Week #10, July 26/27, 2018

Fresh carrots!

Farm News

We had our heads down this week, with Steve very focused on carrots.  He harvested our first carrots of the year.  (They are in your box this week.)  That means getting the carrot harvester out of storage in the neighbor’s barn, greased up and ready to go.  He and Roger always mull over ways to tweak and upgrade it.  

At the same time, Steve is nurturing newly-planted carrot fields.  These will be ready to harvest in fall for fresh eating and for sale through the winter.  The big carrot plantings are a lot of work for him.  Most years, one planting fails after heavy rains and need to be re-seeded.  Each field needs daily irrigation for 12 days after planting, plus flame weeding with propane torches, plus precise cultivation.  It’s a relief when all the fields are successfully planted.  It will be a bigger relief once they are weeded as well.

Raul cultivates a field of carrot seedlings.  Can you see them?

He can get pretty close to the seedlings, leaving 3-inch bands of untilled soil near the carrots.

Sometimes just frilly carrot seedlings emerge (left). Sometimes there are many weeds too (right).  We have to hoe out the weeds by hand, a huge job for the coming weeks.  Steve has seeded eight fields (about 4 acres), with staggered planting dates to give us a chance to weed each field in succession.

In the meantime, the rest of us are focussed on harvests.  Above, Mari catches muskmelons thrown from the field by the rest of the melon crew.  These muskmelons are in your boxes.

August 1 checks

Many of you paid us with checks dated August 1.  I’ll deposit the checks on August 4 or 6.

Soil Sisters Events

If you are interested in exploring small scale farms in our part of the state, check out the Soil Sisters events on August 3 – 5.  All the participating farms are run by women.  I am not hosting a workshop but many of my farmer friends are.  The workshop list is here but there are also farm-to-table meals plus lots of free farm tours.  

Veggie List and Veggie Notes
Week #10, July 26/27, 2018
– Weekly shares
– Purple EOW
– Sun Sampler

Sweet corn, 6 – 7 ears
Muskmelon, 1 medium
Carrots, 2 lb
Tomatoes (slicing or plum), 2 – 2.5 lb
Cherry tomatoes, 1 pint
Pepper, 1
Cucumbers, 1 or 2
Zucchini, a few
Walla Walla onion, 1 or 2
Basil, 1 sprig
You might get a little broccoli.

Next week’s box will probably contain melon, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and more.

Sweet corn – This batch of corn is “Vision”, Steve’s favorite variety.  If you receive 7 ears, one will be smaller, with about half the ear useful.  
Storage: Refrigerate.  
How to cook: see last week’s newsletter.
Carrots – Refrigerate in a plastic bag.
Tomatoes – You should refrigerate your tomatoes this week.  Our first planting was weakened by rain, so those tomatoes are not storing well. The next two plantings are stronger. We’ll let you know when you can keep your tomatoes at room temperature again.
Pepper – You’ll get a bell pepper or a frying pepper.  Some are green, some are partially red.

RECIPES

Visit our 2018 Recipe Log or our 2017 Recipe Log or join our Facebook discussion group.

LOCAL THYME/ Comforting Classics
Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta
Grilled Corn
Melon Smoothie
Carrot Bran Muffins

LOCAL THYME/ Outside the Box Recipes
Moroccan Tagine with Carrot, Zucchini and Tomato
Corn Pudding with Chicken
Melon Cucumber Salad
Shrimp with Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini in Tikka Spice

LOCAL THYME/ Quick & Easy Meal
Hummus, Cucumber, Carrot Wraps

RECIPES FROM LAUREN

VEGETABLE GRILLED CHEESE
This is a recipe inspired by my mother: the queen of tossing a ton of vegetables into something ooey, gooey, cheesy and wonderful. My mom often sautees random combinations of vegetables into what she calls a “sandwich spread.” She keeps the bowl in her fridge and throws it on grilled sandwiches whenever she can’t think of anything else for dinner. I’ve made this other times with diced peppers, roughly chopped kale, or shredded carrots. If you have any of these on hand feel free to add them to the mix. No matter the combination of vegetables, this simple grilled sandwich satisfies. You can also add sliced ham or turkey if you want to make it a bit heavier. The pesto is totally optional, but I really love pesto on grilled cheese sandwiches so always keep a jar in my fridge. Lauren
Takes 30 minutes.
Serves 4.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Walla Walla onion
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bell pepper, cored and diced
2 medium zucchini, shredded (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 head broccoli, florets roughly chopped
2-3 tablespoons butter, softened
8 slices bread, preferably sourdough
1/4 cup prepared pesto, optional
4 ounces of favorite cheeses, sliced (we used a combination of smoky cheddar and havarti)
1-2 tomatoes, cored, trimmed and sliced

1. Begin by cooking down your veggies. In a large, heavy skilled warm oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic along with salt and pepper. Cook until just softened. Reduce heat to medium low and add pepper, zucchini, broccoli, and any other veggies you want! Cook for 10 minutes until broccoli is tender.
2. While the veggies continue to cook down, get your bread toasting. Butter all eight slices of bread on one side.
3. In another skillet or large pan, lay as many pieces of bread† (butter side down) as will fit and begin toasting over medium low heat. Cover half of the bread with cheese slices so it begins to melt. Slather the other half of the bread slices with pesto.
4. When the veggies are fully cooked, add a few spoonfuls to each cheesy slice. Top with a few tomato slices. When the pesto slice is grilled to a nice golden brown, place on top of the tomatoes to complete the sandwich. Press down gently with a spatula.
5. Remove completed sandwiches to a cutting board and cut sandwiches in half before serving. Repeat with remaining slices of bread and ingredients.

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SUMMER CORN, TOMATO & CUCUMBER SALAD
This time of year, super simple salads are king and this dish will taste great eaten alongside something prepared simply on the grill. A steak, some ribs, a nice piece of fish; whatever you have, just add this salad and you’ll have a great meal! Lauren
Takes 15 minutes.
Serves 4-6 as a side.

3 ears corn
1-2 tomatoes, cored and diced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, seeded and cubed
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove over high heat. Once boiling, add the corn and cook for 4 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool to the touch.
2. Remove kernels from ear with a knife and add to a large bowl. Add tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and basil followed by oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

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Week #9, July 19/20, 2018

Another new weeding tool

Steve just bought a “weed puller” in hopes of dealing with overgrown weeds.  The wet weather from mid-May to early July got in the way of cultivating and hoeing.  The window to deal with some of these weeds is dwindling.  Here’s how the weed puller is supposed to work.  Each pair of rubber wheels rotates inward as you drive down the row, grabbing weed tops and yanking them out of the ground.  Some crops will get pulled too but that’s life.  At least, that’s the theory.  So far, we’ve had middling results.  Sometimes it pulls the weeds, sometimes it tears them.  New implements always have a learning curve.  Steve will fine-tune its use before handing it over to Raul or Roger to use.  

We would not have bought this tool in a normal year. It’s expensive and a little odd.  If it works in a wet year like this, it will pay for itself with saved crops so it’s worth the risk.  There was a time when I used to approve equipment decisions. (Steve and I each have right of veto in purchases and big decisions.)  I abandoned my right of veto over equipment purchases years ago because the successes pay for themselves quickly. Steve has good instincts with machinery.  Beth

This week

Ellen (right) tosses muskmelons to Mari, who keeps count while stacking them in the bin.  Ben works up ahead.  Steve and Billy are teaching Ellen how to harvest muskmelons, a coveted job.  It’s a fast-moving harvest, the melons smell incredibly good and it’s a useful skill.  Of course, other people help; melons are heavy.  Muskmelon harvest is less exacting than watermelon harvest (Steve’s job), allowing our crew to take care of it once trained.  

Earlier this week, Steve projected that we would have enough melons for one CSA site, maybe two.  I fretted about what to put in the CSA boxes that didn’t get melons.  So much wasted energy!  The crew departed for melon harvest with a few crates, then returned for a wooden bin and more crates.  By the time they were done, they filled the bin, all the crates and bed of the pickup truck.  That was a surprise but good news.  We have enough muskmelons for everyone.
See the tractor and crew in the distance to the left? …

That’s a transplant crew (from left, Maggie, Michio, Kristen and Simone).  We’re using this rare dry week to catch up with transplanting.  The wet weather has limited our field work to harvests and some crude weeding by hand.  When I called Steve last week, he was excited because “it hasn’t rained in six days!”  More rain is coming on Friday but we should be caught up on transplanting by then.

We need a big crew for sweet corn harvest.  Above, it takes everyone to position the conveyor belt on the wagon after harvest is done.  (During harvest, it extends from the wagon over the corn, putting it within easy reach of everyone picking corn.)  

At left is Jon Fagan, who worked for us for five seasons before moving on.  He’s returned to work for us for a month.  I didn’t tell anyone that Jon was returning.  It was a great surprise when he showed up at morning meeting today.  Working side-by-side is a good way to forge friendships, and Jon has many friends among the crew.  We’re glad he’s back, even if only for a short time.

Veggie List & Veggie Notes
Week #9, July 19/20, 2018
– weekly members
– green EOW

Sweet corn, ~10 ears
Muskmelon, 1
Green beans, ~1.7 lb
Cucumbers, 5
Cherry tomatoes, 1 pint
Slicing or plum tomatoes, ~3 ct
Walla Walla onion, 1 or 2
Salanova lettuce, 1 small
Zucchini &/or summer squash, up to 2 lb
You might get a little broccoli.

Next week’s box will probably contain sweet corn, melon, cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and more.

Sweet corn – Now it’s summer! Some ears have bugs at the tip. If you are squeamish, I suggest cutting off the tips before shucking the corn.
Storage. Sweet corn is best when fresh, so we encourage you to eat it asap. Store in the refrigerator, in the husks if you have the room.
Cooking.  It is quicker to steam sweet corn than to boil it.
1.) Stand ears of corn upright in a tall pot. Put one inch of water in the pot.
2.) Bring the water to a boil. If the corn is cold when you begin cooking, steam for 5 – 6 minutes. If the corn starts at room temperature, steam for 4 – 5 minutes. The cooking time will vary somewhat depending on how many ears are in the pot. Pay attention to how the corn smells. The scent changes once the corn is ready. Another clue: water will bead on the corn until it is cooked. Don’t overcook it.

Muskmelon – These are ripe and ready to eat.  Keep at room temperature but refrigerate if not eaten within 2 – 3 days.

Green beans – Keep in bag and store in the warmer part of your fridge.

Salanova lettuce –  These are tiny heads!  We harvest young in summer so the lettuce doesn’t get bitter.  Remember, Salanova is the lettuce variety that you can cut across the base and it falls apart into salad mix.  Wash well.

RECIPES

Visit our 2018 Recipe Log or our 2017 Recipe Log or join our Facebook discussion group.

LOCAL THYME/ Comforting Classics
Caprese Skewers
Swedish Cucumber Salad
Fresh Tomato Pesto Pasta Salad with Green Beans and Corn</a>

LOCAL THYME/ Outside the Box Recipes
Orzo with Smoky Tomato Vinaigrette
Blackened Catfish with Cucumber Raita
Green Beans with Smoked Almonds

LOCAL THYME/ Quick and Easy Meal
Orzo Salad with Grilled Summer Vegetables

Recipes from Lauren

CORN & ZUCCHINI SALAD WITH FRESH CHEVRE
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Sweet corn, Walla Wallas, zucchini and goat cheese are literally a match made in heaven. You could eat this combo about any which way, but I love it as a salad. It is absolutely dreamy with crunch from the corn, meatiness from the squash, creaminess from the rich fresh chevre and sweetness from just about everything. But, if you aren’t feeling salad, feel free to skip the oil and vinegar and throw this together with a dozen eggs for a quick frittata.
Also, don’t let the chevre confuse you. Chevre is just another name for fresh goat cheese– it has a little more funk than the stuff labeled goat cheese at the store. If you can’t find it, plain old goat cheese or feta with both work just fine. Lauren

Serves 4-6 as a side (2 as a main)
Takes 15 minutes

4 ears of corn, husked
2 teaspoons Kosher salt, divided
1-1/2 pounds zucchini or summer squash, thinly sliced
1/2 Walla Walla onion, thinly sliced
4 ounces fresh chevre (if you can find it–feta if you can’t), crumbled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon champagne vinegar (rice vinegar, white wine vinegar or white vinegar would all also work if you don’t have champagne)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1. In a large pot, season water with 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add corn and cook for 7 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool to the touch. Remove to a cutting board and cut kernels off cob.
2. Add corn, zucchini, Walla Walla and chevre to a large bowl. Stir together until well mixed (the zucchini can stick together causing this to take a bit of stirring). Drizzle with oil and vinegar. Add remaining salt and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine once more. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste.

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SUMMER LOVE SALAD
Takes 20 minutes
Serves 4-6 as a side (or 2 as a meal)

1 head Salanova lettuce
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 pound green beans, ends trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cucumbers
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Dressing:
1/4 olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1. Cut base of salanova so that the head of lettuce falls into leaves. Rinse well and put in a colander to dry while you prepare the rest of your salad.
2. Fill a stock pot half full of water. Add 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add beans. Cook for 5 minutes then drain immediately. Rinse with cold water until cool to the touch. Place drained, cooled beans in large bowl with halved cherry tomatoes.
3. Cut cucumbers in half. Scrape the seeds out with a spoon. Slice and add to bowl with beans and tomatoes.
4. Prepare you dressing by whisking together olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper in a small bowl until emulsified. The mixture will get cloudy when the oil and vinegar come together (this is emulsification). Add the walnuts and stir them in gently with a spatula. Pour dressing over the veggies.
5. When ready to serve, add salanova lettuce to the mix. If you don’t plan to eat this all at once, just add the amount of lettuce to the amount of veggies you plan to eat. The greens don’t store well when mixed with the dressing.

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Week #8, July 12/13, 2018

Veggie List and Veggie Notes
Week #8, July 12/13, 2018
– Weekly shares
– Purple EOW shares
– Moon Sampler shares

Kale, 1 small bunch
Beets, 1.7 lb
Broccoli, ~3/4 lb
Cucumbers, 2-3 (probably 3)
Green frying or bell pepper, 1 0r 2
Red leaf lettuce
Zucchini &/or summer squash, 2+ lb
Walla Walla onion
Basil
Sunflower
– Some sites get ~1 lb slicing &/or plum tomatoes.
– Some sites get cherry tomatoes.

Next week’s box will probably contain green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, Walla Walla onion and more.

Broccoli – Inspect your heads for cabbage worms. If you submerge the heads in water, the caterpillars will float out of the heads.

Tomatoes, slicing or plum or cherry – Enjoy the first harvest!  Store tomatoes at room temperature.  Tomatoes become mealy and lose flavor when stored below 55 degrees.  These are ripe, but underripe tomatoes will ripen nicely on your countertop.

If you receive a sunflower, cut the stem(s) under running water.  Place in clean water.  Replace the water every day or two.

RECIPES

Visit our 2018 Recipe Log.
Visit our 2017 Recipe Log.
Join our Facebook discussion group.

LOCAL THYME/ Comforting Classics
Summer Squash Carpaccio
Salad with Grilled Walla Wallas, Skirt Steak, Shredded Beets and Blue Cheese
Broccoli Cheddar Quiche
Creamy White Bean Soup with Kale-Walnut Pesto

LOCAL THYME/ Outside the Box Recipes
Szechuan Grilled Shish Kabobs with Shrimp or Tofu, Summer Squash and Cherry Tomatoes
Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Puff Pastry Tart
Steamed Broccoli with Sumac Lemon Garlic Butter
Maple Massaged Kale

LOCAL THYME/ Quick and Easy Meal
Composed Greek Salad

RECIPES FROM LAUREN
Beet, Cucumber & Tomato Salad
Takes 45 minutes
Serves 4-6

2 pounds beets, quartered (or cut into eighths if the size of a baseball or larger)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt, divided
2 cucumbers, chopped
1/2 Walla Walla onion, sliced
1 pound tomatoes, cored and diced (or pint cherry tomatoes, halved)
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Place beets in a large saucepan or stock pot and cover with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt and bring pot to a boil. Boil beets for 30 minutes until beets are tender and easily pierced with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, chop your cucumbers, slice your onions and dice your tomatoes. Place in a large bowl. Add vinegar, olive oil, syrup, remaining salt and pepper.
3. Once the beets are tender, peel them and slice the pieces. Add to the bowl and mix together. Let marinade for a few minutes and then enjoy at room temperature or chilled.

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Zucchini Basil Soup
Takes 45 minutes
Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 Walla Walla onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds zucchini, halved and sliced
3 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
13.66-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
3-4 kale leaves, stems removed and roughly torn
1/3 cup basil leaves (packed)

1. Heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, salt and pepper. Cook for 5-8 minutes until softened and fragrant then add zucchini. Cook for 8-10 minutes longer until beginning to take on color and then pour broth and coconut milk over zucchini. Bring to a boil, then add kale. Cook for 2-3 minutes until kale is wilted and then remove from heat.
2. Allow mixture to cool slightly (5-10 minutes is fine), add basil and puree with an immersion blender, food processor or blender until smooth. Enjoy warm.

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Week #7, July 5/6, 2018

Chicken dinner hosted by the Lions Club plus a pie sale. 

Everyone stakes their place to watch fireworks at Lake Leota.

Looking forward to Evansville’s 4th of July celebration brings back memories of our farm search during 1999-2001.  We were renting a farm in Fitchburg but it was time to leave.  That place was for sale at a very high price.  Finding a new farm became my job.  I was working PT in the business and taking care of little Sophie.  The thought of choosing the farm where we would “live for the rest of our lives” was intimidating.  We weren’t choosing just farmland; we were choosing a community to raise our family.  I began visiting rural towns in a radius around Madison, arranging visits with school superintendents, picking up the local paper, and hanging out in the local park to see if anyone would talk to me.  Some towns were quite welcoming.  In others, every head turned as I drove down the street.  Not much going here, eh?

My Evansville visit was promising.  Other moms in the park spoke to me!  The local paper was filled with news of the upcoming 4th of July celebration.  Steve and I decided to visit on the 4th and were blown away.  The park surrounding Lake Leota was filled with families and kids.  There was chicken dinner, and a homemade pie sale, and live music (in a beer tent!) and kids’ games.  Most of these attractions were hosted by local volunteer groups.  The entire town turned out.  We thought “here’s a town that can pull together and create community.”  Eventually we found our farm and it was in the Evansville school district.  The forecast has proven true.  It’s a welcoming place.

Farm News

Charlotte and Maggie wash a bumper crop of cucumbers in shiny new baskets. We won’t lose these baskets in the field.

We worked today, despite the holiday. First, we need to feed you folks.  That’s the deal, right?  Second, we had to get as much field work done before the next rain. Each rainy spell pushes us further behind with weeding and transplanting. It was finally dry enough yesterday to get in the fields. Everyone hustled to transplant while Steve and Raul cultivated. We transplanted the next sweet corn, melons, zucchini, Brussels sprouts and lettuce. That’s a lot. It started pouring this afternoon just as we finished.  Steve is bummed that it rained so hard again. It was a deluge.  I’m relieved we could finish before the storm. We are both thankful for our crew who were willing to work on a holiday. That’s the nature of farming but we appreciate everyone’s efforts.

Veggie List & Veggie Notes
July 5/6, 2018
Weekly and green EOW shares

‘Caraflex’ cabbage, 1 or 2
Swiss chard, 1 bunch
Cucumbers, 4+
Zucchini &/or summer squash, 3+ lb
Green bell pepper, 1
Green frying pepper, 1
Purple daikon radish, several
Walla Walla onion, 1 large
Scallions, 1 bunch
Basil, 1 bunch
Some sites get 1 sunflower.
– Some sites get broccoli.
– Some sites get an extra cucumber.

Next week’s box will probably contain cucumbers, Walla Walla onions, zucchini &/or squash, and more.

Caraflex – This is a nice salad-type that we grow in summer.  Don’t you love the pointy shape?  It has thinner, more tender leaves than the usual green cabbage.  Great in salads and slaws but can also be cooked.  Here’s the description from the seed catalogue: “Inner leaves are tender, crunchy, and have an excellent, sweet and mild cabbage flavor.  Perfect for summer salads, slaws, or cooked dishes.”
Swiss chard (pretty bundle of green leaves) – Our crew did a nice job mixing colors for pretty bunches.  Swiss chard is a close relative of spinach, but requires a bit more cooking.  Use as a substitute in any recipe that calls for spinach, just cook the chard a little longer. Both stems and leaves are delicious. The stems requite longer cooking, so cut them free from the leaves when preparing.  That allows you to cook the stems longer.
Cucumbers – Woohoo!  The first cucumbers are ready.  We should have a steady supply for many weeks.  We’re glad to have the first Walla Walla onions to share with the cucumbers.  They are great together in cucumber salad.  We alternate between yogurt cucumber salads and vinegar-based ones.  Storage: Refrigerate but in the warmest part of your fridge.  Cucumbers get chilling injury when stored too cold.
Walla Walla onion – These fat onions are sweet, crisp and very mild.  Wonderful raw or lightly cooked.  Try cutting into wedges, threading on a skewer and grilling.  Do not try to fry these onions – it doesn’t work because of their high water content.  Storage:  It’s OK to store at room temperature for up to one week.  Otherwise, refrigerate.
Purple daikon radish (oblong, purple root) – We began growing these beautiful purple Korean daikon last year.  This variety is lovely both inside and out.  Korean daikon are sweeter and less harsh than the long Japanese types, and can be recognized by their fat, stubby shape.  Storage: Cover and refrigerate.  Uses: These Asian radishes are good cooked or raw.  We often make a sliced radish salad, with Asian-style dressing (rice vinegar, mirin, sesame oil, soy sauce, minced garlic). Even a brief marination mellows the radish’s sharpness, although it’s less necessary with these Korean types.  These are good radishes to serve sliced with dip.  Kids and adults are both drawn to the color.  For authentic Korean dishes, check out Maangchi’s website.  She has incredible Korean recipes and videos, including an extensive list of daikon recipes.
Sunflower (for some sites) – This is an experiment.  Sunflowers are one of the few flowers that we can send dry in the CSA boxes.  This cheerful variety is called ‘Vincent’s Choice’ does not produce pollen, making it a good choice to pack with vegetables.  Trim the stem and place in water.  Replace with fresh water every day or two.  It might last 5 – 7 days.

‘Caraflex’ cabbage

Sunflower (for some sites)

RECIPES

Visit our 2018 Recipe Log.
Visit our 2017 Recipe Log.
Join our Facebook discussion group.
Note from Beth:  Both Pat and Lauren have given us recipes that include daikon.  If you want to peruse further, check out Maangchi’s website.  She has incredible Korean recipes and videos, including an extensive list of daikon recipes.

LOCAL THYME/ Comforting Classics
Penne with Chard, Bacon and Feta
Ensenada Slaw with Grilled Tofu Adobo
Cabbage and Daikon Fried Rice
Cucumber, Summer Squash Salad with Turkey, Great Northern Beans and Lemon Basil Dressing

LOCAL THYME/ Outside the Box Recipes
Swiss Chard Falafel with Lemon Tahini Dressing atop a Bed of Cabbage
Cucumber Soup
Curried Daikon
Fish and Cabbage Tacos with Quick Pickled Purple Daikon

LOCAL THYME/ Quick and Easy Meal
Sesame Noodles with Cucumbers and Cabbage

RECIPES FROM LAUREN

GREENS GALORE PIZZA
Inspired by Half Baked Harvest
I love to make a batch of the pizza dough linked below on Sundays and leave it in the fridge until I’m ready to bake some pizza during the week. The dough only gets better with time and easily lasts 5 days in the fridge. And pizza topped with veggies is a great, quick weeknight dinner if you’ve already made the dough.  Lauren.

Takes 45 minutes (if using store-bought crust or have already made the dough in advance)
Serves 2-4

1/2 batch homemade favorite pizza dough (or 1 batch store-bought dough)
4 cups swiss chard, stems removed (and reserved for another use), torn into bite-size pieces
Olive oil for message chard + drizzling
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup basil pesto (store-bought or prepared in advance)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 medium zucchini (or 1 large), shaved into ribbons (drag a vegetable peeler on the side of the zucchini)
1/4-1/2 Walla Walla onion, thinly sliced
6-8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a baking sheet (or round baking sheet) with olive oil. If using a pizza stone, skip the oil.
2. In a large bowl, add chard along with a drizzle of olive oil as well as salt and pepper. Massage the chard with your hands for 1-2 minutes until well-coated with oil.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pizza dough to the size of the pizza pan and transfer dough to pan. Bake for 5 minutes.
4. Spread pesto over the pre-baked crust followed by the parmesan. Add massaged chard then shaved zucchini and onion. Top with mozzarella. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and crust is golden. Add basil leaves and bake 2-3 more minutes.

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CABBAGE & CUCUMBER SALAD

Takes 15 minutes
Serves 4-6

1 Caraflex cabbage, shredded
2 teaspoons Kosher salt, divided
1 cucumber, halved, seeded and sliced
1 daikon radish, quartered and thinly sliced
4-5 scallions, sliced
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 lemon, juiced (about 1/4 cup juice)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Place cabbage in a large bowl and add 1 teaspoon salt. Let it sit and release its juices while you chop the other veggies.
2. Add cucumbers, radish and scallions to bowl. Add remaining salt then squeeze lemon over bowl. Toss to combine.
3. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, sugar and pepper. Whisk to combine and pour over veggies. Serve at room temperature or chill for up to 3 days. The longer it sits, the more juicy the mixture will become.

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