Tag: eggplant

A DANGEROUS GAME

The unnamed cyclone is bringing some rain to the farm today. It should not be a problem because the soil is quite dry. Indeed, we are still irrigating the peppers which explains the fact they are nearly one pound each and full of Vitamin C.

Yesterday I noticed Robert sitting still on the running tractor, so I walked out to see what he was doing. As I approached, he shouted, “Don’t come any closer!” He apparently had disturbed some sort of ground hive with his mowing. Once alerted, I could clearly see from the distance that he was surrounded by wasps or yellow jackets or some such dangerous insect. He was attempting to determine their point of origin so as to avoid it on the next pass–and praying that if he remained still enough, they would not sting him! He eventually backed out of the area without finding their nest which was quickly relocated by the angry mob. Later in the evening, he was able to finish mowing while being always aware they are lurking about elsewhere in the fields! Farming is a dangerous game!!

We are winding down the 2024 CSA Season. Expect an email from me in the near future with more details! In the remainder of the boxes expect butternut squash, those sweet bell peppers, a variety of potatoes, smaller eggplant due to the cool nights, probably some green beans, and perhaps a random cabbage or tomato or okra or individual-sized spaghetti squash.

Something I like to do with these smaller eggplants is to roast them and then make them into Eggplant Pesto which I can then spread onto crackers or bagels. If you want to try this, just use any Basil Pesto recipe and substitute the pulp of the eggplant after you have scraped it from the skin. It also freezes well in ice-cube tray blocks for later enjoyment!

On a final note, we have a acquired a very pretty little red rooster! He just appeared about two weeks ago in our field and seems to be living on the nearby mountain side. I am amazed no “critter” has enjoyed him for an evening meal. This little guy is either quite lucky or very wise and able to conceal himself when danger is present. And he likes our neighborhood which is a Wildlife (and fowl) Sanctuary!

Eggplant Heaven

I received an email from one of our CSA Members telling me how she is dealing with all of the beautiful eggplants she has been finding in the CSA Box. I will admit to using a lazier version of Eggplant Parmesan precisely because of time constraints. However, I do lots of “batch cooking” and will try this in the future.

“We love eggplant Parmesan and the most time consuming part is breading/baking the eggplant before assembling. So I’m prepping big batches of the eggplant and freezing it for later in the fall/winter when I want to assemble the eggplant parms! (Have to make some homemade marinara to go with it!)”

If you want to try this, I suggest quick freezing the eggplant slices on parchment paper and then stacking in an airtight container or freezer bag. Putting a piece of parchment paper in between the layers of slices will prevent them from sticking to one another. This is a great time to Consider Stashing Away.

Next, I have a bean story to relate! One afternoon while Robert was harvesting beans, a dog appeared outside of the garden fence. He had a collar, but no name tag to call his family. He was friendly, so Robert petted him through the deer fence and then tossed a bean over the fence. The dog devoured the bean instantly, so Robert tossed another. This time the dog jumped to snatch the bean in mid-air! He was obviously hungry, so Robert continued tossing random beans over the fence as he continued harvesting. After about an hour, this “vegetarian” visitor went on his way with a full tummy. It has been a great season for beans and not a single one has been wasted. It seems all creatures love our Heavenly Beans!

In the box this week, you will find beans, tomatoes, eggplant, sweet bell peppers, cabbage, carrots and potatoes. The carrots keep growing larger! This is our last wave of cabbages.

Labor Day

Labor Day has come and gone and we are still getting a massive volume of beautiful green beans from our garden. Furthermore, the plants are still blooming! Robert said he was going to harvest every single bean. I think a challenge is coming down from The Heavens to hold him to his declaration! If you want a new way to eat green beans, consider running them through a slicer, sprinkling with EVOO, and roasting them in the oven. This is a great way to prepare them for the freezer, too!

The blueberries did not turn out the way we would have liked. The rains came at the incorrect time which caused the berries to explode. Also, for the first time in thirty years, the bears decided to visit our berry patch. They did a great deal of damage to the bushes in addition to eating everything they could easily reach. You can see from this photo there is no walkway or tunnel between the rows due to the fact they pulled down and broke many plants in an attempt to reach the higher blueberries.

Everyone should have received a cantaloupe over the past couple of weeks. I put this fruit in the same category as avocados when it comes to picking a “ripe” one. I trust you got a tasty one or two! Speaking of tasty, the last potatoes you received in your veggie box are our new favorite! With its smooth skin, creamy texture, and exceptional flavor, we were particularly pleased. We just planted a few as this was a new variety which we wanted to try out, so do not expect any more this season; but you can be sure we will be planting these again next year.

Our sunflowers were glorious this season! In two and one-half weeks, it will be Autumn. We have waves of sweet bell peppers and eggplant and tomatoes to go with the potatoes and green beans and (sometimes) okra. There will be more carrots and cabbage at some point. The peppers are just beginning to turn colors! The heat from the sun is perfect for making bell peppers sweet. The same thing goes for the tomatoes! We trust you agree they were worth the wait!