Every week we'll send you snapshots of veggies in your share. You can always find more recipes and storage info on our
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Mesclun: A lovely fresh summer mix of baby greens! We rinse them but I suggest you wash them before eating. PURPLE BAGS: Your basil is in your greens!!! Please take it out when you get home.
Basil: Packed in your mesclun bags! Be sure to pull out the basil and store out of the fridge with the stems in a glass of water to keep as fresh as possible.
Sweet Peppers - these are a fun treat for you this week. These peppers are large, hollow, and can be stuffed or fried. Their flesh is crisp and juicy. Enjoy raw in salads, sandwiches, or in a stir fry. They also roast beautifully and are really tasty this way. To roast, simply core and seed, quarter them, brush them with olive oil (or not), and then roast them in the oven, skin side up at n oven temp of anywhere from 45o to broiling. The hotter the oven, the quicker they will roast. With a very hot oven, you may want to turn them a time or two for even roasting. Roast until the skins blister and brown or char a bit. Then remove from oven to cool. Most cooks like to remove the charred skins from the peppers before using in a dish. This is done easily if you cover the cooling peppers with a cloth for 10 minutes. The steam loosens the skin and peeling is easier.
Tomatoes: Store tomatoes at room temperature. We had planned on members getting 1 pound of tomatoes, but then we entered the heat wave and our tomatoes exploded! So each member is receiving two pounds - TWO BAGS! Please take two bags of tomatoes with your veggie share!
Broccoli: The best way to store broccoli? Eat it as soon as possible! If you can't, raw broccoli requires circulation so wrap it loosely in a damp paper towel and refrigerate. Try to use it within 2 - 3 days. Try raw broccoli in a broccoli raisin salad (see below), steamed, or sautéed with garlic. The stems are full of rich nutrients so you can eat the whole thing.
Bunches: Two new bunches this week - red onions and carrots! Store both in your crisper drawer. These onions are not cured, so keep them cold and fresh! And these freshly harvested carrots. They are the perfect size, tenderness, and flavor for snacking. The orange ones are the Romance variety and the mixed color bunches include Romance, Purple Haze, and Deep Purple.
Sorrel: Sorrel is a green leaf vegetable native to Europe. It is also called common sorrel or spinach dock. In appearance sorrel greatly resembles spinach and in taste sorrel can range from comparable to the kiwifruit (or lemons or a combo) to a more acidic tasting older leaf (due to the presence of oxalic acid which increases as the leaves gets older). Young sorrel may be harvested to use in salads, soups or stews. Young sorrel leaves are also excellent when lightly cooked, similar to the taste of cooked chard or spinach. Older sorrel is best for soups and stews where it adds tang and flavor to the dish.
Featured Recipes
Spring Vegetables with Pasta
I love that the summer veggies are really starting to come in force now. Here's one from Bill that you can substitute as much as you please. Use arugula or one of your greens from last week instead of the kale if you like. Sub in beans for the peas. Or eggplant for the peppers or zuc.
3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow or red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 bunch kale, washed trimmed, chopped fine (or baby arugula!)
1 cup sugar snap peas, bias cut, in half
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. fresh oregano or basil
1 pound penne rigate
½ pint cherry tomatoes, split in half
½ cup freshly grated Reggiano
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
In a large bowl, toss carrots, zucchini, onion and bell pepper with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place vegetables on a baking sheet and roast until carrots are tender and other vegetables begin to brown.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. In the last 30 seconds, add sugar snap peas and kale to the water, Drain and rinse briefly with cold water.
Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with some more olive oil and fresh herbs. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.
Scallion & Garlic Scape Tortilla
1 bunch garlic scapes, roughly chopped
1 bunch scallions, biased cut
¼ cup water
4 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil
Place garlic and scallions in a 10 inch skillet with 1 tsp. oil, 1/4 cup water and a pinch of salt. Cook covered over medium high heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well. Beat eggs with salt and pepper. Add remaining oil to skillet. When oil is hot, shake skillet to spread greens evenly, add eggs. Cover and cook over medium low heat until top is set.
Caponata
This recipe comes from Smitten Kitchen. Here are the author’s notes: I am a heathen (!) who rarely salts my eggplant, which generations of eggplant-cookers swear improves its texture and fry-ability. I don’t find it necessary to get a good flavor (less bitter, is the argument) or texture and laziness wins. But, should you wish to, simply toss your eggplant cubes with a teaspoon or two of coarse salt in a colander and let it sit/drain for 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. Press out as much extra liquid as you can, then spread the eggplant out on a paper towels to dry it as well as possible before continuing with the frying step. Then feel free to tell me what I’m missing.
If you cannot bear to use canned crushed tomatoes when fresh ones are so good, feel free to chop your own plum tomatoes very well until you reach 1 cup. I peeled mine first (I use this when I just have one or two and don’t want the extra step of blanching) and squeezed out most of the seeds for a more canned-like texture.
Enough olive oil to deep fry
2 pound eggplant, cut into 1″ cubes
1 large yellow or sweet-variety onion, chopped medium-small
1 to 2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1⁄4 cup water
1 cup crushed canned tomatoes (or use fresh, see directions up top)
6 ounces (about 1 cup) green olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1⁄2 cup white wine vinegar
1⁄2 cup golden raisins (I used half for a less sweet caponata)
1⁄4 cup salt-packed capers, rinsed and drained
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar (I used 1 tablespoon, but sweeter is more traditional)
1⁄2 cup finely slivered basil
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted until golden and cooled
In a large skillet (12 inches is ideal), heat oil over medium-high heat. Once very hot, working in batches, fry eggplant cubes in one layer at a time, stirring and turning occasionally until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to drain eggplant over skillet, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and immediately season with salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant. Transfer drained and mostly cooled eggplant to a large bowl.
Pour off all but 3 tablespoons olive oil, and reserve the rest for another use. Cook onions and and celery with salt and pepper over medium-high heat until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add tomato paste and water and cook, stirring, until caramelized and almost evaporated, 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add crushed tomatoes; cook for 10 minutes. Stir in olives, vinegar, raisins, capers, and sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes more. Transfer to bowl with eggplant, along with basil and pine nuts, and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and let cool to room temperature before serving.
Eggplant Parmesan
My absolute favorite dish! I requested my mom make big pans of eggplant parm for my high school graduation many years ago. Delicious! For a quicker version, use your tomato sauce from your pantry share. Sometimes I lightly sauté the eggplant without breading it if I’m low on eggs. Your choice – you really can’t go wrong with eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, and cheese!
1 eggplant
sea salt
2 cups whole peeled tomatoes
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
2 large eggs, beaten
12 oz of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1/2 cup grated high quality Parmesan cheese
1/2 packed cup fresh basil leaves or several TB of pesto
Cut eggplants lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange one layer in the bottom of a large colander and sprinkle evenly with salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant, salting, until all eggplant is in the colander. Weigh down the slices with a couple of plates and let drain for 2 hours. The purpose of this step is to have the eggplant release some of its moisture before cooking.
While the eggplant is draining, prepare tomato sauce. Combine tomatoes, garlic and 1/3 cup olive oil in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
When eggplant has drained, press down on it to remove excess water, wipe off the excess salt, and lay the slices out on paper towels to remove all the moisture. In a wide, shallow bowl, combine flour and breadcrumbs. Mix well. Pour beaten eggs into another wide shallow bowl. Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat, and pour in a a half inch of olive oil. When oil is shimmering, dredge the eggplant slices first in the flour mixture, then in the beaten egg. Working in batches, slide coated eggplant into hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Drain on paper towels.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the bottom of a 10x15 inch glass baking dish, spread 1 cup of tomato sauce. Top with one third of the eggplant slices. Top eggplant with half of the mozzarella slices. Sprinkle with one third of the Parmesan and half of the basil leaves (or a tb of pesto dabbed around). Make a second layer of eggplant slices, topped by 1 cup of sauce, remaining mozzarella, half the remaining Parmesan, and all of the remaining basil (or pesto). Add remaining eggplant, and top with the remaining tomato sauce and Parmesan.
Bake until cheese has melted and the top is slightly brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.
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