Trying Something New?

We like to grow unique varieties of typical vegetables to delight and excite. Not only are they delicious and fun to look at, but also bring out creativity in the kitchen. The varieties getting the most attention at markets the last few weeks are the

Lemon Cucumbers 

and

Eight Ball Zucchini

Lemon cucumbers are deliciously sweet and the tender skin offers a delightful crunch. They are great sliced into a pitcher of cool water or just to top off a salad. My favorite thing to do with these cucumbers is to make up a batch of mint-marinated cucumbers.
Ingredients:
1 pint of Lemon Cucumbers                           pinch of salt
1 cup vinegar                                                 1 cup sugar
1/2 lemon                                                      chopped mint leaves
Directions:
Slice cucumbers, place in a covered dish, and sprinkle with salt. Refrigerate for several hours to pull out water, overnight is ok. Pour off water. Mix 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup sugar, juice from 1/2 lemon and mint leaves. Stir until sugar dissolves.  Pour mixture over cucumbers and refrigerate overnight.

8-Ball Zucchini is a great, tender zucchini, typically picked small about the size of an 8-ball, that is great for stuffing. The possibilities for stuffing zucchini are endless, but here is the link to one of my favorite recipes: Provencal style stuffed zucchini

I hope you enjoy our harvests as much as I enjoy delivering them to market each week. We will continue to grow and expand our knowledge of the best varieties for our growing conditions and the tastiest veggies for your dinner (breakfast, lunch, brunch, and supper!)
See you at markets this week. Did I mention tomatoes are starting to ripen?? Matt and I had a nice sungold cherry tomato break this afternoon.