This week your basket contains: zucchini, cucumber, BEANS, SCALLIONS, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, EGGPLANT, TOMATILLOS, and sweet peppersNow that the summer squash are producing at their peak, we have put up a primer on our web site so you can see just what varieties you receive each week.  Look for it under the “Blog Posts” tab.  We took one look at the list of veggies for this week and one thought came to us: It is time for…

BUDDY’S RATATOUILLE

1 cup chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups chopped zucchini

¼ cup olive oil

2 Tbs Balsamic vinegar

1 chopped basil

1 cup diced tomatoes

Oregano

Salt

Pepper

¼- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large sauté pan heat the oil and cook the garlic and onion until the onions are translucent.  Add the zucchini, oregano, tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until zucchini is tender.  Add basil and Balsamic vinegar.  Stir in Parmesan cheese and serve.

We love eggplant in just about any way it can be used.  Our son Eli, on the other hand, can’t stand it except prepared as baba ghanouj.

BABA GHANOUJ

2 med. eggplants

2 Tbs olive oil

1 chopped onion

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup tahini

1 1/2 Tbs lemon juice

1/2 tsp ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Cook whole eggplants under broiler, turning occasionally, until charred and collapsed (approx. 20 min). Remove from broiler, cool and remove skin.         Heat oil in a skillet, add onions, cook until translucent.  Add garlic and continue cooking until onions are golden brown.  Combine eggplant, onion and garlic and remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend to a chunky puree.  Serve at room temperature with pita bread or crackers.

When we have beans for the first time, this is the way we eat them.

GARLIC BEANS WITH FILBERTS

1/2 lb. beans, cut to 1-2 inch pieces

2-3 small carrots, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic

1/2 cup chopped filberts

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. butter

salt to taste

Heat olive oil and butter in a heavy frying pan.  Sauté onions and garlic until the onions are translucent.  Add carrots, chopped nuts (almonds or walnuts can be substituted for filberts) and salt.  I tend not to use much salt when I cook, but this is one recipe where I use more than usual.  The effect you are shooting for is for the nuts to take on a salted, roasted taste.  Cook for 3-5 minutes.  Add the beans and cook stirring until they take on a dark green color.  This recipe is also great with snow peas instead of green beans.

Tomatillos are just starting to be ready.  Salsa is the easiest way to use a few of them.  Roasting the garlic and tomatillos in this salsa give it a wonderful and unique taste. You can add chopped tomatoes (roasted or not) to the recipe to fill it out

SALSA de CHILES CHIPOTLES

6-8 fresh tomatillos, husked and washed

2 large cloves garlic, unpeeled

1-3 canned chiles chipotles, seeded

salt to taste

To roast the tomatillos and garlic, lay a sheet of aluminum foil to cover ½ of the bottom of a heavy skillet set over medium heat.  Lay the tomotillos on the foil for approximately 10 minutes, turning as needed until they are blackened in places and soft.  While doing this, place the garlic in the skillet, but off the foil, and turn as needed until the garlic is soft.  Allow the garlic to cool, slip off the skin and mince the cloves.  Place the tomatillos, garlic, and chipotles in a blender or food processor and puree.  Scrape into a sauce dish and, if needed, add 2 Tbs. of water to adjust the consistency.  If a smokier, and hotter, flavor is desired, stir in 1-2 tsp. of the sauce from the canned chiles chipotles.  Adapted from Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless.