In your share this week: Tomatoes, Cucumbers/ summer squash, Carrots/turnips/beets, Peppers/eggplant/scallions, Onions/garlic, Arugula/lettuce mix/baby kale, Basil/cilantro, U-pick cherry tomatoes
Sometimes it’s nice to not have to turn on your oven! Below are a couple recipes that you can enjoy while keeping your kitchen cool.We have a tasty gazpacho recipe to use with your tomatoes, a great treat this time of year! At this point, we’ve had cucumbers for a while now, so there is also a new snack to try out below. And, if you’d prefer to cook your veggies and still keep your kitchen cool, check out a grilled carrot recipe and grilled beets recipe!
Smooth Gazpacho
3 lbs. tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 sweet peppers, coarsely chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup sherry or red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
To taste salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate overnight. In a blender, puree the vegetables until smooth. Strain the soup into a deep bowl, season with salt and pepper, and serve.
Stuffed Cucumber Bites
2 cucumbers, sliced ¾ inch thick and hollowed with a melon baller
8 oz block cream cheese at room temperature
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 Tbsp fresh herbs, minced
¼ tsp salt
cherry tomatoes, halved
Slice cucumbers to ¾ thick. With a melon baller, cut out center portion of the cucumber. Mix the cream cheese, mayo, herbs and salt in a bowl. Place in a plastic sandwich bag and cut off a small part of the corner. Pipe cream cheese through the hole in the plastic sandwich bag into the cucumber cups, to about ½ inch above cucumber. Stand a halved cherry tomato in the cream cheese.
If you want to use the grill (still keeping the kitchen cool!) here are two recipe ideas:
Balsamic Grilled Carrots
1 lbs. carrots
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
Heat grill to a medium flame. Wash carrots and peel, if desired. If your carrots have the fronds still attached, trim to about half an inch, and you’ll have a built-in handle to eat with later. Whisk together butter, vinegar, and rosemary. Arrange carrots on the grill (or in grill basket) and brush butter mixture over the carrots. Grill for approximately 20 minutes, turning halfway through and applying more of the butter mixture. When done, pile into a serving plate and brush on the remaining butter mixture.
And you can also try grilling beets! Here is a link to an additional recipe: Forget Roasting, Try Grilling Your Beets.
