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Dear Common Thread CSA Members,
We keep either having too much rain or too little! We're back to too little and trying to find time to irrigate crops. Mostly things are still growing well though. An exception is the melons. It's not a great melon growing climate here so we don't go too crazy with melons but we usually get a good crop in early August. For some reason our huge first planting has very few melons on it. While we are used to having hundreds we only have dozens of melons. We're not quite sure why - it may be a pollination issue even though we have bee hives not too far away. It did rain a lot when the fruit should have set, which can interfere with pollination. Many other crops are doing well though. We're excited that we have more tomatoes and eggplant to distribute now and the ripe peppers should be starting soon.
Do you like to weed? We have a number of crops that really need weeding and we just can't get to it all. We welcome volunteers to help us out with harvest and/or weeding on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings between 7 and noon, or on Saturday mornings. Please let us know if you plan to come so we can be ready for you.
Golden beets are delicious, sweet, and less "beety" than red beets which can be a nice change of pace and also better for those who aren't fond of "beety". They also don't bleed. I like to steam beet chunks, dress them with oil, vinegar, salt and garlic and then serve them hot or cold. They are also great oven roasted.
We are growing several varieties of carrots this year, mostly orange. We are also growing "Deep Purple", a lovely purple carrot and "Rainbow" which is one variety with color variability including orange, yellow and white. They are all quite tasty and make a pretty carrot dish and fun carrot sticks. Like many purple varieties of vegetables, the color fades when cooked.
We finally have decent quantities of eggplant, my favorite. I didn't grow up with it and didn't like it much until I discovered that the secret to tasty eggplant is to cook it until it is soft. Undercooked/squeaky eggplant is the worst. I have been grilling them in slices and then including them in our sandwiches during the week along with cheese and tomato. I also love eggplant parmesean, ratatouille, and baba ganoush. Here are a couple recipes from marthastewart.com:
Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Soup
INGREDIENTS
- 2 medium eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds total), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 small yellow onion, diced medium
- 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 6 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed, drained, and patted dry
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water
- Fresh oregano (optional)
- Plain yogurt (optional)
DIRECTIONS -
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together eggplant, onion, garlic, and 4 teaspoons of the olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer in a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet, leaving a wide strip of empty space at one end. In bowl, toss chickpeas with remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Transfer to empty space on sheet. Roast until eggplant is golden and cooked through and chickpeas are slightly crunchy, about 35 minutes.
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Set chickpeas aside. Peel garlic and add to a medium pot, along with eggplant, onion, and broth. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium-high. With a potato masher or back of a wooden spoon, mash some eggplant until soup is thick and chunky. Stir in chickpeas and season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, top with fresh oregano and plain yogurt, if desired.
INGREDIENTS
- Coarse salt
- 2 pounds eggplant, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 2 pounds zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
- Freshly ground pepper
- 3 medium red onions, cut into 1/2-inch rings
- 5 ounces goat cheese
- Marinara
- Fresh Lasagna Noodles (you will need about 1/2 of the batch), cut into 4-by-13-inch strips and cooked, or store-bought dried noodles, cooked
- 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh marjoram leaves, roughly chopped
- 2 ounces finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese (3/4 cup)
DIRECTIONS -
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons salt over eggplant slices, and let drain for 45 minutes.
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Meanwhile, place zucchini in a single layer on oiled baking sheets. (Work in batches if necessary.) Brush with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until tender and just starting to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly, then transfer to a dish.
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Place onion rings in a single layer on oiled baking sheets. (Work in batches if necessary.) Brush with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until tender and browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly, then chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Mix with goat cheese in a small bowl.
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Gently press eggplant slices between double layers of paper towels to remove excess liquid. Place eggplant in a single layer on oiled baking sheets (work in batches if necessary.) Brush with oil, and season with pepper. Bake until tender and golden, 6 to 9 minutes.
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Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Spread 1/2 cup of marinara in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Place a layer of noodles over marinara. Layer eggplant on top of noodles. Spread 1/2 of the goat cheese mixture over eggplant. Spread 1 cup marinara over cheese layer, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons marjoram. Repeat layering once, replacing eggplant with zucchini (noodles, zucchini, goat cheese, marinara, marjoram). Place a layer of noodles on top. Spread remaining marinara on top of noodles, and sprinkle with Pecorino Romano cheese.
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Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling, about 45 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Yours in the field,
Wendy and Asher
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