2 large sweet red peppers, 1 medium eggplant cut into 1 inch pieces, 3 garlic cloves, 1 medium red onion cut into 1 inch pieces, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon tomato paste.
In a baking pan, toss all but the tomato paste and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned and tender, stirring once. Place vegetables and tomato paste in a food processor and process until blended. Serve with crackers or toasted artisan bread.
Pick up October 8th.
It’s pumpkin season, time for cooking savory dishes and enjoying fall! This week your share will be filled with a pumpkin you can use to decorate and eat later, plus dry seeds for munching, green onions, red potatoes, peaches, tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant, cayenne peppers (dry for later use if desired) and a mix of other veggies.
Spring Shares are now open. This year we decided to shorten our spring shares to eight weeks instead of 12. Last year was so unpredictable we had panic in our bones some weeks.
Pick up for October 1st will set take off with a great harvest! Lots of new and hardy veggies in the mix.
What do we have new? Gold potatoes, buttercup winter squash, Israeli melons, torpedo red onions, mixed greens ~ We will list the other produce once we creep in closer share day.
Come visit us on October 3rd for our Pumpkin Fest! This is a fun event for kids and families. We have kiddo games and prizes, plus they get to run through the orchard and pick out their pumpkins. There will be great fall back drops for pictures with pumpkins. This is our first Pumpkin Fest and we would love it to be great and the first of many to come, so pass on the word!
Well this was an adventurous week for us. With the garden show in Denver, doing our annual pumpkin run, and the girls running the shop (yikes!) Shares still made it out in time and this week you will see the usual like cucumbers, tomatoes (big and small), winter squash, green beans, arugula, gypsy peppers, a big bag of mixed kale. And a few unique things like pomegranates, onions, tomatillos, our sacred garlic, and big beautiful peaches. This is an awesome basket this week. Enjoy all these wonderful foods.
We also have a few extra cucumbers and tomatoes if anyone is intrested
We have pistachios again. This will be our last week for them. Our greens will be ridicchio. Our herb will be basil. You’ll find a mix of vegetables in your share. Summer squash, cheery tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, eggplant, lots of bell peppers, garlic, onions, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, green beans and more.
We also have some extra okra if anyone wants it.
Next week we’ll have winter squash and hopefully fair time peaches. Peanuts are looking great, but will probably be a month out.
With all the peppers we have, trying to find something to do with them all can be a little daunting. You can only have grilled or stir fried peppers so often. Before you can stand the sight of them any more. I found a new way to use all the pepper up and I thought I would share with the rest of you, so here goes… Note: this dip is delicious tossed with cooked pasta and rice, mixed into salads, or served with raw vegetables, can also be used as a glaze for roasted or steamed veggies or use just the basil pesto with bits of roasted pepper tossed in to what ever you are making.
Roasted peppers
Wash and dry peppers, If roasting bell peppers cut in half, remove stem , seeds and membrane. If roasting chili peppers leave whole with stems intact. Arrange on a lightly oiled baking sheet, cut side down. Brush lightly or drizzle with olive oil. Roast on top rack of oven set to broil or 500 degrees For 10-12 minutes or until skin blackens and blisters. Turning chilli peppers once or twice during roasting. Transfer to a glass bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel until cool enough to handle. Cut of stem end and remove seeds.
Basil pesto
Pulse garlic cloves in food processor until coarsely chopped, add pine nuts and cheese. Pulse until they are coarsely chopped. Add basil to the bowl and drizzle lemon juice over the top. Process for 30 seconds or until leaves are coarsely chopped. With the motor running add olive oil in a steady stream through the opening in the lid. Keep adding oil and blending until the pesto has reached desired consistency.
Roasted red pepper dip
Combine ingredients in a food processor, blend until smooth.
Pick-up September 10th
Beautiful days! Don’t you just love when the temperatures are cooler in the mornings and evenings and you can stand outside for more a than a mere minute without roasting!
Speaking of Roasting….. Fire up that grill! We have lots of roasting peppers for you. Anaheim, Big Jim, Ancho and Holy Mole. Either on a gas stove top or barbeque, blacken the skin of these peppers, Then pop them into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a cover of some sorts until cooled enough to touch. Rub off the skin. These freeze nice for later use. Great for chile rellenos, or diced up for flavoring Mexican dishes.
Fresh, raw pistachios ~ we did spend a large amount of time hulling these delicious treats. Leave behind, if you don’t care for this nut. They are very time consuming. If you aren’t eating these right away, lay them out to dry or if you prefer to salt them, boil in very salty water, drain and place on a cooking sheet flat, cook at 200 degrees until there is no more moisture. 2-4 hours.
What else? Spaghetti squash, heirloom tomatoes, yellow jelly bean tomatoes, microgreens, butterhead lettuce, green beans, cucumbers and summer squash.
We are finished harvesting and packing your produce, so if you feel like picking up early, feel free!
I never knew what to do with eggplant. Even the name sounded weird to me. “EGG”plant? Is it supposed to taste like eggs? is it going to be the texture of eggs? just yuck! Little did I know, when I went on a Caribbean cruise the chef made this dish that just made your taste buds sing! When I asked the server what was in the dish he told me eggplant. I was in total disbelief. This heavenly piece of art before me was EGGPLANT!?! After that I was hooked, I had to have that recipe. Now I am sharing it with you.
What you will need:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
For marinara, in a small saucepan over medium heat, warm oil and sauté onion for 4 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic and sauté, stirring continually. Do not brown. Add tomatoes and herbs and season with salt and pepper. cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes. set aside.
season eggplant slices with salt and pepper, and dredge in flour, shaking off the excess. next dip each slice in egg, then in the bread crumbs. set aside
*culinary note*
Most eggplants produce a bitter-tasting alkaloid. A method for removing this unwanted flavor is to sprinkle the slices with salt and let them rest in a colander for 1 hour. Afterwards, rinse the slices under cold water, gently squeezing out the moisture. Pressing on the slices also collapses the eggplant’s air pockets, reducing the absorption of oil during frying.
In a large skillet heat vegetable oil over high heat until very hot.Sauté eggplant one slice at a time until golden brown.
Place each cooked slice on a baking sheet. top each with a tomato slice and sprinkle with mozzarella. bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown and cheese is melted.
In a small saucepan, simmer vinegar until its reduced by about 2/3 and reaches syrup consistency. set aside to cool.
To serve, stack three eggplant/tomato slices on each plate. garnish with basil. spoon marinara around eggplant tower and drizzle with balsamic reduction.
Serves 6
And we begin! Yup, no rest for the weary. Fall shares are a ten week share consisting of great fall crops like pumpkins, winter squash, hearty greens, turnips, leeks, persimmons, apples, peanuts, pistachios and other robust crops. This is our favorite! Maybe because the temperatures are cooler and crops are a little more of a “for sure” thing, or we feel like cooking, or maybe it’s just the wonderful fall harvests! Whatever it is, we love it!
Our first week we will have butternut squash, micro greens, beets, tomatoes, green onions, red onions, eggplant, okra, arugula, cherry tomatoes, and sweet peppers. Don’t forget to mark your calender, and bring a basket for pick up on September 3rd!
Twelve weeks has sadly come to an end today of our summer shares. Thanks to everyone for picking up on time, returning baskets and boxes and just being great share holders!
Our last basket for summer shares has plenty of tomatoes to make a great batch of salsa. Along with hot peppers, jalapenos, bell pepper, plenty of garlic, cipollini onions (these are small onions), grapes, small loose head of lettuce, herb, cucumber, squash and other mix of veggies. Almonds once again, and be sure to get the hull off asap, due to the humidity!
For those that are signed up for our fall shares, we begin next week, September 3rd.
Thanks again everyone!
Desert Sage CSA 