Tomatoes – enjoy them while you can, rain splits their precious skins and means you have to use them the day you get them. Rain also brings blight which rots the fruit and kills the plants. Keep your fingers crossed that the rain stops and the warmth returns.
Cherry tomatoes – they fair worse with rain, again they may perk back up if heat returns and rain wanes
Basil – Make pesto or dry it if you have too much to use fresh, late summer and early fall is the time to put away for winter (remember that is why we got you started with the canning party)
Cucumbers – these guys took a really big hit with cool nights, they are feeling the push to make seeds and shut down for winter, don’t waste a one
Zucchini – they are curcubits and are very sensitive to powdery mildew which kills their leaves and eventually the plants. This is the time they wind down, so enjoy them while they last
Leeks – hurray they are ready for braising or chopping into soups
Kale – back by popular demand, ok, not really popular demand but for your health.
Peppers !!
Sweet – you know how to use these
Stuffing – roast in the oven, place in a brown paper bag and then peel, then use in various recipes (see below)
Hot – use in your salsas
Pears
Onions
Parsley
Garlic
Eggplant
The weather is the biggest roller coaster, 30 degree difference from Saturday Sept 10 to 17. Imagine if you were a plant. This tends to send plants into fits of seed making and causes irregular shapes. You will notice a huge difference in quantity of zukes and cukes from this week to last week.
The weeds are stable, the ones pulled last week have been replaced by those that grew double with the rain. The winter squash is hardening and will hopefully be part of the weekly share for the month of October. The last harvest is the last full week of October (October 24th and 27th). We will offer the Thanksgiving share again this year. This is an add on harvest Pick-up November 20 – 21 for $30. The sign- up will be up in the barn beginning of October. This is usually a huge harvest that can last for a couple of weeks.
The harvest festival is October 16th from 2 – 6 pm. Bring a dish to pass, a pizza topping , a jar for cider and some cash to contribute to the dancers and if you want to buy anything from the showroom (wreaths, birdfeeders, pottery(?)).
Helvetia Culture fest starts in one hour so I am off to take our vegetable contribution and serve pie.
Zucchini Trifolati
Sautéed Zucchini
The secret to this fabulous cooking technique is the long slow cooking which infuses all the flavors. Vegetables cooked this way make great pasta sauce or you can serve them as crostini. Try mushrooms with garlic and mint.
2 pounds Zucchini
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
chili pepper (or herbs)
salt
Cover the bottom of a large sauté pan with olive oil. Add the sliced garlic and chili peppers to the pan; NOW turn on the heat. Slice the zucchini into thin slices and add to the golden garlic, salt and cover the pan. The salt will bring out the liquid in the zucchini and they will stew in their own juices and infuse with the garlic. Let them over cook. It is a pleasant surprise.
Parsley Tabbouleh
1 cup of water freshly ground pepper to taste
½ cup bulgur wheat 2 cups finely chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ cup lemon juice ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 tomatoes diced
½ teaspoon minced garlic 1 small cucumber
¼ teaspoon salt 4 scallions
Combine water and bulgur in a small sauce pan. Bring to a full boil, remove from heat, cover and let stand until the water has absorbed and bulgur is tender, 25 minutes or so. If any water remains, drain bulgur in a fine mesh sieve. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool 15 minutes.
Combine lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add parsley, mint, tomatoes, cucumber and scallions to the bulgur. Add dressing and toss. Serve at room temperature or chill for at least 1 hour to serve cold.
Serves 4, generous 1 cup each.
Summer Squash
Summer Squash, Basil & Garlic Scape Salad
Posted by Carole Koch
3 to 4 summer squash, any variety, julienned
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
3 to 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 to 2 tablespoons garlic scapes, chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Toss together squash, basil, cheese and scapes. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over vegetables. Mix, chill for 1 hour, and serve.
Our “easy” stuffed peppers
Poblanos or Anaheim peppers charred and peeled
Corn (fresh shaved off the cob or canned)
Onions (chopped)
Zucchini (cut into small chunks)
Garlic (diced)
Eggs separated
2 teaspoons flour
salt and pepper
canola oil
Shredded Jack, cheddar, Gruyer or a combination
Roast the peppers over open flame or in the oven. Place in a paper bag for 10 minutes to let them steam and loosen their skins then peel. To make stuffing put olive oil in pan, add onion and garlic, cook for a few minutes then add the zucchini and corn. Add slat and pepper to taste. Carefully make a slit in the pepper and remove the seeds (we leave the veins as it keeps the pepper in tact), stuff with filling and some cheese. To make the pepper coating, beat the egg whites until make nice peaks then add the flour. It depends on how many peppers you make the number of eggs you’ll need, for 4 peppers you need approx. 2 eggs. Then add the egg yolks. Heat some canola oil in a frying pan, when hot dip the stuffed pepper in the coating keeping the stuffed side facing up, put the pepper in the pan and repeat until the pan is full. Cook 2-4 minutes per side but don’t burn, turn gently and most of the stuffing will remain inside if you cook the closed side first. Enjoy! It is worth the effort.