Summer Squashes and More . . .

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Date: July 19th 2010

In Your Share This Week

One (or a choice) from: Sweet Corn, Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Eggplants

Cucumbers (regular and Japanese)

Carrots

Summer squashes

Basil or Fennel

Garlic

Onions

Farm Notes: How to describe the lovely sound of soft rain on summer leaves? A murmured conversation, then a bracing breeze and a crescendo as it comes harder, losing the distinctness of drops, becoming a flowing stream, a rushing river, falling water.

This evening is completely different from the morning -- when the beating sun made sweat roll like salty rain from the bodies of those working in the field. Henry didn’t have time to tell me much about the farm work this week, but it looked like they were all engaged in the Sisyphean task of weeding, weeding, weeding. And these rains will start a whole new round of weeds. But there’s always a silver lining: the rain will also get the fall crops to germinate and grow, which makes us all very happy.

In other news, it’s been many years since I went to a fair, but last Thursday I spent the day at the Iroquois County Fair with sister Jill and her family, reveling in phrases you hear nowhere else, such as “power-house doe” (for a female goat who looks capable of having many kids easily) and “excess conditioning” (meaning too fat).

We left before the evening’s entertainment, a Demolition Derby, which my youngest niece referred to as a Dalmation Derby—the latter something I would have been tempted to stay for. Back home at Jill and Will’s place we had corn and cucumbers fresh from the garden, and big thick hamburgers made from our Dad’s grassfed beef spiked with fresh oregano from Jill’s garden. Then we watched the sinking sun, a mass of incandescent gas (in the words of the science songs of our childhood), turn its massive horizontal searchlight on the new tassels at the tops of each corn plant, seeming to set the fields ablaze.

Food Notes: This week you too can enjoy the classic veggies of summer (and local organic grassfed beef burgers too, if you like . . . contact Janet Morse of Trail's End Organic Farm at 815-437-2606 or trailsend56@yahoo.com). With vegetables this fresh, it's best to do as little as possible -- just a drizzle of olive oil over the tomatoes, cuces, or squash, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper, is really all you need. Look back at last week’s notes (in your email, or in the Archives section of www.henrysfarm.com ) for recipe ideas for fennel, and also for basil pesto.

I’ll include a few summer squashe ideas below, and one for a very refreshing basil lemonade. But to start, why not use a number of items in this week’s share together in a gazpacho that starts on the grill and ends at room temperature, or in the refrigerator (before ending in your very happy tummy).

Summer Grill Gazpacho

4 large ripe tomatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)

1 medium bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into 4 equal pieces

6 ounces baguette, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cucumber (unpeeled), cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 red onion, cut into small dice (about 3/4 cup)

2 small cloves garlic, minced; mash 1 of them to a paste

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

12 drops hot sauce, such as Tabasco

Leaves from 1 or 2 sprigs thyme, chopped (1 teaspoon)

Prepare the grill. When coals are hot, lightly coat the grill rack with oil and place it on the grill.

Cut the tomatoes in half. Drizzle the tomatoes, bell pepper and bread with 2 tablespoons of the oil and sprinkle generously with 1 teaspoon of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper. Grill for 2 or 3 minutes. Turn each piece after it picks up good grill marks. The bread should be nicely toasted (about 4 min); the tomatoes should brown and start to soften, about 5 to 6 minutes; the bell pepper should be just tender, about 7 minutes. As each piece is done, transfer it to a cutting board to cool, and then coarsely chop, keeping the bread separate from the vegetables. (Alternatively, toast the bread in a toaster, and roast the tomato and pepper in the oven.)

Combine 1/4 cup of the diced cucumber and 1/4 cup of the diced onion in a small bowl to use later as a garnish.

Transfer the tomatoes, pepper, and half of the bread to a blender. Add the remaining cucumber and onion, the mashed garlic, vinegar, cumin and hot sauce; puree until smooth. With the motor running, add 6 tablespoons of the oil in a thin, steady stream until the mixture becomes smooth. Add the remaining bread to thicken the mixture, if desired, and season generously with salt and pepper to taste.

Taste the gazpacho and add salt and pepper if needed (the flavor tends to mellow once chilled). Divide among individual wide shallow bowls. Sprinkle with the thyme leaves and the reserved cucumber and onion. Serve.

Simple Scalloped Summer Squash

1 to 2 pounds mixed summer squashes, thinly sliced

1 Tb olive oil

2 Tb Unsalted Butter

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Minced Onion

4 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese

1/4 cup Milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 1 1/2 quart casserole with olive oil. Cover bottom with squash. Dot squash with butter. Season with salt and onion. Cover squash with grated Parmesan cheese. Pour milk on top. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until squash is tender.

Bruschetta with Zucchini Purée and Basil

by Arthur Boehm, adapted from Cucina Rustica, by Viana La Place and Evan Kleiman.

· 1/4 cup, extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for the bread

· 1/2 small onion, chopped (or use one scallion)

· 2 medium zucchini, washed, ends trimmed and coarsely sliced

· 3 large garlic cloves, 2 of them minced

· 2 tablespoons, chopped Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

· 10 basil leaves, torn into pieces

· 6 thick slices, rustic bread

· Drops of fresh lemon juice

1. In a medium skillet, heat the 1/4 cup of oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes, stirring as needed. Add zucchini, minced garlic and parsley. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until zucchini falls apart completely, about 15 minutes. As the zucchini softens, mash it with the back of the spoon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the stove, mix in basil and reserve.

2. Grill or toast the bread under the broiler. Using the heel of your hand, lightly crush the remaining garlic clove. Rub one side of each bread slice with garlic, and drizzle with olive oil. Spread the zucchini purée on the bread, sprinkle with lemon juice and serve.

Zucchini with Opal Basil, Pine Nuts, and Parmigiano-Reggiano

From the Deborah Madison collection

1 lb summer squashes
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup pine nuts
Extra-virgin olive oil to taste
12 large basil leaves, torn into pieces
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Slice the squash lengthwise in half or quarters. Steam or simmer in salted water until tender.

2. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden.

3. When the squash is done, arrange it on a platter, cut side facing up. Drizzle olive oil over it and season with salt and pepper. Grate a veil of cheese over the squash, add the pine nuts and basil, and serve.

Basil Lemonade

4 cups of water

1/2 cup of fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup of any variety of basil

6 tablespoons of sugar

4 cups of ice

A few extra sprigs of opal basil for garnish

Combine water and juice in a jug. In a mortar and pestle, mash basil with sugar until you see a paste form. Strain paste through a sieve into jug of juice and water, and discard the leaves. Serve in chilled glasses with ice and toss in a purple basil sprig.

ENJOY!

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