Week 8 and sorry it's late...

Hi everyone,
Sorry I didn't get this up sooner. I'll fill in the details later, but here's the list of what's in the bags this week:
Salad Mix
Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Beans
Basil
Summer squash
Cucumbers
White onions
Broccoli
Sweet Peppers for Large shares and Poblano peppers (medium spicy) for the small shares
Eggplant (long & skinny, fat and purple, or creamy white!)
Cauliflower

Note: Not enough of the eggplant ripened at once for everyone to get an eggplant this week, but we'll make sure you all get one soon. Same with the cauliflower- things ripen at different times, and rarely is there 75 eggplant or cauliflower that are ready to pick at the same time.

And if anyone is interested in making some pickles, we are having a bumper crop of cucumbers this year, and have extra for sale. Contact Sue if you're interested.

Here are some recipes that were given to me by someone in the CSA- they look very tasty! Some of them use ingredients from this week, and the ones that call for things you don't receive this week, you might want to stick it away in your recipe box to use later.

Here's another great way to eat summer squash:
Zucchini Parmesan
Several good-sized summer squash (zucchini, yellow, patty pan, etc)
2 beaten eggs
2-2 1/2 cups Italian style bread crumbs
Olive oil cooking spray
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce

1) Preheat oven to 425 and spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.
2) Slice squash into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Dip slices in the beaten eggs, then coat with the bread crumbs and place on the cookie sheets. Spray tops with oil
3) Bake for 10 minutes, flip the slices over and bake another 10 minutes
4) Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray and spoon a small amount of sauce into the pan.
5) Alternate layers of squash, mozzarella, Parmesan and sauce. For the last layer, just use sauce and top with Parmesan.
6) Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake fore 10 more minutes.

Swiss Chard with Chick Peas (aka Garbanzo beans) and Fresh Tomatoes from Allrecipes.com Serves 4
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot or small onion, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup chickpeas, drained
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch Swiss chard, rinsed and chopped
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 lemon, juiced

1) Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Stir in shallot/onion and scallions. Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes until soft and fragrant. Stir in garbanzo beans, season with salt and pepper, and heat through.
2) Place chopped chard in the skillet, and cook until wilted. Add tomato slices, squeeze lemon juice over greens and heat through. Serve immediately.

Green Beans & Tuna with Basil serves 4
1 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into 3-4 inch lengths
1 small red pepper, cut in half lengthwise, seeded and de-ribbed
salt & pepper
1/3 cup diced red onion
2 Tbsp finely chopped basil leaves
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 can tuna, drained
1-2 Tbsp capers, depending on taste, rinsed and drained

1) Fill a large saucepan 3/4 full of water and bring to a rapid boil. Add the green beans, bell pepper halves, and 2 tsp salt. Return to a boil and cook uncovered until the beans are just tender but still firm, about 4-5 minutes. Drain well.
2) Place the beans in a large bowl. Cut the pepper halves lengthwise into strips 1/2 inch wide. Add to the beans, along with the red onion and 1 Tbsp of the basil. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp lemon juice and a little salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat the beans well with the lemon juice. Drizzle the 3 Tbsp of olive oil and toss again.
3) In a separate bowl, break the tuna into small chunks. Add the capers and the remaining 1 Tbsp of basil. Season to taste with lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper as needed. Toss gently to blend.
4) Arrange the beans on a serving platter or individual plates and mound the tuna mixture in the center. Serve at once.


Sarah