This week’s box included: tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, Italian pepper, Kirby cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, okra, yellow squash, garlic, potatoes, okra, zucchini. You can see a photo that can help with identification on our Facebook page or check out our weekly video on Instagram.
Need storage instructions? Visit our fruit & veggie home pages. Click on the pic and a new page opens with storage instructions and a list of recipes curated by Conne over the years.
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another late evening … hope you haven’t been wondering if this was ever going to show up.
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I’ve been betting on okra for weeks now and am delighted it finally appeared this week.
Which camp are you in? Okra lover? Okra hater? I don’t think there are many who are ambivalent when it comes to okra. One of my favorite cookbook authors is Hetty Lui McKinnon who wrote this week in her Substack:
Okra will be okra. It is slimy, and has a slimy texture that is quite singular in the vegetable world. Much has been written about the ways to remedy or reduce this distinct gooey-ness but at the end of the day, if you don’t like that texture, you probably won’t enjoy okra. Sometimes it’s as simple as that.
But maybe try one of the three dozen or so recipes on the Riverview okra page to see if any one of them changes your mind. Here are five of my favorites:
- Grilled Spiced Okra (grilling is one way to reduce any sliminess)
- Kahari Bhindi (okra with Indian spices is almost always a crowd pleaser)
- Okra Rellenos
- Turkish Chicken and Okra Casserole
- And for down the road when more okra appears, Pickled Okra from Steven Satterfield of Miller Union
Did you get three melons? Us, too. What a fabulous year for melons this has been. I can never have too many. If you’re weary of just spooning delicious, sweet cantaloupe out of the rind, try one of the dozen or so cantaloupe recipes at grassfedcow.com.
But the wealth of cucumbers seems to be dwindling. At our house, we’re sad.
Recently I’ve been baking focaccia at least twice a week. It’s a great way to use all this produce and my husband will eat square after square when I follow the directions below. The recipe is one we published in the AJC from Hi Honey Bakery and Rose Gates who sells at the Oakhurst, East Atlanta and now Decatur farmers markets. I adapted to make the crunchy version that my husband loves. You just stir it in one bowl, let it rise in the bowl for an hour or two, then pour it into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish that’s got lots of olive oil swished around in it. Let it rise again, add your vegetable toppings and bake. No kneading, only one bowl to clean … so easy.
Last week I topped it before baking with the cherry/plum tomatoes from the box and I had grilled the poblano and jalapeno peppers so I chopped those into small pieces and sprinkled them on top as well. Addictive! The poblano had very little heat and the jalapenos seemed mild, too. I split my pieces and add fresh mozzarella to make a sandwich, but the husband just grabs a square and eats it on the run.
I’ll make the next iteration with thinly sliced zucchini and potatoes – an idea I got from Deb Perlman of Smitten Kitchen who got it from Bon Appetit back in June 2001.
Hi Honey Sandwich Focaccia
3 cups all-purpose flour (or a mix of 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
Heaping 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
3 tablespoons plus 6 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
Vegetables for topping – cherry or small plum tomatoes, very thinly sliced squash, peppers and/or onions
Chopped herbs such as parsley or rosemary, if desired
Flaky salt, for finishing
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, yeast and salt. Add water and 4 teaspoons olive oil. Stir together with a rubber scraper. Pour 2 teaspoons olive oil into the bowl and lift dough with scraper to get oil under and all around the lump of dough. Cover the bowl and let sit for 90 minutes or so.
Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and swirl or use a pastry brush to coat the bottom and sides with oil.
Transfer to oiled baking dish and turn dough so all sides are covered with oil. Gently stretch to fill baking dish. Let rise uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour or until it has doubled again.
While dough is rising, heat oven to 450 degrees.
When dough has doubled, arrange vegetables on surface of focaccia. If using cherry tomatoes, push them into surface so they do not pop out when baking. Let rest 5 minutes, then sprinkle with chopped herbs, if using.
Bae 25 to 30 minutes, rotating baking dish halfway through baking, until the edges are crisp and the top is golden. Remove from oven and sprinkle with flaky salt.
Allow to cool in the baking dish on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes before slicing into quarters.