Things are really starting to pop here in our gardens – in fact, I ate the first tomato today! There aren’t enough ripe to get them in the box, but we are on the verge of the height of growing season. Get ready! For this week, we see the first of the summer crops.

Summer Squash – These Italian yellow crooknecks are just the first of many interesting heirloom varieties of squash you’ll be seeing in the next few weeks. Enjoy these sliced and lightly sauteed in butter or olive oil. Or eat raw with dip.

Basil – To allow you to take advantage of this for as long as possible, we’ve sent along whole plants for you to pick off of. Just put the roots in water, like flowers in a vase, and keep at room temperature. Make pesto! Garnish pizza!

Cabbage – These Early Jersey Wakefields are still small and sweet. Try the curry recipe we’ve included.

Scallions – These get bigger and stronger tasting every week as the weather gets hotter. That’s the really awesome thing about seasonal eating – even the very same vegetables from the same dirt are different as the seasons change. Make some spicy food!

Fresh Red Onions – These Red Mars onions are those we thinned from the rows of storage onions for fall. So these have not been cured, store them in the fridge and use soon!

New Red Potatoes – These Red Norlands are the very earliest potato in the garden, and so lovely! These are too be eaten quickly, stored in the fridge and enjoyed fried, steamed or boiled. Great for potato salad, and for breakfast with eggs.

Swiss Chard – So pretty. Try baking this into a gratin, substituting the lightly steamed, sliced leaves and stems for the potatoes.

Arugula – These larger leaves of arugula, though a bit holey due flea beetles, have a wonderful, spicy flavor that is very popular in Italian cuisine. Try the recipe for Arugula Pesto that we’ve included below, or put just a few leaves on a panini sandwich to change things up a bit. Our family’s favorite way to eat pesto is on pizza. Simply put washed leaves in a thin layer on top of the pizza, homemade or frozen, and then cook the pizza. The pesto will crisp up and make a fabulous gourmet treat out of a frozen Tombstone.

Yellow and Purple Bush Beans – What a treat! The first beans of the season, skinny and tender, are always such a delight. Consider lightly cooking them and dressing with a pat of butter or tablespoon of olive oil with salt and pepper.

Kohlrabi – These purple and gold members of the cabbage family taste a lot like that; cabbage. They have the great crunchy texture of an apple when eaten raw, and are also great sautéed in butter.

Fresh Garlic – These bulbs are not cured, or dried, yet, so you should try to use them up within two weeks and store in your fridge. So yummy!

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme – This Simon and Garfunkel combination will taste great over your new potatoes!

Becky’s Cabbage Curry
This terrific dish was brought to us by one of our Work Share members at a recent work day potluck. Delicious!

1 small to medium head of cabbage
1-3 scallions
2 T lime juice
3 T honey
1/4 to 1/2 t dried ginger
4 to 5 T curry powder or 2 T turmeric, 2 T cumin, 1 T mustard seeds
1 t cayenne, if you want a hot curry
1 T olive oil

Chop cabbage fine as for coleslaw. Chop scallions and add to cabbage. Microwave honey briefly to liquify, add lime juice, combine and pour over cabbage. Toss well. Heat oil in large skillet. Add cabbage and toss to distribute oil. Cover and saute until cabbage is soft ( 5 to 10 minutes). Add remaining spices and mix thoroughly. Heat just until most of the moisture cooks off. Salt to taste. Serve with rice and plain yogurt.

Arugula Pesto

1 bunch arugula (about 4 ounces)
2 3/4 teaspoons of coarse or Kosher salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground pepper and pressed garlic to taste

Fill a large bowl with ice and add water, set aside. Fill a medium sized saucepan with water and the 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and bring it to a boil. Add the arugula and as soon as the water returns to a boil, remove the arugula with a slotted spoon and place it immediately into the ice water to stop the cooking process. Transfer the arugula to several layers of paper toweling or clean kitchen towels and allow to drain. Roll up the towels and squeeze as much moisture as possible from the arugula.

Place the arugula in a blender jar and add the oil, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and the pepper and puree until the mixture looks like thick pesto. There will be a small amount of oil on the surface. Use immediately or transfer the mixture to a jar with a tight fitting lid if you are going to store it. This will keep for at least 5 days, refrigerated. Before using, stir the pesto to incorporate the oil accumulated at the top. Serve the pesto over some freshly cooked pasta or boiled potatoes.

Potato Salad with Cornichons
Adapted from a recipe found in Domino magazine. This recipe serves 10, so you might want to adjust it to suit your own needs.

3 lbs. red potatoes
4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp. kosher salt, plus ¼ tsp. (or more to taste)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. white-wine vinegar
¼ tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
20 cornichons, cut in half lengthwise
1 tsp. fresh thyme

Place the potatoes, whole garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon salt in a large pot and cover with 3 inches of cold water. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes, let cool and cut into quarters. Discard garlic. In a large bowl, combine the mustard, vinegar, pepper and ¼ teaspoon salt; stir until uniform. Add the olive oil and stir again. Add the cooked potatoes, cornichons and tarragon, and toss to coat.