Another big romano green bean haul today! Unsure of what to do with all those beans? You may want to try dilly beans (pickled green beans). These romano beans are just longer than most so you’ll want to cut them into shorter pieces. Here’s one web resource for dilly beans (but also has links to other recipes for cukes and more – canned and refrigerator versions): http://pickyourown.org/greenbeans_pickled.htm
Also in the share today:
zucchini and patty pan summer squash – I’ve been grilling these: just slice into thick big slices (~1/2 inch thick), rub with olive oil and salt, grill over medium/high heat until tender, and eat!
eggplant “orient express”: I’ve also been grilling these. Slice lengthwise in half, rub with olive oil and salt, and grill until very soft. Eat it up whole, skin and all. If you still have any onions left, you can grill them in thick slices too! Delicious!
cucumbers: suyo long (chinese), marketmore slicing, and lemon cukes. The lemons are really producing now! They take longer to come on than the other varieties, which is funny considering their size. Again, you may want to look into making some pickles if you have a backlog of various cucumbers. That pickyourown.org website is one potential place to start for ideas.
garlic: This variety of hardneck garlic is called Italian easy peel, as it is supposed to be easy to peel the skin off of the cloves. You can judge for yourself whether that’s true or not. In either case, it’s bigger than the tiny heads of softneck you saw before, but still not huge. The garlic rust really did a number on these guys this year. I’m thinking about growing garlic in my backyard this next time around to see if I can avoid the rust.
basil: one bunch. cut it up on top of a salad, or into a salad dressing. Layer it with tomatoes, oil, balsamic, and mozarella. Add into sandwiches. Or you can make a little pesto with the garlic.
carrots: This is a new planting so some of the carrots are a little smaller. Note that we have started to see vole damage on the tops & shoulders of some of the carrots. We tried to cut off the major stuff, but you may find you need to do a little trimming in the kitchen as well. They are perfectly fine to eat the rest of the root.
Tomatoes: “New Girl” is the regular small-ish slicer (many need a few days of sitting on the counter to fully ripen up), “Black Krim” is the dark pinkish heirloom (very tasty), and “Sungold” are the orange cherry. Note that you should not store tomatoes in the fridge as it adversely affects their flavor. They should be kept at room temperature on the counter, ideally in a container that provides a bit of airflow, like a strainer. They will continue to ripen as they sit out and so you need to watch them to make sure they don’t get overripe (i.e. rotten!).
Lettuce “Samantha” – our standard red leaf. Some Thursday folks may get green “Nevada” instead.
Cully Neighborhood Farm 