In Your Box:

• Basil
• Beans
• Broccolini
• Carrots
• Green Sweet Peppers
• Head lettuce: Summercrisp
• Scallions
• Summer squash

Farm News

This week I’ve been busy harvesting all of our garlic from the field. We grow nearly 2,000 bulbs, and each one has to be pulled from the ground and spread in our greenhouse under fans to dry out and cure for storage. It’s a lot of wheelbarrow trips across the field and leads to a very strong odor from the greenhouse! The garlic will be drying out for a few weeks, but we’ll start offering that in the boxes as soon as it’s ready.

We are very much appreciating the brief cold front this week before summer comes blazing back by the weekend. Heat and humidity really make farming seem like actual work, and when you throw in wildfire smoke and deerflies, it’s not exactly the idyllic image of Old MacDonald on his farm!

This week’s box

I was really hoping we’d have ripe tomatoes after the heat wave last week, but unfortunately there aren’t quite enough that have ripened yet. Our first planting of basil is ready, however, and it looks like our next few plantings of basil should line up with tomatoes for a great combination. I love delivering a van full of basil, as the aroma is even enough to cover up my funky sweat stink! 

Summer squash are coming along nicely. We grow six different varieties, including traditional green and yellow zucchini. My favorite is a yellow squash with a green bottom called “Zephyr,” and we also grow a striped green variety called Mexicana. 

To use a summer squash, first rinse off the outside (unlike with most winter squash, there is no need to peel). It can be eaten raw, broiled, steamed, fried, grilled, sauteed, or stir-fried. We enjoy summer squash as a pizza or pasta topping or in a stir-fry with a peanut sauce. If you end up with more squash than you know what to do with, it’s easy to freeze. It can be pureed in a blender and frozen directly for use as a soup base, or grated and frozen for use in bread or muffins. 

This week marks the beginning of bean season, with a strong harvest of green beans already coming your way. I plant enough for six weeks of beans, so you can expect them basically every week between now and Labor Day. Green beans don’t like to be overcooked, so boiling them for 3-5 minutes is generally enough. 

Sauteed Green Beans

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook the green beans in a large pot of boiling water until just crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Drain well; set aside.2. Melt the butter and oil in a heavy, large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add the beans and cook until the juices evaporate and the beans are almost tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Stir in the wine and basil. Simmer 2 minutes longer.3. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl, and serve.Parmesan Crisps, as a side: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.1/2 cup grated ParmesanPour a heaping tablespoon of Parmesan onto a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet and lightly pat down. A silicone baking sheet is highly recommended. Repeat with the remaining cheese, spacing the spoonfuls about a 1/2-inch apart. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden and crisp. Cool. Yield: 8 to 10 crisps

Coming up

Next week we are expecting scallions, cabbage, head lettuce, broccolini, summer squash, beans and tomatoes.