This week your basket contains: broccoli, eggplant, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, kale, beets, sweet peppers, Florence fennel, and tomatoes.

We have set the date for our PUMPKIN PICK-UP WEEKEND!  October 22 & 23 from 11:00 to 3:00 will be the time to come to the farm, choose your CARVING PUMPKINS, get corn stalks and gourds for decorating, do some gleaning, and share a potluck lunch with us and other subscribers.  We will fire up the pizza oven for both savory pizzas and PUMPKIN PIE PIZZA.  This is our favorite event of the year and hope to see you all here.

Thank you to everyone who has sent us egg cartons!  We currently have more than enough to accommodate our needs, especially as the hens are laying fewer eggs as the days get shorter.  We will let you know when we need more.

As we head into fall, the eggplants are coming into their own.  The recipe below is, perhaps, the quintessential eggplant dish.  We love it.

BABA GHANOUJ

2 med. eggplants

2 Tbs olive oil

1 chopped onion

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup tahini

1 1/2 Tbs lemon juice

1/2 tsp ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Cook whole eggplants under broiler, turning occasionally, until charred and collapsed (approx. 20 min). Remove from broiler, cool and remove skin. Heat oil in a skillet, add onions, cook until translucent.  Add garlic and continue cooking until onions are golden brown.  Combine eggplant, onion and garlic and remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend to a chunky puree.  Serve at room temperature with pita bread.

The recipe below seems perfect for this week’s basket.

CUCUMBER & FENNEL WITH ORANGE-MINT DRESSING

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and finely slivered

1 Granny Smith apple, sliced

2 tsp. lemon juice

2 Tbsp. toasted walnuts, chopped

For the vinaigrette:

2 Tbsp. orange juice

2 Tbsp. walnut oil

1 Tbsp. fresh mint

1 Tbsp. cilantro

1/8 tsp. paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Combine salad ingredients except walnuts in a salad bowl and gently mix. In a small bowl, whisk all vinaigrette ingredients until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper and pour over salad. Serve immediately or marinate, covered in fridge, for 1-2 hours. Before serving, toss and garnish with toasted nuts. From Yamuna’s Table by Yamuna Devi.

A great salad can be made with beets and broccoli.  We steam the broccoli and beets together with the sliced beets on bottom.  Generally, when the broccoli is done (i.e. just turned dark green and starting to get tender) the beets are also done.  We then toss them in a simple vinaigrette and can serve either warm or cold.  This vinaigrette is the one we use:

VINAIGRETTE

1 clove garlic

1 tsp salt

3 Tbs red wine vinegar

1 tsp wet mustard

5 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

black pepper

Press garlic into the bottom of  your salad bowl.  With a fork, mix well with salt until it forms a paste.  Mix in vinegar and mustard until salt is dissolved.  Whisk in olive oil to make an emulsion.  Add black pepper to taste.  These proportions are in no way set in stone.  You should experiment to find the proportions you prefer.  Also, other spices, herbs and vinegars can be used to vary the dressing.