From the Garden this Week…

From the Garden this Week…

Summer Squash, Bell Peppers, Assorted Eggplant, Spaghetti Squash, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Green Onions, Arugula, Cilantro, Basil, Pomegranates and a Mystery Item

Coming Soon…Lettuce Heads, Pumpkins, Swiss Chard, Curly Kale

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

Our tomatoes are still pumping out the cherry tomatoes so I wanted to share a recipe that will bring out their sweetness by roasting them. These roasted cherry tomatoes seem to go better with the cooler fall weather. Use them as a topping to a grilled chicken breast or fish. They would make a perfect topping to our roasted spaghetti squash. Or my favorite is to serve them with toasted baguette slices and goat cheese, the extra sweetness compliments the tangy cheese, but you could use mozzarella or feta instead.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

2 containers cherry tomatoes, halved

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a medium bowl, toss together tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tomatoes are soft and very fragrant. Serve as a salsa on grilled chicken or fish, or as a topping over our roasted spaghetti squash or on toasted baguette slices with goat cheese.

Decorative Corn Stalks for Autumn Decorating Available

We have allowed our corn stalks to dry out so they can be used for Autumn decorating. Please call, text, or email Cindi or Julie if you would like us to include 2-5 tall corn stalks with your order in the next few weeks. Eventually, they will be pulled out and composted so get your order in soon! We will have some pumpkins coming in your produce bags as well. As with the watermelons, we will put the pumpkin in a separate bag attached to your monthly produce. Please remember to send us back your purple produce bags so we can keep our costs down. So far, we have not needed to charge anyone for the cost of the delivery bags and we would like to keep it that way. Thank you for your efforts in this regard! There is no charge to our regular customers.

Cooking Simplified…

Many traditional dishes originated so far in the past that their cooking methods complicate the ease and simplicity of the dish itself. This eggplant pepper recipe is a take on Baba Ganoush. The pepper and onion add sweetness and variety to the dish. This would also make a great sauce for our roasted spaghetti squash.

Eggplant Pepper Dip

1 medium eggplant

2 bell peppers, seeds removed

1 onion, peeled

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves

1-2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon tahini or almond butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coarsely chop the eggplants, bell peppers, and onion. Toss them in a large bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking. Cool slightly. Place the vegetables in a food processor, add the tahini, garlic and lemon juice, pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve with pita chips or veggie sticks or as a topping to our roasted spaghetti squash.

Our Chickens are Molting…

For those of you who purchase eggs as a regular part of your subscription, we thank you for your patience. As you know, we had a chicken massacre by a family of raccoons early this summer. We have purchased new hens but they are still not laying yet and as the season would have it, the mature hens are molting and laying fewer eggs than usual. Our production is way down. So we will continue to provide eggs as we have them available and pay your egg orders forward until we have better production.

You may also know that as the days get shorter, the amount of sunlight impacts our chickens and their cycle of egg production. We may introduce artificial sunlight this year to boost production. In that case, the cost of eggs may rise to $6.00 per dozen instead of $5.00 to cover the cost of electricity. Thank you for your amazing support. Our hens continue to receive beautiful compliments regarding the taste and color of their eggs!