This week your basket contains: zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, beans, carrots, sweet peppers, beets, RED CABBAGE, TOMATILLOS (full shares), eggplant (half shares), basil, and onions 

PUMPKIN PICK UP WEEKEND this year will be October 20^th & 21^st.  This is the time we set aside for you all to come out to the farm, choose a carving pumpkin (and gourds and odd squash) and enjoy the farm.  We will have farm tours, apple cider pressing, and a pot luck lunch that includes pizza from our wood-fired oven.  I will, of course, be making pumpkin pie pizza, which is amazing (if I do say so myself).  Make plans now to come out one of those days anytime from 11:00 to 4:00.

It has been a funny summer in some ways.  Related crops (in this case tomatoes and eggplant) which are growing right next to each other and were fertilized exactly the same have performed very differently.  As you can see from your basket today, tomato yields continue to be heavy, whereas this is only the second time we’ve been able to harvest eggplant and each time it has only been for some of our baskets. We’re baffled, especially after the great eggplant we had last year.  In any case, you can find good eggplant recipes on our web site.

TOMATILLOS are doing well.  Counterintuitively, tomatillos are NOT related to tomatoes.  Tomatillos are most commonly used in salsa, but are very versatile.  Check out our web site for recipes.

CABBAGE & CHICKPEA SALAD

This quick and easy salad combines chickpeas, chopped red cabbage, tomatoes, and onions in a tahini salad dressing, or substitute your favorite dressing.

2 (16 ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

2 cups chopped red cabbage

1 cup chopped tomato

2 tablespoons chopped onion

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup tahini salad dressing (see below)

Combine chickpeas, red cabbage, tomato, and onion in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with salad dressing until ingredients are evenly coated.

TAHINI DRESSING

1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)

1/2 lemon, juiced

2 Tbsp maple syrup (or sweetener of choice)

3-4 Tbsp good olive oil

salt and pepper

Prepare dressing by adding all ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisking to combine

OK, for those of you that have been storing up all those beets, wondering when the right recipe would come along, this is it! It sounds weird, but it’s always been a hit when we make it.

CHOCOLATE BEET CAKE

1 ¼ c. beet puree (see below)

3 eggs

½ c. vegetable oil

½ tsp. salt

¾ c. cocoa powder

1 ½ c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 ½ c. flour

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

Beet puree can be made ahead of time. Basically, you need to cook beets until they can be easily pierced with a fork. You can roast whole in silver foil (this takes about an hour) or chunk and boil. Either peel before cooking (if boiling) or after (if roasting). Puree cooked beets in blender or food processor. You want the puree to be pretty thick, but you can add a touch of cooking water to make them whirl. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bundt pan (or 8-9” square pan). In a large bowl, beat eggs. Whisk in sugar, oil, vanilla, salt and beet puree. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa and soda. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients a little at a time until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.