This week I am harvesting cucumbers for the first time. I decided to grow many varieties of cucumbers this year and the first one’s ready are an English cucumber and Baby persian fingers. Both are delicious and crisp, have fewer seeds then the cucumber found in the supermarket and a sweeter skin. In another few weeks, the lemon cucumbers will be ready for harvesting and thereafter, I planted a bed of marketmore, which is the most popular cucumber. I am curious to hear back from you about favorites….
Rebecca
This week’s box : Plums, Garlic, Lemon, Cucumbers, Chard, Blackberries, Lettuce, Zucchini, and Peaches.
The garlic and lemon are excellent accompanied with chard or zucchini. Or maybe these few blackberries will inspire you to harvest a few more for blackberry pie, always a favorite. Also, try cutting the zucchini like match sticks to vary it up a bit. Or add the lemon to some nice olive oil with salt and pepper and make a fresh salad with your cucumbers and lettuce.
This recipe has been passed down the Guess family chain (my Mom’s side) and I can’t eat enough of it.
Quick Pickled Cucumbers
1/2 cup applce cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
Chopped dill, if available
Mix all the ingredients together, chill for an hour or more and serve.
Hey fellow CSAer’s here’s what we’re doing with our zucchini. We tweaked is a bit adding ground lamb and used ricotta instead of cottage cheese etc. Also used two of the carrots in the sauce. this sweetens it up….
Zucchini Lasagna
Taste of Home Ground Beef Cookbook
Try a FREE ISSUE of Taste of Home!
A friend of mine often made this lasagna without meat. But I thought ground beef would make it more flavorful. This r recipe is a nice way to use up a bumper crop of Zucchini.—Charlotte McDaniel, Williamsville, Illinois
SERVINGS: 4-6
CATEGORY: Main Dish
METHOD: Baked
TIME:
Ingredients:
* 1 pound ground beef
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 can (15 ounces) tomatoe sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* Dash pepper
* 4 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 cup (8 ounces) 4% cottage cheese
* 1 egg
* 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
In a skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, salt, oregano, basil and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish, layer half of the zucchini; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon flour. In a bowl, combine cottage cheese and egg; mix well. Spread over zucchini. Layer with half of the meat mixture, remaining zucchini and remaining flour. Top with mozzarella cheese and the remaining meat mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 40 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. Yield: 4-6 servings. For a splash of color, replace some of the zucchini in Zucchini Lasagna with slices of yellow summer squash. Or toss a cup of sliced mushrooms into the sauce.