White House Gardens Week #9, August 12, 2010

Almost half way through the season, it’s hard to believe.  Somewhere in early July I lose track of time, and then all of a sudden, it’s August.  Where did the time go? 

I love the summer vegetables, but my favorites are the ones that grow in cooler weather: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, carrots, spinach.  That’s what I have been busy planting for you, the fall vegetables. 

This week’s share is just the beginning of the summer vegetables.  The tomatoes are beginning to ripen faster, the peppers are getting huge, and the eggplant is just beginning to produce.  The first planting of green beans are being pulled up to make room for kale and spinach, and the second planting of beans will be ready to pick any minute!  The melons are winding down, and the winter squash is creeping out of it’s row into the cauliflower.  I planted 12 varieties of potatoes, 1800 row feet in all.  That’s a lot of potatoes to dig!  I have dug one row and we harvested about 150 pounds.  Hard work when you’re doing it with a potato fork and two people!  I put a call in to a friend that has a piece of equipment I sold to him several years ago that might make the potato digging go a little faster.  I hope it works! 

The heirloom tomatoes are beginning to ripen, however, the entire tomato crop is plagued by septoria leaf spot, a disease that affects the leaves, not the fruit.  This disease causes the leaves to turn brown and eventually fall off.  The fruit is affected by sun scald because there is no foliage to cover the ripening tomatoes.  I hope the plants can hold out another couple of weeks, but it seems to be spreading rather rapidly.  We’ll see what happens.  We had a lot of rain earlier in the season, which can contribute to tomato diseases.  I don’t use any fungicides that aren’t approved for organic use, and I only used a copper fungicide one time this year. 

All of the onions have been harvested and are drying in the greenhouse with huge fans blowing are over them.  The summer squash and zucchini plants are done, although I did plant another row a week ago.  Nothing has come up yet.  Hopefully we will have a warm, dry fall and the plants will have a chance to produce some more zucchini. 

Lettuce  This week’s lettuce is a red romaine and/or a butterhead called Nancy.  Next week look for iceberg lettuce!
 
Potatoes  This week’s variety is Dark Red Norland.  Don’t wash your potatoes until you are ready to use them.  Store in the bag they came in, out of direct light.  Light causes the potatoes to take on a green cast, which is actually harmful if eaten in large quantities.  If any of your potatoes are green in some areas, cut or peel this green off, don’t eat it!
 
Peppers The peppers are just beginning to ripen.  Green peppers are actually non-ripe red peppers.  Some of you may have received some ripe, red peppers.  There will be more to come!  The long, reddish pepper (if you got one) is called Carmen.  It is red when fully ripe and very sweet.  If your peppers are just beginning to redden, let them stay at room temperature for a few days and they will continue to ripen.  The pale yellow one is called Flavorburst and turns bright yellow when ripe.  Next week look for mildly hot, or hot peppers.

Eggplant  I grow 4 varieties of eggplant:  Violetta (long and skinny shape), Prosperosa (globe shaped with a tinge of purple), Rosa Bianca (globe shaped, light purple), and Galine, a traditional eggplant.  The taste is the same, just the color and shape are different.  Here is a link to  Recipes for Health from the New York Times with many suggestions for preparing eggplant.  My favorite way to prepare eggplant:  Cut the eggplant into ¼” slices.  Bread with flour, then beaten egg,  then seasoned bread crumbs and fry until golden brown.  I love eating this hot or cold. 

Green Beans  This is the last of Provider.  Next will be Italian Romano beans and/or Tongue of Fire, a flat green bean with mottled/reddish hues.  Tongue of Fire can be picked for fresh use or left on the plant to produce fresh shell beans, both of which we will enjoy.
 
Melons  This week’s share includes muskmelons and watermelon.  If your watermelon is a light green color with dark stripes then it has yellow flesh.  If it is dark green, then it has red flesh.  It is very difficult to tell when watermelons are ripe.  Thumping is one technique.  If the watermelon produces a deep, hollow sound when thumped, then it is probably ripe!  Watermelons do not continue to ripen after being picked, so it’s pretty much a guessing game.  Please let me know if yours is NOT ripe. 
 
Tomatoes  Hybrid tomatoes Early Girl, St. Pierre, Celebrity and/or Estiva.  Cherry tomatoes are Sun Gold, Black Cherry, Sweet Chelsea or Sun Cherry.  A very few of you got some heirloom tomatoes.  These are the misshapen, sometimes cracked, ugly globes!  They sure don’t win any beauty contests, but their flavor is superb. 
 
Eggplant and Tomato Gratin
By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN
This is a delicious, low-fat version of eggplant Parmesan. Instead of breaded, fried eggplant, though, the eggplant in this dish is roasted and sliced, layered with a rich tomato sauce and freshly grated Parmesan, and baked in a hot oven until bubbly.
For the tomato sauce:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small or 1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste)
2 pounds fresh  tomatoes, quartered if you have a food mill or else peeled, seeded and chopped; or 1 1/2 (28-ounce) cans chopped tomatoes, with juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon sugar
2 sprigs fresh basil
For the gratin:
2 pounds eggplant,   roasted
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons slivered fresh basil leaves
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1.   Roast the eggplant. Roast,  cut in half lengthwise,  cut sides down at 450,  about 30  minutes
2. Meanwhile, to make the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy, preferably nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add the onion. Stir until tender, about five to eight minutes, then add the garlic. Stir until fragrant, about a minute, and add the tomatoes, salt (1/2 to 1 teaspoon), pepper, sugar and basil sprigs. Turn the heat up to medium-high. When the tomatoes are bubbling, stir well and then turn the heat back to medium. Stir often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and are beginning to stick to the pan, about 25 minutes. Remove the basil sprigs.
3. If you did not peel the tomatoes, put the sauce through the fine blade of a food mill. If the tomatoes were peeled, pulse the sauce in a food processor fitted with the steel blade until coarsely pureed. Taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Set aside 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and mix with the bread crumbs. Oil the inside of a two-quart gratin or baking dish with olive oil. Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce over the bottom of the dish. Slice the roasted eggplant about 1/4 inch thick, and set an even layer of slices over the tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon a layer of sauce over the eggplant, and sprinkle with basil and Parmesan. Repeat the layers one or two more times, depending on the shape of your dish and the size of your eggplant slices, ending with a layer of sauce topped with the Parmesan and bread crumb mixture you set aside. Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over the top. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until bubbling and browned on the top and edges. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.
Yield: Serves six

Advance preparation: The tomato sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The casserole can be assembled a day ahead, covered and refrigerated, then baked when you wish to serve it. Don’t add the last layer of bread crumbs and Parmesan, with the drizzle of olive oil, until right before you bake it.