CSA Week 9
In your share week 9:
Carrots
Cabernet Onion
Eggplant
Cilantro
Green Beans
Zucchini
Tomatoes and/or cherry tomatoes
Cauliflower
Full Shares only:
Beets
Kale
Broccoli
Well, it’s the last share of August and the half way point of the CSA season. Labor Day marks the absolute peak of our harvest season, and we begin the gradual coast into fall after this week. Note that all of our markets continue into fall, as the harvests continue to be abundant for a while yet. You can continue to find us at:
- Tuesdays 9 to 2 at Corvus Landing Farm, through Thanksgiving
- Thursdays 11 to 2 at Lincoln City Hospital Cafeteria, through October and maybe into November?
- Neskowin Farmers Market, Saturdays 9 to 1 through September 28
- Neskowin Valley School Harvest Festival, Saturday October 5, 10 to 5
Since people usually start asking around now, the classic CSA goes for 9 more weeks, ending November 1. Flex shares and Market Choice shares can continue to be used all the way up to Thanksgiving.
Coming back to the present, though, it’s another beautiful summer share. I know we skipped carrots for a few weeks, but they’re back today and our fall carrots are looking very promising. Today’s prize though is a big portion of eggplant, probably the most we’ve ever put in the CSA. It’s super bountiful right now and I wanted to give you even more, but I didn’t want to incite a revolt! My crew and I all adore eggplant and we hope you do too. I know it’s unfamiliar to some, so I’ll repeat my suggestions from a couple weeks ago.
I most often eat eggplant roasted or grilled, but it’s also lovely in stir fries and curries or turned into baba ganouj. Ours are the long slender Japanese type, and I always eat the skin. To prepare them, cut off the stem end and either slice them into slabs or cut them into cubes. Eggplant absorb quite a bit of oil in cooking, so some people like to salt them and let them sit for 15 or 20 minutes to cut down on that. Store eggplant in a bag in the fridge, though they’ll be all right on the counter for a day or so.
This is likely the last fresh onion you’ll get, we pulled in all the yellow onions before last week’s rain to dry down for storage and the red onions are starting to die back. The greens aren’t quite as lush as they were but are still good for cooking or stock. Cauliflower is back, these heads are on the small side but they are pretty nice. I want to give you a week off from zucchini but haven’t been able to make it happen. Maybe next week…
Flower shares have a couple of new elements this week. We have a new kind of sunflower, a dark red variety, and also a lacy blue didiscus. I love ornamental grasses, and this week’s new broomcorn millet is a beauty. The China asters are on the verge of blooming, and also some new dahlias in the greenhouse that were given to me by a friend. We have more flowers than I can use, so I’ve been drying some for fall and winter, including statice and strawflower.
Eggplant and Cauliflower with Tahini
I may have mentioned in an earlier post that I’ve been pretty smitten with tahini recently. I made this all vegan dish over the weekend and it was oh so tasty. Served with quinoa it makes a pretty filling meal.
1/2 onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 scallions, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 head cauliflower, broken into small florets
1 tomato, diced
2 -3 eggplant (about 3/4 pound), cut into 3/4″ cubes
Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet or saute pan. Saute onion, scallions, garlic, and salt to taste until soft, 4 minutes. Add cauliflower and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to stick, 8-10 minutes. Add the tomato and 2 Tbsp water and continue to cook until almost tender, 8-10 more minutes. Add the eggplant and 1 Tbsp olive oil, continue to cook until eggplant is tender, 8-10 more minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together:
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp tahini
As mixture thickens, whisk in 1 – 2 Tbsp cold water to thin it out.
Add tahini mixture to vegetables. Stir and cook for another minute or two and serve hot.
Optional: add parsley, basil, or cilantro to the cooked veggies.
Lebanese Baba Ganoush
This Lebanese inspired Baba Ganoush is made with only 4 ingredients: oven-roasted eggplant, lemon juice, tahini & garlic – a great alternative to hummus! By Yumna Jawad at Feelgoodfoodie.net.
- 1 large eggplant
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Olive oil, parsley, pomegranate for garnish
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Preheat oven to 400° F degrees.
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Wrap eggplant in aluminum foil and roast for 45-60 minutes until the eggplant is soft when poked with a fork or knife. Unwrap the eggplant and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
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When the eggplant is cool to the touch, cut off the top and peel off the skin. Discard the skin, keeping only the flesh of the eggplant.
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Place the flesh of the eggplant in a food processor or blender. Add the lemon juice, tahini, garlic cloves and salt. Blend for 1 minute until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
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Alternatively, you can blend the lemon juice, tahini and garlic first, and then add the eggplant. Either way works.
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Garnish with parsley and olive oil, if desired. Enjoy with pita bread, crudité or crackers.
Eggplant String Bean Stir-fry
¼ cup oil
8 oz. green beans (225g, cut into 2-3 inch long pieces)
1 long purple eggplant (approx. 8 oz/225g, cut into ½” x 2” strips)
2 slices ginger (julienned)
6 cloves garlic (smashed and coarsely chopped)
1 red holland chili (de-seeded and sliced; you can also substitute some red bell pepper if you want the dish to be mild)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
Salt (to taste)
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
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In a flat bottomed frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat, and shallow fry the green beans. Roll the beans around slowly until they start to look wrinkly and slightly crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove them to a plate and set aside.
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Using the remaining oil in the pan, do the same procedure with the eggplant using slightly higher heat. It’s done once the edges turn slightly browned, and the eggplant is tender. Remove the eggplant from the pan and set aside along with the green beans.
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Add one tablespoon of the leftover oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic, and red chili, and cook for a minute. Mix in the green beans and eggplant, and then the light soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, and white pepper. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, and serve.