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!