This week’s box included: mustard greens, bell peppers, cucumber, okra, eggplant, potatoes, tomato, green beans, apples, garlic
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Suzanne here, pinch-hitting for Conne who is out this week. Great to see the first apples of the season in this week’s box! Last year, a late freeze decimated Georgia’s entire apple crop making 2021 a year without apples in the CSA. The farm deliberated about getting apples from afar, but that’s not what this CSA is all about. We ultimately decided that if you wanted apples from somewhere else, you would go to the grocery store, right?
We’ve gathered dozens of apple recipes on this page along with storage suggestions. Make sure you use any apples with bruises on them first, and don’t store them together with the perfect specimens. One bad apple actually does ruin others, as the saying goes.
We’re still in that lovely time of the year where cooler weather crops mingle with the tail end of the summer harvests. A cucumber lurks in this week’s mix along with green beans, okra, eggplant, a tomato.
Mustard greens this week reminds me of my favorite mustard green recipe from Scott Serpas, Pork Sausage and Greens. The sweet and sour flavors pair perfectly with the tang of the mustard greens. Of course you can use them in any recipe that calls for cooked greens – however, if you’re looking for recipes that make the most of their unique flavor, check out the mustard green recipes on this page. The Mustard Greens Salad with Anchovy Dressing recipe sounds delicious!
Mustards are the most tender of all cooking greens, so use them quickly. If you need to revive them give them a soak in cold water. This miracle treatment revives the saddest of zombie greens, regardless of type.
One of the things I enjoy the most about being a CSA subscriber is growing to love vegetables that I wouldn’t purchase in the store. Looking at you, eggplant. Other recently delivered eggplants are still lurking in my refrigerator, so it’s time to get going on some eggplant inspiration. A really fast eggplant recipe tosses stir-fried eggplant and green onions with this garlic sauce recipe. The sauce recipe makes more than you’ll need; tuck the excess into the fridge and you’ll have an easy dinner or side dish down the road. I cut the sugar in this recipe in half and don’t miss it – it’s still plenty sweet.
The top of my eggplant list this week is moussaka and baba ghanoush. Our kid will eat the former because it’s basically a casserole. The later will be dinner with pita, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and falafel.
Here’s a simple recipe for baba ghanoush from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian. Anyone lacking inspiration for eggplants would benefit from simply reading this cookbook’s index of twenty-some eggplant recipes! Wishing I had more eggplants now.
Creamed Eggplant (Baba Ganouj)
1 large eggplant, roasted, peeled, and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¾ to 1 teaspoon salt
To roast the eggplant, preheat oven to 450F. Prick the eggplants all over with a fork and lie them down in a baking tray lined with foil. Bake, turning every 15 minutes. One pound of eggplants will take about an hour. For a more smoky flavor, grill them. Regardless of your method, they’ll flatten and turn very soft inside when done. Handle them from the stem end to keep them from falling to pieces. Once cooled, remove peel and coarsely chop.
Put the coarsely chopped eggplant into the container of an electric blender. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Blend briefly for 5 to 6 seconds until creamy. Serve at room temperature or chilled.