Week 8 -- still going strong, and... homemade pickles!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay, I hope you recognized the pickle(s) for what they were, and got that zip-locked baggie in your fridge as soon as you could yesterday! Here's a picture of the share contents, spread out on our dining room table (where I pack the contents, every week):

(You can click on the image, to blow it up more... go ahead, try it ;)

Here's some notes:

- Everyone got either a big orange beet and a carrot, or a handful of carrots

- Everyone got either one HUUUUUGE pickle, or 2-3 smaller ones. Do slice them according to your preference, and serve them chilled (ice-chilled is doubly nice)

- Slicing tomatoes, as you can see, are falling out of production... I may be able to glean some more slicing-style ones for the final (ie, Week 10) basket, but even that will be a pleasant surprise if it happens

- The frequent rain has made it difficult to gather the golden cherry tomatoes before they develop small cracks... I have tried to pick out all the 'soft' ones, and let you decide about the half-or-so that are split but still perfectly edible. Do rinse them before you eat them, though, as again... I had to pick a few funky ones out of the picking basket

- Everyone got one 'UFO' squash and a combination of other squashes that included at least ONE (sometimes two) green or yellow zucchini

- Lots of peppers... I'm trying not to give ya'll too many, which is why I had some for extra selectin' up in the passenger seat. By all means, take more from that bucket, and make yourself a nice, spicy conserve or something! (or, dice em up and freeze em, and have them ready to go for a recipe a month or more from now =)

- Okra... I pick them all somewhat soft and still flexible, but some get picked early in the week... and they ripen somewhat even after picked... while I try to set aside tougher ones for my family to eat (we don't mind em, really), you may have one that you find too tough in your basket. Leave it on the windowsill, let it finish ripening and drying out, and harvest the dark, pea-like seeds inside to try growing some of your own (either indoors over the winter, or next spring ;)

Thanks for sharing in this bounty. I'm already looking forward to seeing what kind of basket we can grow for you, next week! ;)