2021 Produce CSA Week 11

Contents of this week’s box: watermelon, corn, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, eggplant, kale, green beans, tomato, summer squash.

Your box was heavy, right?  Imagine the weight on the delivery trucks. Charlotte reports that there was so much weight in her refrigerator truck that the mud flaps were dragging. Boxes were stacked 5-high inside. She white-knuckled it on the highway, hoping not to have to hit the brakes. Have we ever had a heavier box?  Thank you to the folks who showed up to help unload.

Enjoy Conne’s message below!

Riverview Farms

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I’ve never seen a box so carefully packed as the one I opened late today. A beautiful round watermelon fitting precisely in the box next to six ears of corn. Squash stacked around that, cucumbers, and the most enormous green peppers I’m sure I’ve ever seen …. along with a quart of cherry and plum tomatoes, one perfect orange tomato, green beans …. the first eggplant of the season and a gorgeous one at that …. the most amazing assortment of summer vegetables.

I’m on the mailing list of a farmer on the South Carolina coast who wrote about turning their first eggplants into a sort of caprese salad/parmigiana hybrid. They sliced it into medallions, brushed both sides with olive oil, then roasted until very tender. Then just treated those eggplant medallions like slices of tomato, layering them with fresh mozzarella and interspersing with basil leaves. I hope to serve that for dinner Friday night. We’ve also got a dozen, or two, eggplant recipes at grassfedcow.com.

In the meantime, the beautiful bag of green beans, a change from last week’s purple beans, inspires me to make a composed salad and I share this Green Bean and Tuna Salad recipe from Epicurious.

Seems to me watermelon recipes have been particularly abundant this year. I append one I found particularly intriguing down at the bottom of this message. It’s from Mark Bittman and it’s watermelon ramen – with many components that will use up all of that cannonball watermelon that was in this week’s box. Plus last week’s melon which is still sitting in the refrigerator (don’t ask why). Definitely a weekend project, and I hope to tackle it Sunday. I’m skipping the bean sprouts in the slaw since I’m not a fan. It seems sort of daunting, but really isn’t …. but I just loved the idea that you could turn your watermelon into poke. So creative! You may not want to make it, but it’s just fun to see what smart minds and innovative palates can dream up.

Green Bean and Tuna Salad with Basil Dressing – published in Epicurious

1 shallot, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more

1 lb. green beans, trimmed

1 1/2 cups basil leaves

6 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 large or 2 small heads of Little Gem lettuce or romaine hearts, leaves separated

1 (14.5-oz.) can white beans, drained, rinsed

1 cup parsley leaves with tender stems

1/4 cup capers, drained

1 (6-oz.) jar oil-packed tuna, drained, flaked into pieces

 

Combine shallot, vinegar, and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender jar. Let sit 5–10 minutes to lightly pickle.

Meanwhile, cook green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain, then run under very cold water until cool to the touch.

Add basil, oil, lemon juice, and pepper to shallot mixture and blend until mostly smooth. Pour dressing into a large bowl. Add green beans, lettuce, white beans, parsley, and capers and toss with your hands to coat. Add tuna and gently toss to combine. Transfer salad to a platter.

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Rasheeda Purdie’s Juneteenth Watermelon Ramen – shared by Mark Bittman

Component #1: Watermelon Poke with Teriyaki Sauce

5 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1-2 tablespoon honey

1 large clove of garlic, finely minced

1/2 tablespoon ground ginger

1 1/4 cup water, divided

2 tablespoon cornstarch

1 small watermelon

 

  1. Combine the dark brown sugar, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan and set over medium heat.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with 1/4 cup water and mix until dissolved. Add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan.
  3. Heat the sauce until it thickens as much as you’d like. If the sauce becomes too thick, add more water to thin out the sauce.
  4. Cut the watermelon into 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch cubes (save the watermelon rinds for slaw). Transfer the cubes to a large bowl or container.
  5. Pour the teriyaki sauce over the watermelon and gently toss. Refrigerate for a few hours up to overnight.

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Component #2: Watermelon Rind Slaw

3 cups olive oil

1 cup white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons onion powder

4 teaspoons garlic powder

4 teaspoons dried oregano

4 teaspoons dried basil

2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons pepper

4 teaspoons lemon juice

4 cups of watermelon rinds, julienned

3 scallions, thinly sliced

3 cups of bean sprouts

 

  1. Combine all the dressing ingredients (everything except for the rinds, scallions, and bean sprouts) in a large bowl and mix well. Pour about half of the dressing into a separate container (you’ll add that to the watermelon broth when you make it.)
  2. Add the rinds, scallions, and bean sprouts to the remaining dressing and gently toss. Refrigerate for a few hours to chill.

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Component #3: Watermelon Broth

7 cups of watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes

The remaining vinaigrette from the slaw recipe above (you should have about 2 cups)

 

  1. Place the watermelon into a food processor or blender. Blend until it’s a purée. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer into a bowl.
  2. Add the vinaigrette and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.
  3. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours to chill.

How To Put It All Together

6 servings cooked ramen noodles

Watermelon poke (see above)

Watermelon slaw (see above)

Watercress, for garnish

Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Watermelon broth (see above)

 

  1. Divide the noodles among 6 serving bowls. Add the watermelon poke and the watermelon rind slaw to the bowl, in little piles next to the noodles. Top with the watercress and sesame seeds if you’re using them.
  2. Lightly shake or stir the watermelon broth to mix it, then carefully pour some broth into each bowl. Serve chilled.