Week 14

This week’s share includes:Red Swan Beans (Fields of Plenty)Heirloom, Slicer or Cherry Tomatoes (multiple farms)Eggplant or Cabbage (Iroquois Avenue & Fields of Plenty)Kale (Occupy Yourself & Buffalo Street)Herbs, various (Singing Tree)Bell/Sweet Peppers (Food Field & Iroquois Avenue)Salad Mix (Food Field)Potatoes (Buffalo Street)It's come to our attention that fall is on the horizon. Feel that chill in the air? Fall carrots and greens are springing up—but wait, it's still summer! We are ready to enjoy another week of sunshine, and ready for more ripe tomatoes and peppers while we catch up on all our canning and preserving (roasted tomato & veggie sauce; dried pears; salsa verde; Korean pepper hot sauce; frozen peaches and berries).If you haven't yet, make yourself a hearty dish of classic French ratatouille! Hope you've still got some garlic, herbs, zucchini and other ingredients—or pick up anything else you need from us at CSA pickup or farm stand hours. Or try this Mexican stew from Moosewood Restaurant with potatoes, beans and sweet corn!Mole means “mixture” in Spanish. This word crops up in recipes that have nothing to do with the well-known traditional chocolate mole sauce. Olla is a big, fat-bellied clay pot—hence the name of this hearty stew, which is good served with cornbread for lunch or a light dinner:

Ratatouille

This easy ratatouille recipe is a flavorful, hearty and satisfying weeknight dinner. Ratatouille is best served hot with a perfectly runny sunny-side up egg on top. Don’t forget to add your favorite crusty bread to sop up all the goodness.

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Ingredients

• 1 lb eggplant, peeled (or part-peeled in striped pattern), and cut into 1-inch pieces
• Kosher salt
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled, and minced
• 2 lb vine ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 2 zucchini, halved length-wise, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces (half moons)
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh basil

To serve 

• Fried eggs (sunny-side up)
• Crusty bread

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Instructions

1. Place eggplant pieces in colander over your sink. Sprinkle with salt. Leave for 20 minutes as eggplant sweats out its bitterness. Pat dry.
2. In a large heavy pot or dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add onions. Cook, stirring regularly, until translucent (about 5 minutes). Now add red peppers and green peppers, cook for another 4 minutes, and continue to stir.
3. Add garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, wine, and fresh thyme springs. Stir in black pepper, paprika, rosemary. Season with kosher salt.
4. Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil for 5 minutes, stirring once of twice. Turn heat down, cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes or so.
5. Remove ratatouille from heat. Taste and adjust salt to your liking. Add sherry vinegar and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Top with fresh basil.
6. To serve, transfer ratatouille to dinner bowls, top each with a fried egg (sunny-side up) and add crusty bread on the side.