White House Gardens Week #11, August 26 2010

Most of the contents of your shares are picked on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings.  Now that the days are getting shorter, we have almost an hour less of daylight each evening to pick your vegetables.  I had two helpers on Wednesday evening, Sarah Fulton, my niece, who works for me part time, and shareholder Rob Bowser.  Sarah cut basil in the dark,(among other things) and Rob picked peppers and eggplant and washed them very carefully for you.  Thank you to both of them for helping. 

The potatoes are dug when time allows and then are stored in my garage until it’s time to put them in your shares.  That’s part of the beauty of potatoes; they can sit in the ground and wait to be dug and still be good, even if the tops have died back and it looks like nothing is there but weeds. There are many more rows of potatoes to dig.  They should be in your shares regularly until the end of the season.  I am continually amazed at what I can produce on such a small area.  Each week I think about what I want to pick for your shares and I worry that there won’t be enough for everyone.  Then we pick, peppers for instance, and I am overwhelmed at how much is available to put in your shares.  I am also amazed at what can be produced from a tiny, little seed.  A pepper plant that produces dozens of peppers; a tomato plant that produces scores of tomatoes.  What a miracle that is!


Tomatoes  This week’s share includes one heirloom tomato, Brandywine, in all shares.  These need to be picked before they ripen, or they split and crack.  If yours is not ripe, let it sit on the kitchen counter for a couple of days and it will ripen in no time.  Other types of tomatoes are cherries, Early Girl, Estiva, Celebrity, St. Pierre, and Pink Beauty, all hybrids.  The Pink Beauty have a pink skin and a great flavor.  They are one of my favorites.  The tomato plants are beginning to decline.  In a couple of weeks there will be paste tomatoes, San Marzanos, in your share.  Here’s a link to a tomato soup recipe:    Blender Tomato Soup 

Peppers  The peppers are beginning to turn red.  If your peppers are just beginning to change color, leave them out of the refrigerator for a few days, and they will continue to ripen.  Besides, a bowl of peppers looks just as nice as a bowl of fruit on the table!  Green peppers are unripe peppers.  You may have Carmen, a long, thin green to red pepper; Flavorburst, light green ripening to yellow; Ace and/or Revolution, a green to red bell pepper.  Also in your shares are Hungarian Hot Wax, the long, thin yellow ones.  These are mildly spicey.  Any pepper can be stuffed and baked.
 
Eggplant  I grow 4 kinds of eggplant.  Violetta: long and thin.  Prosperosa: dark purple, globe shaped.  Rosa Bianca:  light purple. Galine:  traditional.  All of these varieties are interchangeable in recipes calling for eggplant.  See Week #9 newsletter for a link to eggplant recipes.  Included in the newsletter is a recipe for grilled eggplant.  Or here’s a link:  Grilled Eggplant
Potatoes  Dark Red Norland. 
 
Romano Beans  Not in all shares. These are flat pods with great flavor.   Next week there should be more.  I keep track of who gets what each week if there isn’t enough to go around and make sure that those who didn’t get something get it the next time. 
 
Swiss Chard  Chard and beets come from the same plant family.  Chard can be used like spinach; it can be eaten raw or cooked.  The stems are also edible.  Included in the newsletter is a recipe.
Onions  Most shares received several large yellow onions called Alisa Craig.  These grow very large, but do not keep long.  It’s best to store them in the refrigerator. 
 
Parsley and Basil  Store parsley in the refrigerator, but not the basil.  Store basil like cut flowers with a loose bag over the top.  Trim the stems periodically and change the water to keep the basil fresh.  Make a basil puree in the food processor with enough olive oil just to make a paste.  Freeze in ice cube trays.  When frozen, store in plastic bags in the freezer.  Use a cube or two when making soup or tomato sauce. 
 
Easy Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce
 From TheBittenWord.com
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
2 cloves smashed garlic
5 thyme sprigs
Olive oil to drizzle
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Halve small tomatoes.  Quarter large tomatoes.  Arrange the tomatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer. Scatter sliced onions over the pan. Nestle the thyme springs among the tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on how cooked you would like your tomatoes.
Remove pan from oven. Discard thyme sprigs. Allow tomatoes to cool slightly. Using a blender, food processor or food mill, blend the tomatoes until they liquified (as chunky or as smooth as you would prefer).
If using sauce immediately, enjoy!  If freezing, allow the sauce to cool, transfer to freezer bags and freeze.
Spicy Hoisin Glazed Eggplant

 Serves 4


1 tablespoon canola oil

1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon red chile flakes

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

2 medium eggplants, ends trimmed and cut into ½-inch thick slices

6 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 green onions, white and green part, thinly sliced



1. Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic and red chile flakes and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the hoisin, vinegar and soy sauce until combined.
2. Heat your grill to high.
3. Brush eggplant slices on both sides with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the slices on the grill and grill until golden brown and slightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Brush with some of the glaze, turn over and continue grilling just until cooked through, brushing with more of the glaze, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Remove from the grill and brush with the remaining glaze. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with the green onion.




Creamed Swiss Chard With Prosciutto
This recipe is one of my sister’s favorites.  You can use prosciutto, pancetta, or bacon.  They all work great.
2 T. olive oil
¼ cup diced prosciutto
¼ cup minced yellow onion
1 T. minced garlic
8 cups chopped Swiss chard leaves  (you can use the stems also, separate them from the leaves and cook the stems first, then add the leaves)
1/3 heavy cream
Salt and pepper as needed
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ t. grated nutmeg

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the prosciutto and sauté until aromatic, about 1 minute.  Increase the heat to high and add the onion and garlic.  Saute, stirring constantly, until the garlic is aromatic, about 1 minute more.

Add the Swiss chard, sautéing just until the leaves wilt, about five minutes.  Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer.  Cook the Swiss chard until it is tender, about 5 minutes.
Season generously with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan and nutmeg.  Serve immediately ina heated bowl or on heated plates.