What to Do With Your Share---Week 9

Hard to believe that it is mid-July, but the heat and the tomato harvest say it is so. A month without rain has been hard on some things and good on others. The cracks in the ground are approaching the point where they give you vertigo, with no bottom in sight.

It does prime the pump of the fruiting vegetables though, especially with the warm nights. With all the tomato seconds we are delighting in the eating opportunities here on the farm. Tomato salad consisting of tomatoes and salt is especially tasty in July and August, so now is a moment to be savored.

It is also the peak of basil season. Our seeds come from Italy and live up to the name of Genovese basil. The summer savory is a treat too, also living up to its name right now. They both are great with any tomato, onion, pepper or eggplant dish. Just chop them up and add them during or after cooking a dish.

The recipe this week is for all of you that are not admitted eggplant fans. My Italian cousin Maria Fazio posted a picture of eggplant "meatballs" that I had to try. The were delicious and very nearly meatballs. The flavor, texture and aroma were all fantastic. To quote Rebecca "OMG those are really good, I could eat a whole plate of them."

This recipe is based on what we had handy and a search online for Polpette di Melanzane.

Ingredients
2 eggplant (about 3/4 to 1 lb)
1 to 1-1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Italian cheese
1 large egg
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp each dried oregano and marjoram
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
flour for dusting

Method
Trim the top off the eggplant and cut it into rounds or slices. Brush with olive oil and roast at 400 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender. Let cool.
In a food processor chop the eggplant and then add the bread crumbs, garlic, eggs, herbs, salt and cheese and process until blended.
Form into "meatballs." Use some flour to keep the mixture from getting too sticky, and dust the meatballs with flour after forming them.
Fry in oil until brown. Drain on paper and serve as is, or add to tomato sauce.

Eggplant meatballs before frying

I'm sure it isn't something you might much think about, but sorting the best of our tomatoes for two different size shares at 4 different distribution locations is a skilled job. All hands but mine were on deck today as we consolidated the last two harvests into tomorrow's shares. It is an annual ritual that we are more than happy to perform.

Lorne, Rebecca, Lauren and Luke at work.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 10

Right now we are in the midst of the best eggplant harvest we have seen on the farm. The fruit of this solenaceae beauty is quite captivating when you are lucky enough to be the picker. A bucket, and then a crate of all shades of purple achieves a level of visual stimulation that is not an everyday occurrence.

So we realize that it is eggplant season at Fair Share Farm like never before. We urge you to enjoy eggplant over the coming weeks. It is as perfect as we can grow it, and we do not know how fleeting it will be.

In last year's survey 60% of the membership said that the amount of eggplant they received was just right, 12 percent said they wanted more, and 28% said they wanted less. We think the survey shows that we are serving a community of vegetable eaters, though 28% have other preferences.

To help the 28% we are working on some killer apps for eggplant. This fiber rich vegetable has more recipes for it than any other. For us, some of the best start with roasting the eggplant. So here is a primer on that step, and tonight's recipe.

Roasting Eggplant
Last week's eggplant meatballs is a good example where it is good to have some roasted eggplant on hand. So is baba ghanoush, or tonight's Summer Pasta. Roasting is a great way to pre-cook eggplant so you can use it in a variety of dishes.

The instructions are simple:
Cut top from eggplant. Cut long eggplant lengthwise, round ones into 1/2 inch rounds. Brush with olive oil (seasonings optional), and roast in an oven for about 20 minutes at 450 degrees F, until eggplant is soft.

 

 

Summer Pasta
This dish is also simple.
Cook a pot of the pasta of your choice.
Roast some eggplant, let cool and chop coarsely.
Chop 1 to 2 tomatoes coarsely
Chop 3 to 4 tablespoons of basil.
Combine in a pan with some olive oil and cook until tomatoes are warm
Add pasta, toss. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with fresh or grated cheese.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 14

The dog days are upon us. Every year is different, and I think this one has been especially humid. The words "heat advisory" seem to be permanent on the weather report. The summer plants and cover crops like it warm though, and we are enjoying the harvest they bring.

The nice thing about living by the flow of the harvest is that most recipes will write themselves. One recipe we hope to use a lot in the near future is zucchini noodles. Many of you may be familiar with them as "zoodles." We bought a julienne slicer that can turn a zucchini into a pot of noodles in no time.

Last night we made some, lightly cooked with butter and white wine, topped it with sautéed eggplant, onions,  peppers and black beans, and then a final garnish of fresh tomatoes, local cheese and basil. It was the case that the meal practically made itself.

If you are looking ofr something fancier, we would like to again suggest the eggplant cheesecake suggested in the Facebook a couple weeks ago. A final eggplant suggestion is a classic---eggplant meatballs. We posted this recipe three years ago, and have members that have made it a staple.

We continue to move ahead with our packing room upgrade and processing kitchen construction. We completed a big step this week as we pieced together the second half of our 24 ft by 8 ft walk-in cooler. Special thanks to Rebecca's father John, who lended a big hand and saved the day with his pneumatic chisel.

We are in the final stages of this project and will keep you all informed as we try very hard to wrap things up and pass final inspection by the county.

In the Share - Week Nine

heirloom tomatoes

TOMATOES (F/P) A good share this week, mostly reds and pinks with a few greens and purples.  Wash them before you eat them as we don't wash them at the farm.  Also, they are much, much better if they are never refrigerated.
LETTUCE (F/P)  One small, crisp summer lettuce head for everyone.
GREEN BEANS (F/P) The first round of beans did not fare very well.  We have more planted and are hopeful for a good crop later in the summer.
CUCUMBERS (F/P) The beetles are winning out there and it is only a matter of time before the squash and cukes bite the dust.  Another round of plants are on their way, but it will be a few weeks before they start producing.
SUMMER SQUASH (F)
BEETS OR CABBAGE (F/P)  The last of both until fall.  
HERBS (F) Basil, hot peppers or summer savory.
EGGPLANT OR PEPPERS (F/P)  The eggplant meatballs in Tom's post this week is super yummy.
CHERRY TOMATOES (F) We grow cherry tomatoes that are red, pink, yellow, orange and purple.  Try them all and let us know which is your favorite.

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and cucumbers. Maybe potatoes and garlic.

FARM REPORT:

It is a perk of the job to participate in the harvest of the summer fruits. The heirloom tomatoes are prized in large part for their thin skins and soft flesh, making it a delicate job getting them off the vine, out of the field, through the packing house and to distribution without bruising. The extra care is worth the effort once you have tasted a real tomato. We grow plenty of classic reds, but when your farmers go for a tomato it is more often a purple or a pink.  

The fall plants are getting planted in the field, with much more on the way. The fall transplants are seeded outside and they grow inside the shade structure until they are ready for the field.   This week we planted the first round of the fall broccoli and cauliflower. Soon we'll transplant these little lettuces.

Our big polar bear of a dog is ready for fall already.  Rocky's heavy coat keeps him chilled out on the concrete floor of the barn during the day.  He has the night shift to patrol the fields in the evening cool.