Week 11 Box

The city I live in flooded pretty badly this last week, so there has been a lot of distractions around here.  I was actually surprised that our box came on time and full this week.  At the moment, we have all the roads open here and have no restrictions on using water--earlier this week we were limiting to a bare minimum--but we are still boiling everything used for washing dishes and in or on food.  Hopefully it's all over soon.

• Swiss chard
• Kale
• Green beans (from the CSA and my mom)
• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Okra
• Jalapeno pepper
• Leeks
• Savory

Tomato Cucumber Salad

Our CSA this year has been giving us cucumbers (honestly, I don't remember if we got cucumbers last year) which presents to me a special kind of dilemma.  They don't really cook and they are just part of a mix of vegetables that I got this week.  I suppose when life gives you miscellaneous vegetables, make a salad.  This one tasted really good alone, but it could also be served over greens as more of a meal.

Serves 3-4

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon ground mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small cucumber, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 very small onion, finely chopped
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Combine oil, vinegar, and mustard in small bowl.  Place garlic, cucumber, tomato, and onion on top of mixture in bowl.  Toss well and season to taste.
2. Refrigerate salad for at least 4 hours before serving to mellow the flavors.

Week 9 Box

The greens were back in our box this week, so the farm must be recovering from the storm of a couple of weeks ago.  It is still really wet, though, which I have heard from others in the area is taking a real toll on root vegetables and bulb plants.  Our onions have been tasty but very small, which is also how the potatoes have been.  I was awfully excited for the okra this week.

• Potatoes
• Garlic
• Onion
• Okra
• Eggplant
• Cucumber
• Swiss chard
• Kale
• Tomatoes (these were actually from a coworker)
• Rosemary

Week 8 Box

A massive storm hit here last Saturday, which caused some tree damage in my neighborhood and apparently caused a fair amount of damage to the crops at the CSA farm.  No greens this week, but the farm people seem optimistic they will spring back.  It has, overall, been exceptionally wet here this summer.  I hear this has been hard on potatoes and onions, which have so far been appearing in my box but not in great numbers.  It's still enough to work with, though.

• Onions
• Green beans
• Cucumbers
• Yellow squash (a very particular kind called Sunburst scallopini, though it cooks like regular)
• Garlic
• Beets
• Potatoes

Week 6 Box

More summer vegetables are appearing now in the box, which I appreciate.  I was especially excited to see the herb of the week, since it's an easy one to use up quickly.

• Garlic
• Onions
• Kale
• Swiss Chard
• Potatoes
• Zucchini
• Cucumber
• Beets
• Basil