This week your basket contains: spring onions, zucchini, cucumbers, basil, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes (full shares only), eggplant, cabbage (full shares only), BEANS (half shares only), and Swiss chard. 

Well, we survived the heat wave!  Some crops did very poorly, such as lettuce which will be missing from your baskets for a couple of weeks.  We also had a significant sunburn issue on our outdoor tomatoes.  There is a possibility that even though they will need to be trimmed to be useful, the damaged fruit will ripen.  We would like to know if you would be OK receiving damaged tomatoes that you would have to trim up to half off of.  Our other option is to knock the fruits off now in hopes that it would lead to more fruit later.  Please email and let us know your thoughts.  On the other hand, some crops did very well like beans and zucchini (and cucumbers) reveled in the heat.  Polly called our squash harvest a zu-nami!  This is the best zucchini bread recipe ever.  You can use any color, shape or size squash for this amazing cake.

LONNIE’S CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

½ cup soft butter

½ cup cooking oil

2 eggs

1 ½ cup sugar (can be reduced)

1 tsp. vanilla

2 ½ cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

½ cup chocolate chips

½ cup buttermilk

4 Tbs. cocoa

2 cups grated zucchini

¼ cup chopped nuts

1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix oil, butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla and milk together.  Add cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Mix well. Add flour and mix well.  Add zucchini, chocolate chips and nuts and mix. Divide the batter into 2 well-greased loaf pans or one well-greased 13 x 9 in baking dish. Bake at 350⁰ for 45 minutes or until a tooth pick poked into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Eggplants are looking very good.  The plants are tall and have great leaf cover as well as a large number of blossoms.  We’ve taken the earliest fruits to encourage better ripening of all the little fruits on the plants.  This recipe makes good use of many of the items in your basket this week.

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. 

HOT PEPPERS are almost ready.  This is an item we include in your basket ONLY IF YOU ASK FOR THEM.  If you were on the list last year, we will automatically give them to you.  If you want to get hot peppers when they are available, just email to let us know. 

BLUEBERRIES are finished for the year, but BLACKBERRIES ARE COMING ON.  Especially after this hot spell, blackberries will be ripe and ready for the picking.  You are more than welcome to come out and pick all you want for free.  We are very happy to be able to offer this source of berries that have grown away from anyone’s spraying and away from the dust and car-crud that coats berries growing on a roadside.  Just email us to let us know when you will be coming so we can keep an eye out for you and we can point you in the best direction.

POLLY HAS AMAZING FLOWERS RIGHT NOW.  She can make you a beautiful bouquet for only $7 that will have 20+ stems and will come with your veggie basket whenever you want them.  Just email to order!

DO YOU HATE PLASTIC BAGS?  If so, help us reduce our use of them by buying reusable produce bags.  We have bought a large supply of mesh bags that we will pass along to you at our cost ($2 each).  We will write your name on them and if you return them to us in your basket we will use them instead of plastic.  We recommend at least 4 per family.  Just email to order.