I'll be Jammin'

A wee bit of Jam in the cupboard?

My list of using Jam:

1. Add 1 T. to your plain yogurt.

2. Make a BBQ sauce: Add 2 T. jam, 2t. soy sauce, 1 T. oil and spread on anything approaching a grill. We've tried it on chicken, beef and veges.

3. Make a vinaigrette: 2T. jam, 1 T. rice vinegar, 1 t. dry mustard, 1 T oil. Shake it up.

4. Make thumbprint cookies and fill them with jam. Google: Joy of Cooking Thumbprint Cookies.

5. Make Jam Tarts -
Google: Martha Stewart - Mini Jam Tarts

6. Fish Marinade: 2 T. jam, 2 T. sake, 1 t. soy sauce. Marinate for 10 minutes and grill.

7. Make a Monte Cristo Sandwich.

8. Add some to your next blender of smoothies.

9. Use as a topping for a sundae.

10. A little jam in the daiquiris is pretty darn good. Try any flavor with Banana or any berry with Strawberry daqs.

11. Make surprise muffins...put a a little batter in the muffin pan, put in a dallop of jam, put in a little more batter.

12. Make French Toast.

13. Mix it with cream cheese and put it on celery.

14. Make crepes.

15. Put it on top of custard or pudding.

16. Make a trifle:

Ingredients

• 5 cups cubed angel food cake
• 1/2 c jam
• 1 (8 ounce) container plain yogurt (mix with jam)
  
• 1 cup whipped cream
  
• 3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 1 tablespoon flaked coconut, toasted
• a few more spoonfuls of jam.

1. In each glass or bowl, put in some cake cubes, combine the yogurt and 3/4 cup whipped cream; spoon over the cake. Top with the strawberries and remaining whipped topping. Sprinkle with coconut, and add a little bit of jam on the very top.

17. Make a fruit pudding by mixing, vanilla pudding, fruit and jam.

18. Make your own jello from powdered gelatin, fruit juice and jam.

19. Make jam turn overs. Roll out a pie crust, take out some of those cool cookie cutters you have stashed away and cut out shapes. Stack with jam in the middle, about 1 T., seal the edges and bake.

20. Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

21. Joy of Baking has a good recipe for Raspberry Oatmeal Bars...it's jam heavy and easy. Swap the Raspberry Jam for something you have in the cupboard.

22. Baste a ham with jam.

23. Fill your squash with jam about midway through the baking process.

24. Make chicken salad: leftover chicken, any berry jam, nuts, raisins, chives or celery and mayo.

25. Sweet and sour sauce: 1/2 cup jam, 2 T soy sauce, 1 T. Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 c. mild vinegar...simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

26. Yet another BBQ Sauce: 1/4 jam, 1/2 c chili sauce, & 2 T. steak sauce.

27. Add it to your tea instead of sugar.

28. Add 1/2 c. berry jam to your favorite brownie or cake mix.

29. Put a T. of jam on top of a 1/2 of grapefruit and broil. (Boy I was in Florida too long!)

30. Fruit salad dressing: Mix with sour cream or whipped cream (2 parts cream to 1 part jam).

31. Make waffles.

32. Make toast.

33. Stir it into your scrambled eggs.

34. Mix it with salsa, and chopped fruit for a fruit sweet/hot salsa.

35. Put it on top of your morning hot cereal instead of sugar.

36. For those of you who cook carrots....add 1 T. of jam and 1 T. of butter to the saute pan.

37. Buy a store bought pound cake, Cut it into horizontal layers. Spread with jam and re-assemble. After slicing, give it a squirt of whip cream.

38. Make low fat ice cream: 1 qt of buttermilk, 1 c. of jam, 2 cups of berries. But it in your ice cream maker and let 'er rip.

39. Put any jam with fruit in a pie shell (skip the sugar). Apple butter is absolutely the bomb in apple pie or apple cake!

40. Make filled donuts.

41. Mix it into plain vanilla cake icing. Put it between the layers of the cake.

42. Start a CSA and ply your customers with it.

43. Give it as Christmas gifts, and buy your favorite CSA a box of jars :). Hey, I like that idea!

44. Trade in any flavors you loathe for one you love. Just e-mail me.

Have a good week. You'll all be happy to know that there will be no more jam for this season. Salsa and Spaghetti Sauce....but no more jam.

CSA - September 30 - P & P

What's in the Box?
Tomatoes, Melons, Zukes, Delicata or Sweet Dumpling Squash, Potatoes, Strawberries, Peppers, Eggplant, Chives and Basil. A few of you received eggs.

This weeks special gift: Apricot or Apple Conserves

Conserves are not "jam" instead they are a condiment. I like the Apple Conserves stirred into Pumpkin Soup. Try either of them on roasted chicken or turkey.

One of Leo's favorites is on Short Ribs:

Dry the Short Ribs thoroughly with a paper towel. Damp meat doesn't brown well. Brown it well on each side. Add a chopped onion to the pan and saute it. Add 1/2 c. apple juice and 1 c. of conserve. Let it cook for 30 minutes, covered. After 30 minutes plate up the meat and reduce the sauce by about 1/2. Serve on meat.


Delicata Squash
Winter squash are one of those comfort foods I always look forward to each fall and winter. Unlike summer squash, winter squash which have been properly cured store quite well. When stored in a cool (45 to 50 degree) dry place such as a basement or garage, the large hard rind winter squash can be stored up to 3 months.
1 Delicata squash
1 tablespoon Butter
2 tablespoon Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Maple Syrup
Pinch of salt
A pinch of fresh ground pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Using a strong knife, cut the squash in half lengthwise. Spoon out seeds and stringy bits in the center of each half. Place each half in a baking pan, cut side up. Rub 1/2 Tbsp. butter on the inside of each half. Add a pinch of salt (and black pepper, if you wish), add 1 Tbsp brown sugar to each half, then drizzle each half with maple syrup. Adding a little water, about 1/4 inch, to the bottom of the baking pan will help keep the squash from drying out. Bake for an hour, or until the squash is very soft. When serving, if there is any of the sugary butter sauce left, spoon that over the squash.

Stuffed Squash

2 sweet dumpling or two delicata squash
salt and pepper
¼ cup pecans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup red pepper, diced
1/3 cup green pepper, diced
1 small stalk of celery, diced
1/3 cup sweet, white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
¼ cup raisins
½ cup brown rice
1 ¼ cup water


Add the rice and water to a small pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45-50 minutes. When it’s done, all the water will be absorbed and the rice fluff with a fork. While the rice cooks, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Take the squash & cut lengthwise.

Spoon out the seeds in each squash half. Season the cavity with salt and pepper. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes. When it is done, you will be able to press on the skin, and it will give because the inner flesh will be softened.

While it cooks, heat up the oil in a large pan and saute the vegetables along with the salt and pepper. About half way through the cooking time, add the raisins and garlic. When the vegetable mixture is cooked till it is soft and slightly browned, transfer the mixture to a medium mixing bowl. Add the rice and the pecans.

Place the mixture into the squash halves. Over-stuffing is just fine! Bake another 20 minutes. You can also do the Delicata this same way and serve them side by side.


Squash Conserve
After roasting the Delicata or the Dumpling, you can spoon some conserve inside and bake them for about 10 minutes longer.

Reminder:

In October we will go to every other week on the box delivery.

OCTOBER 14 is the P & P Delivery Date.

Fall Sunsets on the Farm.

CSA - September 29 - SCVWD

What's in the Box?
Tomatoes, Melons, Zukes, Delicata Squash, Potatoes, Tomatillos, Strawberries, Peppers, Eggplant, and Rosemary. A few of you received eggs.

This weeks special gift: Salsa Verde

Melon Thieves
Once again this year, the melon patch has been struck by thieves. They took all second picking of the Rare Grover Delaney Watermelons. So, this picture is all you're going to get. It took 100 days to grow these melons. I hope that some of you have kindly saved me seed. Since I can't buy this seed, I can't replace it. Wouldn't it be a shame if this melon became extinct because of greed. Since my brother owns the farm, he won't let me put up a fence. Leo will not let me have a handgun. For some reason he thinks that angry farm women, missing melons and guns are a dangerous mix. Next year, I'm getting a goose. Nothing sets up a good racket like a goose disturbed in the middle of the night...

Farming is a stressful occupation. First there's the weather and then the pests. I have all the usual problems, gophers in the beans, beetles in the cucumbers,
diabolical dibrotica in everything they can chew, an infestation of squash bugs threatening the meager pumpkin harvest, and look to your right, some creature has taken it into their mind to show up at night and browse the sweet potatoes. And now I have the 2 legged pests back again. End of Rant. Segue the recipes.


Spaghetti Squash with Chili
1 Spaghetti Squash
1 lb ground beef or soy burger
1 onion chopped
1 garlic minced
1 Ancho & 1 Anaheim or a couple of bell peppers if you're filling puny
5-10 chopped tomatoes
1 can of pinto beans or 2 cups of already cooked homemade beans
2 t. chili powder
salt, pepper & Oregano to taste
Pepper or Regular Jack Cheese grated

To Microwave (shudder) a spaghetti squash, slice it in half (CAREFUL - the skin is tough), put the cut side down in a baking dish and add 1/4 c water. Cover and nuke for 15 minutes, Let stand another 5 minutes and without scalding yourself, remove and strand into a bowl. Keep warm while making the chili.

In a little oil, saute the onion and garlic, add the beef and brown. (If using soy burger, do not add the very end and they heat through till hot).

Flame the chilis over your gas burner and remove the skin. Chop and add to burger mixture. Chop tomatoes and add to burger mixture. Add the beans, chili powder, salt and pepper and simmer until it looks yummy, about 10 minutes if you're really hungry, or 20 if you can stand to wait. Plate up the Spaghetti Squash, spoon chili over top, garnish with cheese.

Salsa Verde Casserole
2 cups leftover cooked pasta
1 jar Salsa Verde
1 sack of cherry tomatoes/halved
1 onion chopped
1 garlic chopped
2-3 bell peppers chopped
rosemary
1 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
salt & pepper
1 cup of Mozzarella
1 cup of Pepper Jack cheese or regular Jack cheese
2 cups left over chicken (if desired) or shrimp.

Saute the onion, garlic and bell peppers, add the cherry tomatoes and spices and meat. Set aside. Spray the bottom of a LOAF pan with non-stick spray and put a little of the meat mixture in the bottom (about 1/4). Layer pasta and Mozzarella cheese. Repeat until the loaf pan is almost full. Pour the salsa over the top of the whole mess and top with Pepper Jack. Bake 350 degrees, 20 minutes. I have added leftover corn, hard boiled eggs, ricotta, olives and it's all good.

Have a nice week. Remember, next week begins October and we go to every other week. There will be box next week, except there will be no melons. Those of you sharing a box, will both get one next week! Hey, so don't forget to return your boxes!

FALL SCHEDULE

HOT!
Not the Salsa! The temperature. It's 103. The salsa is only moderate and will be in your boxes come Mid-October.

Reminder that in October we go to every other week again and will continue until first frost. Which could be just before Thanksgiving or at Halloween.

FALL SCHEDULE

People and Planet:
Thursdays: September 30, October 14, October 28 and then we shall see!

SCVWD
Wednesdays: September 29, October 6, October 20, November 3...weather permitting.

What's coming?
Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Dumpling Squash, Cantaloupes, Dry Beans, Pumpkins, Spaghetti Squash. Tomatoes, Peppers and Eggplant, and Strawberries until first frost. We might even get another batch of sweet corn, green beans and cucumbers...however if the weather is going to jump from 80 to 100 every week, things could get ugly.

I planted cabbage and cauliflower just before the temperature began to sizzle. It's possible that we could see these before Thanksgiving.

CSA - September 23 - P & P

What's in the Box

Melons - Grover Delaney Watermelons or Sugar Baby Watermelons and cantaloupes, spaghetti squash, cilantro, tomatoes, eggplant, eggs, potatoes, tomatillos, peppers, strawberries, and zucchini.

This week's special gift: salsa verde

There's so many peppers and so many of you getting confused between the hot ones and the mild ones...I bagged the hot ones and labeled them hot. Remember the little orange ones are Habaneros and very very hot.

Speaking of hot, this weekend is supposed to be August HOT. Take it easy. Those of you going to Po Girl, we'll see you there. Those of you going to the Taste of Morgan Hill, we'll see you there too. When it hits triple digits, everyone should take it easy.

Hey, check out Otis and his buddy, Spike. The drop trap is coming and Spike will soon be neutered...or is that spayed? Yesterday Mama Kitty went to be fixed. She comes home tomorrow to be in the bathroom/aka the kitty hospital for 3 days. Okay, we now have 6 feral cats in the garden. Thanks God for the blessings, can you stop sending them now? We can't afford to feed anymore of them, they don't eat vegetables.

CSA September 22 - SCVWD

What's in the Box
Melons - Grover Delaney Watermelons (please save the seed) and cantaloupes, spaghetti squash, walnuts, basil, tomatoes, eggplant, eggs, potatoes, tomatillos, peppers, and zucchini. This week's special gift: tomato sauce

NOTE: Everyone got one of these little habanero peppers in their box. These are a 10 on the Scoville Scale....."a leetle goes a long way." Wear gloves and do not touch your eyes, nose, mouth or any mucus membrane. I use 3 of these to can 10 pints of salsa. (Leo eats them raw and gets the hiccups till I give him a glass of milk).
Cooking Spaghetti Squash Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Using a sharp knife, cut the squash in half lengthwise and place, cut side down, in a baking dish. Add enough water to come 1/2-inch up the sides of the baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes, until the squash is easily pierced with a paring knife. Turn squash over and cover with foil again and continue to cook another 15 minutes, until the squash is very tender. Remove from the oven, uncover, and allow to cool slightly. Using a spoon, remove the seeds and discard. Using a fork, gently pull the strands of squash away from the peel and place the squash strands into a mixing bowl.

Heat a skillet. Add the butter, spaghetti squash & choose a variation * and toss thoroughly but gently to heat and combine. Serve immediately or cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

*The Goldberg Variations of Spaghetti Squash:

Spicy Sweet: Saute some peppers in the butter and then add a little maple syrup, cinnamon and chopped sauteed peppers. I like using the Jimmy Nardello (red mild pepper) for this recipe. It's really not spicy...just sweet. But every now and then I do this Anaheims and that totally changes the taste. Walnuts go great with this.

Curried: Chop some tomatoes, peppers, into the butter, add a half a can of coconut milk and a some curry powder, fresh ginger and a little cardamon or cinnamon.

Cheesy Herb: Stir in thyme, parsley, basil, cream, salt, pepper and grated cheese.

Saucy: Add a little olive oil to the butter, saute some peppers, mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Add a few olives, salt & pepper and stir 1/2 jar of Holly Tomato Sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Have a good week.

Eggplant Recipes

Eggplant Parmigiana Variation

Slice eggplant and sprinkle with salt, allow to rest on paper towels for 5 minutes: dip slices in slightly beaten egg and then Italian-style crumbs. Saute the slices in a half/half mixture of olive oil and butter until brown on both sides. Pour spaghetti sauce into the skillet and heat to de-glaze the skillet. Pour sauce in the bottom of a baking pan and top with eggplant. Top each eggplant with a tomato. Cover each with slabs of Mozzerella cheese.

Peel and slice zucchini: dip slices in slightly beaten egg and then Italian-style crumbs. Saute the slices in a half/half mixture of olive oil and butter until brown on both sides. Arrange the slices on top of the cheese.

Top each with a little chopped basil mixed with olive oil (or pesto if you have any on hand) and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 350 degrees until cheese is bubbly about 20 minutes.

Grilled Baba Ghanoush with Grilled Naan

1 large firm eggplant (about 1 1/3 pounds), cut in half lengthwise
olive oil
1 tablespoon tahini
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup minced shallots
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
naan
olive oil

Preheat grill. Brush flesh of the eggplant with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill flesh-side down for 15 to 20 minutes, turn over and grill an additional 15 minutes, or until soft. Let cool slightly and remove the flesh with a large spoon and mince.. In a large bowl, mix the tahini, garlic, shallot, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, cayenne, cilantro together until combined. Fold in the eggplant and re-season with salt and pepper and more lemon juice if necessary.

Brush naan with olive oil on both sides and grill for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. The Garlic Naan at Trader Joe's is pretty good, if you don't make your own.

Bharta

1 eggplant large size, or several smaller ones
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 green chili, chopped
1 -inch ginger, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Peel and cut the eggplant into pieces about 1 inch square. Saute them in peanut and sesame oil. Let them become really squishy. Remove the eggplant and let them cool. Whir them in a food processor and set them aside.

Saute all the other ingredients, whir in food processor add spices, lime juice, salt and eggplant. Makes a great sandwich, or serve on crackers as a dip.


Stuffed Eggplant

4-6 eggplants
Day-old bread, crusts removed and crumbled (for amounts see below)
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup Italian flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
A sprig of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, grated
olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Stem the eggplants but don't peel them. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, sprinkle with salt and set flesh side down on a paper towel for about 5 minutes. Then scoop out the pulp with a spoon, leaving about 1/2-inch from the skins.

Sliver the pulp–for each cup of chopped eggplant pulp you’ll need about 3/4 cup crumbled stale bread. Mix the slivered pulp with the bread, garlic, parsley, mint and cheese, a glug of olive oil and season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper.

Lightly grease the skins of the eggplant shells with a dab of olive oil, and place in a parchment paper-lined ovenproof dish.

Heap the shells with the mixture, drizzle with more olive oil, and bake at moderate temperature (190° C / 375° F) until done, roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Grapes

The Concords are Here

And the Juicing begins. After the grapes are washed, stemmed and juiced, the juice sits in the fridge for a day or two. This lets the hat and juice separate, kind of like making wine. Then we scoop off the hat and filter the remaining juice. Finally, it all comes into the kitchen and becomes grape jelly.

There's only one problem...132 jars are at your house and only one dozen at my house.

Please, please try and send back jars this week.










And oh, no that is not all...no, no that is not all. Tomatillos are here, not just a few, but hundreds of them! Purple de Milpas, Giant Cizneros and Toma Verdes are all here. So the making of green salsa begins. Oh, oh...no jars. Help!

CSA - September 16 - P&P

What's in the Box?
Strawberries, Grapes, Bidwell Casaba Melon, or Grover Delaney Watermelon or Strawberry Watermelon, Zukes, tomatoes, peppers (even some Anaheims), tomatillos, eggplant, eggs, basil and flowers.

This week's special gift: Peach Pepper Jelly

I am asking each of you who received Bidwell Casaba or Grover Delaney Watermelons to please save the seeds for me and return them in an envelope. Simply, just eat, spit the seed out on a plate and after a couple of days put them in an envelope. Normally, I keep all the rare produce and do the seed saving myself. However, then you wouldn't get to taste them. What good is that? As far as I know, I am the only grower on the West Coast preserving the seeds of the Grover Delaney Watermelon. By saving these seeds you help conserve a variety that is already extremely rare. Many of you know that the Bidwell Casaba is also being grown in Chico. Now, you are all seed savers!

And the winner for the biggest boat of the season is.....Zucca Rampicante! Yeah, the best tasting as well. Luckily, I need the seeds for this, so we are just going to let it grow. Beth believes Leo and I will load it on the car and take it out paddling!

Eggplant:
In the middle of the bowl:
Listada de Gandia - a striped beauty, Rosa Bianca - the pale mottled eggplant near the flower, Black Beauty - very dark purple, under the flower, Beatrice - the lovely magenta on the far left.
Any of these varieties can be used in any Eggplant recipe.

I'll put them under a separate post.

Regarding the Anaheims, these are the hottest peppers that you have received, and these are still on the low 2 scale of Scoville. Just enough of a bite in these for salsa.

CSA - September 15 - SCVWD

What's in the Box?
Strawberries, Grapes, Bidwell Casaba Melon, Cukes, Zukes, tomatoes, peppers (even some Anaheims), tomatillos, corn, eggs and flowers.

This week's special gift: Assorted Jams and Relish

I hope all of you are enjoying the heirloom tomatoes. This is the biggest of the season. Beth thought it was two tomatoes at first, it is very close to 2 pounds. It made one whole batch of marinara sauce.

Yesterday morning it was down to 45 degrees, Autumn is definitely here. The garden is starting to slow a pace. Beginning in October we will go to every other week. For those of you on a share box, this won't affect you, you will still receive a box every other week.

The schedule for SCVWD will be:

Oct 6 & 20, Nov 3 & 17. We will be closed for December and January, unless the weather does something even more unusual and Jo's Broccoli arrives for Christmas!

What's coming up:
More melons, eggplant, sweet potatoes, walnuts, sun chokes, dried beans and squash.

It has not been a great year for squash. We haven't had the heat to grow great pumpkins. The Spaghetti Squash looks great, but some of the larger squashes are just not doing all that well. There are a few pie pumpkins out there, but not as many as there should be. This weekend I'm planting peas, spinach and lettuce. (I'm just waiting for Mr. Tiller to come home.) Yes it's true...without Leo no new plants can be set out.

On the right is Rocky, the crazy 1/2 Siamese cat. Rocky is about 10 months old. He's had his shots, he's neutered and even has flea treatments. As you can see, he does not believe that he's a feral cat. What he'd really like is his own garden with kid or kids. He's very affectionate and just wants to be loved. He has his own rock-n-roll dance that he does for supper. He comes when called and can hold up his own end of a conversation. Anyone who'd like to adopt him, give me a call or drop by and visit with him. He's a little shy at first, but quickly warms up. Given a chance he will cuddle. I guarantee he will polish your ankles.

PLEASE SAVE THE SEEDS FROM THE BIDWELL CASABA. It's very, very rare. Just place them in an envelope and put them back in your box. Now, you've all become seed savers!

CSA - September 9 - P&P

What's in the Box?
Strawberries, Grapes, Melons, Cukes (last of) Zukes, tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, green beans, corn, a few eggplants, eggs and flowers.

This week's special gift: Fruit Salsa

About that corn: This was a new corn for us, it's called "White out", Leo is renaming it Wipe out. 75 plants, only 50 ears of corn and all of them half ears, what's up with that? Well, we won't be planting that one again! Although very small, they taste pretty good, eat soon, corn sugar turns to starch very quickly. This will be the last corn until October. Of course with the Fall Season, it's anyone's guess what will happen.

In a "normal" year, the first frost is never before Halloween. Just in case, I'm planting peas, you never know, a long mild fall and we could have them.

I'll post some recipes for eggplant and peppers very very soon. I'm in the kitchen with tomatoes...

CSA - September 8 - SCVWD

What's in the Box?
Grapes! Melons! Cukes (last of) Zukes, tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, green beans, corn, eggs and flowers.

This week's special gift: Berry Jam or Melon Ginger Jam

Grapes are coming on, jelly will be here soon. Next week is probably the last for summer squash and the beginning of winter squash.

The new dehydrator finally got here, so I will start roll-ups and dried tomatoes. I'm not sure I believe in just in time manufacturing....it sure wasn't on time for me. Have a good week.

CSA - September 2 - P & P

What's in the Box?
Melons! Cukes, Zukes, tomatoes (wow, get a load of those heirloom maters will ya!), zukes, maybe a few eggplant, peppers, tomatillos, green beans, basil and sunflowers. Pretty much everyone but Mike got eggs. But not to worry, he'll get some next week.

This week's special gift: pinkle relish. Great for burgers and dogs. It's so hot, I recommend grilling and chilling. Personally, I'm going to have a cold one and call it a week.

Lots of Chocolate Bell Peppers coming on.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

a few green peppers
2 c. cooked rice
1 lg. egg, slightly beaten
1 c. chopped onion
couple of tomatoes chopped
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 c. bread crumbs or wheat germ
1 1/4 c. grated Cheddar cheese

Cut off tops of peppers and remove and discard seeds. Dice tops, discarding stems, and mix all ingredients, reserving 1/2 cup cheese. Stuff peppers and place in a round microwave casserole. Put extra filling around peppers. Peppers should fit tightly. Cover with plastic wrap, piercing 4-5 times for vents. Microwave on High 15 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved cheese. Cover; let stand 2-3 minutes. Then serve. This dish can be made ahead and frozen for later use. Do not cook until after thawed. Extra stuffing can be cooked separately.

If you like them spicy, you can use the Mulato Peppers for this. They can also be done in the oven, but it's so hot, no one can think about turning on the oven. I used leftover Spanish rice to make these last night and of course, any leftover chopped meat, can tuck in nicely. If you get really creative, try stuffing tomatoes with this recipe. Just substitute the peppers for the tomatoes inside. If you're baking them, it's about 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Have a nice week and stay cool.

CSA - September 1 - SCVWD

What's in the Box?
Melons! (oh my), tomatillos, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, green beans, potatoes, (some eggs) cukes and zukes.

This weeks special gift: Pinkle Relish.
Okay what the heck's that? It's the most popular relish at the most expensive farmer's market in America (New York City). The recipe comes from the Pickle Lady's Aunt.

Leo and I make egg salad and tested it. It was yummy. It will be crisper if you store it in the fridge from the very beginning, even before opening. The pink color comes from the farm red onions.

This is the very first of the Mara Des Bois Strawberries, and like most everything else we grow on the farm, you won't find these in your local market. But you could find them if you went to one of those upscale restaurants like Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Or you can go to France where they account for 1/10 of all the strawberry sales. You know the French, they are very serious about their food.

Tomato Tart
1 sack cherry tomatoes½ cup olive oil
½ tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
¼ cup grated parmesan1 t. corriander seeds ground, (or a little cilantro)
1 t. fennel seeds
½ cup roughly chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Remove stems from tomatoes. Heat oil in a large saute pan and remove from heat. Add the tomatoes cover to prevent splattering. Return to heat and add garlic. Cook just until the skins split. Season with remaining ingredients and toss carefully with the tomatoes. Pour over baked tart shell; Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. You can also toss them on top of pasta or fish. Careful, tomatoes are molten....let these cool before serving.

Salsa Verde With Fresh Tomatillos

15-20 tomatillos
1 onion, whole
Couple of Ancho chile peppers,
1-2 cloves of garlic
squeeze of lemon or lime
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Start the Grill. When the coals are ready grill the onion and tomatillo and peppers. Scrape the skins off the peppers. Place the grilled veges, cilantr o, olive oil, lemon, and garlic (chopped) in your food processor work bowl. Pulse the mixture with in a food processor. Add salt and pepper and serve with chips.


On the right
(Beth) picking tomatoes. Casey's mom came on down to the farm to give me a hand and boy with this heat did I need it!

What is this on the left? This is an egg disaster. See, you usually only get to see the beautiful on the farm. No one sees the entire kitchen piled with dirty dishes after a canning spree, no one ever sees an entire field full of weeds or the mess the barn is end at the end of the season.....Well here you go. I couldn't find the photo of the egg salad and pinkle relish, so I decided to just make it again and take another picture. In the meantime, the phone rang and to find the answer my sister was looking for, I had to go to my sewing room.

There's 3 quilts in progress and a stack of things belong to Zack and Leo in front of the cupboard I was trying to get in. Well, about 10 minutes later I returned to the kitchen. Upon opening the door the ungodly smell of burning sulfur hit my nose and the cat gave me a smug look. The only thing worse than being looked at smugly by a cat, is when the cat is right. Eggs exploded everywhere. The wall, the floor, the stove. It's ugly. If anyone sees Leo, tell him to bring takeout. The kitchen is closed pending a hazmat investigation. I can only find 3 of the 4 eggs. I suspect the other is behind the stove.