This week’s box included: Sweet corn is back, along with (clockwise from bottom right): Watermelon, casaba melon, cabbage (purple or green), Kirby cukes, cantaloupe, zucchini, green pepper, tomatoes, garlic, okra and yellow squash. 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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This week’s Riverview CSA surprise was the casaba melon. When I first opened the box I wondered …. another yellow skinned watermelon? A spaghetti squash? (no … there was no telltale squash stem) So I watched the Riverview Instagram a post and discovered it’s a casaba. Can’t wait to cut into it.
We also received a watermelon (red fleshed? I don’t know, haven’t cut into it yet) and a cantaloupe. I heard a little cantaloupe fatigue was setting in so wanted to remind you that melon and prosciutto are delicious and below you’ll find a little inspiration for a cantaloupe salad with mozzarella and prosciutto.
Yay for corn’s return and here’s your reminder to check that tassel end to see if any worms have hitchhiked along with those ears. Don’t store it until you’ve made sure you’re not refrigerating a worm or two as well. I’m particularly excited because I want to make the corn and tomato pie recipe below, adapted from an issue of Gourmet magazine published in August 2009. Maybe you want to make Mexican Street Corn or Okra and Corn Maque Choux. Or Grilled Fish with Charred Corn Salsa. There are dozens of corn recipes at grassfedcow.com.
For those with pepper fatigue, one more idea – Veggie-Loaded Stuffed Bell Peppers – below. Consider it a general guidelines for using what you’ll find in this week’s box.
Cantaloupe and Mozzarella with Prosciutto and Basil
1 cantaloupe, halved and seeded
3/4 pound bite-size fresh mozzarella balls
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/3 pound thinly sliced prosciutto
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
Cut cantaloupe into bite-size pieces. Add mozzarella balls, oil, and red-pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper. Add prosciutto and basil and serve.
Tomato and Corn Pie
Adapted from Gourmet, August 2009
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 3/4 teaspoons salt, divided
3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 2 teaspoons melted
3/4 cup whole milk
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Slicer tomatoes
1 1/2 cups corn, coarsely chopped, divided
2 tablespoons finely chopped basil, divided
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1 3/4 cups coarsely grated sharp Cheddar, divided
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 3/4 tsp salt in a bowl, then blend in cold butter (3/4 stick) with your fingertips or a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. Add milk, stirring until mixture just forms a dough, then gather into a ball. Divide dough in half and roll out one piece between two sheets of waxed paper into a 12-inch round. Transfer to 9 inch pie plate.
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.
Whisk together mayonnaise and lemon juice. slice tomatoes crosswise 1/4 inch thick. Arrange half of tomatoes in crust, overlapping, and sprinkle with half of corn, one tablespoon basil, 1/2 tablespoon chives, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and one cup of grated cheese. Repeat layering with remaining tomatoes, corn, basil, chives, salt, and pepper. Pour lemon mayonnaise over filling and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Roll out remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round in same manner, then fit over filling, folding overhang under edge of bottom crust and pinching edge to seal. Cut 4 steam vents in top crust and brush crust with melted butter (2 teaspoons). Bake pie until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes, then cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Veggie-Loaded Stuffed Bell Peppers
From Alexandra Stafford
Bell peppers, halved and cored, leaving the stems intact (if you wish)
2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt
1/2 cup quinoa
1 onion, finely diced
1 hot chili, optional, finely minced
1 or 2 zucchini, small diced, to yield about 2 cups
2 ears corn, kernels removed
1 cup diced tomato
6 scallions, finely sliced
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped to yield about a cup
12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cubed
basil or chives, chopped finely, for garnish, optional
lemon for garnish, optional
Heat the oven to 475 degrees.
Place peppers cut side down on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with oil. Season with salt. Transfer pan to the oven and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the peppers begin to blister. Remove from the oven. Turn peppers over. Set aside.
Meanwhile, fill a medium pot with water, and bring to a simmer. Add a big pinch of kosher salt. Cook quinoa 9-12 minutes or until the quinoa is done. Drain through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. When it shimmers, add the diced onion and chili, immediately lower the heat to medium, season with a pinch of salt, and stir. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and begins turning translucent. Add the diced zucchini and cook for 2 minutes, just until the zucchini loses its rawness — you don’t want the zucchini to turn to mush; it’s nice when it has some texture here. Add the corn and cook for a minute more. Turn off the heat. Add the tomatoes, scallions, and cilantro. Add the quinoa and stir to combine. Taste. Add salt and pepper until it tastes well seasoned. Fold in the cubed Monterey Jack.
Spoon filling into the cavities of the peppers. Don’t be afraid to really, really pack them full — it’s OK if the filling is heaped in a mound in each pepper. These peppers are meant to feel substantial. You may have a little extra filling on hand; it’s delicious on its own. Save it for another day or eat it. Transfer peppers to the oven and cook for about 10 minutes more until the cheese begins melting and the vegetables begin browning. Remove from oven. Garnish with fresh basil and a squeeze of lemon, if you wish.