Week 7

CSA Share Week 7: From our farm to your table this week …  

Basil
Broccoli
Cucumbers
Kale
Lettuce
Squash
Tomatoes
Zucchini

Tips for using and/or preserving your produce…

Basil

Few herbs are as beautiful, versatile and amazingly aromatic as basil.  The leaves of this tender herb are delicious to pluck and eat right off the plant but it also adds wonderful flavor to dozens of dishes – sweet, savory, hot & cold.  You can store basil in the fridge as you would lettuce, but I like to make a fresh snip on the bottom of the stems and put them in a small glass vase or Mason jar just as I would with fresh flowers.  This will keep the basil in great shape for several days and your kitchen will smell fresh and wonderful!  If you don’t want to use it right away, basil can also be easily dried by hanging the stems upside down for a few days then picking the dried leaves to store in plastic bags or glass jars for use in winter cooking. 

Eventually I’ll get around to a pesto recipe or two but first I’d like to share my absolute favorite way to enjoy fresh basil - Caprese Salad.  (It is pronounced “kah-prai-zee” although I called it “caprice” salad for a long time before learning that!) The salad is pictured above at right with the recipe underneath.

    Broccoli

No matter what plants I show our 20-month-old son, Finley, in the small raised-bed garden beside our house, he says “bwok-oh-wee.”  Unfortunately he still thinks it’s more fun to say the name of this veggie than to eat it.
This week I had the pleasure of coordinating a special luncheon for about 60 people with one theme: use locally grown produce for the entire menu.  It was a wonderful adventure in local shopping, cooking, and eating.  Because broccoli was still plentiful early this week, I decided to make 10 broccoli cheddar quiches.  I used a recipe from Kraft as a starting point, so the dish was a bit heavy on the cheese and high in calories, but I must say it’s quite yummy.  It only takes a little more than a cup or of chopped broccoli florets to whip up this simple quiche so buy some fresh eggs from one of the other farmers and you’ll have most of the fixins’ for an easy weeknight dinner! …just don’t forget to pick up some cheddar cheese on the way home!
Cucumbers

If you enjoyed the recipe for refrigerator dill pickles last week, you might like repeating that recipe this week with a slight variation to make a delicious salad.  Just reduce the vinegar by ½ (and consider trying white wine vinegar in place of regular white vinegar), remove the cucumbers from the brine after an overnight soak and transfer to a serving tray using a slotted spoon.  Serve with chunks of fresh tomato and top with crumbled feta cheese.
KaleKale is a perfect partner for tender new potatoes, or any potatoes for that matter.  This week I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the other farmers selling small, tender, “new potatoes.”  Folks (like my dad, grandfather & several of the local farmers) designate a portion of their potato planting for an early harvest of small round “new” potatoes.  They could definitely wait until the end of the summer to dig the potatoes along with the rest of their crop of large, mature roots, BUT once you’ve had a taste of new potatoes, it’s hard to resist digging up just enough for a big family dinner and enjoying them in June.  …oh wait, we’re talking about kale, right?  Yes, exactly.  …so, whether you use new potatoes, “old” potatoes or perhaps another starchy vegetable or grain (rice, polenta, pasta), consider preparing it with just a bit of butter, salt, cream and some fresh parsley then toss in some sautéed kale.  The kale really rounds out the smooth, buttery flavor of creamy, starchy, foods and provides LOTS of added nutrients.
Lettuce

Enjoy these tender, delicious leaves while they last.  A hot dry summer (as it appears we may be entering) can cause the plants to flower, and produce bitter leaves.  It’s the plant’s way of saying “my time is up, I’m making seeds and getting out of here.”  …at least that’s my translation of how Ford explains it to me in much more “agriculturally correct” terms.
Squash & Zucchini

Yes, it’s true, these are different, unique vegetables with their own distinct flavor and texture,  …but it sure is easy and fun to use them together!  I haven’t yet reached the point in the harvest season at which I’m trying to think of 10,000 ways to sneak these veggies into cakes, breads and cookies (although that will come, I’m sure).  I’m still enjoying thin slices or tiny cubes of squash and zucchini over salads.  I really like them raw.  Once on a trip to Washington (state) to visit Ford’s family I thought I had packed the perfect airport food for us to enjoy on the long trip – zucchini & yellow squash sticks, yeah!  Low calorie, light weight, and we wouldn’t be buying expensive, salty, airport food!  While I basked in my culinary and dietetic brilliance Ford completely ignored the little sticks and ate all of our trail mix and granola bars instead.  Go figure? 
Tomatoes

This week, all I have to say is “see recipe above” for AMAZING Caprese Salad.

Have a GREAT week and thanks so much for your support!

As always, please feel free to contact me for clarification, further information, or to share your own adventures in cooking local, USDA certified organic produce.  amanda.waterstrat@gmail.com