Blackberry Time

It's true, and we have the purple fingers and prickled limbs to prove it! This week, our CSA members will be receiving half pints or whole pints of very perishable Himalayan blackberries. They are an old world blackberry introduced to this region and thriving in every neglected area of our farm and field. We have two other wild blackberry varieties growing out here as well. Our native variety is the Trailing Blackberry which already fruited earlier this year and is much loved by the local wildlife. The Cutleaf is also an introduced species, so the story goes, and it has a longer shelf life, is a little firmer but has a more mellow, almost heavy taste. These may be going home with our CSA members in the future if we have enough for everyone.

Right now, we're picking and freezing for future projects like blackberry wine, smoothies and fruit leather. mmmm...and cobblers of course!

One Simple Recipe

Roasted Potatoes with Shallots
From Epicurious.com

Simple. Delicious.

Pics of the Week

Big and Shiny

This is our first year growing eggplant. I had to talk David into it since he's not a big fan, even though his mom makes one of the best Mediterranean dishes using them. I'm glad we did because it makes me so happy to see those gorgeous globes emerging from big purple blossoms. One thing I didn't expect, however, is that they're prickly and protective of their fruits. Little thorns, even on their stems and caps remind me to slow the heck down.

We just harvested the first of the year from our greenhouse. They are shiny and the most beautiful deep purple. Their flesh can be bitter, depending on their age or how long they've sat in the fridge after being harvested. So, what many people do to amend this is soak them in salt water or just salt them and let them sit in the fridge or on the counter for a half hour after slicing them. This will help leach most of the alkaloids that give them the bitter taste.

You'd be amazed by the number of eggplant recipes that exist, since most people only think of Eggplant Parmigiana. My friend Teresa looks forward to her eggplant Parmigiana-fest every year, since she and her husband Stephan make a huge batch of it and freeze it for the winter.

Below, I've included a few sites that will help you come up with the right recipe and I'm going to work on a recipe or two of my own over the next couple days. I'll report back!

Eggplant Recipes from EatingWell Magazine
This site excites me the most since it includes wholesome, healthy meals that are often used by David's Mom, who is a personal chef and one of the best cooks around!

Eggplant Recipes.net

Grilled Eggplant Salad with Yogurt from NYTimes

Grilled Eggplant with Chevre and Tomatoes

More Recipes, Yes it's True...

This Summer Squash Pasta recipe includes many of the ingredients our CSA members have been receiving lately. It's also a good step-by-step recipe with pictures for those who need it. I, however, would add a generous portion of Romano or Parmasian Cheese. Ancient Heritage Dairy makes a fantastic young Romano called Rosa. It's aged 5 months, is creamy, salty, and delicious! And local. Portlanders can find these guys at the Saturday downtown market, Sunday Hillsdale or King Markets, New Seasons and Whole Paycheck(ehem...Whole Foods...sorry).

I had the good fortune to try this Thai Cucumber recipe at a recent NoPo block party. It was very tasty. I loved the mint it includes...and I believe it was spearmint instead of wintergreen. It's creator omitted the peanuts as a precaution, since so many people have peanut allergies these days. It was good without but I suspect better with.

For the Love of Cukes and Toms

Tomatoes and cucumbers were a regular side dish to all our summer meals when I was growing up. Today, they're still a symbol of summer and especially on hot days, they make the perfect ingredients for a cool meal. Last week, when the mercury went above 100 for several days out here, we made a couple dishes I want to share with you.

The picture above is of our Tomato, basil, nettle pesto and Mozzarella Sandwich on Fred Meyer Harvest Bread. I can't tell you how perfect this was! I used two of our frozen nettle pesto cubes from this spring as the sandwich spread and added a little ground finishing salt from The Meadow in Portland. The rest is basic. You could make your own basil pesto if you didn't get the chance to freeze the nettle earlier this year.
We also enjoyed a Corona and wedge of lime with a Cucumber Salad. I added two cucumbers, several Sungold and Yellow Pear tomatoes, Scio Feta Cheese from the wonderful Ancient Heritage Dairy, a little balsamic vinegar, spot of sugar and pepper... viola! We dipped harvest bread into olive oil, sat back in the shade and enjoyed our sunshine salad.

Finally, just before the hot weather set in, I whipped up something I'll call Sage Butter Noodles with Summer Squash and Kale. This one involved sauteed patty pan squash, kale, and shallots tossed with buckwheat soba noodles and pine nuts. This is all topped with a brown butter sage and feta dressing. The squash is just perfect in this...firm, fresh tasting and the sage/feta butter gives it a richness that's making my mouth water just writing about it. I'm a big butter fan, however, so...
The way I made the dressing is pretty simple. I threw 4-6 TBS butter in a small pan(serving four), added the finely chopped sage leaves and stir until the butter starts to brown. Then I quickly add finely crumbled feta for about 10 more seconds, just to allow some of the feta oil to blend with the butter. I spoon it over individual plates and top it off with a little fresh feta. Like I said, rich!

Food Rich and Grateful

I may not be rolling in money these days, but I'm feeling grateful for the many meals I've made with the ingredients we've wild harvested, grown, traded for, and preserved over the last year. These meals have been possible through the work of many people I know a little and others I know well, and many living in the Portland area.

And, of course, they wouldn't be possible without folks like bees & pollinating wasps, healthy bacteria & fungi, bug eating frogs & birds, millipedes that munch the decaying fir needles, grasses & alfalfa that feed the elk and sheep, our beautiful chickens, the water that flows deep beneath my feet, and SO MANY other powerful and essential folks.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! It's times like these when I feel rich and thankful that we are able to share the abundance with others.