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Availability for August 9


Looking at the forecast for this week, it’s shaping up to be the hottest week of the year so far. The temps will be right around 100 each day, and the humidity will be right up there too. A few days like that here and there are OK, but a bunch of them strung together aren’t appreciated by any of the garden vaggies, except for the okra. The biggest problem is flowers don’t set fruit, so the blossoms on the vines this week will lead to a reduction in items in a couple weeks.

Still, we have plenty of items this week, including several new offerings. I saw a few new field peas, some melons, lima beans, more heirloom tomatoes, and other items on the “New Products” carousel. It’s true that some of the individual items are in exceedingly short supply, but if you’re not particular, there are many pounds of produce to be had. If you are particular, jump on the website as soon as you possible can to reserve your favorites!

Many of you saw the giant heirloom zucchini I had sitting out last Thursday, and everyone who did was rather skeptical. You wouldn’t dare let a typical zucchini get that large (two feet long and about five pounds heavy), but I’ve found the Italian heirlooms are even better when they get large. I took it back home and ended up cooking it tonight, and it was fantastic. Nice and solid all the way through, a rich nutty flavor, and altogether too much to eat at once. It’ll end up being my lunch for most of the week, in fact.

Here’s what I did, and you can do the exact same thing with eggplant (I cooked two eggplant this way alongside the zucchini). Dice a large onion and sautee in hot oil until golden brown. “Indian-ify” them up with cumin, chili powder, tumeric, ginger, garlic, salt, and garam marsala (or any other blend of Indian spices). Chop up a large tomato and throw it in there. Sautee the whole mix for a few minutes more. Add a pound of ground meat (I used both McMullan’s beef and Split Creek’s chevon) and sautee until cooked through. You can add more veggies in place of the meat if you wish. Chop up two bell peppers and add to the mix. Slice the zucchini or eggplant in half and scoop out the seedy center to make a couple boats. You can discard what you scoop out or chop and stir into the meat mixture. Fill the boats to overflowing with the meat mix, and then bake at 350 for 30 minutes. This is a great dish that uses up a lot of what’s in season right now. Make several—they’re even better as leftovers!

Thanks for all your support, and we’ll see you Thursday from 4:30 to 8pm at Gosford Wine!