War on weeds!

Our weedy battles continue this week with an upcoming tactical strike to the pathways between our many rows of tomatoes--red slicers, cherry tomatoes, and the precious heirloom tomatoes. Staked with 5 foot tall oak stakes, these tomato rows unwittingly shelter diabolical weeds from the long arm of the cultivating tractor. I wish I had a 12 foot tall tractor that could clear these rows of stakes and cultivate out those sneaky weeds, but sadly one hasn't been invented yet. We'll be hunting down weeds the old fashioned way--with our trusty hoes.

The field cucumbers are running a little behind the summer squash and zucchini this year, so we'll have to make do with another greenhouse cucumber this week. The Weir River colony of groundhogs have been feasting liberally on our cucumber plants for the last month and the plants are struggling just to stay alive, never mind produce the avalanche of tasty cukes we've been waiting for. With luck, we might have some for next week...fingers crossed.

In your share this week: beets, summer squash and zucchini, peas, chard or kale, a greenhouse cucumber, cabbage, fennel, escarole or mizuna,
Don't forget your reusable grocery bags this week!

Recipes of the Week

Escarole is the beautiful but bitter cousin to lettuce, pale yellow at the heart, with feathery green leaves that almost look like petals. Martha Stewart has an excellent collection of 22 recipes for this wallflower green, but the quick and dirty way is to saute with garlic in olive oil. Tried and true wins every time. Mizuna is the milder cousin to bok choy and distant relation of arugula, but not from the peppery, spicy side of the family. Chopped and added to a raw salad it's delicious, but you can also do a quick saute in garlic (what else??) and ginger, with a splash of tamari at the end.

Wondering what to do with another head of cabbage this week? If you're not yet addicted to last week's Peanut, Carrot & Cabbage Slaw, I have a new super simple recipe for you to try. From one of my favorite food blogs, simplyrecipes.com.

Buttered Cabbage with Caraway & Celery Seeds
Elise at simplyrecipes.com

One head of cabbage (green works best--those lovely red cabbages just turn into a purple mess with this recipe)
4 Tbs salted butter
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp celery seeds
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper

Bring a large (8-quart) pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Trim the cabbage stem, remove the outer leaves (aka the "wrapper" leaves), and quarter the cabbage. Discard the core and roughly chop the leaves into large pieces. Add the cabbage leaves to the pot and cook for 90 seconds. Drain the pot into a colander and then put the blanched cabbage leaves back in the pot with the 4 Tbs of salted butter. Stir thoroughly to melt the butter and coat all the leaves. Add the caraway and celery seeds and toss to combine. Add the salt and pepper to taste, toss again and serve warm.

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I love this beet hummus so much I'm posting it again for all the new members this year. CSA member and blogger Lindsay Grimes made this for me last year and it was soooo good (and sooo pink!).

Beet Hummus
Lindsay Grimes at iwillfeedyou.com (follow the link for Lindsay's beautiful photos!)

4 large beets, stems and greens removed
2 – 15 oz. cans of chickpeas, drained, and rinsed, peeled if so desired
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup quality olive oil
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon tahini
sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425, wrap each beet in tin foil with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Bake for 40 – 45 minutes until tender. In the mean time, drain and rinse chickpeas. Remove the external layer of skin from chickpeas if you deem you have time. This step will yield a creamier texture.

Once the beets are out of the oven, let them cool to room temperature. At this point it should be easy to peel away the skins with your fingers. Once skinned, roughly chop the beets. In the bowl of a food processor blend the chickpeas, beets and any roasting juices, garlic clove, olive oil, lemon zest + juice, and tahini until well combined. Taste for seasonings and adjust. Check for any lumpy bits of beet that may have missed the blade. Garnish well with good Olive Oil.

Serve this eye catching dip with toasted pita chips or crisp vegetable crudité.  Beet Hummus will keep well in the fridge for 3-5 days and freezes beautifully if you want to save it for another day. Just be sure to give it another good whip once it thaws as it may separate a bit.