In Your Box:

• Beans
• Carrots
• Cherry tomatoes
• Eggplant
• Head lettuce
• Kale, “Winterbor”
• Red “Torpedo” Onions
• Sweet pepper
• Tomatoes

Farm News

As we flip the calendar to September, it looks like the heat and humidity of the summer aren’t quite ready to loosen their grip on us. Even as we sweat through another week, some of our main crops of summer are starting to wear out in the fields. Some of the reliable crops of the summer are starting to fade, but that will make room in our boxes for some new variety and flavors into the fall (whenever it comes).

Now that it’s time to start thinking about getting kids back to school, I know many of you will have schedule changes to add to your routine. If you would like to change delivery sites at any point this year, I’m happy to accommodate. Just e-mail me to let me know what works best and I’m happy to make changes. Otherwise, we’ll keep up with regular weekly delivery into mid-October. The last few weeks of the season are always my favorite, so we still have a lot to look forward to!

This week’s box

This looks to be the peak production of tomatoes for the season, and I’ve been impressed by the haul thus far. They will keep coming in for a few more weeks, but the harvest will begin tapering off shortly. This is the last week of cherry tomatoes, as they are beginning to split on the vine. I discard any I find that have split, but I know some of them continue to split slightly during transit. Any tomatoes in this condition should be washed thoroughly and eaten promptly before they begin to spoil.

Our summer squash plants have wrapped up their production for the year, and unfortunately cucumbers never really came through for us this year. I’ll try again next year with more protection from pests and late spring frost. One of the best parts of growing annual veggies is that “there’s always next year….”

One Pot Ratatouille Pasta

From New York Times Cooking

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 
• 1 small eggplant, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 medium plum tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Salt and black pepper 
• 1 pound short pasta, such as rotini 
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium bell pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 basil sprigs   
• Freshly grated Parmesan (optional)

1. Pour ¼ cup oil into a large, wide pot or Dutch oven over medium. Add the tomato paste and gently fry, stirring occasionally, until slightly caramelized, 3 to 5 minutes. (The oil will become a bright shade of orange.) Add the Italian seasoning and stir until combined.
2. To the pot, add the eggplant, onion, half the tomatoes, all the garlic and 1 teaspoon salt. Toss until vegetables are coated with the tomato-infused oil. The eggplant will absorb most if not all the oil. Add 3 cups water, the pasta and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook the pasta for half the time listed for al dente on the package directions, 4 to 6 minutes.
3. Remove the lid and stir well to combine pasta with the sauce. Add the zucchini, peppers, remaining tomatoes and a few grinds of black pepper. Fold to combine, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until pasta is al dente and peppers are crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove lid, and turn off heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve in shallow bowls and top with torn basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan, if using.

Coming up

Next week, we are expecting onions, basil, head lettuce, beans, tomatoes, bok choy, pepper, garlic and carrots.