The soaring temperatures and humidity this past week has been enough to make you dizzy. The past week has been as long and hard and hot as I can remember, but with a nice payoff of a new barn front and a good harvest.

This week is peak for squash and cucumbers, while the peppers and eggplant continue to produce well. The tomatillos are coming on, as well as the hot peppers. We continue to dig a good crop of garlic, and hope for the okra to kick in soon (especially if we can weed it).

New to the share this week (as a choice) are salsa packs. Familiar to many, the pack contains most all the ingredients you need for a fresh salsa (tomatillo, garlic, onion and jalapeno). Just add a tomato and a few other ingredients, and you will have an incredibly fresh and flavorful dish

Check out our past blogs for our Fresh Salsa and Roasted Salsa recipes.

We are also starting to add hot peppers as an occasional choice. We don’t plan on giving everyone hot peppers, but if you like them, keep your eyes open as they may be a choice, or in the swap box. Right now the hot peppers are Numex Joe E. Parker (Anaheim type good for frying) and jalapenos.

This week also marks the return of dried herbs. We plan on having a selection of dried herbs available as a choice each week. These herbs are cut and dried in our hot, hot summer greenhouse. The tins they come in are reusable, so we will take them back if you have no need for them when you are done.

Another item that may be less familiar to some is Thai basil. An herb choice, this is the basil that often is a part of spring rolls and other Asian cooking. Try it in last week’s cucumber salad recipe.