I always enjoy harvesting vegetables because it feels like a treasure hunt. Who doesn’t enjoy a good treasure hunt full of surprises and unexpected rewards? Yet, harvesting vegetables when you have a few other projects to complete, or you simply want to rest can be a challenging chore.
Sam and Steve have found a fun way to accomplish this task by having different types of contests. This week, it was seeing who could find the longest green bean. I believe this heated contest ended in a tie with both harvesting eight-inch-long green beans. We also find ourselves making a game out of harvesting zucchini and cucumbers…resembling catch and quick hands.
Finding Joy in the small, simple items in life can bring peace to the craziness that life presents.
See the world through the eyes of your inner child. The eyes that sparkle in awe and amazement as they see love, magic and mystery in the most ordinary things. – Henna Sohail
Boxes of Produce
This list is prepared before we harvest your share. Some guesswork is involved! We do our best to predict which crops will be ready to harvest, but sometimes crops are on the list that are not in the share, and sometimes crops will be in the share even though they’re not on the list. Remember food safety in your kitchen when preparing, always wash your hands before working with your produce and always wash your produce before eating.
Spinach/Red Oak Lettuce/Black Seeded Simpson Mix – The dry weather has put pressure on the crops that were planted mid-June. We are grateful for the rain we received last night. You will notice that there has been insect pressure on the spinach eating small holes in some of the leaves.
Green Beans – The green beans are plentiful. I’d encourage you to consider freezing or canning some for this fall. Learn more about green bean production from America’s Heartland here.
Carrots – The carrot crop is progressing. It is so interesting to see how the root vegetables have been adapting to grow deeper to reach moisture. Learn how we get baby carrots in the grocery store on America’s Heartland.
Radishes – This crop has been long lasting this year. Wash, cut off the tops and also the bottoms, slice and enjoy in salads or put in hot dishes. Some enjoy dipping in salt. Some radish recipes from Taste of Home.
Dark Red Beets – Some of our shareholders like to cut these up and eat these raw in their salads. I enjoy cooking them, peeling off the skin and putting a little bit of butter on them. This is an interesting resource from NDSU Extension.
Cucumbers – The cucumbers have kicked production into high gear. Let us know if you would like to make pickles. We do have dill that you could use.
Potatoes – Red Norland potatoes are good as boiled or mashed potatoes. Learn more about how potatoes are grown here.
Tomatoes – Fourth of July and Sun Gold Hybrid cherry tomatoes this week.
Onions – yellow onions
Zucchini –So many wonderful ways to use Zucchini. Try this pasta primavera recipe from Martha Stewart.
Fresh cut arrangement – Sunflowers and Zinnia.
Recipe of the Week
Zucchini Cobbler
8 cups chopped seeded peeled zucchini (about 3 pounds untrimmed)
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
CRUST:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups cold butter, cubed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, cook and stir zucchini and lemon juice until zucchini is tender, 15-20 minutes. Stir in sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; cook 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir 1/2 cup into zucchini mixture. Press half the remaining crust mixture into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Spread zucchini mixture over top; crumble remaining crust mixture over zucchini. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
3. Bake until golden and bubbly, 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
Source: Taste of Home
