- Lettuce
- Tomatoes !!! cherry or full size – take note it is July 15!!
- Basil
- Green onions
- Green beans
- Zucchini
- First eggplant, what???
- Parsley
- Kale
- Garlic
- Potatoes
- Carrots or beets
- Cabbage or broccoli
- Cucumbers!!
Juvencio had a great trip to visit Jacob in Homer. He got to see what Jacob does in his research/field work and to meet his friends and colleagues. He also go to take an incredible hike up China Poot. We are so happy to have him back. Luna and I managed to keep the farm going while he was gone, Luna even ran the harvest on Sunday by herself, but nothing like having Juve back.
Luna and Diego took off on a road trip on Friday to tour the national parks of Utah. They are having a great adventure and escaping this horrible heat wave. They are testing out the powers and drawbacks of “Jay” our Tesla. One has to factor in the charging time on every leg of the journey. So far so good.
We have friends from Santa Cruz visiting this week, so we have taken some time off from weeding, transplanting and seeding to enjoy Portland in the summer. Last night after an early dinner (that means finishing at 8:00 p.m.) we all headed out to harvest the cucumbers in anticipation of 98 degrees today and we managed to round up 325! We will miss them as they head north to Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula. We will see what we can get done in this heat.
Please do sign up to help harvest, we have no hired help and our kids are off and exploring, which means Juvencio and I do the harvest (unless we can rope in our guests) by ourselves. It is crunch time, lots of tiny items that need to be harvested, won’t you come join us?
Make this cucumber salad it is a family favorite!!
Becca’s favorite Thai Cumber salad with Roasted Peanuts
¼ cup fresh limejuice
1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons minced seeded jalapeno chili (about 1 large)
2 garlic cloves
1 ½ English hothouse cucumbers, halved, seeded, thinly sliced
¾ cups sliced red onion
2 tablespoons fresh mint
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped lightly salted roasted peanuts
Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Place cucumbers, onion, and mint in large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle on peanuts and serve.
Tzatziki (Greek yogurt-cucumber sauce)
2 English cucumbers, grated
2 cups Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp olive oil (the higher the quality the better)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium lemon, juiced
Dill to taste (I usually use about ¼ – 1/3 cup finely chopped)
White pepper
Salt
Combine yogurt, olive oil, garlic and the juice of one lemon. Mix well and refrigerate for at least one hour.
Meanwhile, grate the cucumber on paper towels or other absorbent media. Allow to drain. Squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the grated cucumbers.
Remove chilled yogurt from the refrigerator. Add grated cucumber and dill. Mix well. Salt and pepper to taste. Perfect as a dip or for sauce for gyros.
ZUCCHINI CARPACCIO
4 small zucchini (1 lb total)
1/3 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup pine nuts (1 oz) 1 (6-oz) piece Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
Garnish: thinly sliced tips of 2 zucchini blossoms*; 4 fresh mint sprigs
Special equipment: a Japanese Benriner** or other adjustable-blade slicer
Cut zucchini diagonally into paper-thin slices with slicer. Arrange slices, overlapping slightly, in 1 layer on 4 plates.
Make stacks of mint leaves and cut crosswise into very thin slivers, then sprinkle over zucchini.
Whisk together oil and lemon juice in a small bowl, and then drizzle over zucchini. Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper to taste, and pine nuts. Let stand 10 minutes to soften zucchini and allow flavors to develop.
Just before serving, use a vegetable peeler to shave cheese to taste over zucchini, then sprinkle with zucchini blossoms and mint.
*Available at specialty produce markets and some supermarkets.
**Available at Asian markets, some cookware shops, and Uwajimaya (800-899-1928).
Gourmet
March 2003
Zucchini with Opal Basil, Pine Nuts, and Parmigiano-Reggiano
Local Flavors, Deborah Madison
1 pound or more zucchini, 6 to 8 inches long
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
¼ cup pine nuts
extra virgin olive oil
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
10 large opal basil leaves, or other basil, torn
- slice the squash in half lenghwiise, then steam or simmer in salted water until tender. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden.
- When the squash is done, arrange it on a platter, cut side up. Drizzle olive oil over it and season with salt and pepper. Grate a veil of cheese over the squash, add the pine nuts and basil and serve.