Quick, let’s get this two-week-CSA update out… only just ahead of tomorrow’s pickup.

There’s been a lot going on in this kitchen; we’ve been canning, pickling, and generally inhaling massive amounts of summer produce. I have learned that peeling peaches is actually quite easy, even if you don’t use the scoring-and-blanching method. (The kid loves peach, but refuses peach skins.) I have also chunked up what feels like a record number of watermelons. Two-year-olds inhale watermelons. Good for hydration, right?

Anyway, last week on the CSA: corn, chard, cucumber, cantaloupe, white potatoes, peaches, green peppers, zucchini (I think I could have picked yellow squash, but I like zucchini much better), tomatoes, eggs, and bread (Great Harvest challah).

The chard got creamed with some spring onions from the farmer’s market. Cucumber got refrigerator-pickled, along with last week’s cucumber. Zucchini was simply sliced, seasoned, and roasted; peppers joined tomatoes, last week’s eggplant, and some salsa for a tasty chicken dish. Corn is, weirdly, still intact in the fridge. I’ll probably boil it up and snack on it tonight, before tomorrow’s pickup.

And the week before that: zucchini, nectarines, eggs, cantaloupe, onions, eggplant, tomatoes, corn, green beans, bread (Breadery Grains Galore), and a bonus item; I picked Breezy Willow’s barbecue sauce. (Verdict: sweet and fruity.)

Nectarines, cantaloupe, and tomatoes were eaten immediately; green beans were blanched, seasoned, and served up in lunches; corn was boiled and eaten up. Zucchini was sliced, seasoned, and simply roasted in the toaster oven. I don’t remember what specifically happened to the onions, but we use onions up all the time; they probably got diced into something and sauteed.

I like to keep summer cooking quick and easy. With the warm weather outside, who wants to be standing next to a hot stove or oven? (Except when you’re canning. More on canning later. I keep saying that, but someday I’ll actually find the time to write that post too.)