CSA week 14 2020: The abundance continues, oh yes it does. We’re getting a larger distribution each week, which isn’t surprising, as the farm is producing at peak now. Our box contained more zucchini (and larger ones at that!), and even more beans. We can’t eat the whole box in a week now, so we need to preserve some things.
We’re tempted to take the largest zucchini and treat it like a pumpkin, and make a green jack o’lantern. We probably won’t do it, though; it’s useful as food. At the very worst, I’ll grate it and freeze in 2-cup portions for zucchini bread (or possibly chocolate zucchini cake!) later in the year.
This week in our basket:
- 3 very large “8-ball” zucchini
- a bunch of “torpedo” red onions
- baby beets
- radishes
- cherry tomatoes of many colors
- purple, yellow, and green beans
preserving the beans
The purple beans turn green when they’re cooked. I’ve taken all our beans, blanched them, shock-chilled in ice water, then dried them. They’re neatly packaged in dinner-sized portions and tucked away in the freezer.
ideas for the week ahead
- sous vide beets: concentrate the flavor! (then use in a Greek salad)
- simple cucumber and tomato salad
- quick pickled radishes from the Minimalist Baker
- Julia Child’s rice-and-zucchini casserole with cheese