Dear Common Thread CSA Members,

We were wishing for rain several weeks agp.  Careful what you wish for!  It's rained almost constantly since, so we're a bit behind on our planting and ground work but we hope to catch up on a bunch of it towards the end of this week.  Meanwhile, we're having some muddy harvests and catching up on greenhouse work and trellising and hopefully finally getting our last deer fence up.  We're enjoying the beginning of summer crops: cucumbers, summer squash, cabbage, eggplant, mini-onions and decently big broccoli harvests.  Peas  and early flowers are available for pick-your-own.  Soon we'll have green peppers, and pick your own beans.

Kale is a delicious and nutritious super-food!  It's great sauteed with garlic and olive oil.  My kids will eat it as kale chips and added to omelettes.  It's also tasty as a salad green in a kale salad where the leaves are massaged to make them less tough. Here is a kale salad recipe from marthastewart.com:

Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing 

INGREDIENTS 2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups) 

1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper 

2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise 

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

1/4 cup cider vinegar 

1/4 cup salted peanuts 

2 tablespoons packed light­brown sugar 

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt 

1/4 cup salted peanuts 

DIRECTIONS 

1. Toss 2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups); 1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, halved crosswise and thinly sliced lengthwise; and 2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise, in a large bowl. 

2. Puree 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup salted peanuts, 2 tablespoons packed lightbrown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in a blender until smooth. 

3. Pour dressing

Cabbage is here!  It's great for coleslaw and many cooked dishes including stuffed cabbage, beet borscht soup, cabbage soup and roasted cabbage.  Here is an interesting recipe that looks like a variation on kale chips from bonappetit.com:

Caraway Cabbage Chips with Dill Yogurt 

Ingredients  

8 innermost green cabbage leaves, ribs removed, leaves cut into quarters 

Olive oil (for brushing) 

Toasted caraway seeds (for sprinkling) 

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

1 finely grated garlic clove 

1 cup plain yogurt 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill 

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 

Preheat oven to 200°. Divide between 2 wire racks set inside rimmed baking sheets. Brush with oil; sprinkle with caraway seeds and season with salt and pepper. Bake until crisp, 2-2˝ hours. Mix together garlic, yogurt, dill, and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Serve with chips.

Dill is a great addition to coleslaw, potato salad, beet borcht and dips.  Here is a recipe for a dill sauce from allrecipes.com.  It can be used on any fish, especially grilled salmon. 

Whisk together sour cream, mustard, lemon juice and dill until well blended. Chill before serving.

We eat a lot of cucumber salad during cucumber season.  Here are our two favorites: 

Cucumber Salad (1)

Cube the cucumbers and mix with yogurt, salt, and seasonings (usually mint).

Cucumber Salad (2)

Slice cucumbers very thin and mix  with vinegar, salt, a little sugar and dill. 

 

Wendy and Asher