P I C K L I S T
TOMATOES! - BASIL - CELERY - BROCCOLI - LETTUCE - RADISH - ZUCCHINI -
SUMMER SQUASH - PICKLES - SHISO
This week the harvest really started to pick up, and I did everything in my power to not fill your share up with only zucchini, summer squash, and cukes. While those three main players are certainly taking up the most space in your CSA, we did manage to pick some other crops to spice it up. However, what is a CSA if there isn't a few weeks of bumper to bumper crops?
Also this week, it remained incredibly dry- we could use some rain… and while it poured a minute ago, the thunderstorm swept through way too fast and is just not gonna cut it. In the next couple of days, we’re going to have to start pumping water from the river to keep crops happy and healthy. Seems simple enough, but I can assure you it is a HUGE pain in the butt, we’d all just prefer some rain.
All you awesome CSA gleaners came out this past Saturday and took to the fields clearing every last berry there was. Totally warmed my heart to meet y'all, and bring you to the very place in which your food’s been coming from. This was the official end of strawberry season and next week, hello to blueberry season. WOOT! WOOT!
OH AND LASTLY, speaking of bumper to bumper and heavy yields, we are having a sale on pickling cukes at the farmstand: If you are pumped about pickling, fermenting, etc- get in on this:
$20 half bushel/ $38 full bushel.
Call 603-298-5764 to place your order, leave a message if no one answers!
PRO-TIPS:
Enter tomato basil season! we have arrived people!!! In other words, take your tomato, take your basil, sprinkle salt, find some crusty bread, and eat every damn day.
Shiso!!: I’m very into this herb. Lately it’s made its way into EVERY dish. From salads to sautees to eggs to just all things. Even better when paired with sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, liquid aminos, etc (And if you’ve been doing the CSA for a while now, then i have become a broken record but also hype girl for those 3 ingredients, but i digress). For the easiest summer salad there ever was, do the following: mix lettuce with chopped herbs (basil and shiso!) add sliced radishes, dress to your pleasing. It’s perfect every time.
JENNY’S NOTE: This recipe is super similar to the last pickle recipe but it uses shiso and it is next level divine.
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon salt, preferably sea or kosher
5 Japanese cucumbers, or 2 English cucumbers
8 shiso leaves (or substitute basil)
Put sugar, vinegar, mirin and salt into a non-reactive bowl. Whisk until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
Slice cucumbers as thinly as possible.
Gather the shiso leaves like a deck of cards, roll into a tube and slice, chiffonade-style, like you would with basil.
Add cucumbers and shiso to the marinade and stir. Try to cover the vegetables with the marinade. It's okay if the liquid doesn't submerge the cucumbers. They will break down and get smaller as they marinate.
Put the mix in the fridge and let marinate for at least 4 hours. Mix a couple of times if you can, but it's okay if you don't. Once pointed in the right direction, cucumbers tend to take care of themselves.
Serve, icy cold out of the fridge if you can.
JENNY’S NOTE: Apparently, Meghan Markle made zucchini bolognese, told the world about it and blew everyone’s socks off. Claire, my picking partner/ food preservation master chef made this dish for me once and it did indeed stand up to the test and my socks were in fact blown right off- try it!
This recipe is shockingly simple, and only requires a handful of easy-to-grab ingredients: water, one bouillon cube, and zucchini. I also added an onion and some garlic in order to give the dish some aromatic quality (what’s pasta without garlic?).
I started by sautéing one small onion and two cloves of garlic in about a tablespoon of olive oil. As soon as they became translucent, I tossed in the sliced zucchini and sautéed it all together for a minute or two. Meanwhile, I put the bouillon cube in a measuring cup with one cup of hot water and let it dissolve.
Then, you are just going to add that stock created out of the water and bouillon to the pot with the zucchini, onion, and garlic. At that point, it couldn’t get easier. Just stir well, cover the pot, and reduce to a simmer. Now, just let that zucchini slow-cook until it turns mushy.
Although you’re slow-cooking the zucchini for hours, you’re going to want to check it every half hour or so because if it looks too thick or dry, you’ll need to add more water. Meghan simmered hers for four to five hours, so throwing it in a slow cooker could work here — or just keep it on the stove at low heat and keep checking out the consistency. You may discover you are ready to serve it after only around 90 minutes or so — mine was plenty mushy by then!
Finally, make your pasta and mix with the sauce. At this point, you may want to add a bit of grated Parm. I also added crushed chili flakes for a touch of heat.
Sour Pickles from one of my fave cookbooks, GEFILTERIA / Serving Size 1 Quart of Pickles
2 cups water
1 heaping tablespoon kosher salt or sea salt, plus more if needed
1⁄2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds plus more if needed
1⁄2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1-2 bay leaves (dried or fresh)
1 small cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp whole coriander seeds
1/4 tsp whole cloves
2 sprigs fresh dill… (JENNY’S NOTE: i know i know, where is the dill?? Short on the herb for this week, but make without and add it to the brine next time… because you know there will be a next time… :)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 pound cucumbers
Pour the filtered water into a clean wide-mouth quart-size jar. Pour the salt into the water, cover with a tight-fitting lid and shake to dissolve the salt.
Add the dried spices, dill and garlic, then add the cucumbers (or green beans). Pack the vegetables in tightly, squeezing as many as possible into the jar, making sure the brine covers the vegetables. If it doesn’t cover the cucumbers (or beans), mix a heaping 1 ½ teaspoons of salt with 1 cup of water. Pour in enough of this mixture to cover the vegetables. Seal the jar, affixing your fermentation pipe to the lid.
Let the cucumbers (or beans) sit at room temperature for 4 to 7 days. You’ll notice that the cucumbers (or beans) will turn pale after about 2 days. The time the vegetables take to ferment fully will vary depending on air temperature and elevation. Taste them each day after the fourth day until the desired level of sourness is reached. The brine will begin to appear cloudy and may be a bit fizzy.
When you are happy with the taste of the cucumbers (or beans), remove all white yeast or mold from the top of your jar, if any has appeared. Seal the jar and place the pickled vegetables directly in the refrigerator. They will keep for up to 6 months.