Greetings from the Garden! This week we have salad and braising greens, endive, carrots, kohlrabi, Asian eggplant, corn, green cabbage, watermelon, leeks, tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, and grapes.
Field Notes. Ken has been transplanting fall crops. Much of our spare time and energy has been in clearing the space for the mobile high tunnel. As I see people they ask if Ken has the green house up yet. Ken is a focused and diligent worker, but there are many steps to clearing the space and building. We are nearly done taking down trees, chipping the brush, and cutting and splitting the wood. Next we have a man with heavy equipment come to establish a flat plane for the track. We will keep you posted as this exciting project unfolds.
Although I love these cool nights for sleeping, I am saddened that they signal summer is waning. The days are getting shorter, and the push is on. We are assessing what we will have to go into the root cellar. This year two dependable crops did not do well with our extreme humid heat and heavy rainfall. We have never seen rust on the celery root foliage before. The rutabagas, a brassica did not do as well as usual either. So Ken is looking at more work to provide more greens this winter. We will know more as we dig them out.
From the kitchen. Now that it is cooler Ken makes his famous upside down pizza. He takes a shallow pan and drizzles olive oil and herbs. Then he layers summer vegetables like eggplant, summer squash, tomatoes, leeks and covers with a biscuit dough and bakes in a hot oven until the biscuit dough is done. Then he cuts wedges and flips as he serves. We top with grated cheese. A friend mixes cheese into the biscuit dough, but we haven't tried this yet, but it sounds good.
Ken made a couple batches of soup last week and we had them on cool mornings for breakfast. He takes various vegetables, cooks them in stock and purees for a cream soup. Last week he had some carrots, kohlrabi, leeks - it was great!
I have been making Spanish rice. I saute leeks, add peppers if I have them, and softer tomatoes. Summer squash added near the end would be good, too . Just before serving I add herbs and top with grated cheese. Turn off the heat and cover. Once the cheese melts I serve.
Sunday night we had a friend over and Ken grilled. He soaked some ears of corn and roasted those. We cut peppers and zucchini and eggplant lengthwise and marinated and grilled those and a new recipe. Cut the cores from a few tomatoes. Fill with chopped basil, minced garlic, and olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Set on the grill with the core side up. Cook so the bottom is soft and the top is warm, but firm - delicious!
We grow Asian eggplant as it is more tender and does not need to be peeled or salted. Eggplant is the only vegetable I know that always should be cooked. This is the time of year we also make ratatouille, a French stew of sauteed leeks, eggplant and tomatoes that is often served on rice.
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