Share Number Eleven. the halfway point.

Hi Everybody!
Hope you like tomatoes! Thanks for your patience in getting these emails. I am so busy on Tuesdays (running around cutting flowers, harvesting, packing the boxes, inhaling a quick lunch, setting up the stand, closing down the stand, sending Chris to deliver to restaurants while I finish putting things away and then making dinner for me and Grammie), it is hard to find time to sit and write before I collapse to sleep. We encourage you to search the internet, look through cookbooks, ask friends and family, etc. This is how novel preparations are discovered! Let me know when you find a good one - I can add it to my repetoire. Meanwhile, I've been trying to add more ideas to the recipe section of our website. I think you can search it by ingredient. All of the recipes of all the farms that use the Small Farm Central website hosting service are available for me to upload - so thanks to all of the other farms for sharing their ideas!

Surprise! We grew a couple beds of sweet corn to see if we could put one token share in your boxes (5 ears). Let's call it "a taste of organic sweet corn" We don't have enough space to keep up with the demand for corn and most likely our organic corn will be full of corn earworms (although the signs of damage were not fierce as we were picking). But! here it is. Enjoy! Of course you can steam it up for corn on the cob. Don't wait for it to be bright yellow -this is a white corn. If you want to maximize the use of your corn, try using the cobs to make stock. So first shuck the ears and then hold the ear upright on the cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut off the kernels (it's okay if they come off in blocks, they'll break up). You can use that corn any way you like and you can make a stock with the cobs. Just put them in a big pot, cover with water, add some peppercorns, a bay leaf, some clean veggie peels (clean onion/garlic skins) carrot ends, celery leaves, whatever. Simmer for a few hours, then strain. The stock can be used as a base for a light summer version of corn/clam chowder or any whimsical soup/risotto of your fancy. Al Forno, the restaurant in PVD I waitressed at for years, taught me this trick. They truly celebrate corn. It goes on their grilled pizza with spicy oil and scallions. There is a tomato and corn salad with garlic grilled croutons, diced red onion, and a balsamic vinaigrette. And of course, the summer clam chowder. tomato, basil, corn, littlenecks in their shells, butter, white wine and corn broth - served with grilled croutons. yum! Corn is awesome in a salsa with beans, tomato, hot peppers, diced onion, cilantro and lime. A sautee of sweet peppers with yellow squash, onions, and corn with maybe some leftover shredded chicken is a nice quick meal, served with creamy polenta and a sliced tomato salad.

Tomatoes. more heirlooms this week and a few red slicers, too. If you got any green or orange tomatoes, they are ripe at that color. A beautiful, easy, impressive side dish is to slice and arrange a variety of different colored tomatoes onto a plate, salt and pepper, chop basil and sprinkle over, then finish with a small drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a slightly larger drizzle of tasty extra virgin olive oil. If you want more substance, include slices of mozzarella under each tomato. If you want to be gourmet, spring for the incredibly creamy mozzarella di buffala (made from the milk of water buffalo). Tomato and corn salad with basil and balsamic vinaigrette is great. Tomato mayo sandwiches are awesome. Bagel and cream cheese with tomato. goat cheese and tomato on nice bread. gratin of tomatoes - slices with a mix of parmigiano and bread crumbs, S&P, and herbs, drizzled with olive oil and baked in a hot oven til golden brown. Grilled cheese and tomato. any sandwich. tuna melts. burgers.

Pint of plum tomatoes. great for salsa or a pasta with fresh tomato. These are very good dried if you have a dehydrator. or on a salad, of course.

Peppers. We put in some colored sweet peppers this share - mostly the pimiento type, which are pointy, but sweet. Do be careful - we also put hot peppers in the share. For the most part, the larger peppers are sweet. The seeds hold the heat in hot peppers, so if you are not sure just take the very tip of the pepper to try. If it is hot, be careful when cutting them up - do not wipe your eyes or touch any sensitive skin. Make sure to wash your hands and the cutting board when you're done - or safer yet, wear gloves. Anyway, back to the sweet peppers - they are pimientos not bells and i think they are extra sweet. If you leave these peppers out on your counter (not in the sun, just not in your fridge), they should continue to ripen to their fullest potential. These are great on a salad, but also fabulous fried up with onions, in a stir fry, curry, fajita, burrito, etc.

Parsley. so good with potatoes, fish, chowder, in tuna salad. to finish a risotto. to add to a pasta sauce. you can add the stems when making veggie stock. So full of leafy green nutrients! Put in an herb frittata or creamy herb dip. add it along with basil if making a pesto.

Basil. pesto. tomato anything. zucchini anything. corn anything. basil is a friend of all of these. If I ever want to chop basil ahead, I mix the chopped basil with a little olive oil so it doesn't brown. Oiled basil will not brown when you add it to a steamy pasta or a sautee pan. Hot tip! BLT with basil mayo is tip top.

Dark Red Norland potatoes. in the chowder. on the grill. boiled and served with butter and parsley. roasted with rosemary - mix it up by cutting differently - into coins, sticks, or chunks. shred if for a hash with onions and sweet peppers. home fries. potato salad. or put in a plastic bag and shove in the back of your fridge til you feel like cooking them. 

Zucchini, yellow squash, and patty pan squash. try roasted, french-fry shaped sticks for a change. grill along with other veggies, serve, and then use leftovers to make a grilled veggie sandwich, pizza, lasagna, frittata, omelet, scramble, potato salad. Ratatouille? Try grating the big ones and baking a zucchini bread or cake or cookies. Shred it, salt, let sit, and squeeze out the moisture then fry it up with garlic and olive oil til golden brown for a crispy treat.

Onions. these are not ready to store. keep in the fridge for the most longevity. or just cook em! We use onion for everything.

Lettuce. two heads. enough to actually make a salad. feta, sweet pepper, and tomatoes are a good combo.

Thanks for reading! go to www.whitebarnfarm.org and click on the recipes menu for more ideas . . . .