White House Gardens Week #8, August 5, 2010

Week #8  August 5, 2010

It’s hard to believe that August has begun, and we are barely half way through the 20 week season.  I have been busy planting the fall crops: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, carrots, and many others.  All of these vegetables actually like cooler temperatures, and they taste better when the weather is cooler too. 

The tomatoes are beginning to pick up speed.  Everyone received a few, most of you also got cherry tomatoes. 

The melons are ripening in a big hurry:  everyone received at least one.  I planted several varieties, each one becoming mature at different times.  But I guess the melon seeds didn’t read the seed packet, because they all want to be picked right now!  I guess it’s true that you should be careful what you wish for.  My wish was to be able to grow good tasting melons.  I got my wish regarding quantity, let me know how they taste.  Next week the watermelons should be ready. 

Tomatoes  Slicing variety: either New Girl, Estiva, St. Pierre, or Pink Beauty.
Cherry Tomatoes  Large boxes only.  Sun Gold, Black Beauty, Sweet Chelsea, and/or Sun Cherry.
Green Beans  This is the third picking of Provider, and they are still going strong.
Peas  Shelling peas in large boxes only.  This is the last of them.  Please shell these as soon as possible and store in the refrigerator. 
Lettuce  Green Ice (green, crinkly leaves) and/or Antares (red, oak leaf)
Melons  Orange muskmelon named Halona or Athena, although some of you may have a green type, also.  If the rind still feels hard, leave the melon on the counter for a day or two to ripen further.  If your melon feels soft, then consume immediately!
Peppers  The peppers are just beginning to get big.  These first ones are Hungarian Banana Peppers which are a little spicey! (HOT).  In the future I will be putting all hot peppers in a bag in your box, to distinguish between sweet and hot. 
Onions  All the onions have been removed from the field and are drying in the greenhouse.  This is the first batch of cured onions.  These do not need to be stored in the refrigerator.
Basil  Store basil like cut flowers.  Trim the stem, remove lower leaves, and store in a vase of water. Cover the top with a plastic bag   Don’t store basil in the refrigerator, it will turn black from the cold. 

The following recipe for green beans is from a blog I read, Dad Cooks Dinner    You can use this technique for just about any vegetable.

Recipe: Steam-Sauteed Green Beans

Equipment:
Wide saucepan or fry pan with a lid
Ingredients:
1 pound green beans, stem ends trimmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp butter (optional, but pretty plain without it)
1 lemon, zested then halved (optional)
 Trimmed beans
1. Steam the Green Beans: Put the beans in the pan. Add the garlic, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp ground pepper, and 1 tbsp butter. Cover the pan, and put over medium-high heat. Wait for the water to come to a boil, then cook, covered, for 8 minutes
2. Saute the Green Beans: Remove the lid, and cook, stirring the beans occasionally. Keep cooking until all the remaining water boils off and the beans are tender, and just starting to brown, another 2-3 minutes.
*You should be left with just the butter in the pan, and you'll know you're there when you hear the beans start to sizzle. I test for doneness by biting into a bean; it should have just a hint of crunch to it.

3. Season the beans: Squeeze the lemon over the beans and stir to combine. Pour the beans, butter and lemon juice onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and serve.

Variations:
*I'm in a real hurry: Skip the garlic and lemon - just use beans, salt, pepper and butter.

*I want to be really healthy: Cut the butter back to 1 teaspoon.  I wouldn't eliminate it entirely.  Even a little butter adds a big hit of flavor to the beans.

*Olive Oil: Substitute olive oil (or any other vegetable oil) for the butter, or do half butter, half oil.

*Asian: Add 2 cloves of minced garlic with the green beans, substitute 1/4 cup soy sauce for half the water, and substitute 2 tsp vegetable oil and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil for the butter.

*Orange beans: Substitute half an orange and its zest for the lemon.

Notes:
*Trimming green beans: I grab a handful, line them all up with the stem side facing in the same direction, then push the bunch of beans up against my knife to get the stems in a line.  This makes it easy for me to  chop the stems off a lot of beans in one slice.