CSA Newsleter

Greetings from the Garden! This week's box has lettuce, beets, cucumbers, green onions, the first tomatoes, zucchini, beans, and peppers, red or green cabbage, and basil, parsley and oregano.

Field Notes. As the Asian proverb says, "Be careful what you wish for!" Ken had wanted about two inches of rain so he would not have to irrigate. And we got seven inches in less than a week! The raised beds saved us once again. The rain can flow off the beds into the low areas between beds so that the plants are not in standing water. The trenches also can retain that water that would otherwise run off. We are also happy that we did not receive any wind or hail damage and no tornado!

Summer has turned a corner now; the rush is on for the plants to reproduce. The vegetables in this week's box reflect this - these are the plants that set fruit: tomatoes, peppers, summer squash, cucumbers, and beans. And the days are shortening noticeably. Usually last week and this week are the hottest part of the summer. We had some "meltdowns" in last week's heat. Ken lost a crop of smaller transplants that just couldn't take it. Some lettuce bolted, and some Chinese cabbage rotted in the heart from the hot humid weather. The heat loving plants took off - the squash and melons really vined out. The sweet potatoes look good, too.

From the Kitchen. Ah, summer food. Sunday we grilled some green onions and zucchini. Delicious. And I made some cole slaw with an Early Jersey Wakefield cabbage that had some bottom rot. And cuke salad. Today we should have our first tomatoes as there are a couple with cracks. Here are some salad ideas.

I rinse and slice tomatoes and place chopped basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil salt and pepper between layers or as a dressing to tomatoes wedges. Let marinade about a half hour so the flavor develops. Nothing beats a tomato sandwich with white bread and homemade mayonnaise. It is one of the few times we use white bread - I keep some in the freezer just for this.

We love cabbage! Cole slaw is easy. Clean and slice cabbage and a little other vegetables for color like carrot or red cabbage and green onion tops. Sprinkle with salt and turn to mix the salt in. Set aside about a half hour. This will make the cabbage limp and sweeter. Make a dressing with vinegar or lemon juice, mayonnaise or yogurt, a bit of honey, and pepper. If salt is a concern, rinse the cabbage. Combine dressing and cabbage. We also steam wedges of Early Jersey cabbage as it is sweet and tender. And I make sweet and sour red cabbage - just saute an onion, add sliced cabbage and vinegar and honey to taste - great with pork chops.

I usually cut the tops off beets and store separately. I leave about an inch of stem and boil the beets until the skins slip off. I pour off cooking water, place beets in cool water, slip the skins and either serve or store for the next day. I usually warm them in a skillet with butter and fennel seeds. We keep hearing they are good grilled, but have not tried them grilled yet. I add the tops to salads if they are tender or braise with onion and add an interesting vinegar or dressing.

Beans are a favorite around here - a real part of summer. I often snap both ends and steam to al dente and add butter and salt and pepper. They are great in a cream sauce with or without sauteed mushrooms or onion.

Oregano is a Mediterranean herb that pairs well with tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers. I add it to olive oil for grilled vegetables.