blackberry

Boxing Day, July 2

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Dear John,

It is late in the day. I am sleepy. No notes. Just noodling.

Today’s Box

  • Apricot
  • Red Seedless Watermelon
  • Blackberries
  • Collards
  • Purple Cauliflower
  • Red Butterhead Lettuce
  • Sweet Fresh Onions
  • Yellow Wax Beans

Things in the fridge

  • Celery
  • Sunchokes
  • Greens: Lettuce, Cabbage, Kale
  • Roots: Carrots, Fingerling Sweet Potatoes
  • Alliums: Garlic scapes, Green garlic, Onions

In the Garden

  • Collards
  • Carrots
  • Turnips
  • Herbs: Dill, Basil (as pinched), Zatar, Rosemary, Oregano, Mint
  • Calendula and Cosmos

Open Preserves

  • Ha! We need to do a fridge check. I’m just going to leave this as a placeholder.

Summertime sustenance

  • Wax beans are like green beans. And I’ve subbed blanched green beans for the pan cooked asparagus in this recipe with miso butter and a poached egg. Good for a light dinner.
  • Let’s see if the plum tree at the garden still has fruit. If so, try the roasted cauliflower + plum + sesame seed salad from Six Seasons. If not, more of the cauliflower steaks from Six Seasons. Both call for parsley which is so sad for us this year. I mean, last year’s parsley looks great for butterflies. But a flowering parsley that’s going to seed is for the bugs, not for me.
  • Smashed sunchokes + butter lettuce for a salad. Gonna have to debate what dressing to make for it though. Maybe a homemade ranch?
  • Is this the week to try the citrus collards? Perhaps as an dish we can take to a Fourth of July block party?
  • Time to finish off the celery. Maybe with the celery salad + dates + almond salad from Six Seasons. It’s like the salad version of ants on a log!
  • I know blueberry + peach is my family’s classic combination, but am very tempted to make an apricot + blackberry cobbler.

Love,

Sarah

PS Next time leave the collards in the swap box. We have enough!

Boxing Day, July 18

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The board looked a lot skimpier when it was just the peaches and blackberries. Thankfully, the missing vegetable share found its way back to us.

Dear John,

Let’s talk cabbage salad. Because when I said that you should take cabbage salads to work it wasn’t with the intention that you eat the same salad every day. It was the thought that shredding cabbage and a few other veggies is a fairly easy prep you can do at the beginning of the week. Mix up a few dressings, think through a few bonus toppings, and then you can choose your own adventure. For instance:

The Six Seasons Caesar with hazelnuts and croutons.

The Budget Bytes crunch with craisins and peanut dressing (yes, I realize I am mixing and matching two different cabbage salads from her)

The Pulp lentils with peaches and a dried herbs vinaigrette.

Hummus dressing with chickpea croutons

Not yet tried, but eyeing the Mediterranean Dish’s mustard dressing.

Also eyeing Leanne Brown’s Banh Mi Salad. We could prep tofu in advance, I think.

We have tried (and liked!) Smitten Kitchen’s cabbage and lime with peanuts. She also has cabbage and apple and walnuts (maybe more fall than summer) and a date + feta version.

Today’s Box

  • Blackberries
  • Yellow Peaches
  • Bicolor Sweet Corn
  • Green Beans
  • Green Kale
  • Slicing Cucumbers
  • Yellow Straightneck Squash

Things in the fridge

  • Herbs: Hyssop?, basil
  • Celery
  • Peaches
  • Bit of blueberries
  • Red Spring Onions
  • Fennel bulb
  • Greens: Cabbage, Beet
  • Carrots, turnips, beets
  • Green plums

In the Garden

  • The first ground cherries
  • Rainbow chard given away by the bagful
  • Basil leaves getting pinched with flowers
  • Flowering dill if inspired for pickles
  • Rosemary
  • Oregano
  • Calendula and cosmos and gomphrena bouquet
  • Purple plums and green apples and black berries from the shared spaces
  • Green tomatoes from the compost pile

Open Preserves

Garden glimpse

The tomatoes may need to be re-staked. They’re nearly falling over. I’m hesitant to damage roots and yet more wary of toppled over plants. (And very excited for them to come in.)

The volunbeans have shot straight up. One plant has reached all the way to the top of its pole and is coming down the cucumber scaffolding.

The peppers are looking promising. I’m hopeful that the set-up this year gets them better light and better yield.

The dahlia, planted late, is up and pinched. It will probably be a while before it starts to bloom. But it gets better light and is in better soil than the ones at our house, so it might catch up quick.

Eating now (aka clear counter space for Six Seasons)

  • Celery cucumber salad from Six Seasons (alternate adaptation here).
  • We will be eating the corn tomorrow Either as raw corn salad (alternate) or as creamed corn.
  • I really want to try the peach cornbread with coconut shrimp from Pulp.
  • We’ve been having success with the zucchini tuna melts. I think my body wants more meat. Can definitely try it with the squash instead.
  • Green beans with celery. (alternate) Does the herb patch at the garden include tarragon?
  • Probably kale instead of cabbage in a salad from above? Unless we go for the original kale salad.

Love,

Sarah

Boxing Days, July 29 + August 5

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July 29: Purple peppers and cucumber disguised as a very ripe mango.

Dear John,

This August is our month of summer adventures in the time of covid. Hosting family who it has been far too long since we’ve seen. Backpacking in the hills. Visiting friends with kids who are at ridiculously different life stages than when we last saw them. Attending the burial for the funeral we tried to livestream months ago. Paddling in our local rivers. Looking for parts for bicycles*. Finally, meeting our plot neighbors at the garden.

A couple of weeks back I realized I probably wasn’t going to be comfortable with the plans to eat indoors during our travels**. We talked it over, set a threshold for case rates where we’d push through the discomfort and take the risk. Then, we checked the numbers for the county in question and went on a dehydrating spree. It worked for clearing the leftovers out of the fridge at least. And for keeping us from eating in situations where we don’t feel safe. Somedays it feels like enough.

Off-camera, an extra cantaloupe and bonus bunch of beets bequeathed by the guy picking up his veggies at the same time as me.

In This Week’s Box

  • Athena Cantaloupe
  • Nectarines
  • Orange Seedless Watermelon
  • Anaheim Peppers
  • Bicolor Sweet Corn
  • Fairytale Eggplants
  • Mixed Heirloom Tomatoes
  • Purplette Onions
  • Red Beets
  • Red Grape Tomatoes

Garden Potential

  • Ground cherries!
  • Volunbeans–Yesterday, I harvested the two bean pods I was letting dry. Now we get to cook nine beans and see what we think.
  • Cherry tomatoes!
  • Cucumber
  • Tomatillos, haven’t been picked yet. I think they’re still growing.
  • Basil! Thai or lime or purple or Italian
  • Cilantro/Green coriander
  • Figs from the community tree

In Last Week’s Box

* = In the fridge right now

  • Athena Cantaloupe
  • Donut Peaches
  • Little Baby Flower Watermelon
  • *Indian Cucumbers
  • *Islander Pepper
  • *Italian Parsley
  • *Red Potatoes
  • Red Tomatoes
  • *Sweet Onions
  • Yellow Straightneck Squash
  • *Jalapeno Peppers

Still in the Fridge

  • Blackberries
  • Peaches
  • Blueberries
  • Herbs: Fennel, Dill
  • Onions: white, red, sweet
  • Kohlrabi
  • Sunchokes

Meals for now (and maybe then)

  • Raw corn salads. Picnics using each of the corn salad recipes in Six Seasons. One with tomatoes and one with walnuts and peppers. Both with all the herbs.
  • Cold soups! Gazpacho from Simply in Season and maybe another chilled cucumber number
  • Cucumber noodles? Or eggplant noodles?
  • Or pickled eggplant?
  • Potato tacos
  • Beet greens in a red curry with the remaining half block of tofu
  • Blackberry white chocolate mousse from the Chocolate cookbook
  • Cherry tomato sage pasta, inspired by this favorite
  • Cantaloupe jelly from Food in Jars cookbook
  • Watermelon salsa

While I’m writing this, you’re working on the letter to friends who will look after our garden plot. I confess, I’m a little jealous of the produce they’ll get. The eggplant might ripen! And the jalapenos! And the paprika! They’re just starting to blush.

But, I know there will be more when we return. And besides, food is better when it’s shared.

~s

* A different bike than last week!

** And that Olive Garden at the mall wasn’t going to be the place that does outdoor dining. Though there is take-out.