- Zucchini and Summer squash
- Onions
- Green peppers
- Eggplant
- Tomatoes
- Cherry tomatoes (hoping we have enough for everyone)
- Basil or other herb
- Cabbage (the last until fall)
- Green beans (hopefully they have gone into high production and we have enough)
- Cucumbers
- Hot peppers
- Potatoes
- You pick black berries and gravenstein apples
Another hot week. We managed to take advantage of Tuesday being slightly cooler and we transplanted and watered in many fall crops. We examined the beets that we had seeded earlier in an effort to return to the days of the king and queen of beets and unfortunately the birds have eaten most of the beet sprouts. The pressure from pests is enormous. We have several colonies of ground squirrels who are devils, we have white crowned sparrows, starlings, goldfinches (who mainly eat my sunflower seeds) and gophers and we even have a rabbit. At this point it is impossible to juggle everything from weeding, seeding, transplanting and trapping vermin. At times I feel lucky that we get anything out of the ground. My thoughts in general have been to plant past the pests, keep planting until the crop gets established, that way the pest has some and we have some that plan does not always work.
We have started signing up people for the winter share. The winter runs from the end of October through the end of March for a total of 12 harvests. It ends up being vegetables every other week except for the month of November which tends to have vegetables every week as I cannot bear to let the end of the summer season go. We have a Thanksgiving share which is not included in the winter and is open to everyone. Hopefully it is an abundance of vegetables that allows you to cook for family for the Thanksgiving meal. With the current state of affairs in this country it remains unclear if that will be possible.
Here is my take on the Delta variant. It is clear that the Delta variant is quite a different coronavirus. It is much more communicable than the previous variants. In the past a person infected with the coronavirus would spread it to 1-3 other people. People infected with delta are likely to spread it to 6-8 others. Time needed to infect is short. Essentially it is as contagious as the chicken pox. The mRNA vaccines are excellent at protecting those immunized against serious illness or death but it seems that Delta can infect those who are vaccinated. Infected vaccinated people can transmit the virus to others. The take home message: 1) Get everyone that can get vaccinated to take the jab. 2) Wear a mask whether you are vaccinated or not. CDC says indoors in communities of high incidence, I say mask up pretty much all the time in order to limit spread. You should gather once again outside and avoid large venues which are crowded with other people. Those with children too young to vaccinate should mask up and all children should be masked (above age 2).
Farm rules remain the same. Please wash your hands before entering the barn. Please wear masks when at the farm. I have let people who are here to harvest and are vaccinated (anyone who has come to help has had to be vaccinated) do so without masking. NOW, when we are arranging vegetables after the harvest we will all mask. One at a time in the cooler please.
On a happy note, as we all need one: Our goats have kidded! We have 7 new baby goats that are getting cuter by the day. They are frisky and playful. We had a rough start to the season with some loss but we are happy to report the last Doe delivered a beautiful buck yesterday. You can watch them play when you come to gather your vegetables. This may mean goat cheese later in August after the farmers take a week long much needed vacation.
Summer crops like beans and cherry tomatoes are ramping up and that means we need your help more than ever. Sign up or just show up to help out with the harvest. We start early to finish before noon. Please wear closed toe shoes and long pants. There are lots of prickly weeds that can scratch those exposed parts of the body.
Sue worked hard this week to offer many recipes to eat those veggies:
Monsieur Henny’s Eggplant
This is very flexible in terms of amounts—basically, you just want enough eggplants to form a single layer in your baking dish once they are halved—so I adjust the baking dish size and number of tomatoes to how many eggplant I get.
Preheat oven to 425
2 Tbs EVOO
3 small eggplants (or more, see note above) trimmed at stem end and halved lengthwise
3-4 Tbs finely fresh chopped herbs—basil, rosemary, sage, thyme, marjoram
1/2 c. Freshly grated parmesan.
3-5 fresh tomatoes, depending on size—you want enough so that when they are halved they loosely cover the eggplant layer.
Salt, pepper to taste
Lightly drizzle the bottom of a baking dish with EVOO, then lightly score the eggplant halves and place them skin-side up on the bottom of the pan. Cover with the herbs and then sprinkle with half the parmesan. Put the tomato halves over skin-side up. Lightly brush tomatoes with EVOO, then scatter the rest of the cheese over.
Bake until the tomatoes are completely collapsed and skin almost blackened—about 1 hour. Serve warm or room temp—I like the leftovers the next day with a slice or two of good bread as a sandwich.
Indian Eggplant stuffed with ground peanuts and sesame seeds.
this is good if you have a bunch of the little ones hanging around.
6-7 small eggplants.
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp waynee
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 c finely chopped cilantro
2 tsp water
3-4 Tbs canola or other neutral oil for frying
1/4 c water
For the filling use a food processor or blender to grind the nuts, seeds and dry spices, then blend in the cilantro, garlic, and 2 tsp water. It should create a compact thick paste.
Trim the eggplant stems so they are 1/2 inch long. Use your fingers to loosen or remove the green point caps. Slice each eggplant in quarters stopping 1/2 “ of the stem—you want to cut lengthwise once, then turn and cut lengthwise again perpendicular to the first cut. Divide the filling evenly by the number of eggplants you have, and gently pry the eggplant open leaving the stem end intact and cram the filling in—you want to make sure there is filling in between all 4 cuts. Gently squeeze the eggplant when done to make sure the filling sticks and fills all the crevices.
Pour the oil over the bottom of a large non-stick skillet (I used cast iron actually) When hot (but not smoking!) Gently place the eggplants down in a single layer. Fry the eggplants for 4-5 minutes, turning them gently to brown on two sides. It’s ok if some of the filling falls out into the pan. Add the remaining 1/4 cup water, cover with lid or foil and turn heat to low. Cook 15-20 minutes more, turning half way, until they are tender and easily pierced with a knife. Remove to a plate and then turn the heat up to medium high and fry up the bits of filling which fell out and then serve w/eggplant
Grilled Vegetable Galette
galette dough:
3 Tbs sour cream or plain yogurt
1/4 c water
2 ice cubes
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
7 Tbs cold butter, cut into very small pieces.
grilled veggies (amount and type could be varied depending on what you have and your taste!)
1 portobello mushroom
2 zucchini cut in 1/2” slice
1 red pepper cut into 6ths. seeds and veins removed
1 yellow pepper cut into 6ths
1/2 lb fontina cheese or smoked fontina, thinly sliced
1 egg
2Tbs water
To make the dough: Stir the sour cream water and ice cubes together and set aside. Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor and process until the butter is pea-sized or small—you can also do this with a pastry cutter, two knives, etc. Remove the ice cubes from the yogurt mix and then sprinkle the liquid over the flour and butter mixture tossing with a fork to mix, then gather the dough with your hands and press it into a disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 2 hours or longer.
Toss the veggies lightly with olive oil and grill, flipping to make sure each side cooked through and tender (pepper skin should be starting to blister a bit.
To assemble: unwrap dough and roll on lightly floured board until a 12-14 “ circle—does not have to be perfect! Line a baking sheet with parchment and transfer the dough to the parchment, Layer 1/2 the cheese slices in the dough center, leaving about a border of about 3” uncovered. Layer 1/2 the veggies on top, then cover with the rest of the cheese and then the last of the veggies. Bring the edges of the dough up and over the veggies cheese pile, leaving the center 5” or so uncovered, and gently pinching/creasing the folded parts of the dough. Whisk the egg and 2 Tbs of water together and brush over the dough. Bake at 374 until golden brown, about 40 minutes or so. Let cool for 10 minutes to set before serving in wedges warm or room temp.
Bulgogi eggplant
INGREDIENTS
1 pound Asian eggplant, especially Korean (2 to 3 large), cut in half crosswise, then lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
- Neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola, for grilling
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced on the bias, for garnish
PREPARATION
- Place the eggplant in a colander set inside the sink. Sprinkle with the salt, toss to combine and let sit for 30 minutes to drain its excess moisture.
- While the eggplant drains, prepare a charcoal grill for direct high-heat cooking, or heat a gas grill to high. In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, maple syrup, sugar and garlic powder until the sugar is dissolved.
- Carefully grease the grill grate: Use tongs to grip a wadded paper towel dipped in oil and then rub the grates with the oiled towel. In the colander, toss the drained eggplant with 1 tablespoon oil. Place the eggplant on the hot, greased grate. Grill until charred at the edges, 1 to 2 minutes per side. If using a gas grill, close the lid between flips. (See Tip for stovetop method.)
- Add the grilled eggplant to the bowl with the sauce and gently toss, making sure each slice is thinly coated. Arrange the slices with the sauce on a large platter. Crack over some black pepper and garnish with the scallion.
GREEN SAUCE
INGREDIENTS
- 1 packed cup basil leaves
- ½ packed cup parsley leaves and tender stems
- ½ packed cup chopped chives
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- Pinch of black pepper
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal), plus more to taste
PREPARATION
- Place herbs, garlic and pepper in a food processor or blender, and pulse to combine, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container if necessary.
- Add yogurt and purée until smooth. (This may take a minute or so; scrape down the sides of the container as needed.) With the motor running, gradually drizzle in the olive oil. Pulse in lemon zest and salt. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Spoon over grilled or roasted chicken, seafood (especially shrimp and salmon), sausages, steaks, lamb chops and vegetables. Use as a marinade for chicken, lamb or pork; as a dressing for starchy salads with beans, potatoes or grains, or for hearty vegetable salads, like those with cucumbers or blanched and sliced sugar snap peas or green beans. Serve as a dip for crudité or chips. Spread in roast beef, lamb or pork sandwiches.