July

July is both the hardest month and the fastest month of the growing season. We are smack dab in the middle of it all as we race to keep up with the weeds and maintenance of our summer crops, try to harvest the last of spring crops like garlic, onions and cabbage, and prepare ground and seedlings for our fall crops. July brings heat and humidity and thunderstorms. July is everything all once. It also feels as if it's just begun and almost over. And when it's gone July becomes just a flash of memory, a sprint in the middle of the marathon. A time when the tomatoes ripen and the lettuce bolts and the winter beets and carrots get seeded. The ultimate month of summer. 

Scenes from July harvest: Mike and the Mega Onion, Kat and Jamie harvesting garlic and finding a scape that "e-scaped!", and onions curing in the greenhouse.

Here's the share!

salad mix

specialty greens mix

cabbage

tropea onions

cippolini onions

cherry tomatoes!

eggplant

peppers

carrots

beets

head lettuce

swiss chard

parsley

cilantro

dill

summer squash

cucumbers

fingerling potatoes

Make quick pickles!

Ingredients

1/2 cup white vinegar, eyeball it
2 rounded teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon salt
1 clove cracked garlic
1 teaspoon dried dill or 2 tablespoons fresh dill leaves, chopped or snipped
1 bay leaf
4 kirby cucumbers, cut into 1-inch slices on an angle

Directions

Heat small saucepan over medium high heat. Add vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, salt, and garlic to the pan and cook until it begins to simmer and sugar dissolves. Toss the dill, bay leaf, and sliced cucumbers together in a heat-proof bowl. Pour the simmering liquid over the cucumbers and stir to evenly coat. Allow to cool to room temperature or chill before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/quick-pickles-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Eggplant Salad with Parsley and Lemon

Gourmet September 1995

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 4 romaine leaves

Preparation

In a large non-stick skillet heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté eggplant and onion with salt, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is browned well. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add water and cook, covered, until eggplant is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in parsley, lemon juice, remaining tablespoon oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Chill salad 15 minutes, or until ready to serve.

Serve salad on romaine.

Malaika SpencerComment