July 14th, 2009 Newsletter

This week on the farm

Marketmore cucumbers…

As I mentioned these are my favorite cucumbers. I’ve been growing this variety as far back as I can remember, in my case that’s back to the early 1970’s.  Marketmore is a long straight cuke with a very small seed cavity that is always sweet, never bitter.  Right now you must be saying “yeah, yeah where are the cucumbers?”  Well by the weekend we should begin picking a reasonable amount of them.  My hunch is that a week or so ago the bees didn’t pollinate them very well and like most things this year they are growing slowly.  I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we do.

I mentioned a small seed cavity in the cucumbers and that made me think of squash.  Both are members of the cucurbit family and they share a few common traits.  Of those traits something we dislike very much is large seeds, they’re not really edible, they leave a huge hollow spot in the fruit when you remove them.  Being from the east coast and from an area of Italian and Middle Eastern immigrants we were taught to value the small squash and cucumbers. However when we arrived in Indiana we found out that most folks here wanted a larger size fruit- live a little learn a lot. The varieties we grow are wonderful eaten at either the large or small size.  We’ve searched and tested countless varieties in order to supply you with larger size fruits that have extremely small seed size and seed cavities hoping to provide you with the best of both worlds. We hope you agree that they are amazing and tasty.

Till next week,

Todd

How to care for your produce

Remember to refresh your vegetables as soon as you get them home.  Refreshing is placing them in cool or cold water and allowing them to soak for 15-20 minutes.  After they’ve soaked, shake off the excess water and place them in a plastic bag and DO NOT close the bag tightly.  Leaving the bag open a bit allows the vegetables to breathe and the moisture to circulate.  This reduces the chance that your veggies will become slimy.  Refreshing applies to most veggies except tomatoes, herbs and green beans.

What to expect in your share this week

Here’s what we anticipate the shares will contain this week although your share may vary slightly:

Standard Shares: Squash (Straightneck, Cocozelle & maybe Early White Bush Scallop Patty Pan), hopefully a cucumber or two, Large Sweet Onion, a bunch of Red Tropea (torpedo) Onions & Lettuce Mix (Tennis Ball, Grandpa Amires, Green Cos Romaine).

Culinarian Shares:  the above plus Mint and Basil.

Reminder: Please return your box each week in exchange for your next share. 

Share Pick-up Arrangements

If you need to designate someone other than yourself to pick up your share, please notify us at least 24 hours in advance of the person’s name who will be receiving your share. 

If you’ll be unavailable to pick up your share at your designated date & time you may pre-arrange to pick up at one of our other locations.  Please notify us 1 week in advance of your desired pick up location. You can contact us by phone at (317) 815-9863 or by email at BalancedHarvest@hotmail.com.

Shares that are not picked up at designated date and time will be donated or composted.

Recipes

Green & Yellow Squash Ribbons with Basil

1 green squash

1 yellow squash

12 basil leaves, chiffonade (roll leaves tightly and slice into ribbons)

3 T olive oil

1 T fresh lemon juice

½ tsp finely grated lemon zest

Celtic sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Trim ends of squash. Using a vegetable peeler, shave squash into long, wide strips. When you get to the center (where the seeds are) turn the squash and peel from the other side until you get to center again (use all flesh/discard seeds).

Put squash ribbons in a bowl. Add basil.

In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, lemon juice and zest to make a vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Toss ribbons with enough vinaigrette to lightly coat them (you won’t need all of the vinaigrette). Season to taste with salt & pepper and serve.

Veggie Kebabs

Simply brush veggies with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper then grill (or marinate first).

Veggies cut into 1 inch pieces such as: onions, green squash, yellow squash, mushrooms, bell peppers

Crumbled feta cheese for garnish (optional)

Marinade
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 clove garlic, crushed with side of knife

Mix marinade ingredients in a small bowl, stirring to blend.

Place prepared vegetables in a zip-loc bag. Pour in the marinade, seal the bag, and turn over to coat everything. Marinate in the refrigerator 1 hour.

When ready to cook, remove vegetables from marinade and thread onto skewers. Leave a little space between the vegetables for air to circulate. Grill over medium heat until all vegetables are golden and tender.

Serve warm, garnished with crumbled feta, if desired.

Please check “Great Resources” on our website for more recipes.