Pickup #8
The middle of July is a hustle. The big harvests are beginning to come in: onions for curing, potatoes, ripening peppers, eggplant and tomatoes (so soon!) and we have about 2 acres of fall crops to get in the ground before August. With temps in the mid-nineties it’s time to start irrigating in earnest. We’ve seeded our fall carrots and beets (fingers crossed for good germination!) and we will start seeding more greens for the end of August in the coming weeks. We’re staying hydrated and snacking on the first of the ripe cherry tomatoes.
Scenes from the farm: those teasing tomatoes (we’ll have a few this week!), the cutest little thyme plants, planting radicchio for the fall.
Veggie list:
garlic (1 bulb)
head lettuce (green and red)
salad mix (bag) limit 1
swiss chard (bunch)
beets (4 bulbs)
zucchini (3)
squash blossoms (6 blossoms)
italian purple spring onion (1 bunch)
white sweet spring onion (1 bunch)
Green Cabbage (1 head )
cucumbers (3)
Purslane (1 bunch) (the only plant with Omega 3 fatty acids!)
Green sweet peppers (4 peppers)
Italian Eggplant (2)
Fairytale Eggplant (1 pint)
Shishito peppers (1 quart)
Mixed herb bunch
Basil bunch (up to 25)
White potatoes (1 quart) limit 1
Red Potatoes (1 quart) limit 1
Fingerling potatoes (1 pint ) limit 1
Cherry Tomatoes (1/2 pint) limit 1
Squash Blossoms Stuffed With Ricotta
ANDREA ALBIN GOURMET SEPTEMBER 2009
YIELDMakes 4 (first course) or 2 (main course) servingsACTIVE TIME40 minTOTAL TIME40 min
INGREDIENTS
For tomato sauce:
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pound plum tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
For squash blossoms:
1 cup whole-milk ricotta (preferably fresh)
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup finely chopped mint
2/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided
12 to 16 large zucchini squash blossoms
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chilled seltzer or club soda
About 3 cups vegetable oil for frying
Special Equipment
A deep-fat thermometer
PREPARATION
Make tomato sauce:
Cook garlic and red pepper flakes in oil in a 2-quarts heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, water, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 25 to 30 minutes.
Prepare squash blossoms:
Stir together ricotta, yolk, mint, 1/3 cup parmesan, and 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
Carefully open each blossom and fill with about 2 rounded teaspoon ricotta filling, gently twisting end of blossom to enclose filling. (You may have filling left over.)
Whisk together flour, remaining 1/3 cup parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and seltzer in a small bowl.
Heat 1/2 inch oil to 375°F in a 10-inch heavy skillet. Meanwhile, dip half of blossoms in batter to thinly coat. Fry coated blossoms, turning once, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes total. Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain. Coat and fry remaining blossoms. (Return oil to 375°F between batches.) Season with salt. Serve with tomato sauce.
Cooks' Note
Tomato sauce and ricotta filling can be made 1 day ahead and chilled. Reheat sauce before serving.
We hope that you are enjoying this years’ CSA and we thank you so much for supporting our farm. We want to share a few links to farming endeavors being started by BIPOC communities looking for support. Having the space and capital to start a farm is an incredible privilege and systematic racism has prevented people of color from accessing land and resources for centuries. If you can, please consider supporting these endeavors. (the first link is to a project involving one of our former interns from 2019, Zainab Mohammed.) Thanks so much.