This watermelon puts a smile on my face every time I pass by it. Part of me wants to put a can or something under it to support it, and the other part of me wants to see if it makes it until the end of the season…can it hold on all by itself.

The watermelon reminds me of so many life situations. Isn’t it interesting that when you take time to observe nature, God presents us with so many life lessons.

So many times, we think, boy we just can’t hang on. Why are we hanging out here all by ourselves? Why isn’t anyone helping us?

Yet, when it comes right down to it…We have been outfitted with enough strength. We are capable of figuring it out. We are strong enough. We are enough.

So for those items in your life, where you are wondering if you have enough strength. Remember God gives us the strength if we believe. Praying for you and those areas in your life where you need strength.

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

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.

Green Beans – Like the lettuce, this crop really took a jump in reaching maturity after a drink of water from Mother Nature. We have more if you are interested in freezing or canning some. Let us know if you need some dill to make green bean pickles.

Dragon Tongue Beans – This beautiful and unique crop ads variety to any dish whether you eat them raw or cooked. Learn more here.

Dark Red Beets – Some of our shareholders like to cut these up and eat these raw in their salads. Try them raw, peeled and dip them in peanut butter. `Learn more about their nutrition here.

Black Seeded Simpson Mix – The rain we had really helped give this crop a boost.

Broccoli – Enjoy some broccoli in this week’s vegetable array.

Cucumbers – The cucumbers are having a wacky growing cycle with our drought. They loved the rain, and we have a flush of new cucumbers. Plenty for canning. Here’s an interesting link on their nutritional value.

Kohlrabi – I simply eat these peeled and cut up like an apple with some peanut butter. Here are some recipe ideas and additional information on this vegetable from Taste of Home.

Peppers – Holy Sweet Peppers. We have many! Let us know if you need more next week for making stuffed peppers or other dishes. Here are some pepper recipe ideas from Martha Stewart or if you want to know more about freezing peppers, this is a helpful link.

Potatoes – Yukon Golds or Red Norlands are in your box this week. Watch potato harvest here on America’s Heartland.

Summer Squash – This Summer Rise and Shine hybrid squash has a  rich buttery flavor. The other is the miniature Peter Pan scalloped squash with a sweet flavor. Use either of these in place of zucchini. Here are some ideas to use it from Pioneer Woman.

Super Sugar Snap Peas – Yum! Eat these raw in the pods, dip in Ranch dressing or use in stir fry. One of our favorite summer vegetables is in your boxes this week. A new crop is nearly ready.

Sweet Corn – A big shout out to our neighbors FarGaze Farms for the delicious sweet corn in our boxes.

Tomatoes –In your boxes this week are Napa Valley cherry tomatoes, Sun Gold cherry tomatoes and 4^th of July tomatoes. Watch for a flush of them for canning and freezing.

Zucchini –So many wonderful ways to use Zucchini. Try this zucchini mock apple pie square recipe.

Fresh cut arrangement – Hydrangeas

Recipe of the Week

To be honest, in this heat, all I can think about is cook it on the grill or eat the items raw in a salad. There are many times where my salad doesn’t include lettuce. I just simply cut up a number of the raw vegetables add some type of nuts or other salad like items such as cheese or dressing.