2014 CSA Week 9

Greetings!

Is it summer yet?!  :-)

It's that time again when we all look forward to our wonderful produce from Sustainable Harvest Farm!

Just in time for the 4th of July weekend, find some great potluck style recipes below. I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday!

In this week's share, the new items you might find are beets and green beans (my fav!).

Item	How to store it	How long will it last?
cabbage or broccoli	washed or unwashed in refrigerator	1-2 weeks
summer squash	unwashed in fridge	1-2 weeks
zucchini	unwashed in fridge	1-2 weeks
tomatoes	room temperature	several days
garlic	Unwashed in the fridge	up to 1 week
green beans or beets	dry, unwashed in the fridge	3-4 days

Amanda shares some of their favorite recipes:
Broccoli Apple Salad and their favorite Cabbage Casserole.

I found this wonderful recipe for zucchini gratin on a great vegetarian site, 12tomatoes.com
This is the perfect potluck contribution that people will go nuts over!

Zucchini Gratin

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
4 large zucchini, sliced
4 medium shallots, minced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup cheddar cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Green onions, sliced, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat the oven for 400 degrees F.
Heat a large, deep pot to medium heat and add the butter. Once melted, sauté the shallots and garlic in the butter until the shallots are translucent – about a minute or two.
Add the zucchini, heavy cream, salt, pepper, oregano, and Parmesan cheese. Let the mixture cook on the stovetop for about 8 to 10 minutes, until the mixture is bubbly. Make sure to keep mixing everything with a spoon while it is cooking.
Then, transfer this mixture to a greased casserole dish (9x13 or a similar size should be plenty big) and mix in most of the cheddar cheese – once everything is blended thoroughly, sprinkle the rest of the cheddar cheese on top.
Bake the gratin for 10 to 14 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and golden-brown. Top with sliced green onions for garnish, if desired.

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And, my favorite potluck item is pasta salad with veggies and herbs. Use anything in season. The dressing sounds like a great one to keep on file! Recipe found here and below.

Lemony Roasted Garlic Pasta (Salad)

Ingredients:
8 oz. pasta (mini bowties, rotini or something small and ‘pasta-salad-like’)
3-4 cups veggies
For the Dressing:
2 heads garlic
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup water (use reserved pasta water)
1 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Tofu, sliced hardboiled eggs, grilled chicken (optional)

This could also be done wrapped in foil on the grill.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°.  Chop veggies into bite-size pieces, if needed.  Spread evenly onto a roasting pan along with 2 heads of garlic.  Drizzle olive oil (approximately 2-3 Tablespoons) evenly over all.  Roast in oven for 10-15 minutes until veggies begin to caramelize.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions and drain, reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta water.

When veggies/garlic are roasted, let cool until garlic is cool enough to handle.  Peel 20 roasted garlic cloves and add them to bowl of food processor.  Add the rest of the dressing ingredients except for water and blend.  Slowly add reserved water until dressing is of desired thickness.

Add cooked veggies to pasta and pour about half the dressing over (or to taste).  Reserve the rest of the dressing for another use.

Serve warm or cold, garnished with chunks of broiled tofu, hardboiled eggs or chicken, if desired.
(optional)

Yummy!


~Nancy