers in or as a topping for one of the spicy noodle salads that’re so good in the summer, or a stir fry. This recipe is an example of cucumbers in; looking back on some past Tipi recipes, you could try lightly marinated cucumbers in place of the asparagus on top of this tofu dish from Week 3, or this stir fry from October of 2021. To marinate the cucumbers, slice and place them in a bowl. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of rice vinegar, a pinch or two of salt, and optionally a little sugar. Leave them to marinate while you prepare the rest of the dish and then top individual servings with the cucumbers. I also found, but did not test, this recipe for cucumber noodles, where the cucumber is “zoodle-ized” to be the noodle. It strikes me that it would be tasty the first day and then potentially get kind of watery. If anyone tries it, how about posting to the Facebook group and let everyone know how it turned out! The recipe calls for seedless cucumbers – one way to adapt for seeded cucumbers is to cut your cucumbers into thin planks with a Y-shaped peeler then julienne the slices with a knife leaving out the seedy middles. And of course, if you have more zucchini than cucumbers, you could make this salad with actual zoodles.
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Roasted Zucchini, Thomas Keller’s Viral “Life-Changing” Method | The Delicious Life

From The Delicious Life
This recipe is all over the Internet this summer, and there are lots of videos illustrating how to prepare it if you like that kind of thing. Chef Thomas Keller’s method is to cut the zucchini in half, score it in a crosshatch pattern, and then salt and drain it, before pan frying it to brown the cut sides and finally roasting until tender. This free, non-video version of the recipe mentions the topping that’s in Keller’s original, a sauce vierge but doesn’t provide the recipe. Sauce vierge is simply chopped fresh tomatoes tossed with a little olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, and whatever herbs you have. If you don’t eat all of our cherry tomatoes on the way home from box pickup, you could chop them up to top your zucchini!
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Photo by Goydenko Liudmila / Getty Images

Flavored Butter Recipes | The Spruce Eats

From The Spruce Eats
Since this is the first time we’re getting corn, everyone’s most likely to eat it on the cob. Here’s a top ten list of flavored butters you might want to try to jazz up your corn. Numbers 1-5 are savory butters that pair well with corn, but I think some of the sweet ones would work too, like #7, Cranberry Butter.

Week #10; Let me help you with eggplant.

Don’t worry about funky eggplant shapes.  They were shaped by growing quickly among the plant’s branches.

Team Eggplant brings in the harvest. The plants are very healthy, which makes a fun harvest.  From left, Aly, Raul, Katie and Mary Ann.

If you are intimidated by eggplant, I can help

Storage
For best flavor, store eggplants at room temperature for 2 – 3 days.  If holding for longer than three days, store in the warmest part of your refrigerator.  Eggplants do not store well for long periods of time.  

Hints for easy preparation.
Eggplant does not have to be time-consuming to prepare.  Here are a few suggestions.
– Many recipes instruct you to salt and drain eggplant “to remove bitter flavors.”  You do not need to salt this eggplant.  We are sending you fresh eggplant and it will not be bitter.  
– Try microwaving your eggplant, to speed preparation and reduce the amount of oil used.  Microwaving is quick and eliminates the need to peel the eggplant; the skin ends up soft and edible.  Unlike pan-frying, you need little oil when cooking in the microwave.  The “Microwave Eggplant with Scallion-Chile Crisp Oil” recipe below uses this technique.  The recipe is quick and absolutely delicious.

Eggplants are versatile.  Here are other ideas:
– Roast in the oven or over coals to cook and smoke your eggplant, then transform into baba ganouj with lemon, tahini, salt and garlic.
– Cut in 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices, peel, and rub with a little salad dressing (I use Newman’s balsamic dressing), then grill slowly until soft and smoky.  At this point, you can cut into cubes to make eggplant caponata with chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic, olives, capers, olive oil and red wine vinegar. 
– Use the grilled cubes in casseroles or to top pizza.  
– Add thin, grilled eggplant slices to grilled cheese sandwiches.  Use hearty bread – this doesn’t work well with soft sandwich bread.

How to prep fresh garlic

Steve was baffled about how to prep last week’s fresh garlic. He muttered something about needing power tools, which I felt was overly dramatic.  But perhaps some of you resorted to power tools last week, and I should show you the simple way to peel your fresh garlic.  The only tricks are to peel (not cut) the outer layers, and to crush each clove to release it from its wrapper.

From left; Peel down the outer layers, one or two layers at a time.  When the cloves are freed from the outer wrapper leaves, break them loose from the base.  Crush each clove between two cutting boards to free it from its clove wrapper. 

Veggie List & Veggie Notes
Week #10
July 20/21, 2023 (Th/Fri sites)

– Weekly shares
– BiWeekly/ green
– Sampler/ B group

Green cabbage
Broccoli, about 2 medium heads
Globe eggplant, 1
Green leaf lettuce
Green bell pepper, 1
Zucchini &/or yellow squash, ~2.5 lb
Cucumbers, 3
Walla Walla onion
Basil, 1 stalk
Fresh garlic
By site: Muskmelon OR cherry tomatoes.  I will distribute melons and cherry tomatoes to each pickup site over the coming weeks, to be sure we reach all sites.  Please don’t open boxes at your site looking for variety – all boxes at each site are identical.

Next week’s box will probably contain sweet corn, melon, broccoli, zucchini and more.

Broccoli – Our second planting has done very nicely, much better than usual, considering the weather.  
Storage: Refrigerate.

Cabbage – You will receive either Caraflex (pointy) or Farao (round).  Both are intended as salad/slaw cabbages but can be lightly cooked too.
Storage:  Refrigerate.

Muskmelons (some sites) – These are ripe and ready to eat.  Refrigerate.

RECIPES by BETH

Deb is busy with family so I am on recipe duty. Let’s share a few of our favorite dishes and strategies.

Make a pot of rice

It’s not a joke!  It’s a cooking strategy.  We’re busy, you’re busy.  For us, strategy #1 is to cook a big pot of brown rice once per week. Sometimes I’ll come down in the morning and find Steve cooking rice at 6:00am, while he’s still in the house for an hour.  Then we prep dishes to accompany the rice through the next days.  
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Top: From Food & Wine, Photo by Antonis Achilleos, Prop styling by Christina Daley, Food styling by Ali Ramee.
Bottom:  My cooked dish.  It was delicious.

Microwave Eggplant with Scallion-Chile Crisp Oil

By Andrea Nguyen, in Food & Wine:
“This microwave eggplant recipe from Andrea Nguyen requires none of the usual fuss of salting and straining the nightshade beforehand. Cooking a whole eggplant in the microwave effortlessly, evenly, and quickly cooks its flesh to soft, silky tenderness while preserving its antioxidant-rich skin. Cut into thick slices and drizzled with generous spoonfuls of flavorful sauce, microwave eggplant is an easy and delicious side dish that comes together in 20 minutes flat.”

Here is a great, flavorful recipe that uses your microwave for eggplant prep.  I’ll bet that some of you still have a few scallions in your fridge.  Otherwise, sliced Walla Walla should make a good substitute.  I followed the cooking times in the recipe for my 1 lb eggplant, adding the suggested extra 60 seconds, and the eggplant was beautiful: plush, with edible skin.  Give the recipe a try – I think you’ll like it.
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Photo by The Woks of Life

Smashed Asian Cucumber Salad

From The Woks of Life
We rotate among a variety of cucumber salads while they are in season.  This smashed salad is Ari’s favorite.  The rough surfaces hold the dressing well.  We use a recipe from the New York Times (Chinese Smashed Cucumbers With Sesame Oil and Garlic) but that recipe is behind a paywall and this one from Woks of Life is virtually identical.  We skip the cilantro and use Korean pepper flakes instead of chili oil.

Cucumber salad is surprisingly good with rice, especially if you add cooked salmon or tofu.  It’s reminiscent of nori rolls.  You can always sprinkle toasted nori sheets on top.
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Grilled vegetables

I often grill a batch of marinated vegetables and tofu at the beginning of the week, without a clear plan how we’ll use them.  They always get eaten, whether with rice or pasta, or as a side dish.  In this week’s box, zucchini, Walla Walla onions and eggplant are all suitable for grilling.  
Zucchini or Zephyr squash – Slice about 1/3 inch thick.  Douse in a simple marinade.  We use a mix of rice vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce.  Bottled salad dressing works great too.  If your marinade does not have oil, spray or brush lightly with oil.  Grill over low heat until tender, turning once.  Slice into ribbons and mix with the marinade again.
Walla Walla onion – Slice into chunks and thread onto skewers.   Grill over low heat until tender and nicely charred.  Flip at least once.
Eggplant – Cut in 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices, peel, and rub with a little salad dressing (I use Newman’s balsamic dressing), then grill slowly until soft and smoky.
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Photo by Love & Lemons

Broccoli Slaw

From Love & Lemons
The dressing for this mixed broccoli and cabbage slaw is traditional but nicely balanced, with mayo, cider vinegar, dijon mustard, and maple syrup.  

Week #9; A bit of rain; Purple + A

Irrigation by day, irrigation by night.

We got 0.9 inch of rain today.  That is the largest rain since mid-May.  After nine long weeks, the farm is very dry and that 0.9 inch will disappear quickly.  We won’t irrigate tonight and will watch the weather forecast for the next few days.  Perhaps we will get some more.

Refrigerator Pickles

Let’s talk quick pickles, since we are sending four cucumbers this week.  Here is the recipe that I use.  (Deb gave us a different refrigerator pickle recipe two weeks ago, plus new ideas below.)  I usually prepare and store extra brine so I am ready to pickle another batch or other vegetables.  I make simple pickles (cucumbers, dill, garlic) but you can dress them up with other aromatics.  

Brine (enough for 2.5 to 3 packed quart jars)
4 cups water
1 cup vinegar
3 Tbsp pickling salt

Combine and stir to dissolve.

Pickles, 1 quart
Washed cucumbers, cut into spears
1 small or 1/2 large dill umbel
1 garlic clove, crushed

Pack a clean one-quart jar with the cucumber spears, garlic and dill.  Fill with brine to the top, seal with a lid and put in the fridge.  Ready to eat the next day and really good on the second day.  

After eating your pickles, you can re-use the brine by adding fresh cucumber spears.  You will not need to add more garlic or dill.  After the second batch, I throw away the brine.

Extra brine ready for the next batch of pickled cucumbers, red peppers, etc.

Veggie List & Veggie Notes
Week #9
July 13/14, 2023 (Th/Fri sites)

– Weekly shares
– BiWeekly/ purple
– Sampler/ A group

Beets, ~2 lb
Broccoli, 1 – 2 medium heads
Collards, 1 bunch
Green bell pepper
Walla Walla onion
Zucchini &/or yellow squash
Cucumbers, 4
Fresh garlic, 1 bulb
Basil, 1 bunch
Dill, 1 umbel

Next week’s box will probably contain cabbage, Walla Walla onion, zucchini, cucumbers, fresh garlic and more.

Beets – Storage:  Cover and refrigerate.  Beet roots store quite well when refrigerated.  Wash well to remove leaf fragments.  For all the cooking methods below, wash and scrub the beets but do not peel.  The skins slip off readily once the beets are cooked and cooled.
Cooking beet roots on the stovetop:  Slice or quarter, cover with water in a pot, and simmer until tender.  This will take from 25 to 45 minutes depending on how large the beet pieces are.  Drain.
Roasting beets in oven:  Wash beets, but do not peel.  On a sheet of aluminum foil, put beets (halved or quartered if large), salt, pepper and a few sprinklings of water.  Seal the foil packet, and roast at 400 oF until tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Slip off skins once cool.
Microwave:  Slice beets in half and place in a large microwave-proof bowl.  Add ¾ inch water and cover with a plate.  Microwave on high until tender, about 9-20 minutes, depending on your microwave’s power.  Drain and slip off skins.
Uses:  Use cooked beets in cold salads, or dress simply with vinaigrette, onions, salt and pepper.  Beets are also good tossed with sour cream, minced onion, fresh herbs and walnuts.

Broccoli – Storage: cover and refrigerate.  Broccoli is sensitive to warm temperatures so do your best to keep it cold. If your broccoli seems wilted, soak in cold water for fifteen minutes and it will plump back up.

Collards – Collards grow nicely and keep their quality in summer, when other greens are not at their best.  Handle collards like kale.  They are interchangeable in recipes.
Storage: Refrigerate.

Green bell pepper – Refrigerate.

Walla Walla onion – This batch of Walla Walla onions is a bit different.  As usual, the are sweet and crisp but more pungent than we usually see.  They remain less pungent that yellow storage onions.  Wallas are sonderful raw or lightly cooked.  Try cutting into wedges, threading on a skewer and grilling.  Do not try to fry these onions – it doesn’t work because of their high water content.  
U:  It’s OK to store at room temperature for up to one week.  Otherwise, refrigerate.

Fresh garlic – These plump bulbs are the Korean Red variety.  Fresh garlic is special; crunchy, juicy and incredibly pungent.  We pull these bulbs a week or so before we begin the big garlic harvest.  The outer papers on the bulb and individual cloves are still succulent, not dried.  After you separate a clove from the bulb, try lightly crushing the clove between two cutting boards to release it from its wrapper.  
Storage:  I suggest that you refrigerate this bulb of garlic, so it remains easy to peel.  The garlic is fine if you leave it at room temperature but the cloves will become difficult to peel as the bulb dries.

Basil – Store at room temperature, in a glass of water.  This week’s harvest is bunched, smaller stems.  See last week’s newsletter for detailed storage instructions.

Dill – I am sending one umbel so you can make refrigerator pickles.  What you receive could be either a flower head or young seeds.  Either is great for pickles.  These are large umbels, big enough for two jars.  Slice in half down the stem with a paring knife.
Storage:  Trim the stem ends and store in a glass of water at room temperature.  I encourage you to store your dill and basil in separate glasses.

Everyone gets one dill umbel.  Could be a head of young seeds (left) or flowers (right).

RECIPES by DEB

Beet and Cucumber Salad

Photo by debslunch
With a hat tip to Julia Turshen, here’s a summer-y salad with cooked beets and lightly pickled cucumbers. I used fresh dill since that’s what I had, but the basil in this week’s box would also be tasty. The dressing can be made with plain yogurt – whole milk or Greek style works best, or sour cream, or crème fraîche, the last of which can be purchased, but you can make it yourself by whisking equal amounts of heavy cream and sour cream together. This works best with cream that is not ultra-pasteurized – a local brand is Sassy Cow. Leave to sit at room temperature overnight or until thickened then refrigerate where it will keep for 4-5 days.

Serves 4-6.
Takes about 30 mins. active time, plus 40 minutes or so to cook the beets

1 pound beets
1 large cucumber
1/2 cup Walla Walla onion slices
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons white wine, cider, or rice vinegar
pinch of kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup plain Greek or whole milk yogurt, sour cream, or crème fraîche
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, dill, or parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 350° if roasting the beets. Trim and scrub the beets. If roasting, place them in a baking dish that holds them fairly snugly – preferably glass; it’s easier to clean! – and cover tightly with foil. Place in the oven and roast until fork tender. Cooking time will vary based on the age and size of the beets, so start checking after 30 mins. If you want to cook the beets on the stove, place the cleaned beets in a large pot, and add cold water to cover. Remove the beets, and bring the pot of water to a boil on the stove. When it’s boiling add salt and the beets, and adjust the heat to keep them a quiet simmer. Same as roasting, start checking for tenderness after about 30 mins.
2. Peel the cucumber if you like, and seed it by cutting it in half lengthwise and scooping out the seeds with a spoon. Slice fairly thinly. Place the cucumber slices and the onion slices in a bowl, and add the sugar and pinch of kosher salt. Pour the vinegar over, toss, and set aside to marinate.
3. When the beets are tender, remove from the oven and drain and cool just until they can be handled. Skin the beets – some people do this by rubbing the skins off with paper towel. I like to do it under cool running water, which also reduces the cooling time. If the skin sticks in spots just peel that off with a small knife. Slice the beets, place in a mixing bowl, and toss with the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Arrange the beets on a serving platter or individual plates. Remove the cucumbers and onions from the vinegar with a slotted spoon or your hands and place on top of the beets. Blob the dressing on top and serve right away. The salad still tastes good the next day but all the components will be dyed beet color.

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Bryant Terry’s Jerk Tofu Wrapped in Collard Leaves | Penguin Random House Canada

From Penguin Random House Canada
This recipe was created by chef and activist Bryant Terry, and is the cover image of Terry’s 2020 book, Vegetable Kingdom. Bryant Terry specializes in vegan versions of Black American foods. You’ll find other online versions of the recipe, such as at Epicurious, but might run into a pay wall there. The recipe produces an impressive, knife & fork vegan entree and there’re a lot of steps to make all the components, but you can marinate the tofu in bottled barbecue sauce in place of making the jerk marinade, and I have omitted the cilantro sauce and it’s still tasty. I believe Chef Terry uses arrowroot instead of cornstarch because cornstarch is a product of industrial agriculture, but I have also subbed more readily available cornstarch for the arrowroot with success.
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Photo by debslunch
I think my favorite way to eat beets is pickled, preferably with eggs and a dab of mayo. This isn’t really a recipe; more of a formula. I like to roast the beets (see instructions in the salad above) but you can also boil the beets if you don’t want to turn on your oven on a hot day. In the picture, the eggs on the right were in the beet juice for about 5 days.

Pickled Beets & Eggs

1 pound of beets
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup or more water
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt or more to taste
About a teaspoon whole spices such as allspice, cloves, or 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick; some people like a clove or two or garlic as well
4 warm hard-boiled eggs

Boil or roast your beets, peel them, slice them, and place in a container or bowl with a lid that’s large enough to hold the brine and the eggs. Add the whole spices. Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a pot or glass measuring pitcher, then either heat on the stove or microwave the glass pitcher long enough to melt the sugar. Pour over the beets. Hard boil the eggs – there are a zillion methods but this is mine: place cold eggs in a pot and add cold water to cover. Place over high heat and bring to a boil, and soon as the sides of the pot have a few bubbles, set a timer for 13 minutes. Lower the heat as necessary to keep the eggs at a nice boil, but not boiling over. When the timer goes off, remove the eggs from the heat and flood the pot with cold water in the sink. Peel the eggs and add to the beets and brine, adding more hot water or vinegar if needed to cover. Place the container in the fridge and allow to pickle at least overnight before serving.
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Broccoli Pesto Pasta Salad | The Healthy Epicurean

From The Healthy Epicurean
This pasta pesto salad includes both broccoli and basil in the pesto. The recipe provides a number of substitutions, and if you don’t have quite enough broccoli, slip in a few blanched kale or collard leaves and increase the basil.
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Zucchini Lasagna Recipe | Love and Lemons

From Love and Lemons
This recipe uses zucchini two ways: in the tofu filling and as planks replacing some of the noodle. You could sub about 8 ounces ricotta cheese and an egg for the tofu and walnuts in the filling, and the dish would still be lower carb and lower fat then a typical lasagna.
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Cucumber Zucchini Salad — Nikki Dinki Cooking

From Nikki Dinki Cooking
It looks like the author of this blog has moved their newer content over to Instagram, but regardless, this recipe provides a great idea for using cucumbers and zucchini for this time of the summer when we have a lot of both – treat them the same and make a refreshing marinated salad. Of course you could make this salad with all cucumber or all zucchini! The Walla Walla onion in the box can be subbed in place of red onion. Beth says the Walla Wallas are unusually strong, and if they seem so to you, I recommend soaking the slices in cold water for a few minutes and draining before proceeding with the recipe. And for another way to use our cucumber bounty, see this July 2021 newsletter for small batch refrigerator pickle relish.
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Beet Relish | Culinary Ginger

photo by Janette
From Culinary Ginger
This blog’s title Culinary Ginger refers to the color of the author’s hair. They’re a redhead, called a ginger in the UK. Beet or beetroot relish also has UK origins, and the recipe provides suggestions for serving it – I think I’d go for on a cheese sandwich. It’s a refrigerator pickle, but there are instructions for canning the relish for longer storage as well. This author suggests another method of roasting the beets: peel first and wrap them in foil before roasting.
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photo by Tieghan

Garden Greens Goddess Pizza | Half Baked Harvest

From Half Baked Harvest
You can use kale or collards as the greens in this no-tomato-sauce pizza from Half Baked Harvest. The pesto recipe uses pistachios, and you could easily sub any other type of nuts, and either increase the basil in place of the dill or mint, or use a few leaves of your greens. The recipe also suggest homemade or store bought pizza dough; here’s a link to 101 Cookbooks overnight yeasted pizza dough (with lenghty discussion!), and also a quick dough from Jamie Oliver. Jamie’s Cheat’s pizza dough calls for self-rising flour and here’s how to make that.