CSA Monday! Lotsa Lemon Balm Edition

This week I'm not inspired by the CSA. Perhaps its because it's basically the same thing we've had all summer? I realize this is not my CSA's fault; rather, it's a lack of creativity on my part and a general "case of the Mondays." Blah.

Mercifully, however, this is the reported last week for potatoes. We are rice-eaters and having 7 potatoes per week has been a bit of a challenge for us.

Anywho, here's the haul:


Lemon balm (huge bunch), garlic, potatoes (7), tomatoes (lots!), corn (4), tomatillos (7) and eggplant. Basil was also part of the offerings, but...seriously...we have enough basil. In our garden. In our freezer. In a pot on the side yard. We did not need anymore basil. So I left it for others to take.

Here's the plan:

• Chicken & Potato Indian Curry with Green Beans. Recipe TBA, but I think it'll involve Mark Bitman's Hot Curry recipe for the spice and my husband trimming the green beans.
• Pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce. This is the husband's recipe. Actually the first recipe he ever gave me. Unfortunately, his recipe writing is horrible and I thought it was gross. But, he was cute, so I kept him around...
  Anyways, it's about 1.5 lbs of tomatoes (chopped), a bunch of basil (torn/chopped) and 1-3 garlic cloves (depending on your preference, minced) marinated in 1/4 cup nice olive oil, salt and pepper for a few hours in the fridge. Then, boil pasta, drain and toss with raw sauce. Eat room temperature or hot (heat from hot pasta). This is the part he left out. I thought it was like a pasta salad & ate it cold &...well...the oil was kinda solidish and the pasta was just.not.very.good.at.all.
• Grilled Eggplant with Hummus, Olives, Pita, Sliced Tomatoes. This is my favorite summer supper. It's light and easy, even if you make the hummus yourself.

And, I'm going to try to dry the lemon balm for hot tea. Will report back. I think I'll also try freezing some tomatillo salsa just to see how it does.

And, finally, here my harvest from last week. I've got a few sweet peppers that should be ready to pick soon and have since picked 2 more Wonder Lights, a half-pint of Sungolds, 3 romas and several more hot peppers. But I'm too tired to take another picture.


Pictured above is basil (purple and green), lavender, thyme, rosemary, and oregano (all used in the herbaceous happy hour), several hot peppers, large handful of Sungolds and 4 Wonder Lights. The herbs alone would have probably cost about $10 at my grocery store for conventional versions (this is assuming they stocked lavender...) and these are organic! And, as of right now, I think the larger tomato plants are done for the season. They don't really have any new buds on them so I may pull them up this weekend.