Week # 9!

This week’s share:

broccoli
cucumber
fennel
wax, purple & green beans
kale
Summer Squash
tomatoes

This Past Week…

We have the weeds under control – for now. What a relief. We spread out 30 bales of straw to try to keep them at bay. Now onto the next mini-crisis, Colorado Potato Beetles. They munch on potatoes, but also tomato, eggplants and peppers. Controlling them is as simple as picking them off the plants and squishing them. But it takes a watchful eye and lots of patience.

This week’s share includes some small tomatoes called German Lunchbox. They are an heirloom tomato, which means the seeds have been kept and passed down throughout the years. They are tasty and just the right size for snacking.

Most of the nearly 200 tomato plants have succumbed to an early blight. Luckily the plants were mature and will survive, as will much of the fruit.

I’m disappointed in the Cherokee Purple heirloom tomatoes. The green tomatoes were large and plump, nearly ready to ripen when we received the deluge of rain. This much moisture can cause the tomatoes to crack, which is what happened. Once they crack, they decay very quickly. I’m afraid we won’t see much of the beautiful Cherokee Purple tomato.

Yesterday I pulled 25 or so carrots out of the ground, and only six of those were not split. The water did a number on the carrots and the rutabagas, too.

Today there is a head of purple cauliflower. They are so pretty in the field I almost hate to cut them. They will lose most of their purple color when cooked, but taste the same as the traditional white cauliflower.


We have more slicing cucumbers than we can give away, and the pickling cucumbers are just starting to pick up speed. The same with the summer squash – they come fast and furiously. We’re trying not to overwhelm you with more than you can handle, but please let us know if you could use more cucumbers or squash.

The extra food will never be wasted – on Wednesday’s there is the Columbus Downtown Farmer’s Market, and on Thursday is the food pantry distribution day.

We THANK YOU for flexing your schedules so that we can take a vacation. We are really looking forward to it, and we will see you on Tuesday, August 10th.


Cauliflower Salad


1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into bite-size florets
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1/4 cup dill pickles, chopped
3 slices crisply cooked bacon, crumbled

Place cauliflower in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until just fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.

In a large bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add the cauliflower, eggs, onion, peas, dill pickles, and bacon to the dressing and stir until well coated. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours. The longer the cauliflower salad chills, the better the flavor.


Baked Whole Cauliflower

1 large head cauliflower
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 pinch dried oregano

Clean cauliflower, and trim off leaves and any brown spots. Place the whole head of cauliflower into a steamer basket, place the basket in a large pot, and add one inch of water.

Cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for about 20 minutes or until tender.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, melted margarine. Season with garlic powder, salt, red pepper flakes, and oregano, and mix well. Place the head of cauliflower into a baking dish, and coat with the breadcrumb mixture.

Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Kale Chips – Variations


Several weeks back we included a recipe for kale chips. Since then, a few variations have been brought to my attention. Along with the olive oil, add sherry vinegar, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, honey w/ lemon juice to the kale. I can’t wait to try these!

Sweet Pepper Pasta Toss with Kale


1 (8 ounce) package farfalle pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 cup roughly chopped kale

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pinch dried basil

1 pinch ground cayenne pepper

salt and ground black pepper to taste

8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled



Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in red pepper, yellow pepper, kale and garlic. Season with basil, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender.

In a large bowl, toss cooked pasta with skillet mixture. Sprinkle with feta cheese to serve.



CUCUMBER SALSA
from Taste of Home Magazine

2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon salt baked tortilla chip scoops

In a large bowl, combine the first 11 ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve with chips. Yield: 4 cups.

We hope you have a great week!