Week 14; it's gettin' hot around here!

The forecast this week is looking pretty sweaty.  We have places in our minds where we go when it gets this hot; we rewind the clock back to March, when we got four inches of snow and our farm was a winter wonderland; or we take ourselves back to one of our trips to the beach, where at any given moment there was an ocean to dip into to cool off; or we can always imagine a pool so cold it takes your breath away when you first get in, and you have to swim for awhile to take the chill off.  So when we're weeding this week (lots of weeding to do when it gets this hot!) and it is 95 degrees, we'll actually be elsewhere, whiling the time away.  Actually, it isn't so bad when it gets this hot.  It's more the thought of the heat that is unbearable.  We'll probably go through a gallon of 
water each every day this week so we stay hydrated.  With all this heat and rain, the garden is growing at a rapid rate with some weeds vying hard for an equal position with our vegetables.  Despite the weeds, our late plantings of green beans, okra, and edamame look great, and the last plantings of peppers and tomatoes are by far the best looking late planting we've had to date.  We picked a box of red peppers today, so that means they will hopefully make an appearance in your boxes next week as there aren't quite enough yet for all of you.  But soon!  Next week we should have green beans again as well.  
In your boxes this week:

half shares

tomatoes, big beef and pink girls

pint of cherry tomatoes

salad mix

a few mole peppers

garlic (elephant or regular)

edamame (fresh soybeans)

Full-shares

same as half with:

2 green peppers

extra slicing tomatoes

extra edamame

Recipes

For the edamame---we both love fresh edamame and it is so easy to prepare.  Take the bean pods off the stalk and rinse them off in a colander.  Boil a pot of water with 2-3 tsp of salt.  Put in rinsed edamame and lower heat so the water is simmering and cook for 10-15 minutes; you want the beans to slip right out of the pod and to be soft.  Drain water, sprinkle some more salt on top, and enjoy hot!  We like to put the whole pod in our mouth and use our teeth to get the beans out so we can get some of the salt that way.  This is a delicious and nutritious snack that has a lot of protein and fiber.  We hope you all like it.  

Tomato Recipes--You all have probably figured out your favorite way of preparing these by now, but just in case you're looking for alternatives, here are a couple for you.

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes--from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food, pg 321

Make a stuffing of fresh breadcrumbs (using country style bread), chopped garlic, and lots of fresh basil.  Core the tomatoes, cut them in half horizontally, and remove the seeds.  Season the inside with salt and pepper, and fill the cavity with the breadcrumb mixture, pressing it in well and mounding it on top.  Fit the tomatoes snugly in a shallow earthenware dish and drizzle each one with olive oil.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or so, until nicely browned.  
Tomates A La Creme--in Gourmet magazine, taken from 365 menus, 365 Recettes by Edouard de Pomiane (my mouth waters every time I look at this recipe; we're going to try it tonight)

Take six tomatoes (or however many in your box!).  Cut them in halves.  In your frying pan melt a lump of butter.  Put in the tomatoes, cut side downward, with a sharply pointed knife puncturing here and there the rounded sides of the tomatoes.  Let them heat for five minutes.  Turn them over.  Sprinkle them with salt.  Cook them again for another 10 minutes.  Turn them again.  The juices run out and spread in the pan.  Once more turn the tomatoes cut side upward.  Around them put 80 grams (3 ounces near enough) of creme fraiche or heavy cream.  Mix it with the juices.  As soon as it bubbles, slip the tomatoes and all their sauces onto a hot dish.  Serve instantly, very hot.  

Flower shares

This week we will have an arrangement of zinnias for everyone.  Originating mainly from Mexico, this flower loves the heat.  hope you enjoy it!  

thanks everyone and talk to you soon.  Let us know if you have any questions or comments.