Take Advantage
Once again this week we recommend that those of you who pickle, or want to start, take advantage of the wonderful pickling cucumbers we have for sale. You can’t get these beauties just anywhere, or just anytime. They are peaking right now, and today (Tuesday) we picked over 70 lbs. The harvest won’t last forever, so get your salt, vinegar, spices and canner ready.

While pickles packs of the tiny cornichon size cukes are limited, plenty of medium and large cucumbers are available this week.

Grilled Pasta Primavera
Our meals are often predicated on Rebecca’s yearnings. This last week we searched for the perfect pasta primavera to satiate her. Her notion of crispy but not soggy summer squash as a main ingredient led us to grilling the vegetables as a first step.

On July 4th we did just that at a friend’s house and the dish was delicious. A rainy day on Monday had us trying out our Chambers stove broiler as a grill substitute. It worked great.

You can grill whatever vegetables you want for this dish. We even used kohlrabi. After chopping up the grilled veggies you can either saute them in a pan with some tomatoes and garlic, or simply add them to your pasta

Ingredients:
Approximately 1 cookie sheet full of sliced vegetables, such as summer squash, onions, peppers (sweet and hot), garlic, kohlrabi, eggplant…
1 lb pasta of choice, cooked
Parmesan cheese and basil for garnish

Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp herb mixture of choice such as oregano, marjoram, thyme, summer savory, herbs de Provence. We used the Middle Eastern herb mix called Zahatar.

Method:
– Cut the vegetables in a suitable size and shape for grilling. Mix with the marinade for at least 10 minutes.
– Cook the pasta according to directions on package
– Grill the vegetables
– Let vegetables cool to touch and then chop them
– Toss all ingredients together
– Top with grated cheese and chopped basil