In Your Share (Oct 12th edition)

What a lovely indian summer we’re having! It means the season on summer crops – including salad – is extended a bit longer. Heirloom tomatoes & eggplant are winding down, but fall crops like leeks & winter squash are coming on strong.

If you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to sign up for the WINTER SHARE soon!! It starts the first week of November…

• SE Portland Winter CSA Share Sign Up
• Luscher Farm Winter CSA Share Sign Up

You’ll find recipes for everything we grow on the farm at Cook With What You Have. CSA members will find the password to the site in your email – enjoy your 24/7 access to recipe inspiration!

This week your share may include…

• Arugula: So nice to have these greens to spice up my salads!
• Carrots: Makes a great snack.
• Eggplant: Love these long skinny japanese eggplant! If you haven’t tried my favorite roasted eggplant salad you definitely should do it soon. Eggplant in the Moorish Style makes a great side dish – the flavors are subtle, but wonderful – cumin, mint, red onion and a little vinegar combine to make this an unusual but wonderful salad. The Calabrian Spicy Eggplant salad would also be a great choice this week.
• Lettuce Heads: These Batavian lettuce varieties are crisp & tasty this time of year.
• Yellow Onions: Try adding a little diced fennel bulb to recipes that call for sautéed onions. The strong anise flavor fades, but it still adds nice depth to many dishes.
• Parsley: This big leaf Italian parsley makes a great tabouleh or add it to greens in pasta.
• Italian Sweet Peppers: Thank you Frank Morton  at Wild Garden Seeds for these lovely, sweet, thick walled, productive peppers. The open pollinated Stocky Red Roaster and Gatherer’s Gold were “born” in Philomath when Frank began to de-hybridize various lines of italian sweet peppers. We are luck to live in a place that not only has lots of great farmers, but amazing seed breeders as well.
• Hot Peppers: In order of hottest to more mild – Bulgarian carrot, Black Czech & Jalapeño.
• Tomatoes: Both slicing & heirloom tomatoes.

Coming soon… Winter Share!