CSA Week 12: Tentative Farm Visit on Oct 1
Farm Share Newsletter - August 27, 2023
Housekeeping
Thank you to everyone who completed the mid-season survey! It's not too late if you haven't. We received so much helpful feedback, some of which I'll write about later in this newsletter.
Based on your responses, we are leaning toward October 1 for a farm outing for CSA members, and will give you a definitive date and an option to RSVP in the next newsletter. The day would double as a Mid-Autumn Festival celebration.
Finally! This is just a friendly reminder to make sure you pick up the box with your name on it. It'll help our hosts in case anyone forgets to/can't pick up their box.
This Week's Share (from L to R, top to bottom):
-Komatsuna
-Scallions
-Mammoth basil
-Hakurei turnips
-Unagi Cucumber
-Heirloom tomato (Striped German or Cherokee Purple)
-Celtuce
-Fairy Tale Eggplant
-Spicy Salad Mix
-Tigerella Tomatoes
Some Responses to Survey Comments!
About half of you responded to our survey. Thank you! I'd like to take a moment to address some of your comments. Regarding crops, many of you enjoyed the pea shoots in our first share and we plan on including them at least one more time. Our current succession of pea shoots did not germinate well, so we have a limited supply right now. But we are crossing our fingers on the next succession.
Regarding crops that people would like to see:
Chinese water spinach (Kong xing cai): This was one of the vegetables I really wanted to grow because it was my favorite growing up. Unfortunately, we cannot grow this plant in the U.S. without breaking federal law and threatening biodiversity, as it is a USDA-designated invasive species.
Sigua (luffa squash): We grew this last year, but neglected it and it completely swallowed one of our hoop houses, recalling Little Shop of Horrors, like English ivy in PNW forests (an image to keep in mind as I lament the restrictions on kong xin cai). We won't have it this year, but if there is enough interest, we'll give it another shot next season!
Winter squash: It's coming! We have kabochas, mini butternuts, red kuris, and delicatas. One person requested black futsu, and again, if there's enough interest, we'll add it to the crop plan next season.
Edamame: Another one we've grown the previous two seasons. We didn't grow it this year because it doesn't have great ROI as a farmers market veggie. BUT we could potentially grow a crop for CSA next season if enough of you ask for it.
Two Member Photos This Week! Fist, Shannon's Zha-Jiang Mian With Eggplant
"You usually use ground pork, but I had ground turkey on hand. Brown 1 lb in oil, add 1 cup diced (Tian Tian) tomatoes and render the juice. Add 1/4 c soy sauce and 2 tab sweet bean sauce and stir to combine. Add 1 c frozen peas and carrots and let simmer. I stir fried the (Tian Tian) eggplant with (Tian Tian) scallion and garlic. The meat sauce is on the salty side but the noodles and eggplant helped balance it out a bit. This is a go-to dish because it’s super easy and I usually have all the ingredients on hand, but the Tian Tian Farm veggies made it extra special!"
Vanessa's Amaranth With Sun Golds and Other Cherry Tomatoes and White Beans Over Gluten-Free Ravioli
Recipe - Fish Fragrant Fairy Tale Eggplant With Roasted Tomatoes
We make fish-fragrant eggplant — or some kind of riff on the classic Sichuan dish — a lot. We'd never tried with fairy tale eggplant until this week. In the above photo, I fried the smaller eggplant whole, which was not ideal for this dish. I learned that it's crucial for the flesh of the eggplant to make contact with the oil to get the just-barely-crispy texture that makes this dish so delicious. We also happened to have a whole boatload of roasted market-leftover tomatoes, so I threw them in as a bonus.
Ingredients
-1 pint fairy tale eggplant. (Smaller ones halved, larger ones cut into 1-2 inch pieces on the bias).
-1 to 2 scallions, thinly sliced
-1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 tbsp grated ginger
-3 whole roasted Tigerella tomatoes (optional)
-3 tbsp sugar
-1 tbsp black vinegar
-1/4 cup water
-1 tsp corn starch
-1 tbsp cold water
-Neutral oil (vegetable, peanut, canola, etc.)
-Pinch of flour to test oil
Steps
Heat oil in a cast-iron pan. There should be enough to cover half your eggplants if you were to lay them out in a single layer. Test oil temp by pinching flour into pan. Your oil is hot enough when flour fizzles out.
Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, black vinegar, sugar, and 1/4 cup water in one bowl. Combine corn starch and 1 tbsp cold water in a separate bowl and stir vigorously.
Fry eggplant in batches, in a single layer. Turn once the bottom browns. It should take under a minute. Remove eggplant to a lined paper towel. Dump oil, but leave 1 to 2 tbsp in pan.
Over medium-high heat, add garlic and ginger to pan. Stir until fragrant. Add eggplant and sauce mixture. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir starch mixture again and add to pan. Stir until thick.
Add scallions and roasted tomatoes and serve while hot with white rice.
'Til Next Week,
Steven