CSA Week 7, 2020

CSA Week 7

You MAY have some mighty fine corn, squash, cukes, tomatoes, blueberries, peppers! eggplant! Chinese cabbage?

I believe mid way through last week some of you received Chinese cabbage and some the bok choy I wrote about. It’s all fairly interchangeable, and you already know what’s what, right?

Looking a lot like ratatouille! peppers and eggplant and squash and tomatoes, oh my! Ya, that was not catchy, which one would you leave out of your mélange?

Peppers: look for your standard green bell, but we also have white, yellow, orange, lilac, and purple flavor. What about red you say? Did you know that red peppers are just ripe peppers? Yep, the yellow and orange were also green first too!

We grow A LOT of peppers! Mostly you will see sweet bell types, but you may also see sweet banana/Italian frying types like Carmen, Italica, and Mama Mia Giallo- in shades of light green, dark green, yellow and red,  Lipstick – a pimiento shaped red one that ripens to red early, St Nick and Hungarian Round- thick walled, squatty red, and some ‘blushing beauty” Romanian types.. It’s turned into a sickness passion here to grow any peppers, but especially hots! As I said last week, IF we put any in your box/bag, you would most likely see jalapeno, Hungarian Wax -hot banana looking, and Poblano- dark green, pointy but looking somewhat like a bell pepper. You can read more about hots we grow here.

Hey, give eggplant a chance. Of course not if you are allergic (brother Allan?). It is SOOO pretty too! Keep your eye out for any color and shape 🙂

It has been a hot week at the farm. Don’t forget about the wonders of soup on hot days or my affection for the immersion blender. A little spice helps bring on a sweat too. Or, you can chill it and cool off that way. Either way, the oven is not involved! As usual for my “recipes” go for proportions and use spices you like. This week I had maybe a quart of chicken broth on hand in the fridge which became the basis for cutting up enough squash for the broth to barely cover. To be honest, I doubt I have ever made this soup the same. I also admit, I have made it with just garlic, s&p as the sole seasoning and it is just fine…like my cream of broccoli soup 😉

Summer Squash/zucchini Soup, this week’s version

• 3-4 summer squash
• 1 qt chicken or favorite broth to barely cover (you can use water, but adjust seasoning accordingly)
• package of instant grits (plain instant oatmeal or something to thicken)
• one stalk Egyptian Walking Onion
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (too hot and lazy to walk out to field and get a new bulb)
• fresh black pepper
• dash cayenne
• 1/4-1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• pretty sure I tossed in some turmeric and a spot of very hot paprika – whoa
• 1/2 cup cream

Wash, trim and cut up the squash, you are going to blend it in the end, so it does not have to be pretty. I always quarter squash the long way and then 1/2″ slice. Prepare alliums. In appropriate size pot, add the vegetables and broth/stock. Stir in all the spices, heat and then simmer until squash is very tender. Turn off heat. Stir in instant grits package. “No self–respecting southerner uses instant grits. I take pride in my grits.” Well, with the use of “magic grits” this soup took 20 minutes start to finish, while drinking a glass of Pinot. But I digress. Let the grits soften for a few minutes. Blend with immersion blender until mostly pureed looking. Add cream and blend for a few more seconds. Taste test. Enjoy hot or cold.

 

Ratatouille!

Such a perfect time for this wonderful, aromatic, combination of all things in season! Here’s my super simplified version:

There are as many recipes for ratatouille as there are French chefs.  I like to use different colored squashes for effect.  I have also done a grilled version where you brush the sliced veggies with olive oil and grill for a few minutes.  Then you chop the veggies and add to a bowl with your tomatoes, extra olive oil and seasoning and toss!.  It isn’t necessary to peel this vegetable when it is young and tender, so the decision is yours. Bump it up with fresh parsley, basil, thyme, oregano…

Chop an onion and bell pepper, cube an eggplant, 2 zucchini or any other type of summer squash, and 2 tomatoes.

Heat about 3 Tb oil in a large frying pan.  Sauté the onion and pepper until fragrant. Add  eggplant and squashes and sauté to lightly brown.  Season (this should include at least 2 cloves of minced garlic), cover and cook ~10 mins over medium heat.  Add tomatoes and  tsp. basil or lots more if it’s fresh, 1/4 tsp. thyme, and 1/4 tsp. oregano. Partly cover and cook another 5 mins or so.  Great with Parmesan cheese and toasted bread.

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Chinese Cabbage Salad

1/2 Chinese Cabbage shredded

That’s all you need, though you can add a grated carrot, slivered almonds, sliced water chestnuts, thinly sliced scallions…

Combine:

• 1Tbsp peanut oil
• 2 Tbs. sesame oil
• 2Tbsp rice wine or white wine vinegar
• 1-2 Tbs. maple syrup
• 1/2 Tsp. salt
• 3 Tbs. soy sauce

Pour over salad and toss well.  Refrigerate for 1/2 hour.  Strain the salad over a sauce pan and press down on the cabbage until you have collected all the juices.  Boil the juices down to about 1/4 cup and toss into the salad.

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Geve’s Favorite Summer Pasta (scale back as needed)

• 4  tomatoes chopped
• 1 lb Brie cut/torn apart (Reid is not a huge fan of Brie, so I make this with FRESH mozzarella too)
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• handful of basil torn apart or chopped
• 1/2 cup favorite olive oil
• S&P
• 1-2 pounds your favorite pasta

Combine everything except the pasta in the bowl you are going to serve it in, cover and let come together for a few hours at room temp. Cook your pasta according to directions, drain and toss hot pasta with the tomato, brie, oil dressing/sauce. Enjoy!

*Variations on a theme, I have added chopped, blanched greens to this, sauteed squash, squash noodles…you cannot go wrong!

Vegetarian Chili
Quick Lemon Summer Pasta
Zucchini Recipes
Summer Tian

We had a whopper last night! Thunder and lightening crashing all around and then Glenn wakes up and says, “Do you think you should shut the windows? I am getting wet.” LOL, he IS closer to the window, but when I say it was blowing in, the curtain was out straight with the bed easily six feet away. I did close the window, and then wander the house looking for other hazards as the rain came in a torrent. I guess folks with air conditioning miss fun, midnight adventures like that.

Once again, you are welcome out to the farm to pick a few raspberries or just roam freely sans-mask (outside, of course). If you do make it out for a visit, please be respectful of the rows and assume if there is a plant growing or plastic laid, that you should not step on it. it is very tempting to short cut across a field and march across the rows, but it takes a big stride to do it without stomping on the edge of the plastic pr the plants. Thanks in advance!!!

The Sharp-shinned Hawk has been especially busy, trying to pick off mostly Doves, though he got a young Blue-jay last week. As though his success attracted more interest, one of the juvenile Red-tail Hawks came stooping through the back yard, right by the bird feeder. He missed everything and then proceeded to sit on a dead branch surveillling the yard for a couple hours. No one was happy… the Jays made sure everyone knew it! As for insects, some very interesting hornets on the fennel, including a black Ichneuman wasp with a bright orange-red abdomen, a few Cicada Killers, and many Great Black Wasps. Not a wasp fan? Well the entire farm is aflutter with Monarchs, Fritillaries, Tiger, Spicebush, Black Swallowtails and way too many more to list. It is also a great wildflower time. Lots more to watch around here besides the birds 🙂

We undercut the garlic this week and it looks great! After it cures a little, you should see some.

Eat well,

Geneviève Stillman

Coming up: Peaches, eggplant, garlic, onions…