This week your basket contains: cucumbers, summer squash, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes (half shares), EGGPLANTS (full shares), sweet peppers and BEET THINNINGS.HOT PEPPERS are looking good.  We only include them in your basket if you ask for them.  Email us to let us know you want on the hot pepper list (if you got them last year, we still have you on the list.).  We’ve harvested just a few this week, but will have many more in the coming weeks.  We always put hot peppers in your greens bag to differentiate them from sweet peppers.  We also have a limited number of SHISHITO AND PADRONE peppers.  You can order pint of these tasty treats for $4 by emailing us.

Our second seeding of summer beets came up very well.  In order to ensure they have room to size up well, we needed to thin the bed.  These young, tender greens are for all intents and purposes the best Swiss chard you will ever eat.  As a bonus, many of them have tiny roots to use as well!

This is a recipe we have been making almost daily. 

INSALATA CAPRESE

2 med. cucumbers, thinly sliced

1 pt. Cherry tomatoes, halved or 3-4 slicing tomatoes, thinly sliced

3-4 fresh mozzarella balls, sliced ¼ inch thick

olive oil

6-8 basil leaves

salt and pepper

On a plate, layer cucumbers, tomatoes and mozzarella.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and top with ribbons of sliced basil.  For added tang, sprinkle lightly with balsamic vinegar.

This is a recipe that I was skeptical of at first glance.  After trying it, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.  I think you will like it, too! 

COLD ZUCCHINI YOGHURT SOUP

2 pounds zucchini, sliced

2 cups water

Salt (1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons)

3 cups plain low-fat yogurt

3 tablespoons finely chopped mint

Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, mashed to a paste in a mortar and pestle, or put through a press (optional)

Place the water in the bottom of a saucepan fitted with a steamer and bring to a boil. Place the zucchini in the steamer, set over the boiling water, cover and steam 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Do not drain the steaming water. Place half the zucchini in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, add 3/4 teaspoons salt, and puree until smooth. Add half the steaming water and pulse until smooth. Scrape into a bowl, and repeat with the remaining zucchini and steaming water, and another 3/4 teaspoon salt. Scrape into the bowl with the first batch. Whisk in the yogurt, the chopped mint, pepper, lemon juice, and optional garlic. Taste and adjust salt. Chill, either in the refrigerator or in an ice bath. Strain the cold soup through a medium strainer into a bowl. Use a rubber spatula to press the soup against the strainer and to scrape the soup off the outside of the strainer, to extract maximum flavor and to get as much soup through as you can. Toss the thinly sliced zucchini garnish with a generous pinch of salt and place in a strainer set over a bowl, or in the sink. Let sit for 15 minutes. The zucchini will soften. Rinse and pat dry. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with several slices of zucchini and a sprinkle of slivered mint leaves. Adapted from cooking.nytimes.com 

We have harvested the first eggplant of the year.  It will be a bit before we have more.  It seems that the plants set a small, first flush of fruit and took a bit of a break before setting more.  By taking these first fruits now, we hope the plants will be encouraged to set and ripen a larger harvest later.  In the meantime, an easy way to prepare your eggplant for later use is to slice it into ¼ slices, dip in beaten egg, coat the slices in bread crumbs and bake on an oiled cookie sheet at 350⁰ for 30 minutes.  The slices can be frozen for use in eggplant Parmesan later on.