In this week’s box:
1 dozen ears corn
2 bags string beans
1 bag tomatoes
2 bunches Yukon gold potatoes
1 bag squash
1 half-dozen eggs
1 half-pint raspberries
2 pints blueberries
2 half-pints black raspberries
**4 half-pints OPTIONAL BONUS pick-your-own raspberries, available form 8 a.m. until noon for CSA members only**
Note that you have an extra hour in the morning to pick berries this week!
Total retail value of goods in this week’s box: $66
Total retail value of goods distributed so far this year: $595.50
Emily’s notes:
How appropriate to have red raspberries and blue black raspberries and blueberries for the Fourth of July. Pair them with pound cake and whipped cream for a red-white-and-blue treat full of summer flavor.
Farm-fresh onions are a great addition to homemade salsa. For a simple version, dice a few tomatoes, chop the kernels from a couple of ears of corn and finely chop the white and green parts of two small onions from your box. Season with salt and pepper, then toss with a handful of chopped fresh cilantro (or flat-leaf parsley if you don’t like cilantro), the juice of one lemon or lime (or both) and a splash of olive oil. To increase the flavor of your salsa, try grilling the corn before you cut it from the cob. This recipe from Emeril Lagasse will give you some more exact quantities. But really, salsa is easy, so don’t sweat the details! You could also finely chop a handful or so of green beans to add color, nutrition and crunch to the salsa. Use as a dip or spoon over grilled meats or fish.
Have you ever grilled green beans? This year I bought a “wok basket” for my grill that has really helped give me some new ways to serve CSA veggies. At left, you can see asparagus cooking in it earlier this season. I recommend tossing trimmed green beans with olive oil, lemon juice, chopped garlic and salt and pepper (maybe add a few red pepper flakes for heat). Place your wok basket on the grill to heat up, then, using tongs (and wearing a good oven mitt to protect your hands), place the beans on the basket. Cook, tossing occasionally with tongs, until they are cooked to the level you prefer. Then I like to place them back in the original dish with the marinade and sprinkle on some parmesan or feta cheese while they are still hot. Delicious! I do this same preparation with slices of summer squash and zucchini, but I just place those directly on the grill, not in the basket. I found my basket at Wegmans, but it looks like this. I have found it much easier than my old vegetable “cage,” which always managed to drop a vegetable or two through the grates.
Now, everybody has their favorite way to cook sweet corn, but since many of us stay pretty busy through the summer, I want to make sure you know about a simple technique that can get great corn-on-the-cob on your table in minutes on busy weeknights.
You don’t have to boil water or heat up the grill to have sweet corn ready for a quick dinner. Pop unshucked ears in the microwave for 3 to 4 minutes per ear (exact time depends on your microwave). Then hack off the end of the ear that was attached to the stalk and let the corn slide out of the husks. This isn’t quite as good as grilled, roasted or boiled corn, but it sure is easy.
Snead's Farm CSA 