July 22, 2018
A Summer Bounty!
By Linda Dansbury

The variety and abundance right now makes me so happy! I love that for a lot of the veggies we are offered choices of rather than having to take everything. For me, I grow a lot of things in my own gardens so this system enables me to take more of what I don't grow and less or none of what I grow myself. I love most veggies, so I don't avoid anything due to taste. I do realize however, that many members, especially recent ones, may be shying away from ingredients not familiar to them - if you are among this group, you are missing out. Until recent years, there was not much choice in the pick up room. At some point in the season, we received everything that was grown on the farm. I am greatful for this experience - even though I am an adventurous eater, without Anchor Run, I would not have tried many of the veggies that are grown. Please don't skip trying veggies such as okra and tomatillos (u pick). We have so many recipes on this site, tried and true by me, the farmers, interns and fellow members - all have contributed recipes to help you enjoy your membership. This is your opportunity to try something new at its peak flavor. If you don't like it, it is okay. My guess is that like me, you will find new favorite veggies and recipes!

Garlic scapes (the last of them, so sad), tomatoes, basil - made bruschetta - our go-to for sitting out on the deck. We grill or bake the bread which has olive oil drizzled on it and then lightly salted when it comes out of the oven. Bruschetta is nothing more than chopped up tomatoes, garlic, basil and good olive oil. No salt added, or the tomatoes will become watery.

Tomatoes, garlic - made pan con tomate - literal translation is Tomato Bread. This is a staple in Spain, in particular, the Catelonia region, where Barcelona is located. There are many recipes for it, but with the delicious local tomatoes I keep it very simple: do the bread as I do for bruschetta, but rub the slices with a split garlic clove when it comes out of the oven. Place a box grater over a bowl. Cut the top off tomato and then using your palm, grate the tomato on the large holes - it is easy, grate until there is nothing left but the skin. Add a little olive oil to the tomato and a bit of salt and serve - Yum! I made this for a friend last year and she single-handedly ate almost an entire loaf of bread - she still talks about it!

Basil, garlic - made the Pistou recipe I posted last week. I even used the mortar and pestle rather than the processor.

Eggplant, garlic, Thai basil - made the Taiwanese Braised Eggplant I posted last week. It was really delicious. I realized I did not have the black bean chili paste called for in the recipe - I did have black bean paste, so I used that and a squirt of Sriracha - it worked great. Served this with grilled Asian marinated chicken drums and thighs.

Eggplant, squash, fennel, pepper, scallions - grilled veggies and had as an antipasti platter along with the tomato bread - this was a wonderful meal sitting out on the deck.