Arugula or Mesclun Salad Mix
Okra
Tomatoes
Mild Peppers
Romano Green Beans
Assorted Eggplant
Yellow Onions
Welcome to the 2024 Fall CSA season. We love the fall as we tend to have the most diversity of the entire season, with some summer crops lingering long and fall crops ramping up. Right now we are still mostly in the Summer crops as late July and early August was very rainy, making it difficult to get into our crop fields for planting. Although much is now planted, the shortening daylight, means we often have to wait awhile for crops to get ready. There will be cut salad greens though as they are quick and looking luscious after the cool temperatures we have had. Each week new crops will jump on board and due to the levels of diversity, many crops will only be in your share once or twice. We were hoping the kale might be ready but it is still a little small, next week it will be ready as will some short growing roots. Planting is still a little behind as we were away this past week and there is still a ton of crops ready to go in the ground, so this week will be busy trying to play catch up. Our large late fall root planting will happen in the next few days along with our first spinach and weekly yu choy seedings. This month is the last of our outdoor field seedings, by October we are planting everything in tunnels for December through March production. This time of year timing is key and we are already a little thrown off, so we will see what that means for the Fall; but we are happy with the health of a lot of the crops so far and look forward to an abundance of greens very soon.
This week highlights late summer with green beans, okra, and eggplant in abundance. The tomatoes, peppers, and onions are great tools for cooking the first three, along with spices and herbs of your choice whether you are looking at doing Indian, Mediterranean, Turkish or Middle Eastern style recipes. Check out the recipes below and enjoy the share……Autumn & Brian
Burrata with Romano Beans and Roasted Eggplant
Quick Okra, Eggplant, & Turmeric Stew
Kadai Bhindi (Indian style Okra with Bell Peppers)
Eggplant in a Spicy Honey Sauce –The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden
The sauce is a splendid example of the hot, spicy, and sweet combinations; which are a thrilling feature of North African cooking. Serve it cold with bread.
2 medium-large eggplants
olive oil
salt
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 inches fresh gingerroot, grated, or cut into pieces
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
large pinch cayenne or ground chili pepper, to taste
4-6 Tbls honey
juice of 1 lemon
2/3 cup water
Cut the eggplants into rounds about 1/3” thick. Do not peel them. Dip them in olive oil, turning them over, and cook on a griddle or under a broiler, turning them over once, until they are lightly browned. They do not need to be soft, as they will cook further in the sauce. In a wide saucepan or skillet, fry the garlic in 2 Tbls of the oil for seconds only, stirring, then take off the heat. Add the ginger, cumin, and cayenne or gorund chili pepper, honey, lemon juice, and water. Put in the eggplant slices and cook over low heat –either in batches, so they are in one layer, or together, rearranging them so that each slice gets some time in the sauce –for about 10 minutes, or until the slices are soft and have absorbed the sauce. Add a little water if necessary.