This week your basket contains: summer squash, cucumber, RAINBOW CARROTS, onions, RUTABAGA GREENS, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, beets, and sweet corn.

We are extremely happy with the rainbow carrots.  We grew these in a shady part of the gardens, which worried us a bit at the time we seeded them, but in the end, it seems to have been a fortuitous choice as it seems to have protected these carrots from some of the negative effects of the extreme heat this summer.  We think you’ll like their flavor and enjoy their looks on your plate.

BEET ORANGE AND OLIVE SALAD

2 to 5 beets

half a small onion

2 tablespoons vinegar

sea salt or kosher salt to taste

Pinch of sugar

2 to 3 oranges

2 tablespoons olive oil

handful of black, oil-cured olives, pitted and halved

Place beets in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then cook at a gentle simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour or even longer, depending on the size. Just cook them until they are tender — when you stick a small knife into each beet, it should go in smoothly. Let beets cool in the water, then drain them and peel them. Cut each beet into wedges or small cubes and place on a serving platter. Season all over with salt.   Meanwhile, mince the shallot or onion and place in a small bowl. Cover with the vinegar. Season with a pinch of salt and sugar and set aside. Trim off the top and bases of the oranges, and with a sharp knife, slice down along the flesh of the orange to remove the peel. Remove the segments by slicing between the membranes. (Alternatively, cut the oranges into slices, then cut the slices again so that the oranges are in bite-size pieces.) Squeeze the membrane and any orange peels with flesh still attached over the bowl with the macerating shallots. Pour half of the shallot-vinegar-orange mixture over the beets and drizzle with one tablespoon of olive oil. Scatter the oranges over top. Pour the remaining shallot mixture over top as well as the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Scatter olives over top. Let sit a few minutes before serving. As you serve, spoon the dressing pooling at the bottom of the plate over the beets and oranges. You could, of course, give everything a toss, just know that the beets will color everything red.   Adapted from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi.

Our winter turnips and rutabagas are doing very well.  So well in fact that we needed to thin the plants to give them room to grow their roots.  The greens are similar to kale or collards and will work in any recipe that you would use those greens in.  This is a recipe we’ve had good reviews of.

UTICA GREENS

FOR THE OREGANATO:

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup bread crumbs

½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

FOR THE GREENS:

1 1/4 pound greens mix

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 slices prosciutto cut roughly

4 to 6 hot cherry peppers (pickled or fresh), chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup + 2 Tbs Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated,

Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and set aside.  Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, prepare the oreganato: Mix the oil, bread crumbs and cheese until well blended. It should have the texture of moist beach sand. Set aside.  When the water is boiling, blanch the greens until they are nearly limp but still a little firm, about 1 to 2 minutes. Plunge them into the ice bath to stop the cooking. Remove and drain them well in a colander or salad spinner, allowing them to remain moist but not dripping wet. Squeeze just a little of the moisture from them, then chop them into 2-inch pieces. Set aside.  Heat the broiler. Coat a large pan with the olive oil. Over medium heat, sauté the prosciutto, cherry peppers and garlic until the prosciutto is browned and slightly crisp, about 5 minutes. (Lower heat slightly if garlic begins to brown too quickly.) Add the chopped greens to the pan, season with salt and pepper and stir to mix well.  Add 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano and 1/2 cup of the oreganato. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently to blend, scraping the bottom of the pan to keep the oreganato from burning. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup oreganato atop the greens. (Save leftover oreganato for use in another greens dish, or add it to baked chicken or shrimp.) Place the pan under the broiler and broil until the top browns, about 2 minutes. Remove from the broiler and sprinkle a bit more cheese on the dish. Serve immediately.