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Dear Common Thread CSA Members,
It's August! We're loving all the summer vegetables and hoping you are too!
Our daughters have been spending some time with us out in the fields this summer. Astrid often comes to harvest in a tutu or a gymnastics outfit and goes back and forth between chatting with the crew and finding her own fun in the fields. Above is a picture of her lost in the popcorn.
Many of us savor our short tomato season, since field ripened tomatoes taste so great. We plant the tomatoes under plastic covers which protects them from frost, keeps them warmer so they grow better and keeps them dry so they develop less disease (and grow better). Without the covers, our season would just be a few weeks but with the covers we should have tomatoes from now, into October, more than 2 months! We are enjoying salsa, tomato sandwiches and tomatoes in our salads. Soon, we will start freezing tomato slices in bags and also boiling them down to make sauce later.
Green beans are here! A lot of the ones we pick are eaten right in the field. My favorite way to cook them though is to saute them with garlic, oil and tamari. Yum!
A couple different members told me that they were enjoying dipping their eggplant or zucchini in milk, then flour and frying. Eileen told me she was going to try a beet hummus recipe. I've never heard of that so I looked it up and it looks like regular chickpea hummus with beets added, making a lovely color and I'm sure a different taste. There is an extensive description with pictures and a recipe at the minimalistbaker.com.
Another member sent this recipe:
Kale strawberry salad
Mix Kale (massaged for tenderness), sliced strawberries, feta cheese, and glazed or candied nuts. Top with a dressing made of 1/2 fresh squeezed orange juice and 1/2 olive oil.
This recipe and eggplant tip just in from Abby:
Here's another recipe for your newsletter. It incorporates Common Thread beets and kale, two of my favorites!
Hamilton Crunch Salad
(Quinoa, Beet, Kale and Apple) Ingredients: 1-2 medium sized beets, peeled and cut into matchsticks (raw!) 1 bunch Kale, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (substitute farro if no quinoa on hand) 1 apple (your choice) cut into matchsticks (substitute dried cranberries if no apples around) Marcona almonds (or just use regular almonds, toasted and roughly chopped) Goat Cheese (however much you'd like) Dressing: Balsamic Vinegar and Oil Salt & Pepper
Directions: Cook quinoa according to directions While quinoa cooks, prepare the rest of the ingredients Once quinoa is done, drain well and put into a serving dish with the goat cheese (melty goodness) Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and toss with your desired quantity of this dressing: 1 part balsamic vinegar, 2 parts oil - salt and pepper (a few more splashes of vinegar is tasty if you like vinegar)
Enjoy! oh! and I also meant to tell you that my grandmother taught me the secret to amazing eggplant is to add salt to both sides after slicing (for something like eggplant parm) - let it sit until some of the liquid seeps out (about a half hour - 45 min) and then dry it off before cooking. It makes a WORLD of difference. I love that stuff!
We have all the ingredients for ratatouille now! Here is a recipe from the kitchn.com:
Easy French Ratatouille
Makes 8 to 10 servings
2 large eggplants
2 medium yellow onions
3 medium bell peppers
6 to 8 medium zucchini
4 large tomatoes
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
3 to 4 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
3 to 4 sprigs thyme
1/4 cup loosely packed basil, sliced into ribbons
Extra basil for garnishing
Salt and pepper
Peel the eggplants, if desired, and chop them into bite-sized cubes. Transfer them to a strainer set over a bowl and toss with a tablespoon of salt. Let the eggplant sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Dice the onions and roughly chop the peppers, zucchinis, and tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Mince the garlic. The vegetables will be cooked in batches, so keep each one in a separate bowl.
Warm a teaspoon of olive oil in a large (at least 5 1/2-quart) Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a generous pinch of salt. Sauté until the onions have softened and are just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the peppers and continue cooking until the peppers have also softened, about another 5 minutes. Transfer the onions and peppers to a clean bowl.
Add another teaspoon of oil to the pot and sauté the zucchini with a generous pinch of salt until the zucchini has softened and is beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the zucchini to the bowl with the onions and peppers.
Rinse the eggplant under running water and squeeze the cubes gently with your hands to remove as much moisture as possible. Warm two teaspoons of oil in the pan and sauté the eggplant until it has softened and has begun to turn translucent, about 10 minutes. Transfer the eggplant to the bowl with the other vegetables.
During cooking, a brown glaze will gradually build on the bottom of the pan. If it looks like this glaze is beginning to turn black and burn, turn down the heat to medium. You can also dissolve the glaze between batches by pouring 1/4 cup of water or wine into the pan and scraping up the glaze. Pour the deglazing liquid into the bowl with the vegetables.
Warm another teaspoon of olive oil in the pan and sauté the garlic until it is fragrant and just starting to turn golden, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, and whole sprigs of thyme. As the tomato juices begin to bubble, scrape up the brown glaze on the bottom of the pan.
Add all of the vegetables back into the pan and stir until everything is evenly mixed. Bring the stew to a simmer, then turn down the heat to low. Stirring occasionally, simmer for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 1/2 hours. Shorter cooking time will leave the vegetables in larger, more distinct pieces; longer cooking times will break the vegetables down into a silky stew.
Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Just before taking the ratatouille off the heat, stir in the basil. Sprinkle the extra basil and a glug of good olive oil over each bowl as you serve.
Leftovers can be refrigerated for a week or frozen for up to 3 months. Ratatouille is often better the second day, and it can be eaten cold, room temperature, or warm.
Recipe Notes
- Making a smaller batch: This recipe can be cut in half and adapted to use whatever vegetables you have.
- Flavor extras: For something different, try adding a tablespoon of smoked paprika, a pinch of red pepper flakes, 1/4 cup of red wine, or a splash of vinegar to the ratatouille.
We welcome your recipe ideas and pictures for the newsletter.
Have a delicious week!
Yours in the field,
Wendy and Asher
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