CSA Harvest #10

Hooray for cooler weather... and rain?? Well with the changing weather comes more challenges for the farmer~! We were in a rush tonight to get all of the tomatoes picked in case the rain comes. As many of you may already know when a tomato is nearly ripe and it gets watered... BOOM the tomato absorbs that water and actually explodes (or to use the technical tomato term it "cracks")
We do not want to seem completely ungrateful for the cooler temps and chance of precipitation since we are currently unable to irrigate. Yesterday our friendly neighbor Earl asked me over the fence if I knew the bearing was out on our irrigation pump. Evidently Earl could tell just by the way our pump had changed it's pitch from a usual soft humm to a load, vibrating clank. It was at that moment that I had to admit that I knew nothing of pumps and what they should sound like. Good thing I am a woman where such ignorance of mechanical things is acceptable! ha ha! It was then that we put in a call to our farm angels Scott and Cindy Phillips out at Meadowlark Farm in Lookinglass. Scott is a wiz with farm machinery and he got our pump up and running in no time. Today was spent getting the pump back down to the river, connected to the electric box and "reprimed" (which means you have to manually fill the valves, pipe and pump with water so that the pump does not burn out when you turn it on. Wherever the stereotype arose that farming is mindless work for those who aren't smart enough for other professions is sure untrue. There is so much to learn from mechanical to biology to accounting (my least favorite part) to sales, research and I could go on and on but am getting too tired to make my case! :)

Today we will be featuring some much anticipated items in your CSA share: Asinete's bicolor sweet corn and eggplant! Look for recipe ideas below!!


Harvest This Week Includes

Asi's Luscious Sweet Corn

Classic Eggplant

Tomato Mix (sungold cherry, Cherokee purple, Sweet Cluster, Glacier)

Maxibel Haricot and Royal Burgundy Bean

Garlic

Sweet Yellow Onion

Summer Squash Mix

Basil (we have so much!)

Potatoes

Carrots

Marketmore Cucumbers


Eggplant

Baba Ghanouj ~ this is a Middle Eastern dip that is excellent on pita bread!

Ingredients:
* 2 1-pound eggplants, halved lengthwise
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)*
* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 garlic clove, chopped
* Pita bread wedges

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously oil rimmed baking sheet. Place eggplant halves, cut side down, on sheet. Roast until eggplant is very soft, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly. Using spoon, scoop out pulp from eggplant into strainer set over bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, allowing excess liquid to drain from eggplant.

Transfer eggplant pulp to processor. Add 1/4 cup oil, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic; process until almost smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Serve with pita wedges.

* Look for tahini in the natural food section of your grocery store.



Briam (Greek Mixed Vegetables in Tomato Sauce)

SUBMITTED BY: Aggeliki on myrecipes.com
"This is a Greek summertime favorite recipe, full of the aromas of fresh vegetables and herbs. It is easy to make and you can replace or add any vegetables you like and still get a great dish. You can serve it hot or cold."

* 4 tomatoes
* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
* 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
* 1/4 cup capers
* 2 cloves garlic
* salt and ground black pepper to taste
*
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 onions, sliced
* 2 potatoes, sliced
* 2 eggplant, sliced
* 3 zucchini, sliced
* 3 green bell peppers, sliced
* 2 cups okra



DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place three of the tomatoes, the 1/2 cup olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, parsley, mint, basil, oregano, capers, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and process to create a fresh tomato sauce. Season with salt and black pepper; set aside. Chop the remaining tomato; set aside.
2. Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the onions until slightly golden, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir together the onions, potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, okra, the reserved chopped tomato, and the fresh tomato sauce, and place the mixture in a large baking pan. If needed, stir in a little water so that the vegetables are just covered with sauce.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until all vegetables are tender, about 1 hour.

FOOTNOTES

*
Cook's Note
*
While baking, add water if necessary, but keep in mind that you want the food to be relatively dry in the end.


Yummy Ways to Contend With all Those Cukes!

Agua de Pepino (Cucumber Limeade)

* 1 cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
* Juice of 2-3 limes
* Sugar to taste (1/4 c or so is good)
* water
* ice

Put cucumber, sugar and lime juice in blender with enough water to reach an inch and a half below the top. Blend well. Strain the pulp out of the mixture and serve over ice. Very tasty drink from our neighbors south of the border!


Creamy Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

* 3 medium cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup cider vinegar
* 1/2 cup water
* 1 Tbsp sugar
* 2 green onions, sliced into 1/4 thick rings
* 1/2 cup yogurt, sour cream or mayonnaise

Put cucumbers in a non-metallic bowl. Mix together the vinegar, water and sugar. Pour over cucumbers, cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Drain cucumbers and mix in the green onions and yogurt (or sour cream or mayonnaise).

You can also add some sliced sweet onions (i.e., Vidalia) to the cucumbers when you marinate them. This recipe is on the tart side.

From: Lucinda Rasmussen lrasmuss@PICA.ARMY.MIL via Veggies Unite!



Enjoy from your farmer friends!

Suzie, Asinete, M.A, Violet, Robin and Wayne