Week #17, 2025
Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Potatoes
Onions
Hot peppers
Green and red sweet peppers
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Basil
Eggplant or tomatillos
Padron peppers or stuffing peppers
Beans or beets
Apples - gravenstein for pie and sauce!!
Luna and I are celebrating our last day in Oaxaca . We spent 8 days soaking in the sights, tastes and smells of this wonderful city. We visited most corners of the city and several small towns on the outskirts by bus. It was a great time together and a much needed break from the daily stressors at home. We ate fresh mango and papaya almost every day along with many of the moles of this region. We tried the tlayudas, memelas, quesadillas and loved the atoles. We visited museums, graphic art studios, wood carving and weaving studios. We hiked to “hierbe el agua” , a mineral deposit that is 2000 years old that looks like a petrified waterfall. We saw the Tule tree also 2000 years old and majestic is an understatement. We saw parades announcing the annual festival called the Guelaguetza celebrating native culture.
Back at the farm the onions are almost ready to harvest and in their place I will transplant more radicchio and fennel for the fall. It is time to seed the fall and winter daikon and rutabaga. I will finish transplanting fall and winter cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.
I heard from Juve that the beans took a break late last week so we will wait for the new batch to start and for the original bed to begin production again next month. Hopefully the peppers will be on and we can start harvesting green and some red sweet peppers. The peppers were amazing in Oaxaca and I am bringing some seeds (hopefully they were mature enough to produce plants) for next year. They are a special thin walled pepper they use for making rellenos.
Recipes to enjoy this week:
Monsieur Henny’s Eggplant
2-3 slender eggplant, sliced lengthwise, flesh side lightly scored
1/4 c finely chopped herbs—basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, dill, chive—whatever you have
1/2 c. Freshly grated parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste
1//4 c EVOO
3-4 fresh tomatoes, sliced in half horizontally
Preheat the oven to 450. Brush an ovenproof pan with olive oil, place the eggplant in, skin side down (you want a single layer but pretty close together, so select your pan accordingly.
Brush the eggplant lightly with/EVOO, season with salt and/salt and pepper and then sprinkle the herbs over. Cover with 3/4 of the cheese. Place the tomatoes over them skin side up. Brush the tomatoes with EVOO and cover with the remaining cheese. Bake until tomatoes are starting to blacken.
Serve hot or cold, with bread to soak up juices.
Zucchini Parmesan
2.5 lbs ripe tomatoes
1 small onion. chopped
2-4 cloves garlic
Salt/ pepper
1/8 tsp sugar
2 sprigs fresh basil
1 Tbs chopped fresh basil
2-21/4 lbs zucchini
3 Tbs EVOO
1 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 c freshly grated parmesan
Chop the tomatoes. Saute the onion in 1 Tbs EVOO, and cook until translucent; add the garlic and cook another minute more then add tomatoes, basil sugar. Cook over medium heat until tomatoes break down and you have a sauce.
Heat oven to 450. Trim the zucchini and cut into planks 1/4-1/2” thick. Brush with EVOO, season with/salt and pepper.Arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 375, Oil a 2 quart baking pan . Spread 1/4 c tomato sauce over the bottom, then arrange
1/3 of the zucchini planks on top in an even layer. Cover with 1/3 of remaining sauce, then 1/3 of the cheese, Repeat layers, ending with a cheese layer.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until bubbly. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
One Pot Zucchini Basil Pasta
2 3/4 c vegetable broth
12 oz pasta shells
2 med zucchini, cut into 1/2” cubes
4 oz mascarpone or cream cheese
1 large clove garlic finely chopped
1/3 c sliced basil
Salt, black pepper
3 Tbs roasted almonds, chopped
3 Tbs chopped parsley
In a large deep skillet, bring broth to a boil over high heat. Once the stock is boiling, slip in the pasta, zucchini, cheese, garlic and pepper and reduce to medium heat.. Cook, stirring frequently, until pasta is cooked and liquid is thickened and creamy.
Meanwhile, prepare the gremolata. Chop the onions finely and combine with the remaining chopped basil and parsley. Season with salt and/salt and pepper.
Divide the pasta into bowls and sprinkle with the gremolata.
Green cilantro and tomatillo salsa
2 lbs tomatillos
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2-3 jalapeños, sliced
salt
Large bunch cilantro, leaves and stems all coarsely chopped
Peel the tomatillos and place in a large saucepan with the onions, garlic and peppers. Add water just to cover and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil.
Pour out into a shallow dish and allow to cool. Blend in a blender or food processor; mix in cilantro and serve.
Burst Tomato Galette with Corn and Zucchini
SERVINGS: SERVES 4 TO 6 AS A MAIN OR 8 AS AN APPETIZER OR SIDE DISH
TIME: 30 TO 35 MINUTES PREP, 1 TO 2 HOURS CHILLING, 40 MINUTES BAKING
SOURCE: SMITTEN KITCHEN
PASTRY1 1/4 cups (160 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
8 tablespoons (4 ounces or 115 grams) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup (60 grams) plain yogurt or sour cream
2 teaspoons (10 ml) lemon juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) cold water
FILLING1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
Kosher salt
3 cups (about 450 grams) cherry or grape tomatoes
1 ear corn, cut from the cob (about 1 cup)
1 small (8 ounces or 225 grams) zucchini or summer squash, sliced or diced
1 bundle (3 to 4 ounces or 85 to 115 grams) scallions, thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (2 ounces or 55 grams) grated parmesan
GLAZE
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Make dough: Whisk the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Sprinkle bits of butter over dough and using a pastry blender or your fingertips, work it into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with the biggest pieces of butter the size of tiny peas. Add sour cream, lemon juice and water to the butter-flour mixture and combine with a flexible spatula or spoon until large clumps form. Pat the lumps into a ball. Wrap with plastic or a large piece of parchment paper and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, until firm, or up to 4 days, if planning ahead.
Make filling: Get down the sauté pan with the lid. If you don’t have one, any large lid will do. Add olive oil, tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes to your sauté pan then cover and heat over high heat. Roll the tomatoes around from time to time so that they’ll cook evenly. In a few minutes, you’ll hear some putts and pops as the tomatoes burst a little. When most have, remove the lid, turn heat down to medium and add zucchini chunks. Sauté for two minutes, until they begin to soften. Add corn and cook for one minute. Add scallions, just stirring them in, then turn off heat. Adjust seasonings — adding freshly ground black pepper and more salt, as needed. Transfer mixture to a large plate and spread it out, so that it will cool faster. You want it cooled to at least lukewarm before assembling the galette.
Assemble galette: Heat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured counter, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round — no need for it to be perfectly round. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet; I like to fold my dough gently, without creasing, in quarters then unfold it onto the baking pan. Sprinkle tomato-zucchini-corn mixture with half of parmesan and spoon the mixture into the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. If any liquid has puddled on the plate, try to leave it there as you spoon. Sprinkle almost all of the remaining parmesan, leaving a pinch or two behind for the crust. Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open. Brush crust with egg yolk glaze. Sprinkle glaze with the last pinches of parmesan.
Bake the galette: For 30 to 40 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
Do ahead: Baked galette keeps in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. Reheat on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes.
Gazpacho
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 jalapeños. Or other small mild pepper, chopped
1 slice bread, torn into chunks
Salt, pepper, cumin to taste
1 c chopped onion
1 c coarsely chopped cucumber (peel only if skins are bitter)
1 c chopped sweet pepper (any color)
1 c chopped fresh tomato
1/4 c tomato paste
In a food processor or blender, whizz the hot pepper, garlic and bread until the peppers are fine. Add salt, pepper, and cumin to taste.
Toss in the rest of the veggies and process until consistency you like. Add a few cups of water and the tomato paste and whir to blend. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.
Avocado Tomatillo Salsa
4 tomatillos
1 jalapeno (or 1 serrano)
1/2 onion
1 garlic clove
10-12 sprigs cilantro
1 avocado
salt to taste
Instructions
Pull the husks off the tomatillos and give them a good rinse.
Cut the stems out of the tomatillos if you want.
Roast the tomatillos in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until they start to turn army green
Add tomatillos to a blender or food processor along with ½ onion, 1 garlic clove, 10-12 sprigs cilantro, and ½ of the jalapeno
Pulse blend and taste for heat level
If you want more spice add more jalapeno (either ¼ or ½ more)
Once happy with the heat level, add the avocado to the blender and combine well
Salt to taste
Serve immediately