This week’s box included: honeynut squash, watermelon, garlic, tomatoes, yellow squash, eggplant, Kirby cucumbers, bell peppers, okra.
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Today’s surprise was the arrival of honeynut squash – two sweet little squash in our box. It’s a cross between butternut and buttercup squash and it’s reported to be a good keeper. But mine won’t be hanging around for very long. I will be dipping into the Riverview Farms butternut squash recipes and cooking them next week. Since these small squash make great individual servings, I’m likely to make the very indulgent Stuffed Butternut Squash recipe with bacon and three kinds of cheese that we posted last year when we received honeynut squash and I discovered we didn’t have any stuffed butternut squash recipes among the dozens on that page. Adapted from Rachel Ray.
We also received a hefty Italian eggplant. Ours tipped the scale at almost two pounds. The Riverview eggplant page has dozens of ideas for that eggplant like Sauteed Eggplant with Garlic-Cumin Vinaigrette, Feta and Herbs that show off eggplant’s chameleon-like quality of being able to absorb and enhance all kinds of flavors. I was so glad there was eggplant this week because I will be testing the Rumi’s Kitchen recipe for Mirza Ghasemi, a Persian dip made with grilled eggplant and sauteed tomatoes and garlic. Will report back!
Speaking of hefty fruits and vegetables, this week’s watermelon was bigger than ever although still probably falls in the category of “small.” It’s a wonder the farm folks can carry all these boxes and you can certainly understand the bit of extra cardboard in the bottom of the box that keeps everything from falling through. I ran into an idea for watermelon punch that I’ll be serving this weekend. No measurements – just a concept. Puree some watermelon and mix it with an equal amount of seltzer. Add some fresh lime juice, mint or basil. Serve it in glasses with a salted rim. Sounds so delicious and temperatures are rising again, although, thank goodness, not back into the 90s.
In the meantime, I’m headed to the kitchen to saute our okra with those yellow squash and some chopped garlic. The peppers are going on the grill when I cook that eggplant because I love having grilled peppers on hand to dice into cold potato salad or layer in a sandwich.
And here’s one new recipe for our perpetual bounty of Kirby cucumbers – a salad with a tahini dressing.
Creamy Cucumber Salad
From Serious Eats.
1 pound Kriby cucumbers, ends trimmed, cut into 3- by 5/8-inch spears
3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided
1 tablespoon tahini paste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice plus 1/4 teaspoon grated zest from 1 lemon, divided
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill, plus fronds for garnishing
1 small garlic clove, finely grated or minced
1/2 shallot, finely minced
In a large bowl, add cucumber spears and 1/4 teaspoon salt and toss to combine. Transfer cucumbers to a colander and set inside large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Pat cucumbers dry with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel; set aside. Discard any accumulated liquid and wipe out bowl.
In now-empty bowl, add tahini and lemon juice and whisk to combine; the mixture will seize and turn pasty. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons cold water and whisk until a smooth sauce forms. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, lemon zest, dill, garlic, and shallot, and whisk to combine. The sauce should very slowly lose its shape if you let ribbons of it drop from the whisk into the bowl (if sauce is too thick, whisk in cold water in 1/4-teaspoon increments to achieve desired consistency).
Add cucumber spears and toss until evenly coated with sauce. Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with dill, and serve.