Scalloped Cucumbers

Into a buttered baking dish, crumble as slice of bread. Add thick large slices of 3 large cucumbers, pepper, salt and butter. Repeat in layers until dish is full. Make a hole in the middle of the dish with a knife and pour in Organic Valley or Sassy Cow whole milk until it shows around the edges. Sprinkle on top bread crumbs stirred with melted butter, and/or your favorite grated cheese. Bake ½ hour at moderate temperature in the oven. Serves 6.

Scotch Hill Stuffed Peppers

From Your Farmer Dela:

Top and seed 4 Bell Peppers. Saute chopped onions, eggplant and/or squash in butter or oil. Mix with 1 cup of rice or bread crumbs and 1 or 2 chopped tomatoes. Fill pepper with mixture and top with grated cheese. Bake at 375 F for 20 to 25 minutes. Use herbs of choice to flavor. 

Spotlight Southwest Salad

Chop 2 cups of tomatoes, 2 cups of corn, 1 medium green pepper, 1 medium sweet pepper, ¼ cup fresh cilantro, parsley or basil, 2 cups black beans, and combine with 1½ tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 Tb oregano (dry or Fresh) and 3 Tb olive oil, 1 clove garlic, 3 Tb lime juice or balsamic vinegar. Serve with warm tortillas or corn chips. Also good with fresh sliced Avocados. 

Eggplant Burgers

Slice 2 eggplants lengthwise ¼ inch. Brush with mixture of 2 Tb oil, 2 tsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp Dijon mustard. Grill until cooked. Stack eggplant together to form shape of burger. Top with Provolone Cheese and fresh basil. Brush buns with olive oil and toast on grill. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

Dela's Baked Squash Strips

Slice summer squash into ¼ and ½-inch wide strips. Put on baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary and/or thyme. Top with grated parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Then, put under the broiler for 5 minutes. Serve.

Bacon Basil Zucchini (or any summer squash) Dish

adapted from Brodhead CSA member Kelly Gratz

Juliene 2 lbs. summer squash lengthwise in strips. Toss with 2 tsp salt and let sit 1 hour. Drain and dry. Heat ½ cup bacon grease with crispy bits of bacon in frying pan. Add ¼ cup garlic crushed and summer squash. Sauté, stirring. Cook to aldente 4 to 5 minutes. Toss in ¼ cup chopped basil and ½ cup chopped walnuts. Cook 2 minutes longer. Done! Eat! Enjoy!

Tomato Cucumber Summer Salad

Chop and peel 3 cucumbers. Add 1 onion chopped, ¾ cup plain yogurt, 1 tablespoon fresh mint chopped, ½ tablespoon honey, salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Tomato Bread Casserole

Cut ½ lb. loaf French bread, sliced  into cubes 1 inch by 1 inch, and melt 3 Tb. Butter. Combine bread and butter and toss together. Bake at 350 for 7 minutes. Place ½ the baked bread cubes in bottom of 7-by-13-inch baking dish. Top bread with layer of 2 lbs. of fresh thinly sliced tomatoes and follow with layer of 1 cup low fat ricotta or goat cheese. Mix ¼ cup olive oil; ½ teaspoon oregano; 2 cloves garlic, minced; and ¾ tsp seasoning salt and evenly pour over layer of tomatoes and cheese. Repeat layering of tomato and cheese. Top with ¼ cup Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes covered. Uncover and bake 7 more minutes to brown the top. Enjoy!

Summer Cole Slaw

From our niece Abigail, Summer Cole Slaw

You know the shredding and dicing routine. Here’s what she recommends you use: 1 medium cabbage, 4 carrots, 1½ cup lemonaise (or some base of your chosing), salt and pepper to taste, ¼ c extra virgin olive oil, ¼ cup balsamic vinegar, Tbsp of sugar or honey, cilantro OR basil, one diced onion. Chop, mix and serve.

Baked Squash

Adapted From Charleston Recipes, 1950

Baked Squash: Cut available yellow squash in half lengthwise (Do not remove skin). Boil in salted water 10 to 15 minutes, drain, scoop out, leaving ¼ inch shell. Mash scooped out part and season with chopped onion, minced green pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Add crumbled bacon from 2 slices (fried crisp) and 2 tablespoons butter. Fill shells, sprinkle with buttered bread crumbs. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes. Serve. 

Tony's Weeknight Stir-fry

At this time in a growing season, a garden has been producing from plants that may be 4 or 5 months old. Some varieties can start to be a little tough even when the plants still look healthy and keep yielding. When you’re unsure whether garden vegetables might be a little chewy, you can’t over-do it in using butter to cook them. My stir-fry last night – with most all the same garden vegetables you’re getting in this week’s share – proved the truth of this personal adage. Everything came out sweet and tender. I coated the pan with olive oil to start, dicing in green beans and carrots first, then eggplant and summer squash. Peppers, sweet corn, Asian greens, tomatoes, dried herbs, salt and pepper came last. All along the way, I added a little butter. With Dela’s fresh salad, what a meal! Send us your version as you experiment with quick stir-fries.

Tomato Pie from an Oak Park subscriber

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In alternating layers, fill 9 inch deep dish pie crust with 4 large tomatoes (sliced), ½ cup chopped fresh basil, 3 green onions or scallions (thinly sliced), ½ lb. bacon (cooked, drained, chopped), ½ teaspoon garlic powder (or minced fresh clove), 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper. In a small bowl, mix 2 cups shredded Cheddar (or favorite) cheese with ¼ cup organic mayonnaise. Spread mixture over top of pie. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.  Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil from top of pie and bake an additional 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Dela's Cooked Collards or Greens

Brown several chopped cloves of garlic in ¼ c olive oil OR bacon fat in a skillet. Add chopped greens (collards, mustard, turnip, cabbage, spicy greens mix). Cook over medium heat (with ½ cup water for collards this is essential, but not necessary for other greens). Add an equal amount of vinegar and honey, sugar or molasses. Cook until tender. Add salt, pepper, spices and herbs to taste.