Share contents do vary according to size, and some just differ from each other!

This week we packed, Beets or Kohlrabi (leafy green bulbs), Summer Squashes (zucchini [long & round], yellow straightneck), Snap Peas, Ugly Cucumbers, Strawberry Jam, Lettuce, Sweet Onions and Spinach!

Poor Man's Zucchini "Crab" Cakes

1 ½ cup shredded zucchini, patted dry

1 cup bread crumbs

2 tbsp grated onion

2 tbsp all- purpose flour

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp old bay seasoning

2 eggs slightly beaten

Oil for frying

Combine all the ingredients. Heat oil for frying and drop by rounded spoonful into oil and fry until crisp brown. Serve with tarter sauce.

OLD BAY SEASONING RECIPE
1 tablespoon celery seeds
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
6 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon whole cardamoms
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
4 whole cloves
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4 teaspoon mace

In a spice grinder or small food processor, combine all of the ingredients. Grind well and store in a small glass jar. Best if used within 6 months (date your jar).

Roasted Spring Onions

4 large or 8 small spring Onions
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Toss onions with oil and slice the big ones in half down the stalk. Place in baking pan and add chicken stock. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. For crispiness, remove the foil for the last 10 minutes or so. Easy, easy!

Grilled Vegetables

Choose a variety of vegetables such as onions, squash (any variety) turnips, kohlrabi, beets, carrots and new potatoes when they come in…just about anything except greens! Cut them up in uniform cubes so they will cook in the same relative amount of time.

   Next preheat the grill to high and spray your grill pan. We bought an expensive grill pan last year at Walmart. I soon found out we needed two of them to feed our family. The next time I was at the thrift store I spied a broiler pan that looked remarkably like a grilling pan. Soooo, now we have two! I can quickly grill our vegetables evenly…in fact I like the broiler pan better since it has higher sides!

   Brush the vegetables with olive oil, and sprinkle with your favorite herbs. We like garlic powder and season salt.

   When the grill is heated, put the vegetables on and lower your flame a bit. Keep an eye on them, turning a few times until “tender”. Serve hot.

Val’s Simple Squash Casserole

Cook until tender:

3 cups squash, sliced or diced

1 onion, chopped

Drain. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add:

1 egg, beaten

½ cup milk, mixed with egg

Mix:

½ cup grated cheddar cheese

2 cup cracker or bread crumbs mixed with ½ cup butter, melted

Add:

½ bread crumb mixture to squash. Mix well.

Top Casserole with the remaining crumb mixture. Bake 45 minutes at 300 degrees.

SPINACH SALAD

Boil about 4 eggs (This depends how many you are serving. Plan on boiling 1 egg per person.)  While eggs are boiling, fry about 10 strips of bacon. Drain well. Wash enough spinach to meet your family’s needs. Tear it into a serving bowl. After eggs have cooled a bit, cut into small pieces. Next chop the bacon. Sprinkle both over the spinach. Prepare dressing. Do not skip this dressing, as it is a special part of the salad.

Dressing

1 lemon juiced (1 T.)

2 t. yellow mustard

½ cup mayonnaise

dash of salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste

Mix ingredients in a small bowl and serve with spinach salad. Stores well in the frig for weeks, so I double it.

Healthy Southern “Fried” Squash Medley

In a large bowl dice yellow squash, zucchini, patty pan/scalloped squash, fresh onions, new potatoes (when available, if not, use what you have). Judge for yourself the amount needed to serve your family.

In a separate bowl combine cornmeal (not self rising) a dash of garlic powder and salt.

Once again in a separate bowl “scramble” the amount of eggs it will take to dampen your all your diced vegetables.

Now comes the fun part! Pour the eggs over the  vegetables and toss. (I used my clean hands as we had a very large bowl.) Next pour the cornmeal mixture over the vegetables and toss again.

Preheat the oven to about 400 degrees. I bake ours in a stoneware “cookie pan” and also a HUGE cast iron frying pan. It is best to have just a single layer. Put a small amount of canola or olive oil in the bottom and pour your vegetable mixture in. Bake until tender and golden, turning occasionally.

P.S. If you are in a hurry, put them on an eye of your stove and fry. Like several of my own recipes the ingredients I use varies with the season. One favorite addition is okra. J Be creative and experiment!

What's In Your Box? Week 5

 

Again I have to apologize for the quality of the picture, but I think I learned last week that it's better to just get it on here when I can rather than wait until I get covered up elsewhere and forget!

This week we've got some new items showing up in shares--sweet cooking onions, summer squashes, beet greens, and some shares have napa cabbages!

I think the only things you might have trouble recognizing are "pattypan squash" (the scalloped white "thing" in the top right of this picture), Beet Greens (which look similar to chard, but they have skinnier stems that are red). Dill is in both share sizes this week, and Snap Peas are really in! We have been harvesting lots of them, so the amounts are reflected in shares.

If you have any questions about your share, please let me know--I'm going to do my best to get recipes for zucchini bread, Napa Coleslaw, how to freeze snap peas etc.. live soon enough to use this weeks' share. If there's a vegetable you want help learning how to use, just ask and we'll feature recipes/instructions for it!