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Tag: Eggplant

  • CSA Newsletter: Week 15 (August 27th, 2012)

    Hello CSA members!

    This week we hope to bring you potatoes, onions, carrots, bell peppers, eggplant OR beets, chilies OR basil, and cherry tomatoes OR zebra tomatoes OR slicing tomatoes. Large share members will get chilies AND basil, green beans, and garlic. Fruit share members will be getting peaches and plums.

    In this week’s newsletter:


    Fun on the Farm

    I really love working with everybody at Red Wagon. This is our busiest time of the year and everyone is working really hard, but we have a ton of fun too. I thought I’d share a couple of my favorite photos from the last few weeks.

    Smiley Chayo and Silvestre harvesting beets.

    Robert says, “It’s too early, but this basil sure is lovely…”

    Farm Tour Coming Up!

    We will be having our second farm tour of the season on Sunday, September 9th. (Not this coming Sunday, but the following Sunday.) This time the tour will be hosted at the Teller Farm on Valmont Road. The tour will go from 10am-2pm.

    If you didn’t make it to our first farm tour back in June, this is a really fun opportunity to see how we grow a lot of our crops including melons, tomatoes, basil, beets and more. If you did attend the tour back in April, I recommend coming to this one too if you can. The Teller Farm is where we have historically grown the majority of our crops. We will have tractor rides and walking tours around the farm so you can watch your veggies growing!

    Directions to Teller Farm:

    From downtown Boulder, go east on Pearl Street. At 55th, Pearl Street will turn into Valmont Road. Continue east on Valmont for about 3.5 miles. (You will go straight at the lights at 61st St. and 75th St.)

    About 0.9 miles east of 75th, turn right onto Melissa Lane. Continue going straight. The road will turn to dirt. Turn left at the green gate.

    We will be setting up the reception/greeting tents just through the next green gate. Please park here, off the main road.

    I hope to see you all there! Have a great week.

    -Maddie


    Moussaka

    This week I thought I would share some of my favorite go-to recipes with you. First is moussaka, or my take on a moussaka-like dish using what I have on hand.

    • 2 globe/Italian eggplants, unpeeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
    • Olive oil
    • 3 cups total of any vegetables you have available to you (onion, carrots, celery, fennel, rutabaga, kohlrabi, mushrooms…any combo of these works here)
    • 4 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • About 2 cups of tomatoes, cut up (fresh or canned, whatever you have)
    • 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
    • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    • 6 tablespoons butter
    • 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    • 3 1/2 cups milk
    • 4 egg yolks

    Sprinkle both sides of eggplant rounds with salt and brush with oil. Either bake or grill the eggplant until it is tender.

    Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 3 cups of vegetables and saute until the vegetables are very tender. Mix in garlic. Saute until juices evaporate, about 10 minutes. Mix in oregano and cinnamon. Add tomatoes and parsley. Cook until mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

    Lightly oil 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange half of eggplant rounds in single layer in dish. Spoon half of tomato mixture evenly over eggplant. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese. Repeat layering with remaining eggplant, tomato mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese.

    Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Stir 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk yolks in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot sauce. Pour sauce over vegetables in dish. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over sauce. (Can be made 1 day ahead. If you’re making this ahead, cover and refrigerate here.)

    Bake moussaka at 350°F until heated through and sauce is golden brown on top, about 45 minutes (or about 55 minutes for refrigerated moussaka). Cool 15 minutes.


    Cantaloupe and Prosciutto Pasta

    This is one of my favorite summer meals. The melons are such a short season we try to have this at least two or three times in the summer. I often make this without prosciutto as I did this time in the photo. You can substitute bacon, turkey or vegetarian bacon if you like. The key is to have something salty to stand up to the melon. If you leave out prosciutto (or prosciutto substitute), use a little more Parmesan cheese.

    • 1/4 cup fruity olive oil
    • 1 1/2 cups cantaloupe, diced
    • 1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto, very coarsely diced
    • grated zest of 1 med. lemon
    • 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
    • freshly ground black pepper
    • 3 T. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus extra for serving
    • 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into strips
    • RECOMMENDED PASTA: 8 oz. medium shells (conchiglie rigate).

    Combine olive oil, cantaloupe, prosciutto, lemon zest, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper and  Parmesan cheese in pasta serving bowl.

    Set aside to warm to room temperature, or just till flavors mingle.

    Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water till al dente. Drain pasta well & immediately add to sauce in bowl. Sprinkle with basil & toss. Serve at once with extra Parmesan cheese. Pass the pepper mill.


    Potato Leek Soup

    This is a super forgiving recipe that always works and can use up anything lurking in the back of the fridge, or veggie drawer.

    • 3 medium leeks (white part), rinsed and chopped
    • 3 or 4 potatoes, chopped
    • Butter or olive oil to saute the vegetables
    • One quart of vegetable or chicken stock, or water
    • Milk or cream
    • Salt, pepper and any herbs you like

    Saute leeks and potatoes in oil until the leeks get soft. Add broth or water and cook until the potatoes are done, about 20 minutes. When the potatoes are done you can add some milk or cream to thin the soup to the consistency you like. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in the blender. I like to leave my soup a little chunky. I added some roasted chilies and some cheese to my soup this time. With the leftovers I might add some more diced vegetables like carrot and I think I have a kohlrabi leftover from last week that might find its way into the soup.

    Summer is flying by. I hope you are enjoying your CSA shares.

    Until next week.

    -Mo

  • CSA Newsletter: Week 13 (August 13th, 2012)

    Hello CSA members!

    This week we hope to bring you a melon, onions, beets OR cauliflower, zucchini OR cucumbers, japanese eggplant OR italian eggplant, and green beans. Large share members will also be getting edamame, cherry tomatoes, and a large share “grab bag” choice. Fruit share members will get peaches and plums.

    In this week’s newsletter:


    Harvest Photos

    I’ve been really trying to remember to take more pictures on the farm lately. We’re usually so busy when we’re out in the fields that I think most of us forget to take pictures or even just look around and appreciate how beautiful it is.

    Last week I took some photos of one of my least favorite crops to harvest and one of my most favorite crops to harvest. See if you can guess which is which.

    This is a pickling cucumber vine. If all goes well, all of those little yellow flowers will become tiny cucumbers.

    This particular row is a “little leaf” variety, meaning that the leaves and vines are all very tiny and tangled. Here’s what it looks like when you’re up close and personal. Can you see any cucumbers in there?

    There are lots of rules when picking cucumbers. As you may know if you garden at home, the plants are super sensitive and need to be treated really carefully or they’ll get upset and stop producing.

    The Four Commandments of Cucumber Picking:

    1. Thou Shalt Not Swim. Especially when picking the little-leaf varieties, it sometimes seems like the only way to find any cucumbers is to dive in head first and wave your arms around. This leads to unhappy plants and thus is not allowed.
    2. Thou Shalt Not Step on the Vines. As you may know, cucumber vines can be quite unruly and tend to grow where you would otherwise put your feet, your harvest bucket, etc. It is important not to step on the new growth or you will again upset the cucumbers.
    3. Thou Shalt Not Yank. Pick gently. Specifically, you should wrap your right index finger around the base of the cucumber where it meets the vine, and gently pluck it from it’s moorings.
    4. Thou Shalt Not Take Pity. Odd cucumbers need not apply. I have learned that this rule is in effect for reasons other than aesthetic. A lot of cucumbers grow into strange shapes…pointy ends, C-formations, weird bulbous protrusions. Unfortunately, these really don’t taste as good as the pretty ones and thus get left behind.

    Ooh look! I found one.

    How’d I do?

    __________________________________________________________________

    Sometimes it seems like every day I work on the farm starts out with a couple of hours in the basil. I have to say, it is a pretty nice way to spend the morning.

    Here are Kendall and Madi collecting some purple basil.

    When we harvest basil on the farm, we do what we call “tipping.” This basically means that we take newest set of 4 to 6 leaves from each stem. Tipping serves a few purposes. It keeps the basil from flowering and going to seed so we can harvest it for a long time. It also means that we don’t pick it with any stem which makes it super easy to throw in a blender and make pesto or top a pizza. We try to only pick basil that looks like this.

    Sometimes we will pick 15 or 16 pounds of basil in one day. Basil doesn’t weigh very much, so you can imagine how much basil that is.

    Here’s Madi weighing out some purple basil for restaurants.


    Reusable Bags: Lost and Found and For Sale

    By now you have probably seen our new Red Wagon Chico Bags hanging up on the tent at CSA. You can pick one up at your next pick-up. They are $6 each for CSA members, $7 for everyone else, and we’ll take cash or a check.

    These bags are awesome. They pack down really tiny when empty, they’re tough, and they’re perfect for picking up your CSA share and other groceries. Not to mention, you can carry it around and represent Red Wagon wherever you go! :)

    I also have a couple of reusable bags that were left at CSA pick-ups a while ago. If either or both of these belong to you, send me an email or mention it at your next pick-up and I’ll get them back to you.


    Have a great week and I’ll see everyone at pick-up!
    -Maddie

    _____________________________________________________________________

    Grilling Eggplant

    Posted by Mo

    People have been asking when we will get greens again. Wyatt has them planted so, depending on weather, we should see some arugula and braising mix in 3 or 4 weeks. Lettuce mix will follow soon after. Until then I hope you are all enjoying the great height-of-the-season vegetables we are getting.

    This week you  have a choice of Italian or Japanese eggplant. Last week I grilled the Japanese eggplant and I am grilling the Italian eggplant this week to show you how different they are. The Japanese variety is very tender and mild. The Italian are longer and larger, so the skin is thicker and a little bitter but the flesh is silky and sumptuous. The flesh almost dissolves in your mouth. It disappears into the background of whatever it is mixed with and brings a body unlike any other vegetable I can think of.

    I was looking through our recipe archive and we don’t have many sauce or dip recipes so I thought I would add a couple using eggplant. I grilled some Italian eggplant and used the flesh for two different dishes: baba ganoush and an eggplant sauce.

    Heat up your grill and put the eggplant right on the grill, make a few slits in your eggplants so they don’t explode.

    When the eggplant are charred all over, and really black and crunchy take them off the grill and let them cool so you can touch them without burning yourself. You are going to scoop out the flesh and get rid of the charred skin. Both these recipes use only the flesh of the eggplant.

    Both of these recipes are absolutely delicious and utterly non-photogenic.

    Baba Ganoush

    • 3 medium-sized eggplants
    •  1/2 cup (130g) tahini (roasted sesame paste)
    •  1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
    •  3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
    •  3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
    •  1/8 teaspoon chili powder
    •  1 tablespoon olive oil

    Grill the Italian Eggplant and scoop out the flesh and mix with the rest of the ingredients. I mash it all together in a bowl with the back of a fork.

    And this is the eggplant sauce served along with  cauliflower and beans you are getting in your share.  I blanched the vegetable for about a minute and served the eggplant sauce on the side.


    Eggplant Sauce

    *Adapted from a recipe by Nigel Slater

    • The flesh of one grilled Italian eggplant
    • ½ cup Greek yogurt
    • A handful of mint leaves
    • Olive oil

    Mash all the ingredients together in a bowl and use it as you would baba ganoush. This is fresh and bright.

    Tortilla Salad

    Posted by Mo

    I often look through Heidi Swanson’s books for ideas. I saw this recipe Tortilla Salad and made my own version of it with the vegetables we got this week.

    You can use any vegetables you have of course. I followed the recipe for the dressing except I added a little cumin, and used the beans and cauliflower again. This is very good. I’ll make this again.

    • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
    •  1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves
    •  1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
    •  1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves
    •  2 teaspoons sweet paprika
    •  2 medium cloves of garlic, smashed into a paste
    •  1 well-crumbled bay leaf
    •  pinch of red pepper flakes
    •  1/4 teaspoon + fine grain sea salt
    •  1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
    • A pinch of cumin

    Gently warm the olive oil over medium-low heat in a skillet or pan, until it is just hot. When hot remove from heat.

    While the oil is heating, lightly pound the rosemary, thyme, and oregano in a mortar and pestle.

    Stir the paprika, garlic, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and salt into the oil. Then add the bruised herbs and lemon juice.

    You can use this now, but know – the oil just gets better as it ages over a few days. Keep it in a refrigerator for up to a week/ten days-ish. It thickens up when cold, so if you need it in a liquid state, place it in the sun or in a warm place for a few minutes.

    Full disclosure; I dropped my camera and broke the lens so I couldn’t take pictures. My daughter is in town for a wedding and she took all the pictures this week. Thanks Nyssa. Good job.


    Have a great week.

    -Mo

  • CSA Newsletter: Week 11 (July 30th, 2012)

    Hello CSA members!

    This week we hope to bring you watermelon, new potatoes, onions, broccoli OR eggplant, zucchini OR cucumbers OR tromboncino squash, and green beans. Large shares will get broccoli AND eggplant, tomatoes, and bell peppers. Fruit share members will get peaches AND plums.

    In this week’s newsletter:


    Farm Updates

    Posted by Maddie

    As I’m sure you all know by now, we are in the middle of one of the driest summers on record. The drought is putting a lot of stress on farmers all across the United States, with Colorado being one of the hardest hit states. Wyatt, the farm managers and the farm crew are working hard to ensure that we have plenty of food despite some pretty tough growing conditions.

    Photo Credit: Robert Wilson

    Fortunately, Wyatt was able to change some things around that have made a huge difference and we have so far been successful at producing a lot of delicious veggies.

    Many of the crops that have been grown at the Teller Farm in years past are being grown at our 63rd Street Farm this year. If you attended our farm tour back in June, you probably saw a lot of these crops when they were young. Wyatt decided to grow some of the tomatoes, most of the green beans, and all of the eggplant and peppers at the 63rd Street Farm this year. This photo shows some of the rows of peppers and eggplant which are just starting to produce fruit.

    Photo Credit: Robert Wilson

    The green beans you will get this week were harvested at 63rd Street.

    Photo Credit: Robert Wilson

    Purple potatoes AND purple peppers?! Peppers are just for large shares this week but will be coming soon for everyone.

    Photo Credit: Robert Wilson

    Here is Hannah harvesting some beautiful heirloom tomatoes from the hoop houses. Tomatoes for CSA may be a couple of weeks out, but they will be worth the wait!

    Photo credit: Robert Wilson

    We have an amazing share for you all this week and there is more great stuff to come. I hope you enjoy it!

    Have a great week,

    Maddie


    Magical Mystery (ahem..Zucchini) Muffins

    Posted by Maddie

    Week 6 in a row for zucchini? I know, I know. And there’s more where that came from, trust me. But keep in mind, zucchini is one of the most versatile veggies out there. Need more zucchini ideas? Slice it into coins with some of your CSA onions, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill. Slice it into spears or halves and do the same.

    And then of course, there are the easy to make, easy to eat and easy to share Zucchini Muffins. I know Mo gave you a recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread last week (which was awesome, I hope you tried it) but I thought I’d give you a different take this week for fun. You can use either the zucchini you get this week, if you choose it, or some that you have left over from previous weeks. (Or you can use the zucchini your neighbor put in your car or on your porch while you were sleeping. Or the ones that fell from the sky…you get the idea.)

    Here is an awesome, easy recipe for zucchini bread or muffins from the Smitten Kitchen. I have made this twice already this summer and it has been fabulous both times. The key is to share! My coworkers, who are also eating a lot of zucchini right now, really enjoyed these. You can even call them Magical Mystery Muffins if you want.

    Magical Mystery (ahem..Zucchini) Muffins
    Yield: 2 loaves of bread or approximately 24 muffins

    • 3 eggs
    • 1 cup olive or vegetable oil
    • 1 3/4 cups sugar
    • 2 cups grated zucchini
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
    • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
    • 1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination thereof (optional)

    Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners (or grease and flour 2 8×4″ loaf pans).

    Grate your zucchini using a box grater, or a food processor if you have one. 2 cups is about half of a big zucchini or a whole medium zucchini. If you have a big one on hand, make a double batch with 24 muffins and 2 loaves of bread and freeze the bread for later. It really freezes well wrapped in plastic wrap a few times, and will be great to have a few months from now when you’re in zucchini withdrawals.

    In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Add the oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla.

    In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and then add to egg mixture.

    Pour batter into muffin cups and bake for about 20-25 minutes.

    How could you not love these?


    Choosing a Watermelon

    Posted by Mo

    Look at this week’s CSA share.
    <img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-538" title="Share Week 11" src="http://redwagonfarmboulder.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/share-week-11.jpg&quot; alt="" width="640" height="426" /
    Just beautiful.
    I may weep.

    Remember 11 weeks ago when we were explaining the possibility of a drought this year and the problems that go along with drought? We'll it's here. We are in one of the driest, if not the driest summer on record and look what Wyatt and the farm crew can produce.
    How lucky are we to have Red Wagon be 'our' farmers? Let's have a big, big round of applause please for their knowledge, experience and commitment to growing fantastic food in some of the most challenging conditions in decades.

    This week everyone gets a watermelon. Yea!
    We grow several different varieties, all delicious. Big and small, they are all great. Pick one that will fit in your refrigerator. That's the biggest choice you need to make.

    People always ask if the watermelons are ready, or if we can pick a ‘good one’. We are very, very careful to pick only ripe and ready melons so you can be assured that any melon you get will be wonderful. But, just for fun I’ll show you how to make sure a watermelon you get from someone else was harvested correctly.
    First thing you do is roll the melon over to see it’s ‘tummy’. See the yellow? That is where it has been sitting on the ground in the field. If a melon is all green, pass on it and find one with a yellow ‘tummy’. When you find a yellow one put the melon in one hand and tap the top of the melon with your other hand like Erica is doing here.

    Your bottom hand should be able to feel ‘water’ vibrating in the melon. Almost like a water balloon. If it feels dense with no movement, try another one.


    Tromboncino Squash and Japanese Eggplant

    Posted by Mo

    We are bringing a choice of summer squash this week. Tromboncino squash are new this week. They are an Italian squash.

    Tromboncino can be picked young as summer squash or left on the vine and picked as a winter squash. We pick them young. They are larger and more dense than the green and yellow zucchini we have been bringing you. I think they taste nutty and I find anything I can do with a winter squash I can do with a Tromboncino, except unlike most winter squash, you can use and eat the peel of the Tromboncino. So try out your favorite winter squash soup or casserole dish with a Tromboncino. I think you will love them. I really do.
    They will keep well in the refrigerator a few days longer than zucchini, more like 10 days rather than 6 or 7 for zucchini.

    The eggplant you are getting is a Japanese variety. It is more tender and sweet than the large, globe shaped Italian variety you will be getting later this year. Some recipes for eggplant call for salting and letting the salt draw out the bitterness of the eggplant or cooking the eggplant and discarding the peeling. With these small Japanese eggplant you don’t need to do either of those things. Just cook and enjoy them almost like you would a zucchini. There is a slight bitterness in the skin but there are almost no seeds and the inside of the eggplant is creamy and delicious.

    Grilling Vegetables

    Posted by Mo

    I decided to grill my Tromboncino, eggplants, and grilling onions I got this week. While the grill was getting hot I cut the vegetables into roughly the same size pieces so they would grill about the same time. I rubbed them with olive oil and salt and wacked them on the grill.

    When vegetables are this good I try to avoid any complicated cooking or additions. The one thing you want to do is grill them until they are truly done. “Crunchy” grilled vegetables are no bueno. We are about half way here.

    Done now.

    See how the cell walls are collapsed? If the vegetables are firm you aren’t getting the flavor of grilling. Some charring is ok, too. Some of that black is the skin of the eggplant, not burned vegetables.

    This made lot of vegetables. I used ½ for one meal and cut up the other ½ to use later in the week to add to some grains for eggs for a quick dinner.

    We have some great food this week. Let us know what you do with yours! Have fun.

    Mo