Today Kristin saw a honey bee attack a native bee and take its flower at the holy basil, and the wasps in the greenhouse are doing something weird. There might be zombie wasps? We will have to investigate and report next week.
In other news, IT RAINED.
It rained twice on Thursday, and we got more than we’d had all year – 2.65″. This felt like a miracle was unfolding before our very eyes, and that is a hell of a drug. I imagine the plants felt similarly ecstatically surprised.
The miracle did come at a cost, as they tend to do (Kristin may or may not have made a deal with a genie or a devil at a crossroads I can’t say). I’d battened down the greenhouses just before it hit and Otis and I enjoyed the storm from inside our safe, sturdy plastic bubble – but some of our corn was blown over, a pear tree busted up a bit, and some field fruits were hail punched.
Worth it.
We haven’t had to irrigate the baby trees or the field ever since, which has been a pleasant respite – but this time I’m trying not to let myself believe that getting one rainfall means the drought has ended. (But I can secretly hope I reckon.)
The local fungal colonies are similarly guarded, it seems, and have not thrust their spore spreaders out from their lairs. So, no wild mushrooms from our woods yet. That isn’t the worst, really; time can feel so limited and there is so much delicious fruit to wild-scavenge. The first choke cherries are plump and ripe in their abundant, weighty clusters, and the standard black berries are out in good numbers, if rather drought-dwarfed in size. I get a strangely compelling pleasure from simply opening the freezer and beholding the many hefty, vibrant bricks of vacuum packed fresh-frozen fruits.
The trips out to the berry patches with The Boys feel like living a golden memory, live.
This is a good life, and we’re so profoundly lucky to live it.
Inside the Box
- Tomatoes – an assortment of cherry tomatoes and couple bigger ones of various types. We gave out some that are ripe and others which you can let sit on the counter to ripen for a few days.
- Italian Eggplant – Slice/Bread/Fry or chunk and cook as part of ratatouille , or mashed and smoked into babaganoush (spelled exactly as it sounds, that’s nice)
- Green Peppers
- Zukes- some yellow summer squash, golden zucchini, green standards & patty pans,
- Cukes – both picklers and slicers (picklers are great for eating too, but the slicers can’t be pickled). Don’t confuse the slender English varieties for zucchinis!
- Basil (both Italian & Holy Basil (aka Tulsi) – we wonder what Holy Basil honey would be like. That’s the stuff with the flowers that smells like heaven probably would -tuck a leaf in your lapel and a flower in your door frame to catch those heavenly whiffs.Can be dried for tea, chopped up and sprinkled on cubed melon … you can get weird if ya wanna. The other leaves in there are your familiar foodstuff.
- a Melon – probably a cantaloupe but somebody got a more crisp and elongated Asian melon. If you get a cantaloupe which is both sweet and tart, you got the Melonade variety. They’re all ripe and ready to go; I wouldn’t let mine go bad on the warm countertop, forgotten and oozing from the wounds of abandonment, but you do you.
- Beans – mostly greens with a smatter of purple and yellow.
- Sunflower Microgreens– Fun facts: can be chopped up if you’re adverse to biting food apart with your face, and microgreens instantly elevate any dish.
The Recipe A.I.deas for this week included:
- Summer Garden Salad:
Combine cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, and Italian basil in a refreshing salad. Drizzle with a lemon vinaigrette for a burst of flavor. - Zucchini and Eggplant Stir-Fry:
Sautee zucchini and eggplant with green beans, using a soy sauce and garlic glaze for a savory and healthy stir-fry. - Caprese Skewers:
Create tasty appetizers by skewering cherry tomatoes, mozzarella balls, and fresh basil leaves. Drizzle with balsamic glaze for a delightful touch. - Ratatouille Casserole:
Layer sliced zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes in a baking dish. Season with herbs like Italian basil, then bake until tender for a mouthwatering dish. - Cucumber, Green Bean, and Tomato Salad:
Toss cucumbers, green beans, and cherry tomatoes in a light dressing with a touch of lemon and fresh basil for a vibrant and crunchy salad. (It’s got a different dressing and green beans instead of green peppers, see.
