CS A For August 27th

Look what Amanda and Ed found! Corn!!  The first of this summers' corn, only for the Full Shares today, but more will be coming in good supply for the next few weeks.  Ours is still a good week away, Amanda and Ed have more growing so we should all get a good feast in the next little while!  We're all growing chemical-free, but we haven't noticed a problem with the corn borer this year but you may, may find a little caterpillar in your corn.  Just cut it out: it's generally in the top inch!  Amanda and Ed also got an interesting pick on cucumbers, including a pale green we think is an Armenian (they were given the seed, without a name), as well as some long English cucumbers.

The hot weather has really kick-started a few crops like cucumbers.  The cucumbers are spreading and flowering like crazy.  Field tomatoes and peppers finally look like they're going strong.  The winter squash, which all have a few fruits, are flowering and spreading and taking over now!  The hot weather does mean the demise of the lettuce and the peas look like they're giving one last pick.  We've already seeded some lettuce for fall and it's slowly coming along, as well as some beans we seeded just a couple of weeks ago.  Unfortunately, we seeded some radish with the lettuce which are ready now.  We're sorry to say potato picking did not go well today so we have just a few bags on the table for purchase or trading.

The summer squash is coming on strong!  Here's a great post with ten awesome recipes for zucchini, although any summer squash can be substituted!  Found this on Facebook: a baked, coated zucchini fritter, which includes an nice, easy recipe for homemade tsatziki sauce.  For something a little different on the snacking front: Salt and vinegar chips - with zucchini!  Here's another great link with ideas on dehydrating zucchini: as chips for snacks or shredded, for re-constituting for winter soups and stews.  I am also rather fascinated by this recipe for raw zucchini ravioli - a little fancy, with some ingredients we don't actually keep in the pantry, but worth a shopping trip I think!  Here's an interesting twist on pancakes with zucchini and broken-up pieces of angel hair pasta!  I'm also thinking of trying this recipe for meatloaf with turkey and zucchini flavoured with Thai green chili paste, which we do keep in the pantry!  Stuffed Patty Pans are all the rage: here's sausage stuffed Patty Pans.  This recipe would also be great with Papaya Pear or Moroccan.  It's similar to what we do with a Vegetable Marrow....which is coming soon!  Any size Patty Pan can be stuffed:  if using a large one it's very cute to cut it into pie-like wedges for serving.  Smaller sizes can be an individual side dish.  Zucchini desserts like these zucchini applesauce oatmeal cookies are fun for upcoming school lunches or an evening snack with tea!  I saw, someplace, a recipe for an orange and zucchini loaf - would love to find it again; anyone know of a nice recipe?

With the cucumbers in good supply have you tried making a Japanese sunomono salad - a lovely, light vinegar salad, usually with rice vinegar (we have substituted a white wine vinegar in a pinch, cut with about 1/5 water).  This creamy cucumber salad looks scrumptious, too!  For something a little more exotic how about these spicy Sichuan pickles, which only need to sit in the vinegar for a couple of hours - although more time would be spicier!  Of course, at tea time you need a proper English cucumber sandwich, white bread and no crusts, please!

So, in today's baskets:

FULL SHARES:  Shelling peas, corn (probably Peaches 'n Cream), mixed cucumbers including Armenian, English and slicing, Dragons Tongue beans, Royal Burgundy purple beans, large zucchini, Crookneck or Papaya Pear, assorted Patty Pan, carrots, radish, peppers Jalapeno and Hungarian Hot Wax.

PART SHARES:  Peas mixed edible pod and Snow peas, mixed cucumbers, Dragons Tongue beans, zucchini, Crookneck or Papaya Pear, assorted Patty Pan summer squash, carrots, Swiss chard, peppers Jalapeno and Hungarian Hot Wax.

SINGLE SHARES:  Cucumbers, pole beans 'Blue Lake', zucchini, Crookneck or Papaya Pear summer squash, assorted Patty Pans, carrots, pepper Jalapeno and Hungarian Hot Wax.