This week’s box included: heirloom tomato, slicer tomatoes, purple onion, celery, garlic, Kirby cucumbers, salad cucumbers, eggplant, yellow squash, Italian sweet pepper, sweet corn, green beans. You can see a photo that can help with identification on our Facebook page or check out our weekly video on Instagram.
NOTE: We don’t spray our sweet corn with any pesticides, even those that are certified “ok” for use within the organic code. As a result, we fight the corn ear worm. Thankfully, their incursions into the corn ear are mostly limited to the tip of the ear, leaving the rest of the delicious cob for you to enjoy. Lop off any damage on the tip before storing. Do it before you shuck the ear and you may never encounter the worm.
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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I admit. I was expecting okra. And maybe a melon. Totally surprised by a large-ish purple eggplant and I understand some boxes had other varieties of eggplant. It’s one of my favorites and delighted to have it in the box along with that one pepper that even Charlotte didn’t know what to call except to say it was a “green” pepper and mild. Do you watch her unboxing videos on Instagram? If there’s ever something in the box that you’re just not sure about, it’s worth the minute or so to hear from the farmer what she’s been harvesting.
Need ideas for eggplant? Check out the eggplant recipes at grassfedcow.com.
Some people got four tomatoes. We got three – two slicers and one heirloom. And a huge red onion, two heads of garlic and two ears of corn along with the surprise of a bunch of celery. When Dorie Greenspan sent out her Substack today about “soup by the handful” it seemed like it was written for this box. “Soup by the handful” is what she called cooking “au pif” – a French expression that means “by nose” or “at random.” So maybe a handful of beans, a few ribs of celery, some garlic, some chopped tomato, whatever herbs you are growing at home, some chopped squash, kernels from one of those ears of corn – all added to a pot with water or vegetable broth or chicken stock or whatever you have on hand. I’d call it “soup of the moment” and even in weather like this, it’s a pleasure to eat. No recipe. Just combining what’s growing together to make a nourishing meal.
I am, however, going to turn one of those tomatoes into a tomato martini. I said last week I was through sharing tomato recipes but I was wrong.
I saw this tomato martini idea from thekitchn.com and decided that heirloom tomato was destined for martini greatness. Grate the tomato on the large holes of a box grater, discarding the skin and then strain the result through a fine mesh strainer, pressing down on the solids to extract all the juice. Add a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice to the juice. You can drink it as is, of course, or add an equal quantity of gin or vodka. Shake over ice in a cocktail shaker and enjoy.
And I’ve got one more idea for this week’s box, a freekeh salad. The recipe came from Marsh Hen Mill on Edisto Island in South Carolina. Like Artisan Milling Company they offer grits, cornmeal and polenta, and of course you’re going to stock up on those from Artisan Milling Company, but Marsh Hen also offers Carolina gold and brown rice, Sea Island red peas, black eyed peas, farro and freekeh and they’re about 6 miles from our place in South Carolina. You could make this salad with any grain you like – including couscous or bulgur – but I’ve developed a fondness for chewy, nutty, smoky freekeh. Everything you need for the salad, except the pantry staples, herbs and cheese, was in today’s box.
Smoky Freekeh Salad with Crunchy Veg & Tangy Dressing
1 cup freekeh (or some other chewy grain), cooked and cooled
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 bell pepper, diced
1 cucumber, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint or dill
Salt and pepper to taste
Dressing:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
Pinch of smoked paprika (or cayenne for a kick)
Salt and pepper to taste
If you’re using freekeh, rinse 1 cup and then put it in a saucepan with 3 cups salted water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook 20–25 minutes until tender but chewy. Drain and cool.
Make the dressing by whisking or shaking all the dressing ingredients in a jar until well combined.
Assemble the salad in a big bowl, tossing the cooled freekeh with all the chopped vegetables, herbs and cheese. Add the dressing and mix well. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.