8/28/24 - Summer Crops + Fall & Wanter Planning
With farming, we are living in the present, the near future and the distant future all at the same time. In the present, we are hyper seasonal with our produce and flowers, things are always changing. You see that in how add-ons change every week. In the near future, we’re weeding and keeping on the crops that are coming up. And in the more distant future we’re planting crops, seeding crops, ordering seeds and making notes on what we could do better next year.
Present! We are enjoying our current summer crops rolling in! It’s the season of Solanaces: Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant! This week’s Tomato Quarts have even more Colored Tomatoes and Heirlooms coming in. We are excited about some of the new purple and multicolored varieties we got from Wild Mountain Seeds.
Our Peppers are starting to come in. If you were with us last year you remember how frustrated we were not to have crops because we had a deer who had a taste for them and very specifically kept mowing the peppers plants down over and over! We have several varieties but are starting by getting the Shishitos to you! We have Bells, Corno di Torro (we added from Longer Table Farm last year after our deer issues and had several of you enjoy them, including Johanna who wrote a treatise on how much she loved them… so this year we’ll have them for you from our own soil) plus trials also from Wild Mountain Seeds.
But then we’re planting up a storm. August is one of the biggest planting months of the year as we are planting so many of our of our winter crops. Our Brussels Sprouts are in the fields and getting their first weed. Last week we got our last Cauliflower and Romanesco in of the year and our last Broccoli will go in early next week!
As the days shorten and continue shortening crops take longer and longer to develop. Therefore plants that are seeded and planted a week apart may come to fruition a month apart in the winter. It’s mind boggling.
A reminder on Add-Ons - Preserving the Harvest
Our boxes are pretty big this time of year and yet we have more bounty in the fields. We know we cannot overload you and we want to offer you the bounty. The best way for us to get you extra is through our add-ons. Starting last week we started offering bulk quantities of tomatoes (5 and 20 lbs) which are we offer this at 20% less than we do our bulk offerings even at markets but we also have a lot of herbs, eggplant, cherry tomatoes, squash, and soon peppers. Here are some ideas:
Just treat yourself or friends at a potluck to a huge Caprese Salad, or Gazpacho
Make a big batch of Eggplant Parmesan
Order some cilantro and jalapeños and make salsa.
Slow roast tomatoes and freeze (recipe in item in store)
Slow roast eggplant and freeze (try Bon Appétit)
Make tomato sauce, marinara, tomato soup, paste, ketchup, BBQ sauce or more and can/freeze/fridge for later.
Dry tomatoes either in sun or food dehydrator
Dry of freeze basil, or freeze pesto (without oil)
Make bulk Baba Ghanoush and freeze (without oil)
Sauté bulk sweet peppers and freeze
Produce Notes & Recipes
This Week’s Box
Panisse Lettuce
Carrots
Mixed Tomato Quart
Summer Squash
Shishito Peppers (SR) OR Italian Eggplant (WC)
Parsley (SR) OR Basil (WC)
Family: Broccoli & Jalepeño
The Summer Fruits are really rolling in we’re throwing in some old stand by recipes. I love to just make a huge batch if I’m enjoying Summer Fruits and freeze whatever we don’t eat for winter. Having some farm fresh/frozen Ratatouille on a rainy day in January is pretty amazing!
We love making our Heirloom Tomato Quarts! It’s a signature Singing Frogs Farm summer item for the CSA. If you need ideas above ours check out something like Kitchn’s 50 best tomato recipes or SeriousEats 34 Recipes starring summer tomatoes or similar from NYT, Food & Wine, Epicurious… there are ideas out there. We have more Shishitos… write up in last week’s newsletter.
Ratatouille
A french dish “rata” is slang for chunky stew and “touiller” to stir.
It is more of a concept dish than a specific dish with the basic components: tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, garlic, onions, and herbs - so be creative. This is our recipe that we’ve created by adapting & combining a couple recipes.
2-3 lbs tomatoes (~4 large)
1-2 lbs eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
1-2 lbs zucchini (4 sm), quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into ¾-inch thick pieces
1 lb assorted sweet peppers (about 3) cut into 1-inch pieces
1½ lg onions
8 lg garlic cloves
1 c chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
20 fresh basil leaves, torn in half
olive oil
2¼ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
parmigiano-reggiano shavings and basil for garnish
Fancy recipes call for blanching and peeling the tomatoes (I do not do this).
Coarsely chop tomatoes and transfer to a large heavy pot with garlic, parsley, basil and olive oil. Simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes break down and sauce is slightly thickened (~30 min).
While simmering, you can toss eggplant with ½ tsp salt in a large colander and let stand in sink 30 min (I skip this also).
Meanwhile, sauté onions in oil with ½ tsp salt in heavy skillet over med heat, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften(~2 min), then add peppers, cook about 2 min, then add zucchini and eggplant and cook until tender (another 6-8 min).
Add all vegetables, salt and black pepper to tomato sauce and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender, about 1 hour. Cool, uncovered and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes: Keeps very well.
Modifications: add diced chicken, sautéed firm tofu, seitan and more seasonal vegetables. Can be eaten alone as a light dish or over rice, egg noodles, pasta, polenta, potatoes or hearty bread.
Baba Ghanoj This is a favorite of ours with toasted pita bread. It’s great even for those who don’t like eggplant but like Middle-Eastern food. I plan to make some this weekend.
2 med eggplant
3-8 cloves garlic in paper
½ c tahini
juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp salt (to taste) lots of black pepper
1 Tbs olive oil
½ c chopped parsley
¼ c minced scallion (optional)
Roast full eggplant and garlic cloves still in paper/husks. Place all on pan, brush in olive oil and bake at 400° until completely cooked and soft (garlic may need to come out before eggplant). Remove and let cool.
Scoop insides out of eggplant and garlic and mash well. Combine with all other ingredients, and serve (warm is best!)
Zucchini Baba Ghanoush (Chandra Moskowitz)
About 3 lbs. zucchini/summer squash (you hav 1.5-2 lbs today)
4 Tbs olive oil
salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup tahini
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper
optional: ground sumac or paprika for garnish
Cut the zucchini lengthwise and coat generously with half the olive oil, and sprinkle with salt.
Grill the zucchini cut-side down on a medium-high grill OR broil for about 5 minutes until grill marks appear/the zucchini is starting to brown. Flip to cook the skin side until tender, about 5 more minutes.
In a food processor, pulse the garlic, then add the grilled zucchini and pulse to chop. Add the rest of the ingredients and process into a creamy dip.
Add salt & pepper as desired, serve with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkled with sumac/paprika if desired.
Polenta with Zucchini Marinara (Fresh Choices )
2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 med-sm zucchini
4 cloves garlic, mince
1 can (28 ounces) chopped tomatoes (substitute 3 c chopped fresh tomatoes -best if pealed)
2 Tbs chopped fresh rosemary
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground back pepper
2 lbs prepared polenta (either buy ready made or make your own)
4 tsp pine nuts, toasted
3 Tbs grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese
Heat the oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. When hot, add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is almost tender, about 4 min.
Cut the zucchini lengthwise into quarters and then slie crosswise to make wedge-shaped slices. Add the zucchini and garlic to the skillet. Cook, stirring now and then, until the zucchini starts to become tender, 8-10 min. Add the tomatoes and rosemary. When the mixture bubbles, reduce the heat to med-low, cover, and simmer until the sauce is thick and the zucchini is fall-apart tender, 20-30 min. Add the salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375° F. Coat a baking sheet with oil.
Slice the polenta crosswise into ½-inch-thick rounds and place on the baking sheet. Bake until slightly browned on the bottom, ~15 min. Transfer to plates and top with the zucchini sauce. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and Parmesan.
Makes 4-6 servings