July 8, 2021 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Cucumbers!

 

Cooking With This Week's Box

Fresh Porcelain Garlic:
Garlic Butter Sauce Pasta
Garlic Naan Bread

Desert Sunrise Cipollini OR Sierra Blanca Onions:   
Fennel, Pickled Onion and Apple Salad
Onion Vinaigrette Salad

Zucchini and/or Sunburst Scallopini Squash: 
Zucchini Ribbon Skewers with Spicy Lemon Butter
Marinated Chicken and Zucchini Kabobs

Green and/or Silver Slicer Cucumbers: 
Cucumber Lime Popsicles (See Below)
Mexican Cucumber Snack (See Below)
Chile-Mint Sauteed Cucumbers (See Below)
 
Broccoli:
Freezer Friendly Broccoli Cheese Soup
How To Freeze Broccoli
Honey Chicken Stir-Fry (using fresh or frozen broccoli)

Snow Peas or Sugar Snap Peas or Fresh Green/Yellow Beans: 
Stir-Fried Snow Peas with Shiitakes and Ginger
Chinese Sugar Snap Pea Salad
Fresh Green Bean Casserole

Summercrisp  Head Lettuce: 
Greens & Lentil Salad with Dijon Dressing
In and Out Style Burger Lettuce Wraps

Cilantro: 
Chimichurri
Cilantro Lime Slaw with Crispy Baked Fish Tacos

Italian Basil: 
Summer Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad
Nicoise Pasta Salad with Basil Dressing

Fennel: 
Fennel Vegetable Feature 2019 with 25 Recipe Ideas!
Caramelized Fennel and Apple Tart

Sweetheart Salad Cabbage:
Simplest Cabbage Slaw
Coconut Quinoa Coleslaw with Minty Tahini Dressing

OR

White Cauliflower: 
Easy Cauliflower Tikka Masala
Roasted Cauliflower Tacos

Marinated Chicken and Zucchini Kabobs
photo from tasteofhome.com

Happy July!

Now that summer is in full swing, things are happening fast in the fields!  Next week we’re going to be picking the first tomatillos and black eggplant.  The first tomato planting already has sizeable fruit set on and we’re scheduled to dig the first of our potatoes next week!  Next week we’re also planning to start harvesting the first of our green top carrots and hopefully green and yellow beans.  The first crop of sweet corn is also very near on the horizon.  I hope you’re ready for some delicious summer meals because we have a lot of delicious things to send your way!

This week we’re featuring cucumbers, which is a pretty common vegetable.  The thing I like about cucumbers is how simple and refreshing they are in the middle of the summer.  Around here, our crew members take home bags of them from our “take home pallet” and enjoy them as a refreshing snack, eat fresh slices of them with their meals, and put thin slices of them in their water jugs.  So this week’s featured recipes are pretty simple and straight forward because, well that’s just the way cucumbers are!  The recipe for Mexican Cucumber Snack (See Below) is inspired by our crew members who eat cucumbers this way, but also other vegetables like radishes, jicama and kohlrabi.  The recipe for Cucumber Lime Popsicles (See Below) is a fun way to turn cucumbers into a refreshing snack that can be enjoyed on a hot afternoon.  The third recipe is for Chile-Mint Sauteed Cucumbers (See Below) and demonstrates that cucumbers can also be cooked!  This recipe is super simple and quick and would serve as a nice side dish alongside Marinated Chicken and Zucchini Kabobs or served with Summer Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad.

Fennel, Pickled Onion and Apple Salad
photo from everylastbite.com

We are finishing up the last of our head lettuces this week, which means we’re going to have to rely on other vegetables for our fresh salads until fall!  This week you have a lot of salad options to choose from including a Fennel, Pickled Onion and Apple Salad,  Chinese Sugar Snap Pea Salad, and Nicoise Pasta Salad with Basil Dressing.  Of course the sweetheart cabbage is another excellent base for a “salad” option and can be as simple as a creamy coleslaw.  My favorite creamy cabbage salad recipe is this Simplest Cabbage Slaw
recipe from alexandracooks.com.  I make this all the time!

I am happy to report that all of our garlic has been harvested and is tucked away safely in our greenhouses where it is drying!  This week’s garlic is still considered to be “fresh” garlic and it will be a flavorful addition to this simple Garlic Butter Sauce Pasta.  If you want to try something fun this week, make your own homemade Garlic Naan Bread to serve with this Easy Cauliflower Tikka Masala.  We don’t have enough cauliflower for all boxes this week as it’s just starting to come in, but don’t worry.  If you don’t get any this week it will likely be in your box next week or the following week!

Whether you’re cooking in your kitchen, grilling on the patio or taking your vegetables with you on your summer travels or camping trips, I hope you enjoy all these summer vegetables!  Have a great week!—Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Cucumbers

By:  Chef Andrea Yoder

Jose Luis pausing for a photo-op 
while unloading cucumbers (2018)

Description: Cucumbers are a member of the gourd family along with melons, squash and pumpkins.  They are a fairly mild-flavored vegetable with a high water content which makes them the perfect summer vegetable to counter the heat!  In this country we are most familiar with the American green slicer variety.  However, in addition to green slicers we also grow a few other interesting varieties including silver slicers, our favorite cucumber.  Silver slicer cucumbers are a little smaller than standard green slicers.  They have a pale yellow skin and hold up well after picking without getting soft.  They also tend to have a more tender skin that doesn’t get bitter and it has an excellent fruity flavor that is more pronounced than other varieties.

Preparation & Use: Cucumbers are most often used in salads, on sandwiches or they are pickled.  However, they can also be cooked in stir-fries, turned into cold or hot soups, braised or lightly sautéed.

It’s up to you to decide if you want to peel them or not.  If the skin is tender, I seldom peel cucumbers.  The tenderness of the skin is dependent somewhat upon the variety, but also the maturity of the cucumber when it was picked as well as the point we’re at in the season.  Thus, it’s your judgement call to decide if you want to peel them or not.

Vinegar Slaw with Cucumbers and Dill

Cucumbers pair well with a wide variety of ingredients including herbs such as basil, cilantro, dill and parsley.  They also go well with garlic, tomatoes, peppers, onions and cabbage.  They are delicious when dressed with tangy vinaigrettes, but also marry well with creamy dressings and sauces made from yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese and buttermilk.   

Storage: Cucumbers store best at 45°F to 50°F, but most refrigerators are set to lower temperatures than this.  Thus, we recommend you store them either in a warmer part of your fridge for just a few days, or just keep them on the counter at room temperature and use within a few days.  Wash cucumbers just before use and note that our cucumbers are not dipped in wax or wrapped in plastic as many are in the retail grocery world.  After several days they may become a little soft.  Don’t throw them out as they are still good!  It is natural for them to feel a little limp, just soak them in an ice bath before you are going to use them or use them in a recipe where they’ll be cooked or softened.

Our expert crew transplanting cucumbers.

Growing Information: Cucumbers may be grown in a variety of growing systems.  We choose to grow our cucumbers the old fashioned way…in the dirt outside in the field!  We do have a unique strategy, though.  We start all of our cucumbers in the greenhouse as a transplant.  They grow very quickly once the seed germinates, so we only have about three weeks from when the seeds are planted to get the field ready!  We plant them on raised beds covered with a reflective silver plastic that has drip irrigation lines running underneath it.  We do this for several reasons.  First, the reflective plastic helps deter pests such as cucumber beetles which can wreak havoc on the plants by chewing the leaves and scarring the fruit.  The plastic mulch also provides some heat gain which helps encourage growth in this heat-loving crop.

We plant an early crop that we put in the field as soon as possible in the spring and then do a second planting to get us through the latter part of summer.  We typically cover the first planting with a row cover draped over wire hoops.  This protects the plants from any chilly nights and also helps trap more heat to help the plants get established and take off.  Once the plants are producing fruit, you can almost predict the volume of a harvest by the temperature.  Ok, not quite, but they are very responsive to changes in temperature and if you have a really warm week you can really see some phenomenal growth and be surprised with harvests that literally double and sometimes triple seemingly overnight!

Chile-Mint Sautéed Cucumbers

Yield:  4 as a side dish

1 pound cucumbers

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 shallot or small onion, minced

¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves

¼ tsp salt

1. Peel the cucumbers if desired, cut them in half lengthwise, and then remove the seeds by running a small spoon down the seed seam.  Cut the cucumbers into ¼-inch thick half moons and set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the butter and the shallot or onion and cook for 1 minute, until aromatic.  Add the sliced cucumbers and toss to coat.  Cook for 3 minutes, until the cucumbers are hot and just tender;  then add the red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and fresh mint.  Remove from the heat and season with the kosher salt.  Toss, and place in shallow bowl to serve.

Recipe borrowed from Hugh Acheson’s book, The Broad Fork.

Cucumber Lime Popsicles

Yield: 6

photo from everydaymadefresh.com

1 pound cucumbers

1 lime, zest and juice

¼ tsp salt

½ cup sugar

½ cup plain, Greek yogurt

1. Mix together all ingredients in a blender or food processor.  
2. Blend until nothing but juice remains.
3. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for 6 hours or until solid.  Overnight is best.

Recipe borrowed from everydaymadefresh.com.

Note: If you do not have popsicle molds, you can just use small paper cups to freeze the juice mixture in.  Put popsicle sticks in the popsicles when the juice had started to freeze, but is not totally frozen.

 

Mexican Cucumber Snack

photo from thriftandspice.com

Yield:  2 Servings

1 cucumber

½ tsp chili powder

½  lime

Salt, to taste

1. Peel (optional) and cut the cucumber into slices and lay out on a plate.
2. Squeeze the lime juice over the cucumbers.  Sprinkle with chili powder and salt.
3. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe borrowed from thriftandspice.com

July 25, 2019 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Cucumbers!

Cooking With This Week's Box

Green Scallions or White Spanish Onions: Korean Stir-Fried Cucumbers (see below);  Summer Vietnamese Noodle Salad (see below); Zucchini Enchiladas; Summer Farmer Skillet; Aloo Gobi; Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole; Diner Style Western Omelet

Green and/or Italian Zucchini: Zucchini Enchiladas; Summer Farmer Skillet

Broccoli:  Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole

White Cauliflower: Aloo Gobi; Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole

Green and/or Silver Slicer Cucumbers: Summer Vietnamese Noodle Salad (see below); Korean Stir-Fried Cucumbers (see below); Kale and Cucumber Salad with Roasted Ginger Dressing

Fresh Italian Garlic: Korean Stir-Fried Cucumbers (see below); Zucchini Enchiladas;  Summer Farmer Skillet; Aloo Gobi

Green Top Carrots: Summer Vietnamese Noodle Salad (see below); Summer Farmer Skillet; Carrot Tops; Carrot Top Hummus

Green and/or Yellow Beans: Summer Farmer Skillet; Cheesy Ham Green Bean Casserole; Greek Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner with Green Beans & Feta

New Potatoes: Summer Farmer Skillet; Aloo Gobi; Greek Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner with Green Beans & Feta

Amaranth or Green Curly Kale: Summer Farmer Skillet; Indian Amaranth Stir-Fry; Kale and Cucumber Salad with Roasted Ginger Dressing

Green Bell Pepper: Zucchini Enchiladas; Diner Style Western Omelet

Jalapeno Peppers:  Summer Vietnamese Noodle Salad (see below);  Indian Amaranth Stir-Fry

Since our second crop of cucumbers is starting to produce now, I thought this would be a good week to feature cucumbers!  Wondering what to do with the pile of cucumbers in this week’s box?  Our two feature recipes this week include Summer Vietnamese Noodle Salad (see below) and Korean Stir-Fried Cucumbers (see below).  If you aren’t in the mood for either of these recipes, perhaps you’ll find something to your liking on the list of 30 different recipes/recipe collections (see below) I’ve included with this week’s vegetable feature!   I’ve included recipes for everything from soups and salads to beverages and desserts!

Zucchini Enchiladas
photo from WellPlated.com

Once you’ve conquered the pile of cucumbers, it’s time to move on to the pile of zucchini!  I came across this recipe for Zucchini Enchiladas.  This recipe uses long, thin slices of zucchini in place of corn tortillas.  You use them to wrap up a filling, line them up in a pan and cover them with a flavorful enchilada sauce.  What a great idea!

Tis the season for Summer Farmer Skillet!  This is a recipe I featured back in 2017 and it’s a simple way to make a filling main course using a lot of different vegetables including potatoes, carrots, zucchini, onions, garlic, beans and either amaranth or kale.  You can vary the ingredients based on what you have available.  Leftovers also reheat very well for a nice next-day lunch or dinner option.  You can also eat it for breakfast with a fried egg on top!

Looking for something to do with the carrot tops instead of throwing them away?  How about Carrot Top Hummus? Make this on the weekend and keep it handy for a quick snack or light dinner. Eat it with slices of cucumber and carrot sticks, pita or chips.

Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
photo from SpoonfulOfFlavor.com

I haven’t made Aloo Gobi for awhile, but it’s always a delicious dish to make with new potatoes and summer cauliflower.  Aloo Gobi is an Indian curry one-pot meal that is pretty simple to make…and eat!  If you don’t use the cauliflower for aloo gobi, consider making Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole.  This is a simple recipe that’s sure to be a crowd pleaser!  While we’re talking casseroles, I think this would be a great week to make Cheesy Ham Green Bean Casserole.  This recipe calls for 2 pounds of beans and yields 8 servings.  There is only one pound of beans in the box this week, so you’ll have to cut the recipe in half.

Looking for another main dish dinner recipe?  This Greek Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner with Green Beans & Feta looks like a winner!  It includes not only green beans, but potatoes as well!

Kale and Cucumber Salad with Roasted Ginger Dressing
photo from BonAppetit.com

If you receive the beautiful amaranth in your box, check out this recipe for Indian Amaranth Stir-Fry featuring amaranth, coconut and garlic.  If you receive the kale, consider making this Kale and Cucumber Salad with Roasted Ginger Dressing.

Last, but not least, if you still have a little onion and bell pepper hanging out at the end of the box, turn them into a Diner Style Western Omelet.  This is one of my favorite ways to use green bell peppers and it reminds me of those Sunday after-church lunches with my family when I was a kid.  We’d often go to The Waffle House or Bob Evans and I’d either get a stack of blueberry pancakes or a western omelet.  Aside from my brother pulling the chair out from me when I went to sit down, those were fun times with good memories!

That’s it for this week.  I’ll see you back again in one short week with more summer vegetables and more delicious recipes!—Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Cucumbers

By Andrea Yoder

“Why Cucumbers? (Doesn’t everyone know about cucumbers?)”  This is the opening line to the chapter about cucumbers in Elizabeth Schneider’s book, Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini.  Cucumbers and zucchini are kind of staple summer crops, you just have to have them.  The thing about both of these crops that can sometimes be frightening is their ability to produce like crazy in the heat of the summer which leaves us with a pile of cucumbers and the question “What in the world am I going to do with all these cucumbers?!”  Don’t worry, I have some suggestions for you this week!

While we’re only accustomed to seeing several different types of cucumbers in this country, there are many different shapes and colors of cucumbers world-wide.  They are thought to have originated in India or the surrounding area.  They then spread into other Asian countries as well as Europe and then made their way to the Americas where they were introduced to this part of the world by explorers.  Cucumbers, which thrive in warm climates and the heat of summer, are known to be very cooling and help us stay hydrated with their high water content.  This cooling characteristic also makes them a sensible condiment or accompaniment to counter spicy foods such as chiles and curries.  We grow the most familiar “green slicer” cucumbers as well as our favorite variety of cucumbers called silver slicers.  Silver slicers produce a smaller cucumber that has a white to pale yellow skin color with crispy, fruity flesh.  We have grown to prefer this variety because the flavor is more complex, the flesh maintains its crispness, and it doesn’t have any/many of the compounds in cucumbers that can cause burping or gastrointestinal consequences.

In addition to their high moisture content, cucumbers have other important nutritive qualities.  They are also high in vitamin K as well as a host of phytonutrients that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.  These nutrients are thought to be beneficial for heart and brain health as well as cancer prevention and perhaps are helpful in managing diabetes.  There’s a reason why cucumbers are often associated with skin treatments as well.  Cucumbers can help decrease swelling, puffiness, skin irritation and soothe a sunburn due to their cooling and anti-inflammatory properties.

Cucumbers pair well with a whole host of ingredients, but some of the most common pairings include herbs such as mint, basil, parsley and dill as well as other vegetables such as onions, tomatoes and garlic.  Cucumbers also pair well with other fruits such as melons, watermelon, limes, lemons, grapefruit and berries.  Of course they also play well with feta cheese, cream, buttermilk, sour cream and yogurt.

Cucumber Sorbet
photo from TheLittleEpicurean.com

There are so many things you can make with cucumbers.  Of course, they are good to eat with just a little sprinkling of salt, but beyond this simple pleasure they are most often used in salads and pickled.  They can also be used in sandwiches, cold and hot soups, desserts such as sorbet and popsicles, refreshing drinks both with and without alcohol, and condiments such as Tzatziki and Raita.  But don’t think cucumbers are only for eating raw.  They can also be cooked!  That’s right, cucumbers can be stir-fried, sautéed, roasted and baked.

I hope you’ll check out the extensive list of 30 recipes/recipe collections that follow.  I hope you enjoy some of your old “go-to” ways of eating cucumbers this summer as well as experimenting with some different ways to use cucumbers!  Lastly, cucumbers are sensitive to cold temperatures and ideally should be stored at 45-50°F.  Thus, we recommend only short-term storage in your refrigerator or just keep them on the counter at room temperature until you use them within a few days.  Have fun and don’t forget to stay cool as a cucumber this summer!

Not Sure What To Do With Cucumbers....Here Are a Few Ideas!

General:

Cooking Light’s collection of 50 cucumber recipes

Mexican Cucumber Snack
photo from ThriftAndSpice.com

Pickles, Salads & Snacks:

Traditional Greek Salad

Mexican Cucumber Snack

Chinese Style Smashed Cucumber Salad

Japanese Quick-Pickled Cucumbers

Pennsylvania Dutch Cucumbers

Summer Vietnamese Noodle Salad (see below)

Soups:

Creamy Cucumber Soup

Cucumber Coconut Soup

Sandwiches:

Cucumber Subs

Cucumber Cream Cheese Sandwiches

Condiments:

Cucumber-Ginger Jelly

Cucumber Mint Jelly

Sweet Cucumber Relish

Spicy Cucumber Chutney

Traditional Indian Raita

Tuna Steaks with Cucumber Relish
photo from BBCGoodFood.com

Appetizers and/or Mains:

Cucumber Avocado Sushi Rolls

Cucumber Spring Rolls

Tuna Steaks with Cucumber Relish

Thai Beef Skewers with Pickled Cucumbers

Cooked Cucumbers:

Korean Stir-Fried Cucumbers (see below)

Roasted Cucumbers with Cream and Horseradish

Baked Cucumbers with Cream

Desserts & Refreshing Treats:

Cucumber Lime Popsicles

Cucumber Mint Green Tea Popsicles

Cucumber Sorbet

Mojito Cucumber Sorbet

Drinks:

Frozen cucumber Margaritas with Chili Sumac Salt

Sparkling Peach Cucumber Lemonade

Collection of 12 Cucumber Drinks

Summer Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad

Yield:  4 to 6 servings

Photo from Food52.com

Salad:

8 ounces thin rice noodles (roughly the width of linguine)

1 ½ cups cabbage, thinly sliced

2-3 medium carrots, shredded or cut into matchsticks

1 large or 2-3 medium cucumbers, halved, seeded, and thinly sliced 

1 cup chopped fresh herbs, preferably a combination of basil, cilantro, and mint

16 ounces cooked tofu, chicken, or shrimp, cut or torn into bite-sized pieces

1 cup roasted, salted peanuts or toasted almonds, coarsely chopped

Dressing:

⅓ cup fish sauce

⅓ cup freshly squeezed lime juice

¼ cup light brown sugar, plus more to taste

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

½ to 1 fresh jalapeño, minced

1. To prepare the dressing, combine the fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic, and the jalapeño. Whisk well.  Set aside.  (Note: The dressing will store in the refrigerator for 3 days to a week.)
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the rice noodles, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes (or according to package instructions), until tender but not mushy. Immediately drain the noodles into a colander, and rinse them well with cold water to cool them. Shake the colander to drain away excess water.
3. When the noodles are well-drained, put them in a large bowl along with the vegetables, herbs and tofu or meat.  Spoon dressing over the entire mixture and toss well to combine.  
4. Serve with chopped peanuts or almonds on top.

Recipe adapted from Food52.com.

Stir-Fried Cucumbers (Oi Bokkeum) "Quick and easy Korean cucumber side dish"

Yield:  4 servings

Photo from KoreanBapsang.com

1 pound cucumbers

1 ½ tsp salt

2 tsp vegetable oil

½ tsp minced garlic

1 scallion, finely chopped 

1 tsp sesame oil

½ tsp sesame seeds

1. Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise slightly diagonally.  If the cucumbers are thin, you can simply cut into thin rounds.
2. Toss the cucumber slices with one and a half teaspoons of salt to coat evenly.  Let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Squeeze as much water out from the cucumber slices as possible.  Don’t worry about bruising them.  They will recover when stir-fried.
4. Heat a pan over high heat.  Add ½ tablespoon of cooking oil.  Quickly stir in the garlic.  Add the cucumbers.  Stir-fry for a minute until the cucumbers are slightly cooked.  Turn off the heat.  Toss well with the scallion, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.

Recipe borrowed from www.koreanbapsang.com.

August 10, 2017: This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Cucumbers

Cooking with this Week's Box!

Welcome back for another week of cooking and eating out of the CSA Box.  This week I’m in the mood for simple food.  Simple in the sense of basic cooking methods, classic preparations, simple seasonings, and basically just stepping back and letting the vegetables stand on their own.  None of this week’s suggestions are complicated or intricate.  Some recipes may require time to marinate meat or bake something, so you’ll have to plan ahead a bit, but nothing is hard or time consuming. 

Lets start with this week’s featured vegetable, cucumbers!  This week I vote for the Vietnamese Cucumber Salad featured below.  This recipe consists of a bowl full of sliced cucumbers and onions tossed with fresh herbs, chopped peanuts, garlic and minced jalapeno dressed with a simple 5-ingredient dressing.  It would be excellent served with Vietnamese Pork Chops.  The pork chops are marinated for about 20 minutes before cooking, so marinate the chops first before you make the cucumber salad. 

The next recipe I’d like to suggest is Sauteed Sirloin Tips with Bell Peppers & Onions served with Potato Gratin. For this meal, you will need to plan ahead and marinate the sirloin tips overnight.  I would suggest putting this entire meal together the night before or better yet, if you are a weekend prepper, prep this meal on Saturday or Sunday.  Marinate the steak and make the potato gratin…even bake it off, cool it to room temp and refrigerate it.  When you get home from work the next evening, all you have to do is reheat the gratin and cook the sirloin tips along with the green bell and Italian frying peppers. 

Roasted chicken is such a simple dish.  Don’t let a whole bird intimidate you.  All you have to do is season it and put it in the oven to bake.  If you need a recipe to guide you, look in any basic cookbook or choose your favorite one on-line.  I like to put a layer of vegetables in the bottom of my roasting pan when I roast a chicken.  The vegetables cook in the juices running off of the chicken, making them so delicious.  Plus, an added benefit is that the vegetables prevent any splattering of juice and fat in your oven!  So this week I’m going to roast carrots and zucchini under the chicken.  The zucchini won’t need as long to cook, so I’ll add the zucchini to the pan about half way through the cooking time for the chicken.  By the time the chicken is cooked, the vegetables should be tender and golden.  Remove the chicken from the pan to rest for about 10 minutes.  Add a big handful of chopped fresh herbs from your garden to the vegetables and your dinner of Roasted Chicken with Roasted Carrots and Zucchini is ready!  One of the great things about a whole roasted chicken is how many meals you can get out of it!  Use the chicken carcass to make a delicious broth to use as the base for a simple Chicken and Noodle Soup.  Before you go to work in the morning, put the carcass in your crockpot along with some onions, garlic and some dried sage and parsley.  Let it simmer on the lowest setting all day.  When you get home in the evening you’ll be met by the aroma of homemade chicken broth!  Strain the vegetables and bones out of the broth and then reheat the broth in a pan on the stove.  Add some chopped onion, garlic and any leftover roasted vegetables and chicken you have remaining from the night before.  Bring the broth to a simmer and then add some noodles of your choosing.  Simmer the broth just until the noodles are cooked, then add a big handful of chopped fresh herbs to the pan and dinner is ready! 

One of my favorite ways to prepare cauliflower is to simply roast it.  My next meal suggestion could be prepared any night of the week, but it might be a nice fit for “Friday night Fish Fry.”   Turn your cauliflower into Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower and serve it with  Panko Crusted Fish Sticks with Herb Dip.  The fish sticks are actually baked, which I think is easier and leaves you with less mess to clean up.  Plus, you have the oven heated up to roast the cauliflower, so you might as well bake the fish in there too!  My strategy for preparing this meal is to make the sauce and put it in the fridge while the oven is preheating.  Then prep the cauliflower and get it in the oven to start roasting.   While it’s roasting, prepare the fish sticks.  The cauliflower will take 30-45 minutes to roast and then you put the cheese on and bake it another 10 minutes.  The fish will only take 12-15 minutes to bake, so put the fish in the oven when it’s time to add the cheese to the cauliflower and that should bring everything into the home stretch at about the same time! 

The tomatoes and green beans this week are going to form the base for this simple Penne with Tomatoes, Basil, Green Beans & Feta. Eat it as is or add some Italian sausage or some leftover roasted chicken to the dish if you’d like.

And lastly, I am on a kick with including broccoli in my Sunday brunch egg dishes!  This week I’m going to make this Broccoli and Mushroom Egg Bake  and serve it with Honey Skillet Cornbread. The catch is the cornbread will include the fresh corn in this week’s box.  Just cut it off the cob with a paring knife and include it in the cornbread.  There’s one catch to this plan, the cooking times for these two dishes are different.  One is at 350°F and the other is at 400°F….compromise at 375°F and I think you’ll be just fine.  If there are two of you in the kitchen, each of you tackle one of the dishes and you can sit and enjoy a cup of coffee and the morning paper for half an hour while your breakfast/brunch bakes.  Bread takes 20 minutes and the eggs take 30-35 minutes.  Best to let the bread rest a bit, so even if they go in the oven at the same time, it will all work together in harmony.  Serve this meal with fresh slices of SWEET SARAH CANTALOUPE!!!

Well, that brings us to the bottom of yet another CSA box.  We’ve all been anticipating tomato season, and I suspect next week’s box will include a sizeable bag of tomatoes.  So, get those tomato  recipes ready!—Chef Andrea  

Vegetable Feature:  Cucumbers

 

“Why Cucumbers? (Doesn’t everyone know about cucumbers?)”  This is the opening line to the chapter about cucumbers in Elizabeth Schneider’s book, Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini.  Cucumbers are a fairly mild-flavored vegetable with a high water content, but they are more than just crispy.  In this country we may be most familiar with the American green slicer variety, but this is just one of many different types of cucumbers grown around the world.  They do have characteristics that vary from variety to variety including appearance as well as flavor.  For example, there are long Asian cucumbers that are long and sometimes kind of curled.  There are also Armenian cucumbers that are described as  “serpentine fruit” because of their long, narrow, curled shape.  A few years ago we grew an Indian cucumber called Poona Kheera.  It was a small, stout cucumber that was bright golden in color when young and then the skin became russeted when fully matured.  We grow several different varieties of green slicer cucumbers, and in recent years we’ve taken a liking to a variety called Silver Slicer.  This variety was bred by Cornell University and is distinctly identified by its pale yellow skin and crisp, white flesh.  We like it because it yields well, holds up well after picking without getting soft, has tender skin that doesn’t get bitter and it has an excellent fruity flavor.  It is a little smaller than a traditional green slicer, which is also an advantage because it has a smaller seed cavity.

Transplanting cucumbers

Cucumbers may be grown in a variety of growing systems.  Some are grown in hoop houses or hydroponic systems with trellises to tame the vines and keep the fruit and plants upright.  We choose to grow our cucumbers in the old fashioned way…in the dirt outside in the fields.  We do have a unique strategy though.  We start all of our cucumbers in the greenhouse as a transplant.  They grow very quickly once the seed germinates, so we only have about three weeks from when the seeds are planted to get the field ready!  We plant our cucumbers on raised beds covered with a reflective silver plastic that has drip irrigation lines running underneath it.  We do this for several reasons.  First, the reflective plastic helps deter pests such as cucumber beetles which can wreak havoc on the plants by chewing the leaves and scarring the fruit.  The plastic mulch also provides some heat gain which helps encourage growth in this heat-loving crop.  We plant an early crop that we put in the field as soon as possible in the spring and then do a second planting to get us through the latter part of summer.  We typically cover the first planting with a row cover draped over wire hoops.  This protects the plants from any chilly nights and also helps trap more heat to help the plants get established and take off.  Once the plants are producing fruit, you can almost predict the volume of a harvest by the temperature.  Ok, not quite, but they are very responsive to changes in temperature and if you have a really warm week you can really see some phenomenal growth and be surprised with harvests that literally double and sometimes triple seemingly overnight!

Cucumbers are a simple food that may be eaten raw or cooked.  I have to admit I don’t have a lot of experience eating cucumbers cooked, other than a canned pickle.  While cucumbers are most often eaten raw in salads, sliced onto sandwiches, eaten with dip or simply salted, they can also be cooked.  I’ve seen recipes, such as the one featured in this week’s newsletter, for stir-fried cucumbers, but they can also be used in soup, braised, lightly sautéed or wilted.

If you find yourself with more cucumbers than you can eat in a given week, you can always turn back to the good old pickling method.  Refrigerator pickles are a quick and easy way to preserve cucumbers that won’t require canning or any special equipment.  While I, admittedly, most often consume cucumbers in the form of a simple creamy cucumber salad or simply sliced and salted, don’t limit yourself!  Branch out and try a cucumber stir-fry or make a cucumber soup—chilled or hot.  You can even make some delicious, refreshing cucumber drinks!   

Spicy Stir-Fried Cucumbers with Shredded Chicken

Yield:  4 servings

12 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast, pounded ⅛ inch thick and very thinly sliced crosswise

5 garlic cloves, smashed, divided

1 Tbsp finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger, divided

1 tsp baking soda

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

¼ cup distilled white vinegar

1 tsp sugar

3 Tbsp canola oil, divided

12 dried red chiles, such as chiles de arbol—10 left whole, 2 stemmed and crumbled

1 pound cucumbers, cut into 1 ½ inch pieces

1 serrano chile (substitute jalapeño), thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped cilantro

Lemon wedges and steamed rice, for serving

1. In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with half of the garlic and ginger and the baking soda;  season with salt and pepper.  In a small bowl, stir the vinegar with the sugar and ¼ cup of water.
2. In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp of the oil until shimmering.  Add the chicken and stir-fry over moderately high heat until the chicken is almost cooked through, 2 minutes; transfer the chicken to a plate.  Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of the oil to the skillet along with the whole and crumbled dried chiles, cucumbers, vinegar mixture and the remaining garlic and ginger;  season with salt and pepper.  Stir-fry over moderate heat until the cucumbers are softened and most of the liquid has evaporated, 3 minutes.  
3. Add the chicken and serrano/jalapeño and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through, 1 minute.  Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper.  Serve with lemon wedges and rice.

This recipe was featured in Food & Wine, October 2013.

Vietnamese Cucumber Salad

2 pounds cucumbers

1 large jalapeño, seeds and veins removed if desired, thinly sliced

3 scallions, finely sliced (substitute 1 medium onion, thinly sliced)

1 garlic clove, finely grated or pounded with a pinch of salt

½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

16 large mint leaves, coarsely chopped

½ cup toasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

¼ cup neutral-tasting oil (eg. sunflower oil)

4 to 5 Tbsp lime juice

4 tsp seasoned rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

Pinch of salt

1. Using either a Japanese mandolin or a sharp knife, thinly slice the cucumbers into coins, discarding the ends.  
2. In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, jalapeño, onions, garlic, cilantro, mint, and peanuts.  
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, 4 Tbsp lime juice, the vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, and a small pinch of salt.  
4. Dress the salad with the vinaigrette and toss to combine.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and more lime juice as needed.  Serve immediately.

This recipe is from Samin Nosrat’s book, Salt Fat Acid Heat.  It was featured in an article on the alexandracooks.com blog.