sweet potatoes
small russet potatoes (in the herb garden, find parsley and chives, wonderful companions to potatoes!)
garlic
onions
green peppers
jalapeno peppers
eggplant
basil oh endless pesto basil
sweet potato greens (use em like spinach!)
tomatoes from the hoophouse?

Ilene,

I just wanted to pass along our love of the sweet potato leaves.  It is the new favorite green around our house.  The kids love it (well, they have eaten it in everything with no problem).  We have used it everywhere that you would use spinach or chard.  In soups, lasagna, sauteed with garlic, onions, and roasted red peppers, and in a Thai green curry with shrimp, coconut milk, sweet potato leaves (and other ingredients).  Just delicious, really milder than spinach.  Love them!!

Today I am going to try them with eggplant lasagna.  We just slice up the delicious House in the Woods eggplant and use that as the “lasagna” and put the lasagna filling in between the layers of eggplant.  Filling will be cooked sweet pot greens, garlic (and lots of it), onion, roasted red peps, and all kinds of cheeses.  Usually we put spinach in here but I am going to give the sweet potato greens a try.

Thanks for the introduction to sweet potato leaves!

—Sarah and family

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Homemade pizza dough, sweet potato greens, cheese, and marinated, grilled, sirloin steak. Delicious CSA meal! Thank you!!!!  –Elissa and family

July is the new August. It was hot and dry, oh my! We had peak tomatoes in July, in an August kind of way. And, as it is looking with these pleasant days and cooler nights, August is the new September.

Some members, especially first years, might appreciate a review and forecast of the season in veggies. Not a complete list but some hightlights:

Spring season, late May through June
–we enjoyed leafy greens and spring root crops: kale, chard, lettuces, arugula, scallions, kohlrabi, turnips, beets, cabbage, bok choy, fennel, garlic scapes
What a bountiful and beautiful spring crop. Did I take enough pictures? The lush greens and delicate bokchoy are a memory, but summer tomatoes surpass it all, so its ok.

Summer season, July-August
–with the heat of summer come the season’s summer fare: tomatoes (extra early this year, thanks to our new hoophouse), zucchini, green peppers, garlic, three choices of eggplant this year, basil the sweet plus a new addition of thai basil this year, jalapenos, leeks, cucumbers briefly, flowers endlessly pretty. U-Pick Sungold cherry tomatoes for a whole row of sweetness, another new gift for this season that we’ll have to repeat–Candy Lane!
I love tomato season, do you? Tomatoes are continuing to ripen, enjoy them while they last! Stink bugs are taking their toll on tomatoes a bit, but actually not as bad as last year at this point. So that’s good. You might see some mottled spots on some tomatoes and peppers, that’s stink bug damage. We’re doing what we can with organic methods to keep them down. In summer, its too hot for lettuce to grow, so we start making the seasonal salad my family calls “Israeli Salad”– chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and parsley. I’ve really enjoyed eggplant in the Baba Ganouj recipe that I posted on the blog. Eggplant is likely to fade out soon, as the nights get cooler. We hope you have enjoyed the watermelons, thank you to those who supported the boys in their watermelon sales. Noah cut and hauled all those watermelons from the field, with helpers, but he was out there for every hauling expedition. He and I are both learning so much about growing watermelons this year. Such a summer treat.

Early Autumn season, September-October
–We are collecting some of the goodies that we will share with you the final 7 weeks: onions, potatoes, butternut squash, pie pumpkins, more garlic. We’ll finish off the season with our yummy sweet potatoes. We’ll sneak in some fall greens and others as we can.
Can’t believe how early the winter squash have ripened. Halloween in August!  The potatoes are delicious, although smaller than usual due to the hot and dry summer conditions. We grow an heirloom variety called Kennebec with a delicate skin, and this year we have the ever-so-popular russet potatoes as well. We’re ready to share them with you for this week! September is a transition month in the garden–summer crops fade out but its still early for cool weather fall crops. Growing cool weather crops like greens and lettuce in the fall challenges us, because we need them to germinate in trays when its super hot and buggy. We’ve had some success and we’re hoping to bring you some, like lettuce, beets, and bokchoy. We’ll dig sweet potatoes in mid-September and give those out the last few weeks. We are having a Common Market Crop Mob out to dig sweet potatoes on Saturday September 17. CSA members can join in with this event, and we’ll set another date or two as well, for CSA members to help with the sweets. Its treasure-hunting made easy, with our potato digger on the tractor. We’ve been really pleased with our sweet potatoes in the past, we know you’ll love them. Also, sweet potato greens are a special treat from the sweet potato vines, they are great sauteed or wilted like spinach! Can’t wait for you to try them. A welcome return of a dark green veggie after the summer crops.

Hope you have enjoyed this walk through the seasons. Do you have any questions about what we’ve harvested or what is yet to come? Feel free to ask!

Quick Tips!

Blend berries in with your favorite vinaigrette!

Tear basil and add to pasta salads!

Add herbs to a green salad for a tasty surprise!

Add sliced cucumbers to pure, clean drinking water; enjoy!

Cut peach in half, place in bowl and overfill with your favorite frozen yogurt!

Blanch green beans and freeze for Thanksgiving!

Sizzling eggplant salad—when it’s too hot to light the oven!

Olive oil

2 large eggplants, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick

2 c. fresh salsa** recipe below

12 oz. black beans

2 T lime juice

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat gas grill or prepare charcoal fire.  Brush oil onto one side of eggplant slices, place on grill, oiled side down.  Cook 6 to 8 minutes until tender.  Brush oil on tops and turn and grill until tender another 6 to 8 minutes.  Cool slightly and then chop on cutting board. Combine eggplant, fresh salsa, black beans and lime juice in a large salad bowl; toss to mix.  Add salt and pepper a needed.

Fresh salsa is delicious mixed in any salad, but it is especially delicious paired with grilled eggplant. 

**with tomato salsa

3 ripe tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped

2 small cucumbers, sliced, seeds removed, and chopped

½ cup red onion, minced

¼ jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Stir ingredients gently and refrigerate.

Ginger Sesame Eggplant

1 medium eggplant

olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tablespoon peeled, grated ginger

1 tablespoon sesame seed oil

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Coat one medium eggplant with olive oil and roast at 400 degrees until soft.  Allow to cool, then peel, chunk into 1/2 inch dice and mix with any juices that have accumulated.  Combine garlic, ginger and sesame oil.  Saute together until translucent.  Toss with eggplant chunks and season with hot sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and chopped cilantro.  Serve warm or cold.

This works well as a tortilla chip dip or a sauce for soba noodles!

Kristi Hood

Quail Hill Farm

Amagansett, NY

Beautiful flower and fruit salad

Purchase certified edible flowers at a farmer’s market.

1 melon cut into cubes

2 cups of fresh pineapple cubes

1 pint of fresh raspberries

1 pint of fresh blueberries

1 pint of fresh strawberries

1 cup of seedless grapes

2 mangos, peeled and cubed

Lime Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup of lime juice

1/3 cup of maple syrup

1 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes

1-1/2 cups of edible flowers

Combine all fruit in a large bowl.  Toss carefully with lime vinaigrette. Garnish with flowers.

This salad wins the award for most beautiful salad! 

Ratatouille—Two ways

Whether you simmer your luscious veggies in a crock pot or for a twist, grill them outdoors, when you make ratatouille, it’s summer!

When you plan an afternoon in the garden, yet long to come inside for a hot meal, ratatouille is a perfect choice.  Create your perfect mixture of veggies based on what you harvested that week.

¼ c. olive oil

2 c. cubed, peeled eggplant

1 c. chopped zucchini

1/ 2 c. chopped tomatoes

1 red or yellow pepper, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 t. thyme

2 t. oregano

½ c. veggie broth

sea salt and fresh black cracked pepper to taste

2 T fresh basil

Saute eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, pepper, and onion until soft.  Stir in remaining ingredients except basil.  Transfer vegetable mixture to a crock pot and cook on low-heat for 4-1/2 hours or on high-heat setting for 2-1/2 hours, or simmer for an additional 25 minutes. Stir basil into mixture when ready to serve.  Freezes well!

Or try……….

Grilled Ratatouille

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 yellow pepper, stemmed, seeded and halved

1 red pepper, stemmed, seeded and halved

2 Vidalia onions, peeled and sliced in rounds

1 large zucchini, sliced into ¼ inch slices

1 small eggplant unpeeled, sliced into 1/4 rounds

2 dozen cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

½ cup fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh oregano

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat grill to medium-high. Place olive oil, lemon juice, peppers, onions, zucchini and eggplant in a large bowl.  Gently turn to coat veggies.  Grill veggies until tender, turning once.  Cool slightly and chop grilled veggies into bite-size pieces.  Toss in a large bowl with remaining ingredients.  Serve warm.

Preserving the Harvest! roasted eggplant and garlic caviar

1 large eggplant

4 large cloves garlic

3 T lemon juice

2 scallions, chopped

1 small handful of flat leaf parsley

3 T olive oil

Sea salt

Preheat over to 400 degrees.  Pierce eggplant about five times with a fork and place it on a baking sheet.  Pour a slight amount of water on baking sheet and place in oven.  Place garlic cloves in wrapped tin foil and place in oven.  Turn eggplant once and roast eggplant and garlic for about 40 minutes.

Remove from heat and cool.  Once eggplant is cool, slice it in half removing and spooning the flesh into a blender.  Squeeze the garlic out of its skin into the blender also.  Add remaining ingredients and season with sea salt.  Serve at room temperature.  The caviar can be refrigerated for several days and it freezes well.

Tomato, Basil, and Arugula Pasta Salad

4 large tomatoes , cut into 1/2–inch dice

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 cup (packed) arugula leaves (or substitute with other greens)

3 tablespoons shredded fresh basil leaves

2–1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

1/2 pound penne

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Toss the tomatoes, garlic, arugula, basil, crushed pepper, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper to taste in a large serving bowl.  Set aside to marinade at room temperature for at least one hour or up to three hours.  

Cook the penne al dente, drain briefly, and add to the tomato mixture.  Add the cheese, toss and serve without chilling.

eggplant options. If you haven't made Baba yet, I highly recommend it!

Its like hummus in a way, a dip made with eggplant instead of chickpeas.
I scoop this with cucumber or green pepper pieces or a cracker, smear it
on a slice of tomato, or add it to a sandwich. More recipes coming to
the blog very soon, so check in at http://blog.houseinthewoods.com

Baba Ganouj
Mollie Katzen, Moosewood Cookbook

a little oil, for the baking sheet
1 medium (7 inch) eggplant
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup sesame tehini
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper and cayenne, to taste (I don’t add either)
top with olive oil and minced parsley (opt)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly oil baking sheet.
2) Slice eggplant in half lengthwise and place face-down on the baking
sheet. Bake for 30 min or until very tender. Cool until its comfortable
to handle it.
3) Scoop out the eggplant pulp and discard the skin. Place pulp in food
processor or blender, add garlic, lemon juice, tehini, and salt. Puree
til smooth. (this can also be mashed by hand and left chunky)

 Harvest #12–August 12, 2011

(this is a bit approximate, we’ll see tomorrow!)

Choose 8, you can double an item to count as two:

Garlic

Tomatoes — a mix of reds, heirlooms and pastes

jalapeno peppers

Green peppers

Eggplant — the eggplant stopped flowering when the temps were closer to 100. We’re seeing new growth again.

Sweet or Thai basil (I made pesto with Thai basil and I LOVE it. Its a richer taste, almost spicey in a very good way). Bigger bags this week, great for those making pesto. Freeze pesto in ice cube trays for a taste of summer this winter.

scallions

Sungold cherry tomatoes

In addition to 8 of these items, U-Pick crops are included in your share:

Cherry Tomatoes (”Candy Lane”)–pick your own garden sweets…bring a small basket to fill!

Zinnia u-pick flowers–looking beautiful, take home a bouquet (bring a jar for a little water?)

The herb garden

(this is a bit approximate, we’ll see tomorrow!)

Garlic

Heirloom tomatoes (2-3 pounds per box. Double up on this item if you want more, its a steal for heirloom tomatoes! CSA member special; $5/pound in the store)

Cucumbers

Leeks

jalapeno peppers (limited)

Green peppers

Specialty Italian eggplant called Beatrice (its pink!)–I made wonderful creamy babaganouj with this.

Japanese eggplant

Sweet or Thai basil (I made pesto with Thai basil and I LOVE it. Its a richer taste, almost spicey in a very good way). Bigger bags this week, great for those making pesto.

cabbage

zucchini

In addition to 8 of these items, U-Pick crops are included in your share:

Cherry Tomatoes (”Candy Lane”)–its a peak week! bring a small basket to fill!

Zinnia u-pick flowers–looking beautiful, take home a bouquet (bring a jar for a little water?)

The herb garden

Garlic

Heirloom tomatoes (2-3 pounds per box. Double up on this item if you want more, its a steal for heirloom tomatoes! CSA member special; $5/pound in the store)

Leeks

jalapeno peppers

Green peppers

Specialty Italian eggplant called Beatrice (its pink!)–I made wonderful creamy babaganouj with this.

Japanese eggplant

Sweet or Thai basil (I made pesto with Thai basil and I LOVE it. Its a richer taste, almost spicey in a very good way). Bigger bags this week, great for those making pesto.

cabbage

chard (oh sweet healthy endlessly available chard)

zucchini

Beets (very limited supply)

In addition to 8 of these items, U-Pick crops are included in your share:

Cherry Tomatoes (”Candy Lane”)

Zinnia u-pick flowers

The herb garden

We have been saving our own garlic seed for a bunch of years now, so its our own variety. Our seed originated from “Music” variety, so we call ours “House in the Woods Music”. I like the connection to our decade of concerts on the farm, in the same barn that housed the concerts. Some of the concerts were held under the hanging garlic. I hope the walls will always be permeated with garlic, music, and good times all around.

CSA members are enjoying our fresh, local, organic garlic–a difficult to find commodity. It is now also available at The Common Market, so you don’t have to be a CSA member to enjoy our garlic and heirloom tomatoes: