I look forward to this time of year when Summer Farm Share brings us Heirloom Tomatoes. Especially those big, juicy monsters that make the best tomato sandwiches. We had those this week as well as a wonderful Heirloom Tomato Cucumber salad with the assortment of small tomatoes. I think that was the best Tomato Cucumber salad I’ve ever made because it had that Heirloom tomato flavor you can only get in the height of summer.
Week 13 of our small summer farm share included (featured photo at the top of this post is a full vegetarian share)…
Heirloom Tomatoes – 1.5 lbs
Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes – 1 pint
Spaghetti Squash – 1
Carrots – 1 bunch
Corn – 4 ears
Fennel – 1 bulb
Apples – 6
Lettuce – 1 head
My half of our small Vegetarian summer farm share (above photo) and how we used it.
Heirloom Tomatoes – .75 lbs or 2 monster tomatoes – on every sandwich we ate with the balance in a great salad.
Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes – 1/2 pint – went into a Tomato Cucumber Salad to share with family at a picnic for Mr. Carnivore’s birthday.
Spaghetti Squash – 1 – still have this to use.
Carrots – 3 – these went in with a beef roast and potatoes. Yum.
Corn – 2 – I gave my share to my parents and I kept the fennel.
Fennel – 1 – this didn’t make it into the roast as I planned. It just didn’t keep well enough. Must remember to use this faster next time.
Apples – 3- these were enjoyed by visitors we had staying with us off and on through the month.
Lettuce – 1/2 head – this is great in a salad – we might have a little bit left. One of my favorite types of lettuce but it has to be eaten fast.
RESULTS…
I was thankful this was a small share week because we weren’t home much, and when we were, I didn’t feel like cooking. August has been hot just like every year, but we’ve had more days over or around 90 degrees every month, more than any summer I can remember. Just going out to water the garden is enough to make me want to hibernate. I can’t imagine how the farmers have survived cultivating and harvesting in this heat.
It’s a great year for abundance as the rains aren’t rotting everything like we normally endure, but this heat, it makes a person very cranky in the kitchen. The air conditioning just can’t keep up and I am so thankful I put in a small ceiling fan when we remodeled. That has been my lifesaver at the end of each day when I’m trying to cook dinner, do laundry and run the dishwasher without melting.
We harvested quite a few tomatoes ourselves this week. Making a Heirloom Tomato Cucumber salad to share with family was a sanity ploy and it cleared out a huge pile of these pretty babies so I have room to harvest more.
One mistake I made this week was not using the fennel bulb quickly enough. We were getting guests and I was so focused on my “to do” list and remodeling a spare bedroom, that I neglected my kitchen duties.
I’ve appreciated the fruit this year more than anything else we’ve received in the farm share. I’ve never been big on eating fruit. I just don’t care for it and now I know why. Once you’ve had enough farm fresh fruit, you begin to realize that our “need it now and perfect” society has ruined our chance of ever getting fruit as it should taste unless we go to an organic farm.
I am grateful for every apple — something I never cared if I ate or not, but I look forward to every week zestfully if apples come in the farm share. My dad is just as crazy about them as I am so I really should buy extra each week.
Still — even though I love all the fruit we get, I can’t say enough good things about monster Heirloom tomatoes. It’s a taste I can’t describe but can’t imagine living without. Try one for yourself – I promise you’ll never buy another hybrid tomato without wishing it was a Heirloom.
What’s for dinner at your house?
