Summer has arrived in New England and the heat is here to stay for a while. I must have finally adapted to New England weather because the daily temperatures we’ve been seeing in the 90s feel oppressively hot. By the end of next week, we’ll have already reached our average number of 90-days for the summer—and summer has only gotten started. I’m giving thanks for the little backyard pool we splurged on earlier in the year, and a house with air conditioning to keep us cool. And I know colder temperatures always come before I’m ready for them, so I’m grateful for the summer crops that are here to keep us company for a while.
I donned my Grandma’s apron this week and dug the canner out of the basement. We’ve reached that time of year when there are not many days that go by without needing to can something or blanch and freeze. It is so much work, but it is one of my favorite parts of summer. I canned Strawberry Syrup, Pickled Golden Beets, and Rhubarb Chutney. I made pasta from beet greens and pesto from kale stems and called it “Compost Dinner.” I made Cheesy Kale Scones. I blanched peas, beet greens, broccoli and garlic scapes. On the horizon for this week is a small batch of Strawberry Jam.
It must be CSA season!
Summer Week 2
3 quarts strawberries
3 heads lettuce
1 bunch rainbow swiss chard
1 bunch Golden Sugar Beets (with their greens)
1 bunch Red Sugar Beets (with their greens)
1 bunch curly kale
2 bags snow peas
2 bags sugar snap peas
4 broccoli crowns
1 bunch garlic scapes (plus a few more sad unloved ones from the swap table)
3 yellow squash (from the swap table)
2 zucchini (from the swap table)
From the Farmstand
1 small yellow onion
2 sweet onions
2 Spanish onions
4 misfit broccoli crowns
1 bunch of misfit celery
2 small zucchini
1 head of lettuce (I know what you’re thinking … “because 3 isn’t enough?”)
2 tomatoes
Recipes to Try
Strawberries
This was an abysmal year for strawberries in New England. Between last year’s drought and this year’s heat, strawberry crops really struggled. We are thankful for the 12 quarts of strawberries we’ve gotten over the last three weeks, and have put them to good use. Here are my favorite ways to use strawberries, if you are lucky enough to find a flat or two.
Lettuce
I have been saving this recipe for the week that Bibb lettuce and broccoli appeared at the same time. David has declared it to be his favorite salad, and that, my friends, is high praise. Maybe he will turn into a salad lover after all.
Last night we had friends over for a Taco salad Buffet. I turned my counter into a salad bar and put out lettuce, shredded taco chicken, black beans, roasted beets, sautéed squash with garlic scapes, salsa, guacamole, cotija cheese, Monterrey Jack cheese, pickled jalapeños, tortilla chips, and street taco shells. It was so fun, and the salads turned out amazing.
Last week I made a bacon egg and cheese salad for breakfast. It was better than a bacon egg and cheese sandwich, and I love a good breakfast sandwich. One day I’ll create a recipe, but it’s basically as easy as it sounds. Start with a bed of lettuce, topped with cooked bacon, some shredded cheddar cheese, and a fried egg (cooked however you like). I used a bit of honey mustard dressing. David used his runny egg yolk as dressing.
Swiss Chard
The first Chard of the year always means Green Treats on the menu! These are so good and they are so filling you don’t need much else for dinner. Except for a small salad of course, because there’s too much lettuce to not have a salad every day.
Beets
I think I’ve told you before that I hate beets. I’ve tried so many ways to like them, but have never been able to get past the dirt taste they leave in my mouth. But y’all. I made these Easy Roasted Beets last night for my Taco buffet, and they were incredible. They tasted like candy. I don’t know if it’s how I cooked them or where they’re grown—Farmer Jamie seriously had the best produce I’ve ever tasted—but I am now a beet lover. Or at least a Farmer Jamie’s beet lover.
I may get really brave and try something like this Raw Beet Salad this week. Or this one, with lettuce instead of arugula.
My favorite way to use beets is to juice them. We found a juicer at a thrift store a couple of years ago and it has been an excellent addition to our kitchen. I haven’t learned how to use it, so I pile all the things I don’t want to eat in a bowl and make David juice it for me. My favorite is beet, kale greens, apple, and ginger. It’s a true breakfast of champions!
And here’s your weekly reminder to not compost the greens! Blanch them in boiling water for 3 minutes, put them immediately in ice water for 3 minutes, then squeeze out as much water as possible before freezing. You’ll be so grateful for their presence come Winter.
Curly Kale
Curly kale is my favorite type of kale. I love to make a Massaged Kale Salad. It feels heartier than a lettuce salad and holds up really well for picnics.
If you’ve been reading my Monthly Newsletter for a while, you know how much I love Smitten Kitchen’s Flipped Crispy Egg Taco with Singed Greens. This is my favorite breakfast of all time and I’m thrilled to have curly kale in the house once again. (Shameless plug - June’s newsletter will go out early next week, so take a minute to signup so you don’t miss it!)
These Cheesy Kale Scones are another fun breakfast. It is a huge recipe and makes very big scones as written. I made much smaller scones this time around, making 4 small balls of dough and cutting them each into 8 triangles. We ate 6 of them, I brought 4 to a friend, and the rest went into the freezer. I think scones taste best freshly baked, so I freeze them before baking. I put them on a parchment-lined sheet pan and freeze them overnight, then I put them in a ziplock freezer baggie and return them to the freezer. It’s super easy to grab a few and bake when I’m ready for them.
Dare I say Kale is my favorite breakfast food?
Snow peas/Sugar Snap Peas
Fresh peas get eaten incredibly fast in my house. They are my kids’ favorite snack in early summer. I often don’t get to cook them or save any for winter, so I immediately blanched an entire bag of snow peas when I brought them home. They are a wonderful addition to Stir-Fry or Mongolian Beef, and I wanted a few hiding away for winter meals.
I want to make these Sesame Snow Peas this week. Maybe I’ll make Beef & Broccoli to go with them.
Garlic scapes
Garlic scapes are such a fun sign of summer. The garlic scape is the stem and flower bud of the hardneck garlic plant. Farmers harvest them not only because they are great to eat, but also because it helps the garlic bulb grow bigger. When the scape isn’t harvested, the plant sends all its energy into creating the flower and seeds and the bulb doesn’t grow as much. Garlic is one of those incredible plants that feeds us twice—once with the scape and twice with the bulb itself. This list of how to use them is pretty helpful. I love to grill them with romaine lettuce and top it with grilled shrimp or fish. This week I blanched half of ours for just 30 seconds and froze them to use instead of green beans in pot pie later in the year. Garlic scape compound butter is another fun way to save them for later.
Broccoli
I adore broccoli season and can never get enough broccoli. I’m always sad when I hear people say they don’t like it. It’s the first vegetable we run out of in our freezer stash each year, so I always blanch and freeze as much as I can. These Broccoli Fritters are a huge hit in our house and can be made with fresh or frozen broccoli. Just thaw and drain the frozen broccoli first.
This Charred Broccoli Salad is one of my favorite ways to use fresh broccoli. I like to eat it warm, but I think it would save well for a cold lunch too.
And when I have provolone cheese hiding in my fridge and an old loaf of bread needing to be used, I make these Broccoli Melts.
Yellow Squash/Zucchini
These were not in my regular Super Share this week, but there were some less than perfect ones in the Swap Box, so I grabbed them. I sauteed the Yellow squash at super high heat with some barely blanched garlic scapes and an onion leftover from cooking beans earlier in the week. I sprinkled some salt and pepper and Arizona Dreaming on top and it was an incredible addition to the Taco Buffet.
Squash and Zucchini make a very big appearance in Summer, so there’s lots of time to share my favorite recipes with you. I’ve been craving these Zucchini Taco Boats, so that’s how I’ll use zucchini this week. I use ground beef because we get it in our Meat Share.
Now—who’s ready to eat after reading all that?! What will you make this week?