Big Red Farm Share, July 16

HARVEST

Full Share:

• 2 heads lettuce
• 1 bunch chard
• 1 lb new potatoes
• 2 lbs summer squash
• 3 cucumbers
• 1 bunch basil
• 2 bunches herbs -- your choice, we'll probably have mint, chives, sage and parsley

Half Share:

• 1 head lettuce
• 1/2 lb new potatoes
• 1 lb summer squash
• 1 cucumber
• 1 bunch basil
• 1 bunch herbs -- your choice, we'll probably have mint, chives, sage and parsley

Extras:

Please take as much as you'd like.

• More cucumbers!
• More summer squash!

RECIPES

It has been mostly muggy and hot, very hot, for the past several days.  It's tough to get excited about cooking in this weather, as cooking generally involves heat, and our apartment is stuffy enough without the oven raising the temperature a few hundred degrees.  Everyone has their own favorite heat-beating foods; many traditional cuisines from tropical parts of the globe include lots of spicy dishes, which we'll talk about another day.  My own preferred summer culinary traditions include iced coffee, panzanella (which we'll also talk about another day, and it's coming soon!), anything cooked outside, and lots and lots of cucumbers.  Cucumber-Yogurt Salad with Fresh Mint is an excellent example of a cooling, refreshing, summer dish.  It would be great alongside something thrown on the grill.

I had to put some thought into this week's second recipe.  I want to feature our new potatoes, since they are so tasty, but I couldn't justify suggesting a hot dish like Potatoes Iron-City Style (which is delicious and please make it if you can bear standing over the stove) after I just got through telling you about how hot it is.  Potato salad is served cold, though, and if you go for the vinegary rather than the mayonnaise-y version, it fulfills another item on my summer food checklist: vinegary/briny/salty things!  New Potato Salad with Pickled Onions is simple, barely uses any heat at all, and would be another welcome accompaniment to something grilled outdoors.

PICK-UP LOCATION AND DETAILS

Share pick-up takes place at the farm, on Thursdays between 3:00 and 6:00pm. Pull into the Lawrence Township community gardens and follow the gravel road uphill to the left. Please remember to return last week's bags and/or containers, and sign in when you take your share. Any payment can be placed in the envelope next to the sign-in sheet. See you at the farm!