July Farm Share Recipes!

The June post was pretty packed so I’ll start July a little early!  We’re already seeing zukes and cukes and more snap peas! If you’re looking for good veg recipes Smitten Kitchen and Half Baked Harvest are two of my go-tos.

Week 1:

Burrata and Charred Snap Peas:  Wow oh Wow!  This recipe from Smitten Kitchen is a keeper.  I skipped the bread crumbs and added sliced lemon mixed in (and squeezed a lemon over.)  And salt only makes this better.  Tip: De-string your snap peas.  Just break that little stem piece off and pull the string out. Makes them easier to eat.  Half Baked Harvest takes the same idea, puts it on a pizza, and adds proscuitto.  Yum!

Using your Grill Pan:  I have had a cast iron grill pan for years and only just last summer decided I needed to figure it out.  And wow, what a difference it makes for veggies!  Just heat the pan dry on your stove top until it’s very hot, toss the snap peas in a little OO, and throw on the grill pan.  (I added some spring onions sliced lengthwise, too.)  Great for grilled romaine, too! Oil your food, not the pan. Works great for getting good sear marks on seafood like tuna or salmon, too.

Pickled Sugar Snaps:  This looks really good, so I might give these a try!

Bread and Butter Pickles:  The cukes are here!  Time for my favorite pickles. I like sweet bread and butters, but here’s a good recipe to try for dill’s.  Pickling is the sort of thing where you start with a basic recipe and tweak it until it works for you. Make notes and keep them!

Book Rec:  My go-to for pickling is the book Quick Pickles: Easy Recipes with Big Flavors by Chris Schlesinger, John Willoughby and Dan George. (It looks out of print, but there are loads of used copies out there.)  Some of my all time faves are in this book like the Sesame-Pickled Carrots with Ginger Strips I made every year for the girls in Arkansas and the Crunchy Orange-Pickled Red Onions with Chipotles and Tequila. If you love any sort of pickled veg or fruit (Balsamic-Pickled Peaches, anyone?), this book offers loads of spice options (Indian, Asian, etc) and tips for success whether you’re canning or stashing them in the fridge.

Zucchini and Cheese Gratin: We always get a lot of zukes, and we’ve done it all.  Spiralized, sliced, roasted, and on and on.  Before I get desperate, here’s a go-to zuke dish I make all summer.   It’s pretty forgiving so I’ve used spiraled zuke, sliced, patty pans squashes sliced and a wide variety of rices and cheeses.

Mac and Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Bites:  Here’s one to remember for later in the summer, when we get really desperate.  Looks so so so good!