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CSA Produce Subscription Distribution -- Week 35


Your box for Week 35

Farm Where Life is Good

Produce Subscription (Week 35)

How is everyone doing? The summer bounty is here…have you noticed yet? We hope you are enjoying the cooking and the eating. I am an Italian drunk on noodles right now! (It will make sense below…)

A little pink petunia amoungst the winter squash.


Your boxes will be in their respective drop site locations by 9am Wednesday. (Dropsite Location Details) Find the box with your name and have at it!

If you have any questions, please call Roger on his delivery phone 626 488 5437 (if before 10a) and the farm phone 715 426 7582 (if after 10am).

Twenty-four pounds in your boxes this week; use caution, lift from below and bend your knees!

Chard , rainbow

Tomato, cherry variety

Tomato, saladette

Tomato, red slicer variety Sorry, photography will not due justice in distinguishing the different types. But, suffice to say, there are 3-4 red varieties, and the little orange guys are Jaune Flamme. See how they go for ya!

Tomato, Black Krim This one we can see the difference by photo. It is a unique one.

Pepper, sweet Crunchy and tangy. Enjoy ’em while they last!

Pepper, Alma paprika (immature) Another variety of paprika pepper; a tad more kick than last week’s. This one is my favorite— white, yellow, orange or red. When they come on strong later in the summer…gasp, it is almost over…they are wonderful to dehydrate and grind to a powder and use on absolutely everything all winter!

Carrot Ooo, maybe there are the ingredients for a standard Midwestern salad this week? Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrot…oops, forgot the radish!
Lettuce, red and green summercrisp

Squash, zephyr I discovered a kitchen implement I didn’t know I had; a plastic, handheld mandoline-thing (by Progressive?) that rapidly makes the most beautiful yellow and green communion wafers out of zephyrs and zucchini. Perfect for pizza topping!

Zucchini Have you tried the Zucchini Brownies yet? Have I asked you this yet?

Zucchini, baby striped I’ve gone nutty on the zucchini “boat” theme. Pinterest is dangerous. How about pesto quinoa zucchini boats, or taco zucchini boats, or eggplant “parmezan” zucchini boats (see below)

Cucumber, slicers

Cucumber, lunchbox

Cucumber, Little Potato, True Lemon, Crystal Apple and/or Mini-white

Broccoli OR
Broccolini

Onions, white and Walla walla

Pepper, hot (El Jefe Jalapeno) And one hot fella. We cut back on these spicy things for lack of interest. But maybe just one at a time for some seasoning?

Parsley

Cilantro

Recipes for your consideration

I spend my life adapting recipes to accommodate strict vegetarian eating; so you may have noticed my recipes are a bit interesting. I haven’t converted them back because I like what I make, as it is. Please adapt them to your way of eating as you see fit. This one gets a squirrely name because I can’t legally steal the name of a cheese town in Italy without concern for the EU coming to get me!¬

Eggplant Parmeezian Zucchini Boat

4 medium zucchini, washed and stem end removed
1 medium eggplant, peeled (or not if thin skinned) and diced
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup + 4 tablespoons grated parmeezian-flavor vegan topping (Galaxy Foods; this is taste-tested as the best by me!)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 cup almond meal (or breadcrumbs)

Marinara sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup onion, diced
2 cup tomatoes, diced
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp maple syrup/brown sugar

Sauté onion in olive oil until soft; add tomatoes, garlic and oregano and simmer uncoverd on low while you prepare the boats. Add maple syrup/brown sugar after it is as thick as you want it and have removed from heat.

Preheat oven to 350°F and place a rack in the middle. Line a baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook zucchini for 5 minutes until just tender. Drain and set aside to cool.

In the meantime, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat, add onion, salt and sauté for 5 minutes until translucent.

Finally add eggplant cubes and sauté – stirring every now and then – until browned and soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add garlic and mix well.

Slice the zucchini in half and scrape out the fillings with a spoon or melon-baller. Add ¾ cup zucchini flesh to your eggplant concoction. Save remaining for squash soup or making stock/broth.

Transfer to a large bowl and puree/mash with an immersion blender (you can also use a food processor or a blender to do this.)

Add grated parmeezian topping, parsley, black pepper and nutritional yeast and stir until well combined.

Add almond meal (or breadcrumbs) ¼ cup at a time and mix with your hands until it reaches a firm consistency (you might need to use more or less almond meal). Set aside.

Arrange zucchini boats on the lined baking dish, drizzle with remaining tablespoon of olive oil and brush to coat.

Fill the hollowed zucchini boats with a spoonful of marinara sauce and top with eggplant mixture, spoons and fingers.

Sprinkle with grated parmeezian topping and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden.

Adapted from: www.theironyou.com


This is just an excuse to eat lots of noodles, tomatoes and peppers. Love it!¬

Italian “Drunken” Noodles

2 Tbsp Olive oil
4 Tofurky Italian sausage, diced
1 large onion, quartered and sliced thinly
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning (or combo of oregano, basil, thyme, parsley)
½ tsp cracked black pepper
3 sweet peppers, cored and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
½ cup white wine
3 cups tomatoes, diced
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, julienned, divided use
8 ounces Pappardelle noodles, uncooked (wide flat pasta noodles; lasagna noodles would work, but when cooked, slice them lengthwise in ½ or 1/3.)

Place a large, heavy-bottom pan or braising pot over medium heat; add olive oil and onion and stir/sauté until browning.

Add the salt, Italian seasoning and cracked black pepper, and stir to combine. Add sliced bell peppers, and allow those to sauté with the onion for about 2 minutes until slightly tender.

Add garlic, and once it becomes aromatic, add in the white wine and allow it to reduce for a few moments, until almost completely reduced.

Add diced tomatoes with their juice and diced Tofurky sausage, and gently fold the mixture to combine; allow it to gently simmer for about 3-4 minutes to blend the flavors, then turn the heat off; to finish the sauce, drizzle in about 1-2 Tbsp olive oil, add in the chopped parsley and half of the julienned basil; stir, and keep warm while you prepare the noodles.

Prepare the pappardelle noodles according to instructions on package.

Drain the noodles very well, and add them directly into the sauce, using tongs to gently toss and combine the pappardelle noodles with the sauce.

Serve garnished with remaining basil, grated parmezan-flavor vegan topping (Galaxy Foods), and/or chopped parsley.


The origin of this is at the Beirut Restaurant in St Paul. You must go, and you must order Veggie #4. Combo platter with eggplant stew and falafel. I am forever trying to reverse engineer the eggplant stew. This is my latest.

Eggplant Tomato Onion Stew

1 eggplant (medium, unpeeled and diced)
6 paste/saladette tomatoes (sliced)
1 onion (sliced)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1/2 cup water

In a large saucepan or skillet, add cumin, sea salt, cayenne (optional) and black pepper and water and stir well.

Add the vegetables; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook for 20 – 25 minutes or until the eggplant are tender.

Serve plain or over quinoa, rice or your favorite grain.


Everyone feel free to add your favorite recipes to the website.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Have any of you seen Craftsy online? It is apparently (I am just beginning to explore it) an educational venue with videos for learning a whole host of things.

My first foray is into a free Knife Skills course. Very much worth your time if you want to optimize your time spent cooking.

Have a look-see.

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the vegetables.

Roger and Lara