Tomatoes ready to be stuffed (before)
I spent the weekend out at HollerFest, the music festival hosted by our friends out at Frog Holler Farm. Kitchen crew-members Becky, Ed, Jake, and Peter were there too, and we had a great time. The music was beautiful, the setting was perfect, the food was tasty–on the whole, a delightful weekend. It was fun to hear so much music: I got to see and hear bands I’ve loved for a long time, as well as discover new favorites. It seems like I spent all my money buying cds to bring some of our new favorites back to the kitchen. Particularly appropriate this week is Joe Reilly’s tomato song, all about a conversation he had with a tomato in his soup! We had a lot of fun at the festival despite the rain on Saturday–which was much-needed by the crops, actually, so we couldn’t be too sad that it rained. Besides the rain kept the mosquitoes away!
We continue to be flooded with the bounty of summer–this week continues the bumper crop of tomatoes we’ve been
Full of stuffing (a work in progress)
getting. I’m excited to continue to use this abundance in the kitchen. One thing to pay attention to is how juicy and wet these vegetables are–they have great flavor but many of our dishes (including tomato sauce, ratatoille, lasagna, and pizza sauce…) come out a little soupier than their conventional counterparts. It’s nothing to worry about, just another delightful factor that comes into play when we’re using REAL vegetables!
Menu and share details after the jump.
This week’s farm share, harvested in the mud and rain by many intrepid helpers:
The Finished Product (after)
Tomatoes – 13 lbs
Hot peppers – 4
Melon – 1
Eggplant -1
Chard – 1 lb
Basil – 4 stems
Summer squash – 3
Small corn – 9 ears
Sweet peppers – 4
Potatoes – 1 box
Big corn – 3 ears
Watermelon – 1
And this week’s menu:
Red Red-Hot Vegetable Chili – A regular Harvest Kitchen summer classic from Mrs. Chard’s Cookbook. This chili is
Melanie with a beautiful jar of tomato juice
crammed with our favorite summer vegetables. Send us an email to indicate your spiciness preference!
Corn Cakes – A new recipe discovery that sounds like the perfect companion for the chili.
Harvest Kitchen Classic Salsa – Another part of the perfect southwestern menu. Nothing can beat CFAA hot peppers and tomatoes for flavor.
Potato Curry with Vegetables – From the other side of the world, another flavorful meal from From Asparagus to Zucchini.
Melon Salad with Mint – This is one of our favorite ways to use melons. Simple and flavorful, it gives you a chance to enjoy both kinds of melon rather than having to make a choice!
And everyone will also get a tomato and a few ears of corn.
Hooray!
See you tomorrow,
Mary
