MAKE RATATOUILLE
https://blog.houseinthewoods.com/2011/08/12/eggplant-and-more-recipe-ideas/
Ratatouille combines many of the crops starting to come in--onions, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes and soon garlic. It can be baked or grilled or sauteed. Find a recipe or use my blog link above, which includes other eggplant recipes too.
KEEPING PRODUCE COOL DURING A HEAT WAVE
Last week I wrote about the challenges of keeping crops alive during a drought. Today’s topic is keeping the harvested crops cool during the hot humid temps. Our refrigeration is having a hard time keeping some of the produce at its best. We are trying to monitor things better. If you pull something from the bins that is sub-par, just flag us down in the garden or choose a replacement from the new Swap Bin. And know that (hope that?) the heat wave will subside soon. We are hoping the end of the week brings some relief, for both plants and farmers.
WHAT'S GROWING ON
More summer crops rolling in! This week we begin offering our bell peppers, hot peppers, Italian eggplant, and onions. And more tomatoes, with orange persimmon tomatoes now too, so boxes will be bigger. Ratatouille season! Our second planting of cucumbers and summer squash are ripening fast. Have you tried our cabbages? They are sweet! Keep making summer coleslaw. We are busy harvesting but also working ahead--we planted the butternut squash this week.
THE SWAP BIN
There's a new bin in the frig, it’s the Swap Bin! Use the Swap Bin to remedy a bum item, even from a previous week. If your item’s bin is empty and we aren’t in the garden to help refill, choose from the Swap Bin instead. Or you can put an item in the Swap and take something out instead. The CSA is like your garden, not your grocery store, so things won’t be perfect. But we can still try to keep the quality top-notch and the Swap Bin may be a good resource.
