This week’s box included: mustard greens, watermelon, okra, hot peppers (in the little bag), corn, cucumbers (salad and English), summer squash, garlic, onion, potatoes, tomatoes.
Conne is away this week, so here are my *substitute* thoughts on this week’s box.
The corn continues, but perhaps not for that much longer. I’m so grateful that this year was a good one for sweet corn. Apparently those bears that helped themselves last year found a better snack bar.
Exciting to see the garlic return to the boxes too, along with cucumbers. That long cucumber is an English one. These milder cousin to other cukes was bred to have small seeds, a thin skin, and a sweeter flavor. It doesn’t need to be peeled or seeded. You can have a taste test and compare it against the regular old salad cucumber that was also in the box. Me? I’m making more Smashed Cucumber Quick Kimchee with some of Riverview’s crunchy garlic in it …. Outstanding.
Last night I finally tried Charlotte’s go-to recipe, sausages cooked in rice. I think we found a new family favorite, and another way to hide 3 cups of squash. (Psst: they didn’t even know it was in there!) That tomato in my box that didn’t survive its encounter with the watermelon? It joined the squash and onion in the rice. The end result was similar to risotto all cooked in a single skillet. Bueno.
Charlotte’s Favorite Sausages & Veggies in Rice
1 cup rice
4 sausages, any type links or loose
Oil
½ onion
2 cloves garlic
1-2 summer squash, grated on a box grater
2 cups water
Tomato
Parmesan
Salt & pepper
Brown the sausage in a large cast-iron skillet. Mix in chopped onion, grated squash and a little oil. After a few minutes, mix in garlic and top with tomatoes. Pour the rice in and add 2 cups water, salt & pepper. Top with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook without opening or stirring for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit (still unopened) for another 10 minutes. When ready to serve, turn into a bowl, fluff it all and top with parmesan. Salt & pepper to taste.
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Okra got cut into rounds, dusted with salted cornmeal and browned in a different skillet with a bit of oil. Mustard greens? I have only one go-to recipe for these that Conne posted years ago. It’s from Scott Serpas: Pork Sausage and Greens. The sweet and sour approach plays up to the tang of mustard greens perfectly. His recipe also includes okra (got that) and sausages. I’ve done it without both – it’s still good.
A note on the mustard greens: they’re the most tender of the cooking greens family. Give them a good soak in cold water to revive them.
Enjoy!
~Suzanne
PS: Want more recipes? Check out our recipe index for storage instructions and hundreds of recipes curated by Conne over the years.