This week your basket contains: zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes (half shares), GOLDEN BEETS, EGGPLANT (FULL SHARES), sweet peppers, onions, and GARLIC.

We don’t normally give things like beets every week, but we’ve decided to make an exception this year.  Golden beets are different enough to warrant giving them the week after red beets.  Their flavor is less earthy, and they don’t stain other items like regular beets do.  It is also salmon season, and this recipe is amazing.  (just FYI, we have made it with red beets and think the pink couscous is fun!).  You can substitute the beet greens for the spinach, or use the kale in your basket.

PONZU GRILLED SALMON WITH GOLDEN BEET COUSCOUS

Couscous:

1  teaspoon  extravirgin olive oil

2  tablespoons  thinly sliced peeled shallots (about 1 large)

8  ounces  small golden beets, thinly sliced, peeled, and quartered (about 1 1/2 cups)

1  cup  uncooked Israeli couscous

2  cups  water

1/4  teaspoon  salt

1  cup  raw spinach leaves, trimmed

Sauce:

1/2  cup  fresh orange juice

2  tablespoons  brown sugar

3  tablespoons  low-sodium soy sauce

2  tablespoons  sake (rice wine)

1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice

1/2  teaspoon  cornstarch

1/8  teaspoon  crushed red pepper

Remaining ingredients:

4  (6-ounce) salmon fillets with skin (about 1 inch thick)

Cooking spray

Lime wedges (optional)

To prepare couscous, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and beets; sauté 5 minutes or until shallots are tender and just beginning to brown. Stir in couscous; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add water and salt; cover and simmer 8 minutes or until couscous is tender. Remove from heat; stir in spinach. Toss gently until combined and spinach wilts. Keep warm.

To prepare sauce, combine orange juice and next 6 ingredients (through red pepper) in a small saucepan, stirring well with a whisk; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 1 minute.

To prepare fish, brush cut sides of fillets with 1/4 cup sauce; place, skin sides up, on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill salmon, skin sides up, 2 minutes. Turn salmon fillets; brush with remaining 1/4 cup sauce. Grill 3 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or desired degree of doneness. Serve with couscous and lime wedges, if desired. Yields 4 servings.  Adapted from Kathryn Conrad, Cooking Light, JUNE 2005

If you have beets languishing in your fridge, consider making the CHOCOLATE BEET CAKE recipe we have on our web site (the password is in the footer of this note.)

GRILLED ZUCCHINI AND RED ONION SALAD

6 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise

1 large red onion, cut into ½” slices

¼ c. plus 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 ¼ c. feta, crumbled

1/3 c. pitted kalamata or nicoise olives, chopped

salt and pepper

Sprinkle zucchini with 1 tsp. salt and set on baking sheet lined with paper towels. Let sit for 15 minutes, then pat dry and cut into 2” pieces. Brush zucchini and onion slices with 2 Tbs. of olive oil, sprinkle with 1 ½ tsp. thyme and some black pepper. Sprinkle onions lightly with salt.  Prepare a medium-hot grill. set the vegetables on grill, cover if using a gas grill, and cook without touching so that the vegetables brown and get good grill marks, about 4 minutes. Flip and continue cooking so that other sides brown and the zucchini is just tender, about 5 minutes.  Transfer zucchini to a serving platter and continue to cook onions over a cooler part of fire until they start to soften (10 more minutes).  Add onions to platter with zucchini.  In a small bowl, whisk lemon juice, ½ tsp. salt and remaining ¼ cup of olive oil together with 1 ½ tsp thyme and black pepper. Drizzle over vegetables. Sprinkle with feta and olives and serve immediately or let sit for up to 1 hour at room temperature before serving. Serves 8. From Fooday 8/7/07

 EGGS ARE BACK! We’ve made arrangements with a local pastured egg producer to provide eggs for our subscribers. We will be able to deliver you eggs at $6/dozen (available in multiples of 3 eggs).  If you were on the order list last year we will just send along your standing order.  If you were not on last year’s list or want to change or cancel your order, just drop us an email.