CSA Week 11

In Your Share Week 11:

Carrots
Broccoli
Zucchini
Eggplant
Onion
Salad Mix
Basil
Tomatoes and/or Cherry Tomatoes

Full Shares Only:

Green Beans
Beets

The rain has arrived and it is sure feeling like fall.  We have gotten 2 inches already and more in the forecast.  It’s great for the river and our forest, and will help us get ready to sow cover crop in preparation for winter.  But it makes for a rainy harvest, and will probably kick start a lot of mold and accelerate the decline of some of the summer crops.  Most of our crops love it: this is perfect salad mix weather, and it’s great for the carrots and kale.  But the zucchini are already getting hit by powdery mildew and the beans are slowing down, and this isn’t going to help them bounce back!

We are including green beans for full shares today, and depending on how the plants do in this rain it could be the last of them.  Today is also likely to be your last basil.  The basil is protected in the greenhouse, but it is getting more and more moldy leaves and is getting increasingly difficult to harvest.  We’ve done our best to give you clean bunches, but it is extra perishable this week and I recommend that you use it up quickly!

While it’s bittersweet to see the summer crops coming to an end, we have a great looking lineup out there for fall shares.  There’s lots of fall brassicas, including fantastic broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbages.  Today everyone gets beautiful broccoli, and we have another absolutely gorgeous bed that is on the verge of production.  Salad mix is back today and is especially nice, and we’ve continued to sow it weekly for harvests into October.  We’ve got lots of carrots and potatoes, and there’s one more rotation of beets sizing up in the greenhouse.  The onions and shallots are all harvested and drying under cover, and the squash are ripening on their vines.

And summer does continue with ongoing harvests of zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes.  The eggplant continue to be hugely productive, and I’ve been eating them every way I can.  Tomatoes are slowing down but still going strong, and this week’s cherries are extra tasty.

Flower shares are coming to an end!  This was the last scheduled week, but I am planning to give full season flower members one bonus week to thank you for supporting this new enterprise.  So unless this rain just destroys the harvests, your final flower share will be either September 17 or 19.  We’ve got a few last late season blooms to enjoy, including bright colored zinnias, beautiful China asters, and spiky yellow solidago.  Thank you for trying out the flower CSA, I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have!  We will continue to have bouquets for sale at all of our market stands until we don’t have flowers left to harvest.

Thai Green Curry with Eggplant and Broccoli

I love green curry, and it’s easy to make a simple version using pre-made curry paste.  Most local grocery stores carry a version, I get the Thai Kitchen brand from Trillium. 

3/4 cup white rice

2 eggplant

6 ounces broccoli

3 Tbsp roasted cashews

1 Thai chile

1 Tbsp light brown sugar

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 can coconut milk

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 sprigs basil

1 Tbsp green curry paste

Cook Rice: Preheat oven to 425°F. In a small pot, combine rice, 1¼ cups water, and ¼ teaspoon salt and then bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer until water is fully evaporated, 10-12 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let stand, still covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork, then cover to keep warm until ready to serve

While rice cooks, rinse all produce. Halve eggplant lengthwise, then cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces. Cut broccoli into ½-inch pieces. Roughly chop cashews. Halve Thai chile lengthwise and, using a knife tip, discard seeds and finely chop up to 1 teaspoon for seasoning the cashews.

Roast Vegetables: On a baking sheet, toss eggplant and broccoli with 1 tablespoon canola oil, ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper as desired. Arrange in a single layer and roast, stirring halfway through, until eggplant and broccoli are very tender, about 20 minutes total.

Glaze Cashews: While vegetables roast, heat 1 teaspoon canola oil in a medium high-sided pan over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add half of brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved, 2-3 minutes. Add cashews to pan and toss to fully coat, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat. Stir in sesame seeds and chopped Thai chile. Transfer to a plate to cool until ready to serve.

Simmer Curry: Wipe pan from cashews clean, then add coconut milk, soy sauce, whole basil sprigs, curry paste, and remaining brown sugar over high heat. Whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until flavors have melded, 5-7 minutes.

Plate Curry: Remove basil from curry and discard. Over medium heat, add spinach and roasted vegetables to pot with curry and stir to wilt spinach, 1-2 minutes. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper as desired. Divide rice between shallow bowls and ladle over green curry. Top with glazed cashews and fresh basil leaves.

Zucchini Carrot Fritters

Garnish

• plain greek yogurt
• green onion, diced

1. Mash chickpeas with a fork in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Grate zucchini and carrots. Place in a clean dish towel or cloth and squeeze to remove moisture.
3. Add veggies, panko, egg, basil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the bowl with the mashed chickpeas and stir until completely combined.
4. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat.
5. Scoop 2 tablespoons of mixture into your hand press to compress it into a patty.
6. Cook for about 1-2 minutes, until the underside is golden brown then flip and repeat.
7. Serve with a dollop of plain greek yogurt and diced green onion.