Dig It

Last week was fairly similar to the two before it, but yielded even more cucumbers (six in each box) and cantaloupe (two or three in each box). When I wasn’t harvesting, I was ripping off egg-covered cucurbit leaves and pulling up old squash plants in an attempt to give those pesky bugs less of a reason to stick around.

The rest of the box’s contents: one eggplant, two pints cherry tomatoes, one pint heirloom tomatoes, one pint tomatillos, four or five assorted peppers (green bell, purple star, sweet chocolate or ancho), one pint okra, one red and one yellow onion, one sandwich-sized Ziploc bag basil.

After the jump, the recipes that I sent out. Click images to enlarge.

Phillips Wharf Cucumber Salad (from the Phillips Wharf Environmental Center)

Ingredients:

5 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 small green pepper, chopped

2 teaspoons salt

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup white vinegar

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine cucumbers, onion and green pepper. Sprinkle with salt; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate two hours. Combine sugar and vinegar and pour over vegetables. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve with a slotted spoon.

Tomato, Corn and Okra Succotash (from food.com)

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 tablespoons butter

2 cups chopped tomatoes

2 ½ cups corn

1 cup sliced okra

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Cook onion, green pepper and garlic in butter in a skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until tender.
2. Add the tomatoes; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered 15 minutes.
3. Add remaining ingredients’ bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered 9 minutes or until the corn is tender.

Serves 6.

Chilled Cantaloupe Soup (from cooks.com)

Ingredients:

1 large ripe cantaloupe

½ teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 cups orange juice

fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

Directions:

1. Remove seeds from melon and cube the pulp. Place pulp and cinnamon in a blender or food processor and puree. Combine orange and lime juices and stir into the puree. Chill before serving; garnish with mint sprigs.