"Best eggplant dish ever"

An excellent way to use eggplant. We like it on baguettes, but it's good on rice, too.


We use a little fish sauce instead of dried shrimp.

3 dried red chilies, preferably Thai ¼ cup chopped shallots
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 heaping tablespoon dried shrimp
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium tomato, cored, coarsely chopped and briefly drained
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup ground pork (optional)
½ teaspoon ground turmeric (optional)
1½ pounds eggplant, preferably the small Asian kind, sliced ¼ inch thick
Roughly chopped cilantro or mint for garnish.

1. Soak chilies in warm water for about 15 minutes, until softened. Drain, reserving water. Discard stems and seeds, and combine chilies in a blender or small food processor with shallots, garlic, shrimp and salt. Process, adding a little of the chili-soaking water if necessary. Add tomato, process briefly and set aside.

2. Put a large, deep skillet over high heat, and add oil; a minute later, add pork and cook, stirring to break up lumps, for just a minute. Add chili mixture and turmeric. Lower heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Add eggplant, stir, cover tightly and reduce heat to low.

3. Cook, stirring every 5 minutes or so, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until eggplant is very tender and shapeless. (You can prepare ahead to this point and reheat before serving.) Just before serving, raise the heat, and boil off any excess liquid if necessary; the mixture should not be watery. Serve, topped with cilantro or mint.

From Hot Sour Salty Sweet, by way of The New York Times.

Pumpkin time

You know fall is close when school is starting and we start getting pumpkins in the box.  I always hope that our fellow CSA members are using their pumpkins for cooking, too, and not for jack-o-lanterns.

• Basil
• Cilantro
• Chard
• Eggplant
• Peppers
• Hot peppers
• Summer squash
• Heirloom tomatoes
• Regular tomatoes
• Pumpkin

Hot Pepper Jelly

From the Joy of Cooking All About Canning and Preserving cookbook, which is excellent.

• 1 pound ripe sweet red peppers, cored and seeded
  
• 8 oz. jalapeno peppers, seeded
  
• 1 1/2 cups white wine vinegar
  
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
  
• 1 packet (3 oz.) liquid pectin
  

Preparation

1. Clean and sterilize jars; they say three half-pints; I used 4 oz. jars.

2. Mince or grind the peppers; I coarsely chopped, then processed them briefly in the food processor.

3. Combine the peppers and their juices in a large, heavy saucepan with the vinegar. Stir and bring to a simmer over medium heat until the peppers are thoroughly soft, about 10-12 minutes.

4. Strain. Use a jelly bag or four layers of cheesecloth in a colander, over a bowl, and leave it for 3-12 hours. Do not press on the remaining fruit/pulp, or the jelly won't be as clear. Pour into a glass bowl and allow to settle in the refrigerator 12-24 hours, then pour off the clear juice and leave any sediment in the bottom.

5. You should have two cups of juice; if not, add enough water to bring it up to 2 cups. Return to the saucepan, adding the sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and then add the pecton. Boil hard for 1 minute.

6. Remove from the heat, and skim off any foam.

5. Can leaving 1/4 inch of headspace in each jar and processing jars for 5 minutes.

This recipe did not set up well following these directions--it took a long time, and though we haven't opened one of the canned jars yet, it looks like it wept, at least in some of the jars. BUT I might have lost track of time and over-processed. Oops. So maybe that's the problem? It tastes good, looks nicely orange, and is perfect for cornbread. And was made with peppers from the farm!

Heirloom tomatoes and flowers

I hate to whine about what's in our weekly box, but I have been sad to see no heirloom tomatoes yet.  Until today! Also, a bouquet of flowers, including a big sunflower.

• Basil
• Chard
• Eggplant
• Green beans
• Peppers
• Hot peppers
• Summer squash
• Tomatoes
• Heirloom tomatoes
• Flower bouquet

High summer vegtables

We may be coming toward the end of summer, but the vegetables are still abundant warm-weather crops.  Keep on eating good tomatoes!

• Basil
• Beets
• Cilantro
• Chard
• Eggplant
• Peppers 
• Hot peppers
• Scallions
• Summer squash
• Grape tomatoes

More of the same (not that that's a bad thing)

The vegetable list is virtually identical to last week's (with the addition of scallions).  We did pickle beets on Monday, now the biggest problem is what to do with two watermelons.  The tomatoes and eggplant are easy (and delicious).

• Basil
• Beets 
• Chard 
• Eggplant
• Peppers
• Hot peppers
• Scallions
• Tomatoes
• Grape tomatoes
• Watermelon

Time to pickle beets

We need to do something with our accumulating beets.  It's surely time for pickled beets.

• Basil
• Beets
• Chard
• Eggplant
• Peppers
• Hot peppers
• Tomatoes
• Grape tomatoes
• Watermelon

Watermelon

Today we got a watermelon, which we will bring to a barbecue, along with soup made from fresh grilled tomatoes.  We canned pickles and jam this week, now we need to can some beets.

• Basil
• Beets
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Melon
• Peppers
• Hot peppers
• Summer squash
• Tomatoes
• Grape tomatoes
• Watermelon

Peach-Raspberry Jam

I used this recipe, from Sunset magazine.

• 3 1/2 pounds ripe peaches, blanched, peeled, and pitted
• 3 1/2 cups raspberries (1 lb.)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
  
• 1 box (1 3/4 to 2 oz.) dry MCP or Sure-Jell pectin, or 2 boxes (1 3/4 oz. each) dry Ball Fruit Jell pectin
• 10 cups sugar

Preparation

1. Clean and sterilize jars; they say six pint-size jars; I used half-pints and 10 oz. jelly jars.

2. Coarsely chop peaches; you should have 5 1/2 cups. Coarsely chop or mash raspberries; you should have 2 cups.

3. In an 8- to 10-quart pan, combine peaches, raspberries, lemon juice, butter, and pectin. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring often. Stir in sugar; when mixture resumes boiling, stir for exactly 4 minutes if using MCP pectin (1 minute if using Sure-Jell or Ball Fruit Jell). Remove from heat immediately.

4. Skim and discard any foam from jam.

5. Can leaving 1/4 inch of headspace in each jar and processing jars for 5 minutes.

This recipe is really good. I think I was short on sugar, and used more like 8 cups, which was plenty. It set up nicely with Sure-Jell dry pectin and 1 minute of boiling.

More tomatoes

Yet more tomatoes!  We'll dry most of the small ones to freeze.

• Basil
• Cinnamon Basil
• Cucumbers    
• Potatoes
• Mini Purple Onions
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Grape Tomatoes
• Tomatoes

Tomatoes

First tomatoes were last week, but w were out of town so we let someone else pick them up.  This week, we have our tomatoes, along with basil to eat fresh with olive oil and mozzarella.

• Basil
• Cabbage
• Onions
• Parsley
• Potatoes
• Shallots
• Summer squash
• Tomatoes

summer veggies! First corn!

Veggies this week:

• beets
• swiss chard
• onions
• basil
• potatoes
• cabbage
• corn
  

4th of July vegetables

Nice set of vegetables for the hot summer weather we've been having.

• Lettuce
• Potatoes
• Cabbage
• Basil
• Raddichio
• Beets
• Scallions
• Chard

(apologies for the poorly focused photo)

Chard lasagna

Basically made a version of this recipe from Epicurious, using chard cut into strips as layers in the lasagne.  It was good.

Beets and basil

Sorry, only a low-light iPhone photo this week.  About all you can see is that green stuff fills the box! You can't see that there are also beets.

• Basil
• Beets
• Chinese Cabbage
• Chard
• Endive
• Lettuce
• Summer Squash

Vegetarian stuffed cabbage

From the original Moosewood Cookbook, which shouldn't be a surprise when you see that it's got gobs of butter, cheese, seeds and nuts.  I generally prefer the meatier version of stuffed cabbage that I've made.  I wouldn't mind finding a better tomato-sauce based vegetarian stuffed cabbage that I liked.

STUFFED CABBAGE
6 servings, 2 rolls each

1 large head green cabbage
1 medium carrot, diced
1 cup chopped onion
3 tbl. butter
1 clove crushed garlic
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¾ cup raw cashew pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1 stalk chopped celery
2 cups ricotta cheese
¼ cup raisins
1 cup chopped apple
juice from one lemon
1-2 tbl.  tamari
1 tbl. honey
extra butter

1. Parboil cabbage in in a kettle of water 10-15 minutes or until outer leaves are easily removeable. Remove first 12 leaves.  Make sure the cabbage is cooked well enough so leaves will not break when rolled, but not so well that they disintegrate.  Save cabbage insides for another dish.

2. Saute vegetables (not apple), nuts and seeds in butter until onion is transparent and nuts roasted. Combine the saute (drain it well!) with remaining ingredients and season to taste.

3. Place 3-4 tbl. filling near the base of each cabbage leaf. Roll tightly, folding insides.  Place on buttered sheet and brush with extra butter. Cover and bake until heated through (about 25 minutes at 325°F).

Serve with yogurt or sour cream, on a bed of rice

 source

Fish Tacos

I don't deep fry often, but this is one that is worth the mess.  Helps to satisfy those occasional California cravings.

Fish Tacos

¼ cup mayonnaise
⅓ cup sour cream
½ teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chipotle salsa, or more to taste
½ cup shredded red cabbage or lettuce
2 ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
¼ cup finely sliced red onion
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 cup flour
⅓ cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, or more to taste
1 cup beer
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
12 6-inch soft, white corn tortillas
Peanut oil, for frying

1 pound fluke, cod or any firm white-fleshed fish, cut into slivers ¼ inch wide and 2 to 3 inches long

2 limes, cut into wedges.


1. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, cumin and 2 teaspoons chipotle salsa. (Add more salsa if you like; chipotle salsas vary in heat.) In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño, garlic and cilantro.

2. In a large bowl, make a beer batter: Whisk together ⅔ cup of the flour and the cornmeal, kosher salt and beer. Near the stove, arrange a bowl of the remaining ⅓ cup flour, a bowl of the beaten eggs and the bowl of beer batter.

3. Preheat the oven to warm, or its lowest setting. Spread the tortillas on a baking sheet. Cover with a damp tea towel and place in the oven -- but don't forget about them!

4. Pour 1 inch of peanut oil into a deep saucepan and place over medium-high heat. When it is hot enough to brown a bread crumb, begin coating the fish. Dust 3 to 4 pieces with flour, then dip them in the egg, followed by the batter. Add the pieces, 1 by 1, to the hot oil. Fry until golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Adjust heat as needed. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels; repeat with the remaining fish.

5. Fill each warm tortilla with 2 to 3 pieces of fish, a generous spoonful of the chipotle sauce and a large pinch of the cabbage mixture. Squeeze a wedge of lime and sprinkle a little salt over the filled tortilla. Fold in half and serve.

source: New York Times Magazine

An abundance of broccoli

Huge quantity of broccoli this week.  Very nice.

• Arugula
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Dandelion greens
• Garlic
• Mini onions
• Lettuce
• Parsley
• Radicchio

Back!

We missed a couple weeks of vegetable while we were out of town, but I was back in time to pick up this batch.

• Lettuce
• Chard
• Radicchio
• Zucchini
• Fennel
• Garlic
• Scallions

The season begins

Today we started another season with the CSA.  Very exciting!

• Arugula
• Bok choy
• 4 heads lettuce
• Mint
• Oregano
• Spinach
• Radishes

We've got a lot of salads to eat this week.