This week your basket contains: zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, onions, basil, sweet peppers, beans, EGGPLANT (full shares), and cherry tomatoes or tomatoes.

This week we are seeing the effects of this summer’s hotter than normal weather.  Much of the lettuce (which we seed weekly in spring and summer) responded to the heat by going to seed faster than expected.  This means we’ll have a “lettuce gap” for a week or two.  Normally we would fill this gap with cooking greens (like the chard last week), but we had an unfortunate failure of our summer kale this year.  On the other hand, SWEETCORN has loved the weather and is looking to be a week or two from being in your baskets!  Basil has also responded very well to both the heat and the early harvests we’ve done.  The result is that we were able to harvest enough basil this week to suggest pesto as a recipe.  This is the basic process we use.

PESTO

4 c. fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

½ c. pine nuts

½ c. olive oil

¼ c. melted butter

3/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper to taste

Put basil leaves, garlic and nuts in bowl of food processor.  Process until finely chopped.  With machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil and melted butter.  With a spoon stir in the cheese, salt and pepper.  This can be stored in the fridge for up to three weeks.  We have also had good luck freezing pesto in ice cube trays, which gives you quick easy pre-portioned pesto cubes.

Beans continue to produce well.  This is a great summer salad.

HOT WAX BEAN SALAD

For the mustard vinaigrette:

2 Tbs. Dijon mustard

1 Tbs. red wine vinegar

1 Tbs. lemon juice

6 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. vodka

For the salad:

½ Lb. wax or other beans trimmed and cut French style

1 small bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips

1 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 scallion or 2 Tbs. onion, minced

1 clove garlic minced

¼ Lb. thinly sliced cooked smoked ham, cut into strips

1Tbs chopped fresh basil

2 cups roughly chopped cooked chicken

To make the vinaigrette: Whisk the mustard with the vinegar and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth.  Slowly whisk in the olive oil, then the vodka.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to dress salad.

Cook the beans and bell pepper in boiling, salted water until crisp-tender (about 3 minutes).  Drain. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the scallion or onion and cook for 1 minute.  Add the garlic and cook an additional 3 minutes.  Add the beans and peppers, ham, chicken and basil and cook, tossing continually, until warmed through.  Transfer the salad to a serving dish, pour the chilled vinaigrette over the top and toss at the table before serving. From Greene on Greens and Grains.

BLACKBERRIES are ready for harvest!  As we do every year, we welcome you to come out to the farm to pick (free of charge) as many as you like.  As you may have noticed, we have a LOT of blackberry brambles on the farm that are away from roads and other potential sources of contamination where you can pick to your heart’s content.  If you have been here before, feel free to come out and head to your favorite patch.  If it would be your first time picking (or visiting) the farm, please email us to arrange a time so we know we are available to orient you to the farm.

HOT PEPPERS are a “by request only” item.  If you have asked for them in past years, you will have some in your basil bag today.  If you didn’t get any, but would like to, just email us and we will add you to the list.