Week 12

A Lush North Carolina Summer

We got a break from the rain, and the soil was dry enough to prepare for part of the fall planting.  The rain is wonderful; the vegetables are growing well and the grass is still green.  I love it when North Carolina is lush and green.  William and I are very thankful for that. It is so much better to have a green problem than a dry, brown problem.   However, we need a few dry days at a time for sucessful. Half dry and half wet would be spectacular! 

We are getting geared up for the fall planting of vegetables.  CSA members will get to enjoy some of the crops like lettuce, arugula, and hopefully radishes in late September.  More crops like head lettuce, kale, and Swiss chard will be ready for harvest in October.

This week’s harvest:

Eggplant- Large shares only.  Beautiful long, skinny Asian eggplant called “Pingtung.”  Asian eggplants are always tender and never have a bitter flavor. You do not need to soak in saltwater.  I like to chop and steam or boil the eggplant for about 8 minutes and then add the mostly cooked pieces of eggplant to a sauté pan with other veggies like onions, peppers, tomatoes to blend the flavors.   Try the Summer Eggplant and Sweet Pepper Bake if you haven’t yet.  Recipe below. 

Tomatoes-The tomato harvest continues!  The season is short but sweet.  Try all the different colors and sizes, each one is a different variety.

Cherry Tomatoes-Some of the most flavorful tomatoes are the little ones.  Try them sliced in half with basil and chopped cucumbers.

Green Peppers-Pepper harvest continues to go well.  The peppers are larger and larger each week with nice thick walls. We hope their strong growth continues and we have ripe peppers in August…although it needs to stop raining for the peppers to ripen!

Cucumbers-The heat and rain is slowing them down.  We do have a young crop of plants that will start producing more next week.  It is unusual to have a successful crop coming into production this late in the summer due to disease pressure from hot, humid conditions.  Enjoy the bounty this year!

Squash/zucchini-See the note on cucumbers.  When the plants are happy the produce, when they are sad-not much fruit.  But there is more coming!

Heirloom garlic- garlic and tomatoes, I can’t get enough!

 Basil-Oh the wonderful scent of basil.  I love harvesting it for you all.

Recipes

Sweet Basil, Tomato, and Summer Peach Salsa

1.      Mix equal parts chopped slicing tomatoes and chopped fresh peaches in non-reactive bowl. (no metal bowls, they can make it taste funny) 

2.      Finely chop approximately 4 big leaves of basil or 8 small leaves of basil for every peach that you use.

3.      Measure out approximately ½ teaspoon lime juice for every peach that you use. 

4.     Sprinkle basil and lime juice over tomatoes and peaches. Add salt to taste.  Let salsa rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Keeps about 2 days in the fridge.

Try the eggplant recipe! At the very least, let it inspire you to find another recipe with eggplant.

Baked Eggplant with Sweet Peppers and Rice

Hearty and comforting, baked eggplants in a casserole are a pleasing late summer dish.

1 eggplant (about 1 or 1.25 pounds)

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, chopped fine

1 large sweet red pepper or 4 small ones, diced

1 cup cooked rice

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

Oregano,  1 tablespoon dried or 2 tablespoons fresh,  crumbled or chopped

1 bunch parsley, chopped fine

12 basil leaves, chopped

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 egg, well beaten

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Cube the eggplant and steam for 12-15 minutes.  Meanwhile saute the onion and red peppers in the butter until soft.  Gently mix the eggplant, onion, red pepper, rice, and tomatoes, herbs, and egg together. Add salt and pepper to preference.  Spoon into a buttered baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Add grated Parmesan if you’d like. 

 We like to serve spiced lentils with this dish to provide protein for a balanced meal without meat.

Roasted Pepper Spread

1 or 2 cloves of garlic, peeled

6 medium bell or sweet peppers, roasted and chopped roughly (see below)

8 ounces Neufchatel reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1 can chickpeas, 15 oz, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon miso (you can find it at Nature’s Bounty. Maybe Ingles? If you want to substitute it try tahini and salt instead)

2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice

Minced parsley

Mince garlic in food processor. With the motor running, add each ingredient until smooth. Garnish with minced parsley.

Adapted from Passionate Vegetarian, 2002.

Roasted peppers

Make your own roasted peppers: Roasting peppers is simple. I like to do it 2 different ways for 2 different results.

Roast and peel version:  You may roast chopped peppers or char and blacken the entire chile or pepper with intense heat or direct flame. That means you can roast a sweet bell, poblano, chile, pepper, jalepeno or anything else with a gas grill, charcoal grill, gas stove range, electric or gas broiler. Here’s a quick way to knock out a batch of whole roasted peppers. Place the peppers or chiles with stems on a very hot grill or put the peppers or chiles on a baking sheet under a preheated broiler until the skin blisters slightly and is black in spots, about 5 minutes on each of two sides. Place in a large bowl with a towel over it until cool enough to handle; this steams the skin off. Peel most of the skin off. Don’t rinse the flavor away! Use a paper towel if needed to help pull the skin off! The freshly roasted peppers keep well and can then be used for days in many dishes. Or freeze for the winter.

Caramelized version:  Chop into half inch stips, place on a baking sheet, and roast at 275 F for about 30-45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. The longer they cook, the more the peppers will caramelize. I like to make sure that I throw something else in the oven if I am heating the oven up…more food coming out of oven makes the heat in my kitchen tolerable during the heat of the summer.

Freezer tip: Make sure to use a “freezer” bag, not a “storage” bag if freezing the peppers.

Rustic Ciabatta Pizza

This late summer rustic pizza owes its style to the rich flavors of late summer, the days the vegetables have spent soaking up the sun- their personality blends so well with ciabatta bread and olive oil.
3-4 small ciabatta loaves or 1 large loaf
Eggplant
Pepper
Tomato
Basil
Shredded mozzarella or feta
Olive oil
Sea salt
***the ratio of the vegetables depends on everyone’s personal tastes***
Cut eggplant into thin rounds or coins and spread very thinly across a baking pan. Brush lightly with olive oil. Chop peppers roughly into pieces and spread across a baking pan. Place both pans into a 350 F oven for about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the tomato and sprinkle with sea salt. Chop the basil. Slice ciabatta in half and brush with olive oil. (this is your pizza “crust”).  With some thick ciabatta, you can cut a thick loaf into 3 thin crusts. Layer eggplant, pepper, tomato, basil on ciabatta halves. Top with cheese and basil and bake in the 350F for 12 minutes.

Week 11 7-25-2012

This week’s box:

Eggplant- Beautiful long, skinny Asian eggplant called “Pingtung.”  Asian eggplants are always tender and never have a bitter flavor. You do not need to soak in saltwater.  I like to chop and steam or boil the eggplant for about 8 minutes and then add the mostly cooked pieces of eggplant to a sauté pan with other veggies like onions, peppers, tomatoes to blend the flavors.   Try the Summer Eggplant and Sweet Pepper Bake.  Recipe below. 

Tomatoes-The tomato harvest continues!  Try all the different colors and sizes, each one is a different variety

Cherry Tomatoes-Some of the most flavorful tomatoes are the little ones.  Try them sliced in half with basil and chopped cucumbers.

Green Peppers-Pepper harvest continues to go well.  The peppers are larger and larger each week with nice thick walls. We hope their strong growth continues and we have ripe peppers in August…although it needs to stop raining for the peppers to ripen!

Cucumbers-The heat and rain is slowing them down.  We may have a lull in the harvest in the next week or two-so keep enjoying!

Squash/zucchini-See the note on cucumbers.  When the plants are happy the produce, when they are sad-no more fruit.

Potatoes-This week will be red skin white potatoes. “Red Norland” Great for boiling and roasting.

Basil-Nothing says summer like fresh basil in…..everything!  Try with in scrambled eggs, on a fresh tomato salad, make your own pasta sauce, or use with some garlic for pesto, the possibilities are endless.  Try a BBT-Bacon, basil, tomato sandwich.

Eggs-There was a mix up with last week’s eggs.  Most on farm eggs folks missed the eggs in their box.  This week there will be eggs in your box in the fridge.  Nature’s Bounty boxes will also have eggs as planned.

On the Farm

It’s been one of those weeks where the farm just seems a little out of.  It started right after our last newsletter.  On Tuesday last week we purchased 13 piglets from some friends of ours.  By Wednesday morning they’d figured out they fit through their corral panels.  They also discovered that the very brushy woods were a great place to root and hide.  So after harvesting basil for the CSA Victor (Marie’s younger brother) and I got to spend a fun filled two hours literally crawling through briars to catch piglets one by one.  The briars were so thick that the piglets were getting stuck.   From there on out for the week we were behind schedule.  Then, right when we thought we might get to catch up on some tractor work-more rain!

One of our good pigs inside its fence where it should be

You’ve probably been hearing about the national drought ruining crops all over the country.  Even much of North Carolina is experiencing some drought.  Farmers I sell next to at farmers market from as close as Catawba and Lincoln counties worry about no rain on their farms.  We are not looking forward to the upcoming animal feed bills.  However, at least in our little corner of Burke County, it has been raining plenty.  These days the most noticeable result of all the rain (besides constantly wet feet) are the weeds!  When its harvest day we wade through waist high weeds, push them aside like curtains, peer under and over and find that red tomato or cucumber or squash.  In spit of the rain we have finally made some progress getting ready to clean up the garden for fall.  Today we removed old irrigation tape so we can get the tractor back into the field.  As soon as it dries out some that is.

Squash Blossom with bumble bees

We’ve been short on pork for much of the summer.   But this past Monday we took six hogs to butcher.  If you’ve been dreaming of some country sausage or one of our delicious rich pork chops the wait is almost over.  Next Wednesday August 1^st we will have pork available for sale during CSA pick up at the farm. 

Your farmers,

William and Marie

Recipes:

Mediterranean Salsa

Fresh flavor! This is a great salsa, salad or pita stuffing.

1 medium cucumber, diced

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced, remove as much of the spicy ribs and seeds as needed

1 bell pepper, diced

1 bunch parsley, finely diced

2/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

2 cloves garlic, pressed

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup pitted kalamata olives

Juice from 1-2 fresh lemons

Combine all ingredients and toss well.  Let marinate at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.

Basil Aioli

1 cup mayonnaise, 3 cloves garlic pressed, 25-35 basil leaves thinly silvered, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, fresh black pepper to taste. Whisk to mix.  Serve with roasted potatoes, grilled vegetables, spread on sandwiches.  Great for a tomato a sandwich.

Baked Eggplant with Sweet Peppers and Rice

Hearty and comforting, baked eggplants in a casserole are a pleasing late summer dish.

1 eggplant (about 1 or 1.25 pounds)

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, chopped fine

1 large sweet red pepper or 4 small ones, diced

1 cup cooked rice

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

Oregano,  1 tablespoon dried or 2 tablespoons fresh,  crumbled or chopped

1 bunch parsley, chopped fine

12 basil leaves, chopped

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 egg, well beaten

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Cube the eggplant and steam for 12-15 minutes.  Meanwhile saute the onion and red peppers in the butter until soft.  Gently mix the eggplant, onion, red pepper, rice, and tomatoes, herbs, and egg together. Add salt and pepper to preference.  Spoon into a buttered baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Add grated Parmesan if you’d like. 

 We like to serve spiced lentils with this dish to provide protein for a balanced meal without meat.

Beef

            We are now working with Jace, the landowner where our main vegetable field is, to raise some grass based and organically fed beef.  We have helped to create a beef raising protocol with him to create healthy, lean, and tasty beef.  The meat we have available now is 100% grass fed.  Many cattle are raised on pasture, but finished out (grown to full size) using corn.  The addition of corn drastically alters the fat profile of the meat creating a more unhealthy mix of omega-3s and omega-6 fatty acids.  100% grass creates the healthiest balance available in meat (except fish). 

            Right now the heat has greatly reduced the quality of the grass.  So the animals we have grazing can’t get their full nutrition requirements for optimal growth.  We have worked with our certified organic feed supplier to create a ration that is low in corn and 100% certified organic, so no GMOs or chemicals in the feed.  These animals are still always grazing on fresh grass, moving frequently, to ensure that the grain is a minimal part of their diet. 

            Right now we have Beef available at the farm during pick-up for $5.75/lb.  Look for emails soon about larger family packs and ¼ animals available this fall. 

This week’s box:

Tomatoes-The tomato harvest has begun!  Try all the different colors and sizes, each one is a different variety

Cherry Tomatoes-Some of the most flavorful tomatoes are the little ones

Green Peppers-We are thrilled with this year’s pepper harvest so far.  We hope their strong growth continues and we have colored peppers later in the season

Cucumbers-There have been a lot of cucumbers lately.  But the heat is slowing them down.  We may have a lull in the harvest in the next week or two-so keep enjoying!

Squash/zucchini-See the note on cucumbers.  When the plants are happy the produce, when they are sad-no more fruit.

Green Beans- Another great harvest from the first planting of beans.  Like the cucumbers and squash there may be a break coming up before the next round is ready.

Basil-Nothing says summer like fresh basil in…..everything!  Try with in scrambled eggs, on a fresh tomato salad, make your own pasta sauce, or use with some garlic for pesto, the possibilities are endless.  Try a BBT-Bacon, basil, tomato sandwich.

Thoughts on tomatoes and Eating the bounty:

Tomatoes, they are the queen of the summer vegetables.  There is simply no substitute for a juicy tomato straight from the vine, so red its purple, meaty like no store tomato can hope to be, and full of flavor.  We sure are glad they are so good, otherwise they might not be worth it.  Tomatoes are also the divas of the vegetable field and they are vocal in their complaints.  Subpar soil nutrients, too much water, too little water, or some insects will all dramatically reduce yields.  Each season we learn a little more about the tomato’s specific needs.  This year we experienced some early blossom end rot.  Several of our first harvests we nothing but several buckets of ruined tomatoes all half rotted (the pigs enjoyed them though!).  One of the main techniques we use to help ensure a harvest is to grow many different varieties.  This year we are growing about 25 different types.  One or two have not really recovered from their early problems.  But most of them, we are happy to report, have been doing well.    Enjoy the tomatoes!

Sometimes in the summer we look at the heap of produce on the kitchen counter and wonder what we will do with all of it.  It can seem almost a daunting task to consume the food.  But don’t despair, I bet you can eat more of it than you first imagine. 

Some ideas for eating all the veggies:

-Eat them all the time-Every time it’s a meal or snack time-first look to the vegetables.  Right now there are tomatoes on our fried eggs.  Then fresh, raw green beans provide a crisp tasty snack.  If we make sandwiches they have pepper, tomato, and cucumber on them (my personal rule is that if the sandwich is easy to hold and eat there aren’t enough veggies in it!). 

-Summer salads all the time-Salads don’t have to have lettice.  One of our favorite dishes in the summer is a very simple tomato and cucumber salad.  Simply dice them up, add some vinegar, olive oil, and salt and eat with everything as a side. 

-Zucchinis-Then there are zucchinis.  What to do with all of them.  They are good sautéed with an onion on medium heat.   Then add green peppers, garlic, tomatoes, and basil and voila you have tomato sauce.  Or start out the same way onions, zucchinis, peppers, garlic, then add some black beans and now you have excellent burrito filling.  Or maybe start the same, but add soy sauce and serve with rice for Asian flavors.  In each case some pork or beef adds a nice body to the meal.

Beef

            We are now working with Jace, the landowner where our main vegetable field is, to raise some grass based and organically fed beef.  We have helped to create a beef raising protocol with him to create healthy, lean, and tasty beef.  The meat we have available now is 100% grass fed.  Many cattle are raised on pasture, but finished out (grown to full size) using corn.  The addition of corn drastically alters the fat profile of the meat creating a more unhealthy mix of omega-3s and omega-6 fatty acids.  100% grass creates the healthiest balance available in meat (except fish). 

            Right now the heat has greatly reduced the quality of the grass.  So the animals we have grazing can’t get their full nutrition requirements for optimal growth.  We have worked with our certified organic feed supplier to create a ration that is low in corn and 100% certified organic, so no GMOs or chemicals in the feed.  These animals are still always grazing on fresh grass, moving frequently, to ensure that the grain is a minimal part of their diet. 

            Right now we have Beef available at the farm during pick-up for $5.75/lb.  Look for emails soon about larger family packs and ¼ animals available this fall. 

Your farmers,

William and Marie

Yay, rain.  The plants are glowing green now!  We love reaping the harvest in the garden.  Enjoy and cheers to healthy eating.

Week 9 July 10th, 2012

This Week’s Box:

Tomatoes- The very first week of tomatoes. Hurray!  More to come.

Tender Bush Beans- Wow, so many tender beans.  So wonderful and fresh. Cooking idea below.

Beets- So rich and earthy! Recipe below. You must try the delightful Orange Beet Salad recipe.

Cucumbers Check out the link to 10 cool recipes below.

Squash/Zucchini. My oh my. It just wouldn’t be a great summer without getting tired of squash and zucchini!  Here is a link to 15 garden fresh squash and zucchini recipes.  http://www.thekitchn.com/summer-squash-15-recipes-for-z-120015  Try the Zucchini Garlic Soup.  It is good cold.  http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-zucchini-1-32520

Sweet Peppers-Here they come! Most of the peppers are nice and big! All of the varieties of the peppers in your box are sweet, even the longer skinny types.  Those are an Italian frying type called Carmen.  Plus there are lots of bell peppers now.

Garlic-  The garlic has dried nicely, so it should keep for 3-6 months at room temperature now.

Scallions- Last week of scallions.  We’re really going to miss them.

Carrots- Last week of carrots, enjoy.  Sweet, crisp. Garden carrots are the best!  

Did you check out the following links yet? So many great recipes to try!

15 wonderful garden-fresh Squash and Zucchini recipes.

     -from www.Thekitchn.com

 http://www.thekitchn.com/summer-squash-15-recipes-for-z-120015 

Cool as a cucumbers: 10 Fresh Recipes for Summer

     -from www.Thekitchn.com

http://www.thekitchn.com/cool-as-a-cucumber-10-fresh-re-150520

Orange-Beet Salad

From Better Homes and Gardens annual Recipes 2001

Marie’s notes: I used olive oil instead of walnut oil and plain chevre instead of feta cheese. I also omitted the orange peel (the peel of conventional citrus have a high concentration of pesticides) and used 1 extra tablespoon of orange juice.

Tip: Roll the plain goat chevre or feta cheese in a black pepper and thyme mixture (coat the cheese in herbs)  to keep the red juice of the beets from staining the cheese.  I let the beets marinate overnight in the dressing, drained the beets, and then topped the beets with the walnuts and cheese on the dinner plates.   It was delicious!

3 medium beets (about 9 oz)

3 Tbsp. walnut oil or salad oil

1 tsp. shredded orange peel

2 Tbsp. orange juice

1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar or white vinegar

2 Tbsp. broken walnuts toasted

3 Tbsp crumbled feta cheese

¼ coarsely ground pepper

1.      Wash beets well. Cut off and discard root tails and all except 1 inch of stems.  Do not peel.  Cook, covered in lightly salted boiling water for 40 to 50 minutes or until just tender. Drain.  Let cool until easy to handle.

2.     Slip skins off beets under running water.  Carefully slice each beet into 1/4 inch thick slices, removing and discarding remaining stem ends.

3.     Meanwhile, for dressing, in a screw-top jar combine walnut oil or salad oil, orange peel, orange juice, and vinegar.  Cover and shake well.

4.     In a medium mixing bowl gently toss the beet slices with the dressing. Cover, and chill to marinade for 2 to 24 hours. 

5.     To serve, let mixture come to room temperature. Gently stir walnuts into beets. Sprinkle with feta cheese and pepper. Makes 4 servings.

 Green Bean Cooking Idea: Heat a large skillet to medium high. Add about 2 tablespoons of your choice of oil to the pan, and stir fry the beans. Stir often to avoid burning the beans. Add occasional splashes of water and lemon juice (1 tablespoon of each) while stirring quickly. The liquid should steam and evaporate. After about 4 minutes, add 1-2 cloves of minced garlic to the pan. (Adding it later prevents the garlic from burning) Cook for another 3 minutes, turn the heat off, and add a hearty sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Week 8 July 3^rd, 2012

Happy Independence Day! We are celebrating with RED, WHITE, AND BLUE potatoes.

This Week’s Box:

Cucumbers Check out the link to 10 cool recipes below.

Squash/Zucchini. My oh my. It just wouldn’t be a great summer without getting tired of squash and zucchini!  Here is a link to 15 garden fresh squash and zucchini recipes.  http://www.thekitchn.com/summer-squash-15-recipes-for-z-120015  Try the Zucchini Garlic Soup.  It is good cold.  http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-zucchini-1-32520

Sweet Peppers-Here they come! Most of the peppers are nice and big! All of the varieties of the peppers in your box are sweet, even the longer skinny types.  Those are an Italian frying type called Carmen.  They can be used the same as a bell pepper.

Garlic-  The garlic has dried nicely, so it should keep for 3-6 months at room temperature now.

Scallions

Carrots- Sweet, crisp. Garden carrots are the best!  Check out the Roasted Carrot Stick Snack recipe below.

Kale-keep enjoying the greens!  At this point we never know how long they will last-especially in the upcoming weather.

Potatoes- RED WHITE AND BLUE  We have a medley of solid red, solid blue, red skinned whites, and white potatoes.  So beautiful!  Cook them all together using your favorite recipe.  Great for an All American potato salad.  *New potatoes*- This means that the potatoes are not fully mature.  These potatoes are flavorfully fresh, and delicately thin skinned.  Great roasted, boiled, scalloped, baked.  

Hello,

My name is Elisa and I have been helping on the farm for the past month, and having a ton of fun at it, so I thought I would write about some of my favorite parts. First off, North Carolina is very different from California. There is so much life here, from the plentith of insects (the ones that are eating the kale- (Harlequin beetles) that we squish and the incredible diversity of caterpillars that we admire)all of the way up to the giant broad leafed poplar and walnut trees. And the farm seems no different. The cucumbers and squash are producing every day, the squash and zucchinis growing so much over night that if we miss one on one day it turns into a giant green arm-like thing the next day. And then there’s the peppers, sprouting so perfectly off of their stems, coming out all shiny and full. The potatoes and tomatoes are like little golden globes of sweetness, either buried under the ground like treasure to find or slowly blushing in the sun, getting ready to ripen on their vine. I also love the kale and chards ever presence, how it covers you in dew and that brasicca-like smell in the morning as you harvest it, and then rests in the shade when you are done. When I harvest the herbs it always feels like I’m a little garden fairy, collecting pretty smelling plants and then forming them into bundles. Come to think of it, my favorite task on the farm is picking the harvest for all of you.

 Our friend Elisa with beautiful kale

 Our friend Adam helping us with the flock of sheep and hens.

Adam and Elisa have been helping on the farm for a month!

Recipes

Roasted Carrot Stick Snack

Best when served hot out of the oven, these healthful substitutes for French fries are loaded with vitamin A.

6 medium carrots (1 lb.)

2 to 3 tsp olive oil

2 Tbsp. snipped fresh dillweed or basil

Coarse sea salt or salt

1. Preheat oven to 475F.  Peel carrots.  Cut carrots into strips about 3 inches long and ½ inch wide.

2.  In a large bowl combine olive oil and snipped dillweed or basil.  Add carrots; toss to coat.

3.  In a 15x10x1 inch baking pan spread carrots in a single layer.  Roast, uncovered, about 10 minutes or until carrots are just tender, stirring once.  Sprinkle with coarse salt.  Makes 6 side dish or snack servings. 

Roasted New Potato Salad

From Better Homes and Gardens Annual Recipes 2001

Retain nutritional value and add color to the salad by leaving the skins on the new potatoes.

1 ½ pounds of new potatoes, quartered or chunked into 1 inch pieces

3 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 tsp. snipped fresh rosemary or 1 ¼ tsp. dried rosemary, crushed

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 small can of chunk white tuna (water pack), drained and broken into chunks

1 6-oz can pitted ripe olives

1 large green sweet pepper, cut into bit-size pieces

12 tiny pear-shaped red and/or yellow tomatoes, halved; or cherry tomatoes, halved

1 recipe Herb Vinaigrette

1.     Preheat oven to 450 F. Place potatoes in a 13x9x2 inch pan.  Combine oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper.  Drizzle over potatoes; toss gently to coat. Roast, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes or until tender and brown on the edges, stirring every 10 minutes.  Cool slightly.

2.     Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine tuna, olives, green pepper, and tomatoes.  Add the potatoes.  Toss with the Herb Vinaigrette or bottled Italian dressing.  Cover; chill for up to 24 hours. Garnish with fresh rosemary springs, if desired.  Makes 8 servings.

Herb Vinaigrette

In a screw-top jar combine 1/3 cup olive oil or salad oil; 1/3 cup white wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon snipped thyme or basil or 1 teaspoon dried thyme or basil, crushed; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 teaspoon coarse-grain brown mustard or Dijon-style mustard; ¼ teaspoon salt; and ¼ teaspoon pepper.  Cover and shake well.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.  Shake before serving.

Liina’s Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

My friend Liina made this recipe at least once a week during college, filling the Warren Wilson College Eco-Dorm kitchen and common room with the cozy aroma of rosemary.

2 1/2 pounds of potatoes, quartered or chunked into 1 inch by 1 inch pieces

4 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil

2 cloves garlic, minced (Liina left out the garlic)

5 Tbsp. snipped fresh rosemary or 2 Tbsp. dried rosemary, crushed

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Place potatoes in gallon bag or very large Tupperware tub.  Add oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper to potato container and shake well to mix. 

2.  Add seasoned potatoes to several shallow roasting pans or cookie sheets, keeping the potatoes from touching.  (I use at least large 3 pans.)   

3.   Roast, uncovered, for 40 to 60 minutes or until tender and brown on the edges, stirring every 10 minutes.  Add additional salt and pepper if desired.

15 wonderful garden-fresh Squash and Zucchini recipes.

     -from www.Thekitchn.com

 http://www.thekitchn.com/summer-squash-15-recipes-for-z-120015 

Cool as a cucumbers: 10 Fresh Recipes for Summer

     -from www.Thekitchn.com

http://www.thekitchn.com/cool-as-a-cucumber-10-fresh-re-150520

Your farmers,

 William and Marie