Week 18; October 1, 2008

While the cooler weather makes most of us long for comfort foods like squash and potatoes (in this week’s share), we’ve been lucky to not yet get hit by a frost here. So we have been able to still include some frost-vulnerable crops like green beans, peppers and eggplant.

Tips:
If you’re “done” with peppers, chop them up, put in a freezer-safe bag and store in the freezer.
Now that It’s cool enough to turn on the oven, try roasting eggplant. Brush the cut side with oil, season with salt and roast, cut-side down first so that it turns a nice golden-brown color. That gives a nice caramelized flavor to the surface while the insides turn a creamy consistency. You can always serve with a roast chicken, rice and a chutney. (If you’re in Cooperstown, Tanna’s extra spicy garlic and ginger chutney—sold at Cooperstown Natural Foods any day of the week—is addictive.)
The mesclun mix has some greens with kick in it. We were thinking of pairing it tonight with some of the butternut squash in this recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Maple Sherry Vinaigrette: http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/roasted_butternut_squash_salad.aspx Just modify the recipe so that you’re using the mesclun mix instead of the greens called for in the recipe.

Here’s what was in this week’s share:

1 head of romaine lettuce
Bag of mesclun mix
1 pound of green beans
2 red peppers
2 eggplants
1 butternut squash
1 bunch purple carrots
Purple potatoes
Cilantro
Garlic
Cured onion