You’ve probably made gazpacho before, but you will want to give this one a try, and it’s perfect and fast for those summer back porch lunches or dinners! 

2 garlic cloves

1 jalapeño

10 husked tomatillos

1 avacodo peeled and pitted

2 T lime juice

2 T champagne vinegar 

2 T chopped fresh basil

2 scallions

1 lime cut into wedges

With a food processor running drop garlic and jalapeño in to mince.  Turn off processor, add tomatillos and process to chop and combine.  Add avocado, lime juice and vinegar, then process until smooth.  Add basil and pulse to mince.  I like to see the basil flecks, but you can blend till smooth.  Season with salt and pepper and top with chopped scallions and wedge of lime.  We also sprinkle with a few watercress leaves.  

*Note~ This weeks shares will have tomatillos, jalapeño, and scallions to help you prep this dish!  Basil only on request this week.   We have some nice cress ready in the greenhouse we will toss in a small bag as well!  

When you’ve got fresh heirloom tomatoes fresh off the vine and bursting with summer time goodness, there isn’t much needed to improves them.

ingredients:

• 3 lbs assorted meaty heirloom tomatoes, cored
• 12 oz farfalle pasta
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Set up a large  bowl of ice water.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the tomatoes, a few at a time, and cook for 10 seconds until the skins loosen. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and transfer to the ice water. (let the pot of water stay at a boil) Peel the tomatoes, halve them, and squeeze juice and seeds through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. discard the seeds. Coarsely chop the tomatoes and add them (and any juices) to a bowl.

Salt the boiling water, add the pasta to the pot, and cook according to package directions, drain.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat the oil, garlic, and hot pepper flakes over medium-low heat until the garlic is tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk the oil mixture into the tomatoes until well combined. Add the pasta, parsley, basil, chives, salt, and orange zest and toss again. Adjust salt if necessary.

Baskets are ready for pick up now if anyone would like to pick up early. And its a very heavy baskets this week too.

What we have for you and your creative kitchens….

• cucumbers
• summer squash
• garlic
• shallots (gourmet onion great for saute)
• sausuma plums
• large assortment of tomatoes( heirloom and reds)
• peppers (assorted)
• red onion
• other misc veggies
• basil
• apricots (I promise this is the last week of them)

One quick idea that’s great for an appetizer is using one of your heirloom tomatoes and basil to make a beautiful, colorful, caprees salad or Pico De Gallo or a salsa

What you will need:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 pint strawberries with the stems

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt. Add the milk, whisking to combine, and set the pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, and cook until the pudding thickens, 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.

ladle the pudding into four 4-oz ramekins or small bowls and let cool.

serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled, passing the strawberries around for dipping.

serves 4

sometimes the classics are best

What you will need

• 3 skinless boneless chicken breast, about 1lb
• 3/4 cup olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
• kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 6 assorted beets, about 4 lbs trimmed, peeled, and quartered
• 3 shallots, unpeeled, trimmed and halved
• 1 large clove of garlic unpeeled
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 10 cups mixed greens
• 1/4 cup fresh tarragon leaves
• 1 apple, cored and chopped
• 1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds, toasted

preheat the oven to 375*F

Place chicken breast on one half of a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. place the beets, shallots, and garlic on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil.wrap loosely in the foil and place on the baking sheet. Roast until the chicken is opaque throughout, about 25 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to cool and return the baking sheet to the oven. Continue roasting until the beets are fork-tender and the shallots are very soft, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

When cool enough to handle, shred the chicken and set aside.

To make the vinaigrette, combine the balsamic vinegar and mustard in a blender.

Squeeze in the roasted garlic and add the shallots, discarding the skins. Blend until well combined, about 20 seconds. put the 3/4 cup olive oil in a measuring cup  with a spout. With the blender running, add the olive oil from the measuring cup in a steady stream. Blend until the dressing is emulsified. season with salt and pepper to taste. (Left over dressing can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.)

In a large bowl, toss the mixed greens and tarragon. pour in the dressing to taste and toss to coat all the ingredients. Mound the greens on a platter and arrange the chicken, beets, apples, and almonds on top. Serve right away.

Happy Day Everyone! With our  slightly cooler weather we have had this last week, we had a lot of tomatoes set and ripen. That just means more for you. This weeks baskets is quite a lovely variety of things like:

• bag of kale
• green onions,
• walla walla onion
• summer squash
• beets
• bagel peaches
• santa rosa plums
• bell pepper
• strawberries
• cucumber
• TOMATOES!

Also if there will be some extra things like more squash, peaches, plums, pepper variety, more tomatoes, etc. available in the fridge or next to it. Everyone have a fantastic weekend and stay cool!

So…… I changed my mind about the stir fry, there really isn’t much to one to begin with. Just throw everything you want in one, in a pan and cook till its tender. season with salt and pepper or lemon pepper. Vwalla! dinner is served!!!

Cody and I were watching ratatouille the other day (his new favorite show next to “good dinosaur”), and I got to thinking its like a fancy version of stir fry but how does it actually taste? the mean critic guy seemed to really like…. yes, I know it’s a movie. So Cody and I hit the cook books looking for a good recipe and settled on this one.

Roasted Ratatouille

• 1lb plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 4 large cloves of garlic
• 1 large yellow onion, halved and cut crosswise into slices 1/4″ thick
• 1 small eggplant, trimmed and cut into 1″ chunks
• 1 small zucchini, trimmed and cut crosswise into slices 1/2″ thick
• 1 small yellow crookneck squash. trimmed and cut crosswise into 1/2″ thick slices
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 1/2 inch squares
• 5 tablespoons of olive oil
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 cup finely shredded fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

preheat the oven to 425*F

combine the tomatoes, garlic, onion, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and bell pepper in a large bowl. Drizzle in olive oil, sprinkle generously with salt, and toss to coat.transfer the vegetable to a large rimmed baking sheet and spread in an even single layer.

Roast the vegetables, stirring once or twice, for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the basil and thyme. Continue to roast, again stirring once or twice, until the biggest pieces are tender when pierce with a fork, 5-10 minutes longer. remove the vegetables from the oven and season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the ratatouille to a bowl, warm or at room temperature.

makes 6-8 servings

Happy almost 4th of July everyone! I’m so excited for fireworks this year and our annual family get together/picnic feast. (but to be honest it’s just my dad-in-laws potato salad that I want.) This weeks basket gave me some awesome ideas of what I’m going to bring this year. Its like the ultimate salsa basket (minus the cilantro) for either a traditional salsa or a peach salsa, aaarrrgggg the choices! then there is all the ingredients for some awesome stir fry too. I’ll post that recipe later.

Time to tell you what you get this week in you basket:

• Carrots
• Onion
• Apricots
• Plums
• Peppers
• Basil
• Squash
• Cucumber
• Tomatoes
• Hard-neck Belarus garlic
• Very small peaches, but you saved my tree by taking them!

p.s. we would love your feedback on what you like or dont like about the baskets so week can make them even more awesome!

p.s.s. they are also ready for pick up now!

We are finished with shares today if anyone would like to pick up early!  We have been trying to beat the heat…….the nice balmy 108 degrees!   

This week the cucumbers took off and found their way into the baskets along with summer squash, tomatoes, small head of cabbage, yellow plums, apricots, delicious fresh potatoes, garlic, small bag of lettuce and microgreens.

Enjoy your fresh produce!  And remember if there is ever anything you don’t want or won’t use, leave it behind and we will pass it alone to some who is in need!  

Stay cool……. Sigh

Please bring back the little plastic containers we put your berries, currants and other small produce in!  We wash and reuse these little guys for the next shares in line.  Thanks