2015 Newsletter – Week 4 (July 14th)

With the arrival of cucumbers and beans we are really starting to come into the mid-summer vegetables. As you already know if this isn’t your first year as a CSA member, we grow a lot of produce right up through the first frost (which is usually in October). So, we will have beans, cukes, and zucchini and/or summer squash as part of the share off and on until then. Corn, which should arrive soon, and the late summer veggies (like tomatoes and peppers) are the same way; we have them until a hard frost kills the plants.

Other produce — like peas and strawberries — won’t be around much longer. This is pretty late for strawberries, but, as I write this on Monday, the picking is still good in Essex. The berries are getting softer, though, so if you don’t eat them right away it’s a great week to make berry smoothies or popsicles (see recipe below). You can even try this super simple recipe for strawberry ice cream made in a blender.

Strawberry-Yogurt Popsicles

Looking for a something different and (kind of) healthy to do with strawberries? Try these yummy strawberry-yogurt popsicles from the Kitchen blog:

Makes 6 popsicles (3-ounce molds)

1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

6 to 8 ounces (about 1 cup) Greek yogurt

Combine the strawberries and sugar in a small bowl. Let stand about 20 minutes to macerate the fruit, stirring occasionally. The fruit will soften and become syrupy.

Pour the strawberries and syrup into a food processor or blender. Add the lemon juice and pulse a few times until the fruit is pureed.

Stir the yogurt into the strawberry mixture until combined. Pour into molds and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight. To remove, run hot water over the outside of the mold until you can gently pull the popsicle out.

Notes:

You can substitute nearly any seasonal fruit (or mix of fruits!) for the strawberries in this recipe.

For harder fruits, like rhubarb and under-ripe peaches, try cooking down the fruit with the sugar and a few tablespoons of water over medium heat. This helps soften them and concentrate their flavor.

Herbs

We have a pick-your-own herb garden in Essex, which is where I get most of the herbs we give out as part of the CSA. We grow chives, oregano, mint, sage, thyme, flat-leaf parsley, curly parsley, dill, and cilantro. As you know if you have your own herb garden, some of these are around all season, and some (like cilantro) go to seed quickly. Right now, our cilantro isn’t doing too well — we are going to try to plant a few new rows — but all the other herbs are doing great. You can always come to the Essex farm and cut your own herbs (it’s $10/lb., but most bunches are light so it’s usually $1 or less), or you can ask to pick some of an herb of your choice in place of the herb I’m giving out as part of the share. If you pick up in Colchester and want a replacement herb feel free to e-mail me and, if we have some, I’ll bring it along!

Snow Peas

Snow peas are great in any type of stir-fry (I particularly like them with bok choy). They’re also good alone, just sautéed in butter or olive oil and maybe some garlic (you can add a bit of water to the pan to keep the garlic from burning if you’re using it). You can add torn leaves of fresh basil right before serving too. This makes a nice side dish — just add some grilled or pan-cooked fillets of fish and some rice and you have an easy and delicious summer meal.

This Week’s Produce

Single share:

1 pint strawberries

1 pint snow peas

1 cucumber

1 bunch basil (or 1 extra cucumber)

Choose 3 options:

1 lb. yellow beans

1 bunch swiss chard

1.3 lbs. pickling cucumbers

1.3 lbs. zucchini (or summer squash)

1 $3 PYO voucher

1 head (or 2 small heads) lettuce

Possible: bok choy, broccoli, extra peas or berries, kohlrabi

Small share:

1 quart strawberries

1 pint snow peas

1 cucumber

1 bunch basil (or 1 extra cucumber)

Choose 4 options:

1 lb. yellow beans

1 bunch swiss chard

1.3 lbs. pickling cucumbers

1.3 lbs. zucchini (or summer squash)

1 $3 PYO voucher

1 head (or 2 small heads) lettuce

Possible: bok choy, broccoli, extra peas or berries, kohlrabi

Large Share

2 quarts strawberries

2 pints snow peas

2 cucumbers

2 bunches basil (or 2 extra cucumbers)

Choose 4 options:

1 lb. yellow beans

1 bunch swiss chard

1.3 lbs. pickling cucumbers

1.3 lbs. zucchini (or summer squash)

1 $3 PYO voucher

1 head (or 2 small heads) lettuce

Possible: bok choy, broccoli, extra peas or berries, kohlrabi