CSA Week 8
This week you MAY have corn, squash, cukes, some type of Asian greens, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, momentary gap in fruit…blues peaked and peaches are not forthcoming…apples on the horizon 🙂
Glenn tells me there are a lot of Asian greens readying themselves this week and so you MAY see a bunch of something fun like Bekana, Vitamin Green, Red Bok Choy, Bok Choy, Tatsoi…but they are all still Brassica rapa, LOL.
Eggplants, we grow A LOT of eggplants. I’ve always liked eggplant but I know that is is not everyone favorite. Here’s that request to try it again for the “first time” 🙂 Varieties we grow: Classic, Listata de Gandia, Applegreen, Round Mauve, Rosa Bianca, Bride, the Italian Prosperosa, and many Asian types like Little Fingers, Machiaw, Oriental Charm, Orient Express, and a few others.
We may be harvesting several kinds of corn by the time you read this so you may see a lovely bi-color (butter and sugar) type and the amazing, all yellow Mirai. Mirai, pronounced me-rye, was developed (hybridized…not GMO) at Twin Gardens Farm in Harvard, IL and then introduced to Japanese growers. They named it Mirai which translates to “the future is coming” AND “taste”. It became the most popular corn grown in Japan and is growing in popularity in the US now, as a Japanese gourmet corn – which is funny because it was developed here. Cool right.?
Click here for the complete rundown on the eggplant varieties we grow.
Recipes
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:
Zucchini Galette – King Arthur
Cream of Eggplant Soup
Baked Eggs in Tomato Cups
Eggplant with Tomato Coulis
Member Michelle sent me this:
Farm Dirt
We hope everyone fared well through the tropical storm Tuesday past. We had some damage here: the covering on the “silver barn” peeled off, but it did not rip, so we can still use it, the plastic on one of the tomato houses tore and will need to be replaced, one of our storm doors blew open and smashed against the outdoor light, we lost a lot of large limbs off some special trees, an Ash tree blew down on a couple apple trees in our orchard, and the corn got blown down, but it could have been a lot worse. Blessedly we did not lose power, as so many out this way did. If you live near the farm, please keep in mind we have walk-in cooler and freezer that we are happy to share should you find yourself without power and need temporary storage 🙂
We have had three calves thus far and we think we are expecting two more. When they are babies, their belt is VERY white, making them super pretty. They are all old enough to be racing around the pasture, running in circles, much to the chagrin of their mothers. It is entertaining for us though 😉 Faith rescued a very adorable Painted Turtle from the road this week and a very frustrated Blue Jay from the English Sparrow trap. Good job Faith!
The garlic is curing nicely and awaits us stripping off some outer paper and trimming the neck – that’s exciting!
Eat well,
Geneviève Stillman
Coming up: Peaches? hopefully lettuce…
