Catalan Allioli Sauce Two Ways

Allioli is a versatile garlic and oil sauce that is served across the Catalan region of Spain with all manner of dishes, from vegetables and bread to meat and fish. Here are two of the ways we like to serve it in my family: on crisp, oven-roasted potatoes and on homemade baguettes. But your imagination really is the limit. Just make this sauce once and spread its golden goodness on anything you like.

For the Allioli you will need:

A mortar and pestle

Coarse sea salt

1-2 heads of garlic

Extra-virgin olive oil

Fresh lemon juice

Directions for the Allioli:

Using a mortar and pestle, crush together the garlic and 1/2 tsp coarse salt until a thick, smooth paste forms. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Using a whisk and beating vigorously and continuously, add the oil drop by drop in a thin stream until the sauce thickens into a golden mayonnaise, about 15 minutes.  

For the Crispy Garlic-Roasted Potatoes you will need:

1/4 cup Allioli Sauce

About 12 small, roasting potatoes

One large sprig fresh rosemary
Additional olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400-degrees F. Slice the potatoes thinly, about 1/2-inch thick. Place sliced potatoes in a large bowl and toss with the 1/4 cup Allioli sauce. Add about 1 tablespoon of fresh, torn rosemary leaves. Spread the coated potatoes on a greased cookie sheet in layer one potato thick. Roast until golden and crispy, about 15 minutes on each side.

These make great leftovers! Just refrigerate left-over roasted potatoes, and then roast them a second time on a greased cookie sheet for about 10 minutes at 350-degrees F.

For the Allioli Baguette (aka Garlic Bread) you will need:

Allioli sauce
Butter
Brick of Parmesan cheese
A fresh baguette, preferably homemade* but store-bought will suffice

*I am a huge fan of the recipe for "A French Bread" in the Tassajara Bread Book, which I can't publish here. Anyone who likes to bake should own this book!


Directions for Garlic Bread:

Slice baguette, slather a tablespoon of Allioli sauce between each slice. Place a tab of butter between each slice. Heat at 350-degrees F for about 7 minutes. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Comfort Food Serving Suggestion:

Serve Crispy Garlic-Roasted Potatoes and Homemade Garlic Bread with a Native Son Salad (microgreens and arugula tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette) and homemade chicken pot pie. Enjoy!

Autumn CSA drop in Oxford?

Hi, Oxford Foodies! CSA member Lauren Klimetz is trying to organize an Oxford drop for Native Son Farm's Fall 2015 CSA. Only 25 members are needed, and she is just a few short.

If you live in Oxford and would like to keep getting a box of organic local produce week after week, all Fall long, contact her right away at laurenklimetz {at} gmail {dot} com.

Tofu, Eggplant, and Yard-Long Beans Stirfry

This recipe, adapted from recipes I found online, has been such a favorite at our house this summer, and with so many eggplants in my family's box—and in our garden—we probably eat it once every other week. But this week, it tasted even better with the addition of those gorgeous purple yard-long beans that were new to the share. I left our beans long to impress the kids, but, of course, you can also cut them up into smaller piece and mix them into the stir fry. And, yes, the kids were mightily impressed!

Tofu, Eggplant, and Yard-Long Bean Stirfry

1 cup of long grain white rice (yield two cups cooked)

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

7 tablespoons canola oil

1 pound firm tofu-drained, patted dry, and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

4 scallions slices (or substitute 1/2 of a small diced onion)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 chili pepper, sliced

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1 bunch yard-long beans

salt to taste

Cook the rice. In a separate boil, whisk together the hoisin, vinegar, and cornstarch.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tofu; cook, turning occasionally until brown, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer tofu to a plate.

Add 3 tablespoons of oil to the skilled. Add the eggplant, scallion (or onion), garlic, chili, and salt. Cook, tossing frequently, until the eggplant is tender, 8-10 minutes. 

In a separate skillet, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of canola oil and the yard-long beans, and cook over medium-high heat until beans are blistered, about 10 minutes.

Add the hoisin mixture, tofu, and all of the veggies together, and cook, tossing gently, until the sauce is thickened, about 1-2 minutes.

Serve with the rice and sprinkle with basil.

This recipe was adapted from recipes found on Real Simple and A Little Yum.

What's in the Box? Sep. 1, 2015

Here's what is in my box this week:

3 heads of garlic
4 eggplants
1 bunch yard-long beans
1 bunch basil
9 bell peppers
1 bunch arugula
1 bunch microgreens
2 cucumbers
5 Italian roasting peppers (variety "Carmen")
10 Padrón peppers


New this week:

Yard-long Beans
These Chinese beans are new to me, and, since I love purple vegetables, I can't wait to give them a try. Apparently they can grow several inches in a single day. Will Reed says they cook up just like regular green beans, but I think I'll try this recipe for stir-frying them and add them to one of my favorites:  Eggplant Tofu Stirfry.

Padrón Peppers
OK, these peppers have been in the box before, but, I confess that, not being a fan of spicy peppers myself, I was at a loss for what to do with them. I should have asked the farmer! Amanda Reed says she likes to add one (seeded and with membranes stripped) to guacamole. Alternately, she will add a whole one to a spicy soup or curry, and then remove it whole before serving the dish—a great idea for avoiding a burn from the pepper seeds. You could also blister them, like I did for these milder Shishito peppers.


Our family's meal plan for the week:

Tuesday dinner
Sliced bell peppers and cucumbers with a sprinkle of sea salt
Mixed arugula and microgreen salad with pesto dressing
Eggplant lasagna (made and froze from last week's share)

Wednesday dinner
Eggplant Tofu Stirfry with Bell Peppers
Stirfried Yard-long Beans
Blistered Padrón Peppers

Thursday dinner
Chicken pot pie
Arugula side salad
Garlic-roasted potatoes

Friday dinner
Homemade Pizza with pesto and Italian roasting peppers

Saturday dinner
Meatless Eggplant Meatballs
Garlic Bread
Pesto

What's in the box? August 27, 2015

I'm loving the end-of-season re-fresh that all of these fresh microgreens are adding to our diet. Lately, I've been taking whatever our leftovers were from the night before (eggplant, tomato, and feta salad or tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad, for instance), and just throwing them on top of a plate of arugula. This helps me eat my greens and use up my leftovers with zero thought or effort.

Here's what was in my box this week:

2 bags, arugula
1 bunch, basil
1 bag, microgreens
4 eggplants
4 heads, garlic
4 bell peppers
12 Shishito peppers
4 assorted peppers
2 sunflowers

Here's my plan for using it up this week:

Thursday dinner
Steak with garlic
Eggplant, tomato and feta salad on a bed of arugula
Spanish tapas peppers

Friday lunch
Pita pockets with turkey, avocado and microgreens

Friday potluck dinner
Homemade pizza with homemade pesto

Sunday dinner
Blistered Shishito peppers
Garlic bread
Cesar salad (with arugula)
Eggplant lasagna

Monday
Vegetable soup using tomatoes, peppers, and squash from my box that I froze back in July

Spanish Tapas Peppers

This recipe may seem daunting, with a number of ingredients not normally found on most of our pantry shelves; however, if you're willing to make a bit of investment, these peppers will pay dividends with flavor. They are incredibly fast and easy to make, and can be made ahead of time for a crowd-pleasing party appetizer.

Ina Garten's Spanish Tapas Peppers

1/2 cup cream sherry
1/2 cup golden raisins
6-8 bell peppers
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
3/4 cup chopped green pitted olives
8 oil-packed anchovy fillets, drained and minced
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
1 scant teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
2/3 cup coarse breadcrumbs
1/3 cup good olive oil
Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the sherry and raisins in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Drain the excess liquid and set the raisins aside.

Meanwhile, cut each pepper in half through the core and remove the ribs and seeds. Cut each half lengthwise into 3 wedges and arrange them cut-side up in a single layer on a cookie sheet or two large oven-to-table baking dishes. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt.

In a medium bowl, combine steeped raisins, garlic, olives, anchovies, tomato, saffron, bread crumbs, olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Spread a tablespoon or two of the mixture on each pepper wedge.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the filling is a little crisp on top. Spring with parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.

*To make ahead, prepare the peppers with the filling, cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Bake before serving.

This recipes was suggest by CSA member Jana Eakes and adapted from Ina Garten's Make it Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

Roasted Eggplant Caponata

This flavor-packed dip from the Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten is a great way to use up the end-of-summer eggplants. It's best made a day ahead-of-time, to let the flavors develop. It will also give you and your family something savory to munch on while you finish getting dinner ready.

Ina Garten's Roasted Eggplant Caponata

1 large eggplant (1 1/2 pound)
Good olive oil
1 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
1/2 cup large green olives, pitted and chopped
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
3 tablespoons minced parsley
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons drained capers
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Toasted pita triangles

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.

Place the whole eggplant on the pan, prick with a fork in several places, and rub with olive oil. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, until the eggplant is very soft when pierced with a knife. Set aside to cool. Halve the eggplant, peel, and discard the skin. Place the eggplant, peppers, and olives in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until coarsely chopped. Pour into a mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sauté pan. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until the onion is lightly browned. Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute, and add to the eggplant mixture. Add the parsley, pine nuts, lemon juice, capers, tomato paste, vinegar, salt and pepper and mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to develop. Taste for seasoning and serve at room temperature with toasted pita triangles.

Recipe from How Easy Is That? by Ina Garten.

Meatless Eggplant Meatballs

CSA member Alison Doyle shared this recipe as one of her family's favorites, and it has quickly become my family's favorite as well, even with my picky eater who won't touch eggplant any other way. (What he doesn't know won't hurt him right?)

What I love about this recipe is that, like traditional meatballs, these can be made ahead and frozen until you need them. A savory supper in minutes is going to be a winner at my house every week.

 Meatless Eggplant Meatballs

3 Tbs. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups cubed eggplant (with peel)
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1 Tbs. water
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, and sauté garlic until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add eggplant and water, then reduce heat and steam, covered, until eggplant has soften, about 20 minutes. Allow eggplant to cool.

In large bowl, mix the eggplant with the eggs, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and parsley. Use your hands or a large wooden spoon so that the mixture is well combined. Add more breadcrumbs if needed.

Refrigerate the mixture for 15 minutes, and then roll into small balls. Place on a greased baking sheet and cooked in the oven preheated to 350 F for 30 minutes. Or freeze for later!

Recipe suggested by CSA member Alison Doyle and adapted from Aunt Mary's Eggplant Balls.

What's in the Box? August 18, 2015

Once again, I am amazed at what arrived in my box this week. My own vegetable garden has completely shut down, except for a few eggplants and a lot of basil. (Yes! We are eating on average 6-8 eggplants per week. Good thing we love 'em.) Meanwhile, Will keeps surprising with perfect tomatoes, a variety of peppers, and even fresh greens. In Mississippi. In August.

My meal plan, however, does not contain any surprises this week. After trying out dozens of ways to eat eggplant, tomato, peppers and basil over the past few months, we have found our family favorites. And this week, we're just going to stick with those.

Below are my family's top recipe picks for the end of the season. What are yours?

In this week's box:

4 eggplants
5 bell peppers
8 banana peppers
10 Shishito peppers
3 heads of garlic
1 medium tomato
1 bunch of basil
1 bag of arugula
17 mini Roma tomatoes
14 Campari tomatoes

This week's meal plan:

Wednesday
Roasted Eggplant Caponata
Arugula and Tomato Salad
Blistered Shishito Peppers

Thursday
Meatless Eggplant Meatballs
Tomato and Mozzarella Salad
Garlic bread with Homemade Pesto

Friday
Spanish Tapas Peppers
Garlic Steak

Saturday
Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Salsa
Hamburgers

Sunday
Friday Night Pizza (on Sunday) with Homemade Pesto

Stuffed & Wrapped Peppers

Although these stuffed banana peppers are more typically served as appetizers, they are so filling they the made a main course at my house. They can also be made in advance and stored in the fridge, then popped in the broiler for 10 minutes before serving. Just be sure to serve them hot— but not too hot!

Stuffed and Wrapped Banana Peppers

6-8 Banana peppers
6-8 slices of bacon
1 cup whipped cream cheese (or regular cream cheese spread)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 small onion, diced
1 small tomato, diced
1 small jalapeño pepper (or other spicy pepper), diced
Salt and pepper to taste
toothpicks

Remove the stems, seeds and membranes from the peppers (use caution when handling the jalapeño!). Then slice each banana pepper open to create a little pocket for the stuffing.

To make the cheese stuffing, sauté the diced onion and jalapeño in a little olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add the diced tomato and cook for 1 minute more. Combine the sautéed vegetables  in a bowl with the cream cheese, shredded cheddar, salt and pepper, and mix with a fork until well-blended.

Stuff spoonfuls of the cheese stuffing inside each banana pepper, then wrap each pepper with a slice of bacon, securing with a couple of toothpicks. Arrange the stuffed peppers evenly on a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil.

Set the oven to broil, and cook the peppers for 5 minutes on each side, until the bacon is browned and obviously cooked. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before eating.

Thanks, Will Reed, for the suggestion!

Blistered Shishito Peppers

This suggestion for Blistered Shishito Peppers came straight from the farmer's mouth, so you know it's good. I've also seen it on the menu at several high-end restaurants, and it would make a crowd-pleasing appetizer at a summer dinner party—especially paired with tangy cocktail.

The Shishito pepper is a mild, Japanese variety of pepper, although supposedly one in every handful will surprise you with a fire-y jolt. None of mine were at all spicy, although the more reddish peppers did have a very pleasant tang. You can use this same technique on the Spanish padron peppers, which we have also received in the CSA this year. Here's hoping we get at least one more bag of either pepper this season, because this is a recipe I look forward to making again.

Blistered Shishito Peppers

Heat three tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Don't over-do it with the oil or under-do it on the heat or the peppers will get mushy rather than blistered.

When the oil is ready, slide the peppers in, stems and all.

Turn the peppers every minute or two so they blister evenly.

When the skins start to bubble and split and turn a little black, they are ready (about 5 minutes).

Serve immediately with a generous sprinkling of sea salt.

And wish you had about twice as many!

What's in the Box? August 13, 2015

It's that time of year again: the kids are heading back to school—trying new things, learning new skills. I find I'm doing much the same at home in my kitchen, tasting new-to-me varieties, such as this week's bright yellow canary melon and those wrinkly shishito peppers, and experimenting with new-to-me techniques. This week I hope to try my hand at pickling a bunch of those peppers.

I love recipes that pair two or more ingredients that are perfectly in season at the same time—and come in the box. There are several in my meal plan this week, including this recipe for Canary Melon and Pepper Salsa, which use canary melon, bell pepper, banana peppers, garlic, and some red onions I have left over from last week's box. Or how about using the canary melon, arugula, and basil for the Summer Greens and Melon Salad?

I've also received some wonderful recipe suggestions from members, below. Keep them coming!

Here's what was in the box this week:

1 canary melon
1 bunch basil
1 bag arugula
4 eggplants
3 heads of garlic
4 bell peppers
7 banana peppers
shishito peppers
1 bag mini Roma tomatoes
1 bag Campari tomatoes


Here's are a few things I'm thinking of trying this week:

Cocktails from the Box
Ina Garten's Jalapeño Margaritas (Thanks, Jana Eakes!)
Canary Melon Margarita 

Things to Make with Canary Melon
Canary Melon and Pepper Salsa
Canary Melon and Jicama Salsa
Melon with Orange Ginger Syrup
Summer Greens and Melon Salad
Melon Sorbet

Things to Make with Peppers
Blistered Shishito Peppers (Thanks, Will Reed!)
Cream Cheese-Stuffed Banana Peppers Wrapped with Bacon (Thanks again, Will Reed!)
Quick Pickled Peppers
Ina Garten's Make-Ahead Spanish Tapas Peppers (Thanks again, Jana Eakes!)

New Things to Make with Eggplant
Aunt Mary's Eggplant Balls (Thanks, Allison Doyle!)
Ina Garten's Roasted Eggplant Caponata (Thanks times three, Jana Eakes!)

What new recipe are you trying this week?

Pasta Sauce from the Box

I avoided making my own pasta sauce for years thinking, how could it possibly be worth so much trouble? But it really is so much better, and it really isn't all that much trouble. Here's a quick tutorial for how to make it yourself in less than hour using only ingredients from your box.

You will need:

A quantity of ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

Italian seasoning (fresh basil, dried marjoram, dried oregano)

Salt

Olive oil, about 1/4 cup

1 bell pepper or chili pepper (if desired), seeded and diced

6 oz. can tomato paste (if desired)

1. Start with the freshest ingredients

You'll need a large bowl of fresh tomatoes. Any kind will do: big or small, red or yellow. Even the over-ripe ones will do just fine. I don't even bother to wash or stem them first. 

2. Boil the tomatoes
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Quickly, but gently (so you don't splash yourself with boiling water) slide all of the tomatoes into the water and boil for exactly 30 seconds. Thirty seconds is the perfect amount of time: any less and the skins don't slip off as easily; any more and the tomatoes start to turn to mush.

3. Dunk the tomatoes in an ice bath
Drain the pot of boiling tomatoes in a colander and transfer the tomatoes into a large bowl of ice water to stop the tomatoes from cooking further.

4. Peel and dice the tomatoes
This is the part that always turned me off, but in fact skinning a tomato is pretty effortless. If you've followed the steps above to the letter, the skins will practically slip right off. For a more liquid, "garden-style" sauce, just dice the tomatoes into large chunks and reserve them, seeds and juice and all, for the sauce pot. For a thicker, more even-textured sauce, discard the seeds and excess juice, reserving only the diced tomatoes.

5. Fill your pot
Start by sautéing the diced onion in the olive oil until translucent (on medium heat for about 5 minutes). Add the minced garlic and sauté about 1 more minute. Add the diced tomatoes, salt, and herbs, and cook until well-incorporated.

6. Simmer to taste

Simmer the sauce on low heat for 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally—and tasting rather more frequently—until the sauce has reached the flavor and consistency you desire. Season until you get it right. To rescue a watery sauce or to make a thicker sauce suitable for a lasagna or eggplant parmesan, add a tablespoon or more of tomato paste.

Meanwhile, here's the moment when you start boiling the pasta water in another pot. My brother-in-law, who is a proud Italian chef, taught me this handy tip for boiling pasta: "Keep adding salt to the water until it tastes like the Mediterranean!" And his secret to making good pasta sauce: "Taste, taste and taste again!"

Variations:

• For a spicier sauce, add one of this week's chili peppers to the pot. Serve with penne noodles for the classic Penne all'Arrabbiata
• For more tang but without the spice, season with a tablespoon of red wine vinegar, adding more to taste. 
• If your are used to a sweeter pasta sauce, go ahead and add a teaspoon of sugar, adding more to taste.

Cantaloupe Granita

We love cantaloupe at our house. But with these incredible basketball ball-sized melons we've been getting in our box lately, even we have had a hard time eating it all down before the next one comes in.

Fortunately, I discovered this recipe for Cantaloupe and Mint Granita from Giada De Laurentiis. Basically, it's a cantaloupe snowcone, and it's the perfect antidote to the dog days of summer. Not only will this recipe make quick use your cantaloupe (especially if you've let it get a little overripe), there should be plenty of minted simple syrup left over to make a couple of Mint Juleps!

Cantaloupe and Mint Granita

2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups fresh mint leaves, packed and divided
4 cups peeled, seeded cantaloupe melon
3 Tbs. fresh lime juice (about 2 whole limes)

In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and 1 cup mint leaves over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the head and allow the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes. Strain before using.

In a blender, puree the cooled syrup, cantaloupe, and lime juice until smooth. Taste, and adjust the sweetness by blending in 1 extra tablespoon of sugar at a time. Add the remaining mint leaves and blend until finely chopped. Pour the mixture into a glass baking dish and freeze until firm, about 8 hours.

Use the tines of a fork to scrap the granita into chilled bowls and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

What's in the Box? August 4, 2015

Oh, August! The heat continues. My patience starts to run thin. And I'm short on ideas in the kitchen...

Here's the moment when you, Dear Reader, swoop in with your ideas and recipes and save the day. Especially your ideas for all those peppers—please send them in!

Here's what was in the box this week:
2 eggplants
1 quart tomatoes
1 quart other tomatoes
2 heirloom tomatoes
2 purple peppers
5 banana peppers
1 quart chili peppers
4 red onions
1 cantaloupe
1 bunch basil
1 pint micro greens

This time of year the heat makes me reluctant to commit to anything, especially if it involves turning on my stove. So rather than my usual meal plan, here are some sketches of what I think I might be cooking this week.

Basil
Nearly every week I make a small batch of pesto as soon as I get my box. It only takes five minutes to make, and I then I have the most unbelievable fragrant pesto to add to pasta, pizza, and bruschetta for the rest of the week.

Microgreens
These will be a delightful addition to my lunch this week, probably on an Avocado Turkey Melt.

Eggplant
Honestly, I could just make the Eggplant, Tomato, and Feta Salad every week (and I do, because I also have eggplant growing in my garden right now). But this week, I'm looking forward to branching out and making Martha Stewart's version of Baba Ghanoush, which is a simplified version of more traditional methods and makes do with the ingredients we all have in our fridges.

Cantaloupe
I tend to eat cantaloupe plain or with prosciutto, but this week I want to try this Cantaloupe Yogurt Smoothie. I think even my kids will like it. Or how about this Cantaloupe Ginger Lassi for a change? It sounds really different...

Tomatoes
I've been making a lot of my own tomato sauce lately using Ina Garten's recipe for marinara, but substituting the canned tomatoes for my own homemade stewed tomatoes. This sounds super-involved, but honestly the whole process takes an hour, and at the end I have the most decadent tomato sauce, which I add to everything I eat for the next three days.

Peppers
A little pepper goes a long way, so I will be using up my peppers bit by bit in just about every dish I make. I'll add several to my Friday Night Pizza. I'll throw a few into the tomato sauce to make Penne All'Arrabbiata. I'll probably make a Sunday morning quiche or frittata that includes a few. Then, if at the end of the week I still have a cache of peppers, I'll clean out my fridge by making my Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Salsa, because that's exactly what this recipe is good for.

Finally, if I can jolt myself out of my late-summer indolence this week, I'll hope try one of these:

Red Pepper Relish
Hot Pepper Jelly
Stuffed Poblanos

All About Eggplant

By late summer, about the only thing still flourishing in the garden are the eggplants. And they are flourishing! But how do you eat four or more a week? Every week?

Fortunately, eggplants are a very versatile vegetable—treat them like any vegetable or use them as a substitute for meat. And they are used in a variety of world cuisines, from Asian to Italian. Here are some tips to make the most of this bounty, both now an later.

Eggplant tips:

Eat or freeze within a day or two of harvest.

Store them in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Some say you can store them in the refrigerator inside a plastic bag for up to three days.

If you can't use it right away, it's better to freeze and store it for later.

To prep for cooking, cut off the green cap end. Lightly douse the slices with salt and let them "sweat" for 30 minutes to two hours. Dab the excess water with a paper towel. This makes the eggplant more receptive to breading and/or frying, and keeps the cooked eggplant from being too watery.

The smaller, longer Asian varieties of eggplant do not need to be "sweated" as much as the globe eggplants, or even at all if they are intended for a stir fry.

Here are some recipes using eggplant that I look forward to trying in the remaining weeks of the eggplant season:

Roasted Eggplant Lasagna

Flatbread with Eggplant, Peppers, and Olives

Eggplant Pasta Salad

Curried Eggplant with Tomatoes and Basil

Eggplant Caviar

And here are the eggplant recipes I have made again and again and again this summer:

Eggplant and Tofu Stirfry

This flavor-packed, yet not-heavy stir fry is everything a stir fry ought to be. The eggplant and tofu go really well together. And while this recipe calls for a lot of ingredients that may not currently be lining your spice cabinet shelves, it's worth the initial outlay because you will want to make this dish again and again.

Eggplant Parmesan

Is there anyone who doesn't love this? Eggplant parmesan is a hit with everyone in our family—even the picky eaters who don't normally like the look or texture of eggplant. To make this recipe even more flavorful, replace the can of stewed tomatoes with homemade stewed tomatoes using this recipe. Don't be intimidated if you've never made stewed tomatoes before. This tutorial makes it simple and fast. Also, using your own tomatoes for eggplant parmesan puts more of your box to use! (Note: I thicken the stewed tomatoes with a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste to give it the texture my kids prefer.)

Eggplant, Tomato and Feta Salad

Cold eggplant salad? Believe me this tastes so much better than it sounds. Actually, it's my current favorite eggplant recipe. It's just so cool and savory and satisfying. It's great for summer potlucks, and it keeps well for a day, so you can pack and enjoy any leftovers in your lunch box.

Savory Summer Eggplant Sub

Eggplant has a reputation for being a lot of work. There's the smell and grease of frying, and if your oil isn't the right temperature the eggplant has a tendency to get kind of mushy. But if you bread and freeze eggplant slices ahead of time using these instructions, it eliminates the mess and stress. Just pop them in the oven, and—poof!—30 minutes later you have the ingredients for this wonderful sandwich.

Eggplant and Zucchini Gratin

This recipe, sent in by Daintry Thomas, is so good it just made me want to make it again right now. I treat it like a ratatouille, and eating it really is such a treat.

Jana's Grilled Ratatouille

Some people think ratatouille is a lot of trouble, but Jana Eake's recipe for grilled ratatouille is not! Just throw it all into a grill-safe pan (or wrap it in tinfoil), and 30 minutes later it's done.

What's in the Box? July 28, 2015

Micro-greens! After all of the salads we ate at our house at the beginning of the season, I can't believe how excited I was to open our box this week and discover salad greens again. It has only been two months since they were in rotation, but I can't recall having had a single green salad in the past two months, unless it was maybe in a restaurant somewhere. I hadn't really missed them—I was too busy enjoying the other delights of the season—but I am really glad to see them again.

That's the funny thing about eating locally, for me at least: You don't miss what you don't have. Like salad greens, strawberries were so plentiful during strawberry season this summer that I don't think I will mind waiting until next year to eat them again.

However, maybe you are getting a little tired of eggplants? Will says that happens for a lot of people this time of year. (He also says there are more eggplants still to come.) So this week, I'm putting together an Eggplant Round-up of tips about eggplants, the eggplant recipes I have used and loved, and a few new eggplant recipes I am still hoping to try out. So I hope that will see you through the next couple of weeks of eggplants, until they disappear for another year.

Here's what was in the box this week:

1 bag micro-greens
1 bunch basil
1 pint Juliet tomatoes
1 pint Roma tomatoes
4 slicing tomatoes
4 chili peppers
1 bell pepper
4 eggplants
4 onions
3 peaches
2 apples
1 cantaloupe

Here's how I plan to use it:

Wednesday breakfast
Sliced peaches with cottage cheese

Wednesday lunch
Eggplant Parmesan*
Baked Apples
Microgreen Simple Salad

Thursday dinner
Spaghetti with Homemade Tomato and Basil Sauce*
Cantaloupe and Mint Granitas

Friday dinner
Homemade Pizza with Tomatoes, Mozzarella, and Homemade Pesto

Saturday lunch
Tomato Soup

Saturday dinner
Steak with Roasted Tomatoes

*I'm using this recipe for Stewed Tomatoes from the Brooklyn Farm Girl. I've used it several times already this summer, and I love it! It makes a wonderful base for soups, salsas, and tomato sauce. I'll probably make extra to freeze, too.

What's in the Box? July 21, 2015

When the weather turns hot and humid like this, my family and I don't want to eat real meals, we just want to snack. As if Mother Nature knows, she provides a diversity of things this time of year that can be sliced and served raw: peppers, baby tomatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumber, peaches. Often, at our house, lunch is just a platter of these fruits and vegetables.

But sometimes it's nice to gussy up Nature's Bounty with some sauce or a little protein, so I've provided a few suggestions below for the nibbles that we make again and again and again, like Prosciutto-Wrapped Cantaloupe and Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Salsa. And with so many Juliet tomatoes this week, I know I will be making Tomato and Mozzarella Salad just about every day!

This week, I will also starting to work through the bounty I froze from last week's box before I went out of town, starting with Eggplant Parmesan and Summer Vegetable Soup. And if I happen to find a surge of energy in all this heat, I might even start canning some of those frozen tomatoes.

Here's what was in the box this week:

3 pints Juliet tomatoes
4 large tomatoes
4 eggplants
5 onions
2 heads of garlic
4 peppers
3 sunflowers
1 cantaloupe

And here's my meal plan for this week:

Wednesday Breakfast
Cantaloupe with cottage cheese

Wednesday Lunch
Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Salsa

Wednesday Dinner
Eggplant Parmesan  made from Slice and Freeze Eggplant
Oven-Roasted Tomatoes stuffed with Goat Cheese

Thursday Lunch
Prosciutto-Wrapped Cantaloupe with Mission Fig Balsamic Vinegar

Thursday Dinner (potluck)
Eggplant, Feta, and Tomato Salad

Friday Lunch
Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

Saturday 
Build-Your-Own Summer Vegetable Soup
Melon, Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Prosciutto-Wrapped Cantaloupe with Balsamic Vinegar

The combination of the fresh, sweet cantaloupe with the salty prosciutto is so satisfying it works as either an appetizer or alone, as a light midday meal. Just peel and seed the cantaloupe. Cut it into small, bite-sized chunks, then wrap with a small piece of the prosciutto and run it through with a toothpick.

But what really makes this dish irresistible is the dipping it in the Black Mission Fig Balsamic Vinegar.  I'm a huge fan of flavored vinegars. I buy mine at a speciality oil and vinegar shop in Oxford, but they can also be found online. And while they are pricey, a little goes a long way and they are very much worth the price. Just a few drops can really elevate a dish like this one from delicious to decadent.