CSA Week 10
This week you MAY have tomatoes!! Woo! basil (nope…thanks rain – the crop got diseased), garlic, onion, hot peppers (jalapeno, serrano, Hungarian wax, cayenne…), eggplant, Paula Red apples, peaches or nectarines – there has been an assortment of bok choi floating around 🙂
Get your tomatoes!! We have a special price for CSA members of $32/.case (non-members pay $37+ depending on the week). Do you need something else for preserving? Send me an email at stillmans@verizon.net and we will try to fix you up.
Should I be scheduling a canning tomatoes workshop here at the farm?
There are a few mega daikon radishes out there and we might just toss one in your bag… don’t panic! Just spiralize, shave, slice up and make a pickly salad. Refreshing and delish with lots of other foods.
Recipes
Peach Salsa
3 peaches diced
2-3 medium tomatoes diced
1 bell pepper finely diced
hot peppers of your choice finely diced – you are in control of the heat!
1 small onion (I used 1/4 of one of ours) finely diced
2 T cilantro chopped (I just threw down this amount, use more/less/none depending how you feel about cilantro…I sub parsley or basil based on crowd)
2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
S & P to taste
Toss all together and enjoy with chips, on fish or pork. Fish tacos anyone?
Baked eggplant
This recipe goes into every year’s eggplant letter…it’s simple, not slimy or greasy, and very tasty.
Slice thinly (the long way or the round way), lay on lightly greased baking sheet, thinly spread mayonnaise on top, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and pepper and bake in hot (400) oven for 10 mins, or until fork tender. If you’re a purist with garlic, omit the powder and mix minced garlic in with the mayonnaise. And, really, the garlic is not necessary at all, it is simply another excuse to put garlic on something. Everyone has time for this recipe!
I freeze eggplant made this way on a baking sheet and then package up after frozen…it is fabulous to have on hand in the winter to re-bake and serve with red sauce and pasta for a quick vegetarian meal. Baked Eggplant
Eggplant Pizza
Yep! It’s just what you are thinking 
Slice eggplant the long way (1/2″ +), top with your favorite tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, whatever else you have laying about; bake 12 minutes at 400. Yummy!
Vegetale al Forno
This is one that appears in the boxletter yearly, by request, and contributed by member Lisa. It is always yummy…even better when you think you have overcooked it. My tips: don’t undercook. Also, I have been told if you omit the soy sauce and wine, use margarine and low fat, low salt cheese, it is not very flavorful (surprise!), 2. make substitutions wisely. I love to tweak a recipe with the best of them, but you have to substitute within reason. On a no or low sodium diet, try substituting potassium chloride. Not into butter fat? Use a nice olive oil. Skipping the soy sauce and the wine? At least use a really flavorful chicken or vegetable stock and try out the or coconut aminos. (Did I tell you about the time a member substituted water for chicken stock when making my lettuce soup recipe?)
On the bottom of a nice sized baking/serving dish place a layer of thin-sliced eggplant, on top of that a layer of thin-sliced zucchini, then a layer of sliced (or canned whole) tomatoes. Use plenty of vegetables. Layer it twice if you have enough room in the pan.
Then take a cup of red wine, mix it with half a cup of melted butter, about four tablespoons of soy sauce, pepper, garlic, oregano and basil. Pour it over the vegetables and top with a thick layer of grated Swiss cheese. Bake uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the dish. The cheese should be crusty on top, and the liquid should bubble. The vegetables should be incredibly tender. It should not be swimming in excess liquid.
This is a nice one dish meal or side dish with meat. I like this on a nice baguette.
A similar style dish, but WITHOUT all the fun booze and soy Summer Tian
Check out:
Fresh Salsa
Toasted-Oat Shortcakes with Basil-Scented Peaches
News coming soon about two more weeks of CSA option!
Farm Dirt
The farm enjoyed a few days without rain and worked late every day trying to get more fields prepped and planted. Glenn and Gerry stayed out till almost dark laying plastic ahead of the remnants of whatever tropical storm that was. Lots of kale, lettuce, choi, beets, cauliflower and more got set out. It will be a another few days before we can get the last plastic Glenn put down actually planted. Soon we will be done planting! Speaking of cole crops, I keep hearing the cabbages are not ready and that has become a standing joke on the farm. Honestly, unless Glenn goes out to look for himself, everyone will wait until the cabbages are 6 pound basketballs! Faith has been asking to make kaldomer and I keep thinking, I gotta get out there and check the cabbages 😉
It’s fun to pick apples! Paula Reds now, Early Macs, Zestar, Sensa and Molly Delicious to follow. I know there are Paula Reds this week and Glenn tells me there should be Molly Delicious next week. Molly Delicious are a heritage apple variety also known as Sheepnose. I love their crisp sweetness. After the Molly’s we will be picking Redcorts, Cortland, McIntosh, Macoun, Golden Delicious, Empire, Ida Red, Ben Davis…not necessarily in that order.
School starts soon and I use that as a benchmark for what I got put by for the Summer. oh noes! I have a LOT to do. What happened to the Summer? This is definitely the time to be canning tomatoes and making salsa, though I am pretty sure it’s not going to get done until September, LOL.
Eat well,
Geneviève Stillman
