Week 9: Carrots and Beets and a Labor Day Cucumber Feast

If you've been a member of the Wintergreen Farm CSA for long, then you know that a carrot beet choice is kind of a staple for us. You've probably also noticed that the carrots and beets haven't shown up much yet this year.

Hopefully you will be pleased to know that...

... they're here! (I promise we'll wash them before they
reach you guys)

They took a little longer than usual to show up this season because we shifted our carrot beet planting time a bit. This was partly intentional, because we wanted the bulk of our harvest to take place later in the season because we're growing a ton (actually several tons) of carrots and beets for storage this year, and partly due to the fact that (if you recall) spring was as cold and wet as summer is turning out to be.  

This week the carrot beet choice is actually a carrot beet carrot choice. As you can see in the picture, we have some grown up carrots and some baby carrots for you to choose from. The babies are essentially thinnings, but I assure you they are just as sweet and tender as the grown ups (if not more so).

No need to take my word on their yumminess.
Seda tested the baby carrots out for you.

She approves.

In addition to the carrot beet choice, members will receive onions, cucumbers, summer squash and/or zucchini, cabbage, beans, peas, parsley, radicchio, and tomatoes/peppers OR eggplant.

If you read radicchio and thought: No!! Not radicchio, I never want to eat another bitter leafy thing ever in my life or some such thing, check out the pinterest board for radicchio. It has lot's of good ideas for using your radicchio. In case you don't want to check out the pinterest board, I'll tell you a secret: cut your radicchio head into small wedges and saute it with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar (and honey if you are really afraid of bitter stuff). Then toss the radicchio with pasta, parmesan cheese and walnuts. It will taste good. I promise.

Or, if you aren't all that afraid of bitter stuff, you can chop up your radicchio and pile it onto a gyro with homemade cucumber sauce, like we did yesterday when we had a Labor Day cucumber feast over at my bother-in-law's house.

The feast was Scott's inspiration. Apparently he had a vision of cucumber sauce and cucumber sandwiches while harvesting cucumbers in the rain last week. We made his dream come true.

Scott made the pita bread.

Eric, my brother in law, seared some flank steak (it wasn't
exactly gyro meat, but it worked nicely).

Jake, my brother in law's brother in law, smooshed
together cream cheese, fresh dill, and lemon juice
for the cucumber sandwiches.

Which Eric declared kick-a$$.

And I made the cucumber sauce, which
also happens to be this week's recipe.

As is often the case in a family cooking event such as this one, the recipes were a little impromptu, but I'll do my best to describe how I made the cucumber sauce. Also, we all agreed it could have used a bit of garlic, but we didn't have any at the time.

Cucumber Sauce

• Two medium cucumbers, diced small
• salt, a generous quantity
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt (we used chobani) 
• 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• about a half cup roughly chopped fresh basil, mint, or parsley (or a combination of all three)

Toss the diced cucumbers with the salt, then stir in the remaining ingredients. Taste for salt and lemon juice.

Then slather it onto something meaty. Mmmm...