magid

• 2 heads of green cabbage
  
• 20 pickling cucumbers (!! I would’ve chosen the smallest ones anyway, but this gave me greater incentive)
  
• 4 summer squash/zucchini (I chose medium, green zucchinis)
  
• 3 pounds of purple-skinned orange carrots
  
• 2 fennel
  
• 2 pounds of uncured onions
  
• 2 heads of red-leaf lettuce
  
• 2 big bunches of Bright Lights Swiss chard (I swapped for more fennel, in the hopes of making more relish, plus it’s got a longer shelf life)
  
• 10 ears of corn
  
• 16 tomatoes (::happy dance of unexpected tomato joy!:: It wasn’t in the email, so everyone arriving exclaimed over them)(medium ones, regular red)
  
• take-what-you want herbs: flowering holy basil, flowering dill, thyme, mint, red shiso/perilla (with enormous leaves, some almost the size of my face!) (I chose dill, a bit of mint, and shiso)

First thoughts: this is salad week (especially given Friday’s forecast of Hell’s antechamber)! tomato-cucumber salad. corn-tomato salad with lime. minty cucumber salad. corn-zucchini-shiso salad [from a Clover email; see below for recipe]. lettuce with any and all of these. dilly cucumber pickles. cole slaw with cabbage and carrot, whether USian (mayo) or Asian-inspired (soy sauce, lime, sesame, etc).

Clover's Zucchini, Corn, Shiso Salad

Cut kernels off 4 cobs of corn. You can do this over a bowl or carefully on a cutting board. (Remember to save the cobs for stock!)

Cut 5-6 zucchini in half lengthwise. Lay the flat sides down on a cutting board. Then cut each half into 1/4 inch half-moons. Place the half-moons in a colander and give them a healthy sprinkle of salt. Toss so the salt gets all over the pieces. Set aside.

Stack 4-5 shiso leaves on top of each other and then roll them up like a cigar. Then slice the tip off the cigar so you get ribbony circles of shiso. Repeat. (You can buy shiso at H-Mart or if you're lucky, at a farmer's market this time of year. If you can't find shiso you can substitute mint or Thai basil.)

In a salad bowl, add a teaspoon of miso paste, a teaspoon of ketchup, a clove of garlic you've minced finely, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar. While whisking vigorously, slowly pour in 6 tablespoons of a neutral oil (safflower, canola, grapeseed). The oil and vinegar should form an emulsion, with tiny droplets of oil suspended in the vinegar.

Taste the vinaigrette and adjust the seasonings. If it tastes too oily or bland, add a splash or two of vinegar or soy sauce. If it tastes too acidic, add a little more oil.

When you love the vinaigrette, add the zucchini and corn to the bowl. Toss so they get covered in vinaigrette. Sprinkle shiso leaves on top. Add more shiso if you like.

PS: This salad keeps well for a day or two - the zucchini gets kind of pickled by the dressing, making it even more delicious.