The meager garlic harvest. Turns out we still have not perfected the art of growing garlic. Many of them rotted again last winter and spring. Hopefully our ideas for fixing the problem will help for next year.

 A nice photo to stroke our farmer egos

Name that vegetable: A tomato of course

Casualties of all this rain:
chard: about 2/3 of the crop has died due to wet roots
carrots: 2 beds have completely rotted
onions: any onions in the slightest of depressions have failed to thrive
Ditto: sections of brussels sprouts, cabbage, peppers, tomatillos and kale

We are also lacking in any kind of salad greens this week due to the fact that that soil has been too wet to till and get anything planted in the last couple weeks. (we will still have shoots for greens)

We are thinking we need to find some way to add drainage tiling in our fields. We probably should have done so before but we have never had the urgent need for added drainage that we have this year.

eggplants are starting to roll in!  If you have never cooked with eggplant, you can just slice it, toss it with a little oil and basil (or your favorite herb) and saute or grill it!  For a little fancier presentation, try one of these great eggplant recipes from Julie, a super friend to the farm!

Spicy Eggplant with Onion

★★★★★
Main course
Prep 15 mins ∙ Cook 15 mins ∙ Makes 4 ∙ Difficulty Medium ∙ Source Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cooking

Ingredients

• 1 lb eggplant
• 1 ½ to 2 tsp chili paste with soy bean and garlic
• 5 tsp Chinese thin soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into ¾ inch cubes
• 1 cup oil

Directions

1. Cut the eggplant into 1 ½ inch cubes.
Mix the chili paste, soy sauce, sugar, and ½ cup water in a cup.

2. Heat ½ cup of the oil in a wok over a medium flame. When hot, put in the eggplant. Stir and fry for 4 or 5 minutes. The eggplant will absorb all of the oil. Add the remaining ½ cup of oil by pouring it around the edges of the wok and letting it slither downward toward the vegetable. Stir and fry for another 5 minutes or until the eggplant has browned lightly and is tender enough to eat. Remove eggplant with a slotted spoon and place in a sieve set over a bowl.

3. Remove all but ¼ cup oil from the wok. Add the garlic. Stir and fry for 15 seconds. Put in the onion. Stir and fry until the pieces turn soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the heat down a bit if the onion starts to brown. Separate the onion layers as you cook. Put the eggplant in the wok. Stir the mixture in the cup and pour it over the eggplant.

4. Cook on medium heat, stirring as you do so, until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove eggplant with a slotted spoon, leaving all the oil behind in the wok.

Notes

Delicious Chinese eggplant; the eggplant gets satiny and the sauce is spot on.

It does call for a lot of oil and I've found that there isn't that much that drains out, but it's delicious and I don't make it that often!

Ratatouille, or Baked Mixed Vegetables with Olive Oil

★★★★
Main course
Prep 30 mins ∙ Cook 1 hr ∙ Makes 4-6 ∙ Difficulty Easy ∙ Source Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Ingredients

• 1 ½ to 2 lb eggplant, diced
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus some for garnish
• 2 large onions, diced
• 1 lb zucchini, trimmed and diced
• 4 plum or 2 round tomatoes, cored and chopped
• Fresh herbs (can include thyme, marjoram, rosemary, savory, basil, parsley)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 10 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Film a casserole or heavy ovenproof skillet with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, then make a layer of the onion, followed by one of the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, herbs, salt, pepper, and garlic cloves. Repeat. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil, cover with aluminum foil, and put in the oven.

3. Bake for about an hour, until the vegetables are completely tender. Garnish with more herbs, drizzle with a little more olive oil, and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Notes

I chop all of the veggies quite small and I add 1 can of chick peas. Great on top of pasta!

You could, if you choose, leave the veggies in larger chunks. You can also add green or red pepper, potatoes, and/or mushrooms.

I found it cooks better and stays moister if you cover the baking dish with foil.

Vegetable Lasagne

★★★★★
Main course
Prep 1 hr ∙ Cook 45 mins ∙ Makes 10 ∙ Difficulty Easy ∙ Source Sunset Vegetarian Cooking

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb eggplant, diced
• ¼ lb mushrooms, sliced or diced
• 1 lb chopped fresh tomatoes (or canned)
• 1 16 oz can tomato sauce
• ½ cup dry red wine
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp each dry basil and salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 16 packaged lasagne noodles (I like the no boil kind by Barilla)
• 1 lb ricotta cheese
• 8 oz shredded mozarella cheese
• 4 ½ oz grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, eggplant, and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes. Add tomatoes (and their liquid if canned), tomato sauce, wine, carrot, parsley, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until sauce is thick. You should have 5 cups of sauce; set aside.

2. If using traditional noodles, cook in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again.

3. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread about ¼ of the sauce in dish. Arrange ⅓ of the noodles in an even layer over sauce. Dot noodles with ⅓ of the ricotta. Sprinkle with ⅓ of the mozarella, then ¼ of the parmesan. Repeat this layering two more times. Spread remaining sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. If made ahead, cover and refrigerate.

4. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven until hot and bubbly (40-50 minutes). Cut in squares to serve.

Notes

Takes time but it's worth it.

 

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 7 items (large share 9 items):
new potatoes
romanesca cauliflower
carrots
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
onions
tomatoes
cabbage
basil
beets
broccoli
cucumbers
green beans
yellow beans
dragon tongue beans
zucchini
summer squash
kale 
chard (maybe)
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
eggs (count as 2 items)
flour
dry black beans