The Suburban Herbivore

This is week 4, a particularly colorful week! With the appearance of yellow squash, the summer vegetables begin. I refuse to make squash casserole right away. I’m going to use the squash in something else. I’m guessing that this is the last of the strawberries. I definitely need to start thinking about these beets, though they will keep for a while. It has been interesting, if challenging, getting different varieties of beets.

Full share from May 27, 2009

Here’s what we got: one head of lettuce, one large cauliflower, two zucchini, three yellow squash, one bunch of scallions, two pints of strawberries, one large bunch of Forona beets, one bunch of parsley, and one bunch of yellow, orange, and purple carrots. The parsley is a variety called Giant of Italy, and surely, the leaves are huge (for parsley, anyway).

Half a pound of basil is a LOT of basil! I have no doubt that I could use it all myself, but I suppose I should give our friends who are sharing the share their share. Heh. We also received a cauliflower, a small red cabbage, some dill, two zucchini, four yellow squash, four cucumbers, 3/4 pound green beans, and two onions with the greens attached. It’s a pretty good haul, and I remain really happy with the shares so far this year.

I placed a quarter on top of the cauliflower for scale before taking this photo. This is a trick that I picked up in my geology classes – though they tended to use a pick-axe or lens cap or a person.

My husband is already planning to make pickles this weekend. I may ask him to do a guest post about that. I actually have a couple ideas of what I want to do with the cabbage. Dill is one of those herbs that confounds me a little. It’s very good in omelets. I haven’t used it for much else, and am open to ideas…

And in share #6 of 20, the summer produce begins! Today we received yellow squash, zucchini, parsley, and… basil. I’ve been excitedly awaiting the arrival of basil. I love to use it in Thai dishes, as well as, of course, pesto. Once the tomatoes start, the easiest thing ever to make is a caprese salad. (More on that later.)

We also received beets, strawberries, broccoli, and a giant head of cauliflower. I think I’m going to need to bust out a roasted vegetables dish to go through the remaining beets and turnips. Or maybe we can grill them. Hmmm.