Eggplant Caprese Sandwiches—Better Than Burgers!

We got a couple of eggplants two weeks ago, and I’m hoping there will be more to come, because eggplant is one of my favorite foods. It’s also one of the most versatile things we get at the CSA. If you’re a vegetarian, you don’t need any tofu when eggplant is in season, and if you aren’t a vegetarian, you can use eggplant in place of ground or cubed beef in a lot of recipes.

You can make (and I do) eggplant chili, eggplant tacos, eggplant lasagna, eggplant everything, but I think my favorite is to take thick grilled slices of eggplant and make a better burger. The one I’ve concocted this summer is a particular winner. I’m calling it an Eggplant Caprese Sandwich, because you take that grilled eggplant (slice, salt, and let stand about 15 minutes, then drizzle both sides with a little olive oil and grill) and top it with fresh mozzarella slices (put it back on the grill to melt the cheese just a little). Place that on a toasted bun or ciabatta bread, and top with chopped red onions and cherry tomatoes, drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar. Top with chopped fresh basil and the top of the bun and voila, an amazing ersatz burger!

If you like eggplant, too, don’t miss all the other eggplant recipes we’ve posted over the seasons on this blog. Just type Eggplant in the Search box and you’ll find lots of good ideas, but I think the Eggplant Caprese Sandwich might just be the best.

Going Raw

I’m in the middle of an experiment, eating most of my produce raw (or minimally cooked; I have boiled my corn and steamed my greens and green beans). I know it’s good for you, but that was not my motivation—sheer laziness made me give it a try. I have a lot of work piling up in drifts on my desk at the moment, so I’m spending more time than usual immersed in red pencil marks and subject-verb agreement. The idea was to save a little time on meal preparation, especially since my significant other is off on a bike trip to Lake Erie and my son spends dinner time delivering pizzas, so no one around here is currently expecting a cooked dinner.

It was also a good time to try this experiment—we got a few tomatoes last week, and my secret supplier (I’m not telling you where the stand is because they are go fast) has provided an elegant sufficiency the past few weeks—and what’s better than a raw tomato? The cucumbers, peppers, and even squash are also good candidates for raw eating, and a trip to Findlay Market for an avocado, berries, and other fruit, provided more than enough “raw materials” for this week’s meals.

One night I simply chopped up tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and avocado and arranged them artfully on a plate, drizzled on chocolate balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and let it sit for a little while, by which time it had marinated into a delicious mélange.

Even though I’m eating raw, I do some preparation. I had finished up the last of the classic gazpacho I made last week, so I tried some cucumber gazpacho this time. If you got some of those small yellow cucumbers in the share, you know how sweet and tasty they are. I used them and a regular cuke in place of the English cucumbers in this recipe posted on the blog last year, and I had everything else I needed. The recipe just calls for pureeing the vegetables with some oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Absolutely no cooking, and you eat it cold . . . and raw.

I’m not sure how long the Raw Experiment will continue, but we’ll see if anything else I try is worth mentioning in a future blog. And if you have any suggestions for how to prepare raw vegetables—or cooked produce, for that matter—please comment!

Seasons within Seasons within Seasons . . .

The New York Times Dining section featured an article about chefs and restaurants who take the seasonal menu idea to a whole new level: they cook “microseasonally," tailoring recipes according to whether the produce is coming into season, is in full harvest, or is tapering off.

The most obvious example to use is the tomato . . . you are anticipating them so much that, according to the article anyway, you are willing to use the unripe green tomatoes that first appear. (That’s not my experience; I’ve always had the patience to wait for the first tomatoes to turn red, and then late in the season, when frost threatens, I’ll pick the remaining green tomatoes and use them then.) Anyway, the article goes on to say that late season tomatoes, overripe and soft, are sweeter but have a less pleasing texture—they are the best for pureeing for sauces, dressings, and gazpacho. Personally, I have never met an Ohio Valley tomato that was not perfect for gazpacho, but that’s just me.

There’s also a comparison of early season zucchini, still crisp and tasty raw or cooked, and late season zukes that have grown to forearm dimensions. The article notes that the seeds are larger and “more distracting” in those late zucchinis, and I have to say I have considered that without really realizing it. I’m more likely to scoop the seeds out and stuff those big squash, or else seed them and grate them for baking.

Hot peppers get hotter later in the season, of course, but did you know that leeks get stringier and potatoes get sweeter? I did not, but the article makes the point that if you are aware of these small differences as the harvest proceeds, you can tweak your recipes to take advantage of the good qualities and make up for the deficiencies in the produce of the moment.

It’s an interesting concept, and the best part is, the article included several recipes to make its point. These included Tomato Crostata with Honey-Thyme Glaze, Green and Wax Bean Salad with SpicyTomato Vinaigrette, and Fried Green Tomatoes with Bacon Rémoulade. Ooh, la la! To find out more about cooking with microseasonal produce, take a look at the article in the Times Dining Section.

Changing the World, One Bunch of Kale at a Time—There’s a Loan for That

In the last blog entry, I mentioned member Terry Sullivan’s“Real Food” blog, and this time I want to bring your attention to another local food blog by former Enright CSA members Amy and Vince Stross. They’ve been local food advocates for years, but their Tenth Acre Farm blog/website was started fairly recently. I encourage you to visit; hey have an “edible front yard” and lots of good ideas about growing your own food, being self-sustaining, and getting your priorities straight. Take a look at it and look at what they’ve accomplished . . . they aren’t members of the CSA any more because they were growing plenty of food in their suburban yard. It's inspirational, whether you have a garden or just help out at the CSA. What if everyone started to shift to edible landscaping? Talk about making a difference!

Which brings me to the other subject of this blog, which Suellyn Shupe brought to our attention. On Sunday, August 4, there is an event at Peterloon in Indian Hill for people to find out more about the Local Loans for Local Foods program, a “Slow Money” lending network in the Greater Cincinnati/Southwestern Ohio area. Speaker Carol Peppe Hewitt, a co-founder of Slow Money North Carolina, will be in town to talk about how investing patiently in small-scale farming and food production businesses can pay off for everyone, the investors and the folks who take loans.

The event also includes food by Chef Mark Stroud, and there is a $5-$20 sliding scale suggested donation to cover the costs of the event and the food. Peterloon Estate is at 8605 Hopewell Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242, and RSVPs are requested. Visit the Local Loans for Local Foods website for more information about this. Maybe you will be inspired to start your own Tenth Acre Farm, and they can get you started.