Weekly Share September 14th – 20th

Okra (Clemson Spineless)
Sweet & Mild Peppers (Giallo di Asti, Corno di Toro Rossa, Yaglik, and Gypsy)
Eggplant (Dancer, Rayada, Rosa Bianca, and Prosperosa)
Baby Turnip Greens
German Red Garlic
Tomatoes
Arugula
Basil

We hope you all had a wonderful week last week during our CSA break. We took a short trip up north into the most urban place we could find, NYC. It had been exactly a year since we have been to such a big city and only the second time this year that we have left the farm for more than a day. So we reveled in all the things we normally cannot experience, such as people watching, walking through neighborhoods bustling with activity and history, eating as diversely as possible, and checking out some new art. While it was a nice break with entirely different surroundings and some truly inspiring food experiences, we were both itching to get back to the farm and get more done for the coming Fall and Winter. With our Latin inspired family style farm dinner on the horizon, we have a lot to do in the kitchen as well as out in the fields. The farm dinners offer us a venue for displaying the diversity of crops we have and what delicious things can be done with our seasonal offerings. This particular meal lets us explore our bounty of chiles and peppers, with a current list of 10 different pickled relish, hot sauce, and salsa options on the menu. Working within the “limitations” of seasonal produce and local meat, egg, and dairy options actually is quite liberating, because we have distinct parameters to help shape the dishes and final menus. We are absolutely thrilled to be working with our friends Robert and Ruth-Ann at Deer Run of Amelia Farm for this dinner, offering us the best quality pork and beef we could imagine. Overall these dinners remind us that the best thing about having such great quality food all around us is getting to cook with it and then of course eat it. We encourage each of you to find the time to have fun in the kitchen, get creative, explore, and us your local and seasonal parameters to inspire new dishes at your house.

Its our last Spring/Summer share of 2015; but don’t despair Fall shares will commence next week. We are already seeing peeks of Fall crops with the return of cut greens and bunching greens. Okra, Eggplant, and Peppers are in full swing, absolutely loving the slight cooling of the weather and that is great because these items are perfect for stewing, braising, frying; frankly cooking with whatever preparation you desire. Our tomato harvests are slowing down considerably because our 4^thand final succession was decimated by cutworms soon after transplant. You will still get some here and there, but in small amounts. This week’s will be a mix of small salad, all-purpose red, and sauce varieties. Please check out some of the recipes below for slightly different preparations of both eggplant and okra. Enjoy the share….Brian and Autumn

10 Best Aubergine Recipes

Crispy Okra Salad

Thinly Sliced Okra with Dried Bonito Shavings

Coconut Chicken Curry w. Okra and Eggplant Recipe

Fried Eggplant (Patlıcan Kızartması)