White House Gardens Week #15, September 23, 2010

Week #15    September 23, 2010

Your shares this week contain the end of the summer crops and the beginning of the fall crops.  The tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are just about done, and the cool season crops are just beginning to produce.  There are 5 weeks left in the farmshare, which is my favorite time of year.  It has been very dry, not much rain and the temperatures are still in the 80’s.  All the lettuce has been planted, and the spinach is beginning to show signs of life.  Less than half of it germinated, but I think we will have a little in a few weeks.  I will need to keep the deer away from it by covering with row cover, or there will be nothing for us!  Right now they have plenty to eat, but that won’t be the case are a frost.  I have enjoyed having some of you to share the harvest with.  Thank you to Rob Bowser and Kate Raymond for helping pack the boxes tonight.   Rob and Kate shared several ideas with me about how they have been using the vegetables in their share.  I encouraged them to send me their ideas so I can share them with you. 

Tomatoes  Roma or San Marzano tomatoes.  Good for making tomato sauce.  See a previous newsletter for a recipe for Marinara Sauce.  When you cut into these tomatoes, the top portion may not be ripe.  This is actually an environmental condition, caused by fluctuations in temperature and moisture.  This part can be cut away and the rest of the tomato is usable. 
 
Onions  Can be stored in or out of the refrigerator.
 
Potatoes  There are still 5 rows of potatoes to dig, so there will be many more to enjoy.  This week’s variety is called All Blue or Russian Blue.  It keeps it’s blue color when cooked and stores well.  Don’t refrigerate potatoes, as they lose their taste when chilled.  These are very small, so enjoy them steamed and tossed with butter and herbs, or cut up and fried.
Shell Beans  Cannellini beans in large shares, Tongue of Fire in small shares.  To enjoy the beans at their best, shell them as soon as possible.  This is best done in front of the TV!  Use them just like dried beans in any of your favorite recipes, minus the long soaking.  If you can’t cook them right away, the shelled beans can be kept refrigerated for a few days, or freeze them to use later.  Don’t store them unrefrigerated as they may not be dry enough and could mold.  See last week’s newsletter for recipes.  Please do not eat any beans before they are cooked.  I learned this the hard way!  In the garden I occasionally snack on different varieties to see if they are ready to be picked.  I ate some shell beans and that evening and the following day was not feeling very well.  Turns out white beans (cannellini), red kidney beans  and broad beans (limas) have a natural toxin in them that is only removed by thoroughly cooking them .  I found this out through a cooking blog I read regularly,  Dad Cooks Dinner, the very next day!   So DO NOT EAT THE BEANS RAW!

Peppers  Red, sweet peppers called Carmen and yellow Hungarian Hot Wax.  Peppers are easy to preserve if you find you have too many of them.  Cut into dice or cubes (whatever size you want to use them) and store in the freezer in a zip lock bag.  They can be added to fried potatoes, or any dish requiring fresh peppers that are meant to be cooked. 
Eggplant  Recipe for Baba Ganoush in the newsletter courtesy of shareholder Pat Brannon.
Swiss Chard  From the same family as beets, chard can be used in place of any “green” in a recipe.  See a previous newsletter for Sauted Chard with cream and prosciutto.  The stems and the leaves are edible.
Kale  Winterbor is among many varieties of kale.  This one has curly leaves. 

I love hummus, so when I found eggplant in this week share I thought “baba ganoush” - an eggplant dip similar to hummus. I like this variation which combines these two middle-eastern favorites (CookEatShare.com).  Serve with pita or bagel chips. I make my own with day old bagels from Bruegger’s - slice them into rounds and toast lightly in a low oven.  Pat Brannon
 
  Eggplant Hummus with Roasted Garlic
1 large eggplant
1/2 cup garbanzo beans
 4 garlic cloves skins on
 1/4 cup extra virgin first cold pressed olive oil
 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
 3 tablespoons of tahini (sesame paste)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
 Garnish with paprika and parsley
 Roast both garlic and eggplant in a 425* oven on a baking pan (rub with 2 tablespoons of oil) for 20 minutes.

 Remove garlic from pan set aside. Continue to roast eggplant until soft and flat about 25 more minutes. Cool.

Slice eggplant in half and scrape flesh into the bowl of a food processor. Add garbanzo beans. Peel garlic and add to processor bowl, along with juice and tahini, salt and 2 tablespoons oil. Process till smooth.

To serve, drizzle with more oil and paprika on top. Serve with pita chips or bread, celery, carrot sticks or buttery crackers.


 The following is a recipe using the kale and beans from your share.  Any type of kale can be used along with any type of beans.  There is no need to soak the beans before cooking them, as the beans in your share are fresh. 


Sauteed Tuscan Kale with Garlicky White Beans