This week’s CSA: 1 head green leaf lettuce, 6 ears of corn, 2 lbs tomatoes, 2 lbs onions, 2 lbs summer squash, 4 nectarines, 4 peaches, 1/2 lb mushrooms, 1 head of garlic, a dozen eggs, and bread (Parmesan sourdough). I actually requested that the CSA hold a loaf of Parmesan sourdough for me, because apparently Great Harvest only bakes it on Wednesdays, which explains why I haven’t been getting it since I began picking up on Thursdays. Guess I might have to stop by Great Harvest myself on Wednesday mornings if I want my fix.

If you look next to the carton of eggs, just above the mushrooms, that’s a packet of fresh herbs. One of the things I love most about picking up right at the farm is getting to pick your own herbs from the herb garden. There are rows upon rows of flourishing herbs, and I usually go straight for the basil and parsley. There’s also dill, cinnamon basil, oregano, lavender, thyme, borage, and more.

I love picking herbs on a sunny afternoon, brushing aside the bees and butterflies that are also enjoying the herb blossoms. I knew that basil flowered white, and cinnamon basil flowered purple, but I did not know about the lovely little purple thyme flowers or the big yellow dill blossoms. These are things you miss out on when buying herbs from the grocery store.

I buy potted herbs from the farmer’s market every spring, too, but apparently I can’t manage to keep plants alive. This is why I leave the growing of vegetables to other people.

The CSA pickup this week (actually this week! I’m on time!) brought us a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread (Great Harvest oatmeal), cantaloupe, six ears of corn, two pounds potatoes, two pounds yellow squash, two pounds tomatoes (yes, those two giant tomatoes weighed one pound each), four nectarines, four peaches, and two green peppers. I also walked out to their herb garden and picked some dill, basil, and parsley.

The pickup this week was slightly confusing. Generally, the amount of food you’re supposed to take is written on a little chalkboard, so the sign above the tomatoes says “2 lbs tomatoes” which means you’re supposed to weigh out two pounds of tomatoes. This week involved a lot of weighing, first potatoes, then squash, then tomatoes… and then I saw a man in front of me weighing out two pounds of peppers. One of the ladies gently pointed out to him that the board said “2 peppers,” not “2 lbs peppers,” and he sighed in relief and put back something like 10 peppers. You have to read carefully at the CSA.

Thanks to last weekend’s heroic efforts, there is actually space in the refrigerator for all of this stuff. I’m just glad that there isn’t any zucchini. I’m stuffed to the gills with zucchini.

Last week’s CSA pickup at the farm really made me appreciate how hard the staff works to get us our vegetables every week. The farmers and the working shares were sweating it out in the heat and humidity, running back and forth to get our orders, carrying crates of vegetables in the hot sun. Farming is hard work, and so is running a CSA. Kudos to the farmers and the working shares.

The share consisted of corn (six ears), suntan peppers, green beans, fingerling potatoes, nectarines, zucchini, peaches, cherry tomatoes, and the usual bread and eggs.

The peppers went into a meatloaf with some onions, the fingerling potatoes are going to get salt roasted, and the zucchini is likely going to join last week’s yellow squash in a gratin. Pictures forthcoming, maybe.

In the meantime, even the farm animals are hiding from the heat. It was very quiet at the farm without their usual ruckus.

Apparently my weekends are busy enough now that I can’t seem to make the CSA post right away. Here it is, though, better late than never:

Look at those gorgeous colors. That’s six ears of corn, a Savoy cabbage, an eggplant, green beans, yellow summer squash, peaches, fingerling potatoes, eggs, and a whole lot of little bitty plums. For the bread this week I selected Great Harvest’s Raisin Cinnamon Chip, which, honestly, I didn’t find that good. It’s a bit doughy and dry. Still, toasted, it makes an acceptable breakfast. I’ll just remember not to get it next time.

Oh, and I paid extra for that cantaloupe lurking back in the corner. It was very tasty when I first cut into it, but when I went to attack the refrigerated portion the next day, it had turned sour on me. Too ripe, I suppose. Oh well.

Alas, I have nothing interesting to say about what I did with last week’s vegetables. I have to admit I didn’t do much cooking — just a summer squash gratin, creamed corn, and kale chips. Actually, I was busy making desserts. For my sister’s bridal shower, I managed:

– blueberry bars
– Russian tea cakes
– dark and white chocolate brownies
– strawberry and rosemary scones
– cranberry cream scones

I love baking, but I don’t do it often in the summer, because a) it’s just two of us here and we’re stuck eating it for a week, and b) the oven makes the house hot. Fortunately, most of the baked goods got eaten and last week was pretty cool. Also, the other girls provided all manner of savory finger foods, tasty salads, and cheese plates. It was a wonderful time. I was full for days.

Week 4 of the summer CSA brought a rainbow of produce: red-stemmed chard, yellow banana peppers, pale green pattypan squash and kohlrabi, darker green lettuce and cucumbers, a pint of blueberries, and purple Italian eggplant. Also present: potatoes and whole wheat bread. This was a non-egg week so we got pumpkin butter, which I tried on a piece of toast this morning. It’s fantastic, though it does taste disconcertingly of fall.

It was another beautiful day at the farm, and the llamas and sheep were crowded at the fence while some young CSA members fed them long pieces of grass. The picture looks serene, with the kid feeding a grass stalk to the llama while the sheep look on hopefully, but it was actually pretty noisy; the air was full of “baa” and “meh” sounds as the animals jockeyed for attention, and the sounds were punctuated occasionally by a crow from the barnyard rooster. Those long-eyelashed llamas are pretty adorable.

Nothing exciting to report with what we did with last week’s veggies, alas. The lettuces turned into salad, the zucchini got oven-roasted, I sauteed the beet greens, and we just ate the berries plain or on yogurt. The cucumber, mushrooms, and the actual beets are still sitting in the fridge. Fortunately beets can sit around for a while without too much harm, and although mushrooms look slightly shriveled when they’re older, the flavor is actually stronger.

I anticipate doing something cool with this week’s veggies, though. I’ve got enough cucumbers now for another go at my Mom’s cucumber salad, and I’m pondering a chard-and-potato gratin. Also, K makes a terrific beef and eggplant stirfry; if I pay attention, I’ll try to replicate the recipe here.