October 18, 2022

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What’s in this Week’s VEGGIE BOX: Eggplant, Peppers, Basil, Green Beans, Radishes, Baby Bok Choy, and Pomegranates

 

Bread this week: Sourdough Baguette OR Puligese, your choice of one

 

 

!!NEW QUARTER!!!

 

WINTER Quarter payment is due November 1st

 

The new quarter begins November 15/19 and ends February 14/18

 

No deliveries December 24, December 27, December 31st, January 3rd & January 7th

 

Saturday November 26th boxes will be delivered on Tuesday November 22nd

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Saturday December 24th boxes will be delivered on Tuesday December 20th  

 

~Please let us know if you DO OR DO NOT plan on continuing

 

~Please do not leave payments at drop sites

 

~Please let me know if you would like a PayPal invoice

 

 

 

This week on the farm

Out here now the topic as always is weather.  Can’t deny it, sometimes it is the most exciting thing we have to talk to anyone about.  Autumn is coming along, winter will be here, and sure as shooting, spring and summer can’t be far behind, ho hum.  Crops and lives are coming and going just like always.  The politicians are fighting, maybe a little harder than usual, taxes are going up and somewhere in the world somebody wants somebody else’s something.  Yep, yep, the backdrops of our lives move along like the scenery in one of those oldtime Hollywood movies.  Now when I say weather, I don’t really mean floods and droughts, hurricanes and tornadoes, atmospheric rivers, and melting icecaps.  What I mean is what we dress for, what we prepare our cars for, or what we might be cooking.  I mean the weather of each day that is there right in front of us to be endured, to be glorified, to be grateful for, to provide us with an endless panorama right outside our homes of our intimate relationship with Mother Nature.  It is not an accident that she is called Mother Nature, because except for a few lapses here and there, she nurtures, provides for us, and returns an unconditional love to each of our mishaps or transgressions.  The awareness that come what may,  Father Sun will rise each morning to provide the energy for all Creation and that Mother Earth will convert that gift to the food, the air, the water and the time of our lives is what is always newsworthy and worth talking about. 

As I sit outside in the darkening evening and close my eyes to better hear, feel, and smell my immediate surroundings, maybe now in the first cool days I put on another shirt.  Maybe the air of Autumn makes the sounds around me a little duller in the rising humidity.  Flies drone, airplane engines deepen their resonance, bird chirps are sleepier, the blanket of this time begins to fall.  We regain our evenings, freed from the dominance of sunshine work.

In the mornings, I rise and wait for the first light to begin the ritual of predicting the day.  Will it be cooler than the weatherman predicted?  What about that 10% chance of rain?  Well, as the sky brightens, the puffy clouds and the crested cloudbank over the western hills makes me think I should be doing rain preparation.  But maybe today isn’t the day as the clouds glide by and the clouds in the west break up.  Oh well, it’s coming so those covers won’t hurt right now, and that gives us a little more time for planting and cultivating.

I can tell you that out here everything is waiting for rain, not the rain that comes from wells and ditches on a bright sunny day, but the rain that comes on a dark, windy blast, that wets all the way up the wall under the eaves, that tracks mud into the mudroom and perhaps beyond, that hunkers everything down to wait for the light.  And the signs point to it, we say in our longing.  The oldtimers here and in El Salvador that know what they are talking about say that when the ants are noticeably more numerous and are busy building, building, building, then watch for rain, a lot of it.  Using the current terms, there is gossip spreading virally that two or three atmospheric rivers are imminent.  Whoa, I will take that and hope until there is no longer hope.  To quote from ‘Casey at the Bat’, there is a “hope that spring eternal within the human breast”, and out here on the farm, hope is part of our daily job, our responsibility, and our expression of gratitude for the wonderful life that has been given freely to us. Have a great week. ~Jeff

 

 

Radish, Potato And Eggplant Curry Recipe

Source:Vedics

 

1 cup Diced eggplant

1/2 cup Each diced potatoes and radish

2 tbsp Chopped Onion

1 tbsp Chopped garlic and green chili

1 tbsp Chopped Tomatoes

2 tbsp Mustard Oil

1 tsp Salt As per your taste

1 tbsp Coriander Powder

1 tbsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Kashmiri mirch powder

1 tbsp Chicken masala powder

1 tbsp Chopped Coriander leaves

1 tbsp Cumin Seeds

1 tsp kasoori Methi (Dried Fenugreek Leaves)

1 tbsp Garam Masala Powder

Heat a pan and add cumin seeds, let them splutter then add mustard oil in the pan. Add chopped garlic, onion and green chili in the pan. Add chopped tomatoes in the same pan. Add diced potatoes in the pan. Add chopped radish in the same pan. Stir fry them for some time. Add diced eggplant into the pan. Stir fry them for some more time. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, kashiri mirch powder, salt, chicken masala powder and mix them well. Sear them for some more time. Add 3 cups of water and kasoori methi powder in the pan and cook it on low flame with lid on. Keep checking them in between whether vegetables are cooked or not. Check them if the consistency will become the same as shown in the image. Add garam masala powder and coriander leaves and turn off the flame. Enjoy

 

Bell Pepper Pesto with Basil

Source: healing tomato

 

2 Tbsp pine nuts

2 cups basil lightly packed

1 tsp salt Adjust to taste

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

8 oz bell pepper strips or 1 cup or roasted bell peppers

Roast the pine nuts stove top. Roast for about 1 minute to bring out the natural oils and flavors. In a food processor, blend half of the basil first Add the remaining basil, roasted pine nuts, salt and extra virgin olive oil Scrap down the sides of the processor

Blend until it’s a pesto consistency Add the bell pepper strips and blend until pureed.

 

Best Bok Choy recipe

Source: Food Network

 

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1 1/2 cups green beans, ends trimmed, cut into 2 to 3-inch pieces

2 cups cremini mushrooms, wiped clean, halved and sliced

3 baby bok choy, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons fish sauce

Freshly cracked black pepper

In a wok or large sauté pan, add the grapeseed oil and when almost smoking, add the onions and bell peppers. Sauté, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the green beans and mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the bok choy, garlic, soy sauce, and fish sauce and saute until just wilted. Add pepper, to taste, and serve immediately.

 

 

Air Fryer Bell Peppers with Basil and Feta

Source:The Wimpy Vegetarian

 

4 bell peppers use a variety of colors

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar divided

1 ½ tablespoons capers

2 tablespoons thinly sliced basil leaves

2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

Preheat the air fryer to 400˚F. Stand the pepper up, so that it sits on a work surface, with the stem facing up. Look at one of the lobes curving outward, and using a sharp chef's knife, slice the lobe off along the indented veins. Continue this all around the pepper. When you're done, all you'll be left with are the stem and seeds that are attached to a central pith. Discard the seeds and stem, and trim any remaining white pith from the pepper lobes.  Slice the pepper lobes to the size you want. For an appetizer, it's nice to keep the lobe shape as it's easier for scooping up dips and salsas. This can all be done in under 1 minute. Toss the peppers with 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Lightly salt and pepper if desired. Roast in the air fryer for 10 minutes, or until the edges are slightly charred. If you plan to use the peppers for scooping dips and salsas, be careful not to air fry too long, or the peppers will be too limp. Arrange the peppers on a serving platter and drizzle with the remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Scatter the capers over the top, followed by the thinly sliced basil (see the notes for tips on slicing basil) and feta. Serve at room temperature.

 

Baked Cod with Spicy Pomegranate Basil Salsa

Source: H.E.B

 

1 cup(s) panko bread crumbs

1 1/2 Tsp smoked paprika

1 Tsp garlic powder

1 1/4 Tsp kosher salt, divided use

2 Lb Alaskan cod, cut into 4 portions

2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

3 Tbsp Habanero Jalapeño Jelly

1 lemon, juiced

1 pomegranate, seeds only

1/4 cup(s) sweet onion, finely diced

1/4 cup(s) fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Preheat oven to 425°F, lining sheet pan with foil for easier clean up. In a bowl, mix bread crumbs, smoked paprika, garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of salt. Lay cod on prepared sheet pan and brush top side evenly with Dijon mustard. Press bread crumb mixture on top. Bake uncovered 12 to 14 minutes. ,To make salsa, stir jelly and lemon juice. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt, pomegranate seeds, onion, and basil. Stir to combine and set aside. Serve fish topped with salsa over simple rice