Share contents:  1 pound Round of Hungary pimento peppers, 1 pound yellow bell peppers, 3/4 pound okra, 1 pound sweet onion, 2 pounds Nicola potatoes, 1 pint blush plum tomatoes, 1 pint cherry tomatoes.

I know this box is a bit redundant but this is what we have right now.  Peppers peppers peppers!  If you want hot peppers, they are coming in strong now so grab some at market.  The pimentos are very sweet and are good used anywhere you want that flavor.  They lend themselves well to stuffing.  The nicola potatoes are waxy in texture and so make great potato salad or stews and soups where you wan the potato chunks to keep their form.  Blush plum tomatoes are great raw in salads or salsa.  They also cook down quickly if you want them for sauce.

Pepper and Onion Salad from Chez Panisse Vegetables

seed and slice thin some pimento and yellow bell peppers.  Slice a medium sweet onion thin and toss together with the pepper slices, some pitted nicoise or kalamata olives, and a spoonful of capers.

Make a vinaigrette with red wine vinegar and good olive oil, and season with chopped garlic and jalapeno pepper and red pepper flakes.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.  Basil or Italian parsley are great sprinkled over the salad.  This salad should be spicy and robust.  It is great served with lentils and tabouli.

We also enjoy braising the peppers with onion or leek and good olive oil.  When the vegetables are tender, puree them with a little tomato, salt and pepper.  Let it all cook together briefly and serve over pasta or bread.

Sea Share contents:  1 bunch leeks, 2 small celeriac, 4 pounds Red Maria potatoes, 1 wave/2 pounds sweet peppers, 2 pints cherry tomatoes, 3 poundsww heirloom tomatoes (Jeapanese black trifele, pink slicer).

We had a good salad foreree dinner last night that was quick to make.  It was halved and quartered cherry tomatoes, a few sprigs each of Italian parsley, anise hyssop and mint, several quartered kalamata olives, 1 tablespoon of capers, and a dressing of olive oil, fresh lemon juice and a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

The large tomatoes are almost done.  I think this is their last week.  The cherry tomatoes will probably produce for 2-3 weeks more.

Creamy Celeriac Soup by Angelica Organics

3 tablespoons butter (or oil or earth balance), 3 large leeks quartered and sliced, 2 small celeriac peeled and roughly chopped, 2-4 large potatoes peeled and roughly chopped, 4 cups veggie or chicken stock, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup chopped blanched almonds, 1/2 cup cream or almond milk.

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium high heat.  Add the leeks; cook unitl soft, 5 minutes.  Add the celeriac, potato, almonds and stock; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 25 minutes.
2. Let the soup cool slightly and then puree.  Return the soup to the pot; stir in the cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste and heat on low until heated through.

great help in the tomatoes!

Share contents:

1 bunch each of carrots, beets, leeks, barbarella eggplant, a purple and a yellow bell pepper, 2 pounds of cucumber, 1 pint cherry tomato, 4 pounds heirloom slicers.

You will need to weigh out your own tomatoes when you pick up.  Most of the heirlooms have a crack in them.  This is because they are field grown and rain induces cracking and we had 2 and 1/2 inches of rain yesterday.  They will still taste great, just need to be eaten quickly.

The Barbarella eggplant is a new variety to us this year.  It has a nutty flavor, creamy flesh, and is great for stuffing.   Here is a link to a recipe: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a55046/stuffed-eggplant-parm-recipe/

This weeks’ share contains:  1 head of savoy cabbage, 1 Italian eggplant, 1 bunch of torpedo (rossa lunga di tropea) onions, 1  pound of tomatillos, 1 pound of red tomatoes, 2 antohi romania sweet peppers, 2 pound mix of patty pan and zucchini, 1 pound of green beans, 1 bunch of carrots.

It looks like a good time to make Ratatouille.  I do not have a go-to recipe for this dish I’m sorry to say.  This will be the last green beans for awhile as our next planting is engulfed in weeds we can’t fight because we are giving the energy to fighting weeds in the sweet potato patch.  It appears that hot summer is truly here and with it all the hot summer vegetables.  As the tomatoes come into full swing, we must think ahead to fall and so the brussel sprouts and kales are sprouting in the greenhouse and we’re preparing ground in which to plant them.

Tomatillo Salsa

Remove and discard the husks from the tomatillos; wash.  Slice them in half and place on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in a 450 degree oven until starting to brown and sizzle.  Remove and let cool.  Once cool either chop with a knife or puree.

In the meantime, finely dice 1-2 cloves of garlic and 1 torpedo onion.  Chop a few to several sprigs of cilantro.  Combine these with the tomatillos, squeeze the juice of a lime over.  Add salt, pepper, more lime, hot pepper to your taste.  

You could roast the onion and garlic with the tomatillos for a different taste.  You could also add the sweet peppers roasted or fresh and some of the red tomatoes.

I write this blog entry with a heavy heart as my dear mother has just gone into the care of hospice after a battle with lymphoma.  I struggle to find the exact words to say, a common place we must all be when we find ourselves at various cliffs’ edges.  She raised nine children and most of us believe she did a stellar job of it.  She and my Dad have truly loved one another all these years.  This Saturday is their 62nd wedding anniversary.