Green beans are very low in calories and are a great source of vitamins A and C, folate, iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Beans are a very rich source of dietary fiber. 







Green Bean and Hazelnut Salad

1 ounce hazelnuts (2 tablespoons)
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and halved diagonally
2 1/4 tsp grainy mustard
1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 TBS flax seed oil
1 tsp hazelnut oil
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

 

Preheat oven to 325°F with rack in middle.
Toast nuts in a small baking pan until centers are golden, 15 to 20 minutes (cut one open to test). Cool to warm, then rub off any loose skins in a kitchen towel. Coarsely chop nuts.

Cook beans in a 6-quart pot of boiling salted water (1 1/2 tablespoons salt for 4 quarts water) until just tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to an ice bath to stop cooking. Drain and pat dry.

Whisk together mustard, vinegar, and sea salt in a bowl, then add olive, flax seed, and hazelnut oils, whisking. Add beans, nuts, and onion and toss well. Season with salt and pepper.

 

No need to peel these cucumbers. The skin of the cucumber is rich in fiber and contains a variety of beneficial minerals including potassium and magnesium. Conventionally grown cucumbers, like other fragile vegetables, are typically waxed to protect them during shipping. The most commonly used wax is a plant based carnauba palm. Other compounds, such as ethyl alcohol or ethanol are added to the waxes for consistency, although the sources of these waxes are hard to determine. So good to know that these are locally and organically grown.

Refrigerator Pickles

6 cups cucumbers, sliced  

1 cup cilantro (or to taste), chopped  

1 cup chopped green onions

1 cup white vinegar

2 cups sugar

2 Tbsp Kosher salt

1 Tbsp celery seeds

1 Tbsp Mustard seeds

1 Tbsp Turmeric   

 

Cut and chopped cucumbers, cilantro and green onions. As you chopped all your onions, cucumbers and cilantro place them in a big bowl together so you can mix them easily. Put everything except the cucumbers, onion and cilantro in a sauce pan, stir and bring it to a boil. Let this boil for just a minute or two to get it good and hot.  While it's coming to a boil place the cucumber mixture into jars or containers.

 

Ladle the liquid into the jars. Once jars are filled screw the lids on and let them cool and store in the refrigerator.

Chilled Cucumber soup

3 c prepared cucumbers*

2 each green onions

1 green bell pepper cleaned and chopped

1 TBS minced ginger

1 c plain yoghurt

2 tsp vinegar (any wine vinegar or cider vinegar is fine-do not use balsamic)

1 TBS minced mint leaf

1 TBS minced dill

1 TBS minced basil

2 tsp lemon zest

(you can use any herbs you like if these are not on hand-parsley, cilantro, lemon balm, tarragon etc-stay away from the hard herbs like rosemary and thyme)

as much hot sauce as you can handle

salt and pepper to taste

 

This soup is quite easy to prepare-put everything in a blender and puree until smooth-adjust seasoning and put in refrigerator until well chilled-serves 2-4 people.  For added richness garnish with some minced cooked shrimp or minced smoked salmon.

 

*cut the cucumber in half, scoop out seeds, sprinkle with a bit of salt and let sit in a colander for 30 minutes, squeeze out the excess water and give a quick rinse under water-proceed from there.  To peel or not to peel, that is entirely up to your taste- we leave the peel on, good flavor, color and nutrition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roasted Garlic and Summer Squash Sauce

A tasty sauce that freezes well, easy to make and store, it's a great way to utilize large amounts of squash.

 

1 bulb of roasted garlic per 1 pound of summer squash.  

 

We use any summer squash other than zucchini but zucchini would work as well.

 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cut top end or garlic bulb to expose the cloves and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and wrap in foil. Roast for 45 to 60 minutes, until garlic is soft and squeezes easily from the bulb.

 

While garlic is roasting prepare squash. If using large squash with tougher skin cut in half length wise and place cut side down in a baking pan with ¼ inch of liquid (water, chicken stock, or vegetable stock) You can roast squash with garlic but may have to increase heat to 350 if your squash doesn't scoop out easily from the skin. It should be cooked through and creamy.

 

If using younger squash simply chop and sauté in butter until lightly caramelized. Add water or stock and cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Reserve cooking water. When cool enough to handle place garlic (squeezed from bulb wrapper) and squash in a food processor or blender (work in batches if necessary) and blend, adding enough of the cooking water to create a creamy sauce. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

 

Let sauce cool. If freezing ladle in to storage bags then place on a cooking tray so they lay flat. Place in freezer once frozen remove from tray and stack. Remember to label and date bags with a sharpie.

Use as the sauce for chicken or shrimp or with rice or pasta and top with chopped fresh herbs. If using with pasta blend about 1/8 c pasta cooking water until emulsified. Some variations include adding a few tablespoons of prepared red or green curry sauce (we like Trader Joe's), Sriracha hot sauce, or more stock to thin out and serve as soup.

 

We were able to get tomatoes from our friend Brian again this week. We will have 1 tomato in the share to tide you over until our heirloom tomatoes ripen.