Week 13

Every year I make up a t-shirt for the farm in my head.  I never get them made but I enjoy thinking about a good tag line while weeding.  I haven't come up with a clever one yet this year.  This year's theme seems to be disease and that doesn't seem like a fun t-shirt.  It started with the garlic.  The potatoes seemed to have a bit of everything this year.  We had to bust out an organic approved fungicide for the onions and finally late blight has hit the tomatoes(probably via the potatoes).  We still have some tomatoes in the hoop house that are doing okay and you have some of those in your boxes today.

We have several crops in the garden that are doing fantastic.  We have done a good job of staying on schedule for seeding and planting salad and lettuce and we haven't seen any of the mildew issues that plagued us last year.  Our peppers are healthy, abundant and turning red, orange and yellow earlier than normal.  We don't grow a lot of corn but our corn patch is also more productive than it ever has been.  And so farming goes - a moment of glory, a moment of defeat and for Kelly and I a lot of humor to off set the distress.  We have been a bit more sarcastically gloomy this year but are still cracking jokes and while the amount of disease has been unusual winter will renew our optimism.

In fact, despite everything we had our best day ever at the stand on Saturday and have so much good food that we had a hard time narrowing it down for your boxes.  One thing that didn't make the cut for today is cauliflower but you should have the first of our fall cauliflower in your boxes next week as well as poblano peppers.

Lettuce
Carrots - Back!  I know they were only gone for a week but I couldn't resist the exclamation point.
Cherry Tomatoes
Red Slicing Tomato
Basil
Beans
Eggplant - Everyone will have some eggplant over the next few weeks but not everyone will get one this week.
Corn - Small For Sure - Large Maybe  This is our last succession of corn.  It is a white variety called Augusta that we have never grown before.
Green and Yellow Zucchini 
Onions - Large Only 


Corn and tomatoes go great together in salsa or in a salad.  Below are a couple ideas of how we like to mix them.  

Salsa
Corn, cooked and cooled and sliced off the cob
Tomato, diced
Hot Pepper
Garlic, minced
Onion, chopped
Cilantro
Salt
Squeeze of Lime

Salad
Skip the hot pepper and cilantro and add some basil.  Replace the acid of the lime with a little vinegar and add a little olive oil and black pepper.

Baba Ganoush - Eggplant Spread

eggplant (about a pound/all the eggplant in your box)
1/4 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic, minced if making spread by hand
juice from half a lemon
2-3 tablespoons water
salt

Preheat your grill.  Rub the eggplants with oil and place on grill.  When the skin starts to blacken turn the eggplant.  Continue to turn until the skin is mostly charred on all sides.  You want the skin to be black and the eggplant to be soft and collapsed.  If your eggplant is still a bit firm you can pop it in the oven until it is soft.  You can also do this whole process in the oven by using the broiler if you prefer.  Set aside to cool.

Put the tahini, garlic and lemon in a food processor.  I use a mini-chop with good success.  Blend.  Mixture will be thick.  Add water and process again.  You want the mixture to be light and creamy.  I add water one tablespoon at a time until I achieve the desired consistency.  This step will assure a nice light and creamy baba ganoush.

Cut eggplant open and gently spoon out the flesh leaving the charred skin behind.  Put in the food processor and mix.  Add salt and more lemon juice if you think it needs it.

You can do this without a food processor.  I like the texture I get when I use the Cuisinart but it can be made by hand with good results.

Serve with pita bread or veggies