Circle M Farm

Finally, here at the end of August, it is HOT. We’ve been spoiled by a season of remarkably mild days, and now we resent the relentless sweat of long harvests in the sun. Nevertheless, heat means peppers and tomatoes and melons, so we’re happy to see all of our fruit on the vines finally ripening up.

Tomatoes – We grow primarily old varieties, called heirlooms, which ripen to all colors, sizes and shapes. We try to send along some in various stages of ripeness, so you’ll be able to use them for a few days. The best test of ripeness is how soft they are on the bottom end of the fruit.

Nasturtium Leaves and Flowers – Oh, these are so fantastic starting to creep all around the gardens now! Pepper in a flower – so delightful!

Green Peppers – We’ve got bells and sheepnose peppers in this box – all sweet and delicious.

Cucumbers – We’ve included traditional green slicers, adorable little white miniatures, and round Lemon Cucumbers. We don’t think they taste lemony, but they are the biggest hit with kids who come to the farm.

Summer Squash and Zucchini – We like to use the smaller ones raw or sauteed and cut the larger ones up into soup, casseroles or bread. But we’ve included a recipe this week which makes the slices of larger squash into something quite special.

Red Onion

(Mostly) Green Beans

Cabbage

Swiss Chard – Some weeks the chard is so unbelievably pretty in the garden it’s hard to pick it. This is one of those weeks. This young and tender, you can shred it for a salad, or use like spinach lightly steamed. You can also add it to the lemony soup recipe we’ve included.

Tetragonia/New Zealand Spinach – This is a crop that’s new to us, and we welcome your feedback. A native of New Zealand, tetragonia is an oddly succulent green, good for raw eating or cooking down. Because it grows in the heat, where spinach won’t, it’s come to be used by chefs in the hot months as a substitute for spinach, though it certainly has a flavor all it’s own. We’ve included a recipe so you can give it a run and let us know what you think. Send us your recipes!

Basil – So much at it’s best right now! Enjoy with tomatoes and make some pesto!

Herbs – Lemon Balm, Curly and Flat Parsley, Pineapple Sage, Chives, Dill Flowers. I think you’ll recognize all of these herbs from previous boxes, and you’ll know them by their smell, too. The dill flowers are useful if you want to make a batch of refrigerator pickles, you can just tuck a blossom into the jar.

Both of these recipes come from the summer’s favorite cookbook at our house, Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables. From anecdotes about market agriculture to interesting biodynamic nutritional info, this CSA farmer’s unique take on food is a hoot to read. He’s got a movie out, too, which is well worth watching if you are interested in the food supply and alternative channels.

Creamy Lemon Balm Soup with Tetragonia

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 C finely chopped tetragonia leaves (you can also use spinach or swiss chard)
1/2 C finely chopped lemon balm leaves
4 C light vegetable or chicken stock
1/4 C sour cream
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until light golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Add tetragonia and lemon balm, stir to combine and cover. Cook 3 minutes or until the greens are wilted. Pour in stock and bring to a simmer. Add sour cream, salt and pepper and stir until heated through. Don’t boil, or you’ll curdle the sour cream. Serve hot or room temperature, garnishing with black pepper and a sprig of lemon balm or thin slice of lemon.

Crispy Cornmeal-Covered Squash and Zucchini
1 C cornmeal
salt and pepper
4 small to medium yellow squash and zucchini, halved crosswise and then sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick strips
1 C flour
1 egg, beaten
Olive oil

Mix the cornmeal with salt and pepper to taste in a shallow bowl. Pick each piece of squash up, coat lightly in the flour, shaking off excess, and dip in the beaten egg, letting excess drip off. Dip each slice in the cornmeal and coat well, set aside and repeat with remaining slices.

Thoroughly cover the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil, and heat to medium-high. Transfer as many squash slices as will fit in the skillet, and cook until browned. Flip and cook the other side – each side should take about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel and cool slightly before serving.

Be sure to scrape any burned pieces of cornmeal out of the skillet before you fry the remaining squash slices. Season with additional salt to taste and serve slightly warm.