Wow, we are almost halfway through summer share season!  I hope everyone is feeling great and enjoying the changing flavors of summer.  Your share has the following items this week:

Basil

Dill

Cilantro-  Throw this in with some chopped tomatoes and a hot pepper or two for fresh salsa.

Japanese Eggplants- Eggplant contains a bitter juice which can be removed before cooking.  Cut them into whatever form you need them in for your dish and toss them with salt.  Leave covered at room temperature for 1 hour.  Pat dry with a towel.  The salt causes the bitterness to weep out and makes them taste even sweeter once cooked.

Summer Squash

Potatoes-  This week is the Chieftan variety, a large Red potato.  Add the dill to these for a beautiful potato salad.

Garlic

Kale

Tomatoes-  The darker colored steak tomatoes are the Black Krim, this is a full flavored heirloom variety with plenty of that juicy tomato goodness that you can only get from a farm fresh tomato.  We can’t even eat tomatoes anymore when they are out of season because the mealy things they label as “tomatoes” in the grocery store bear no similarity in flavor to these beautiful fruits.  The lighter colored slicers are the Moskvich, another heirloom variety hailing from Russia.  These are slightly smaller than the Black Krim and have more of a fruity flavor.  My favorite thing to do with these is to slice them, add salt and pepper, some basil leaves and if you have it around, some balsamic vinegar and fresh mozzerella.  YUM!  Of course some evenings we are tired and end up just snacking on whole tomatoes, that tastes pretty good too.   We have 5 more varieties of tomatoes on their way to ripening so the flavors will continue to change throughout the next few weeks.

Eggplant Torta Recipe-  This is from the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, a must have kitchen reference.  This book is a dense educational read for any of you wanting to learn more about traditional foods and diets.

This dish can also includesummer squash sliced and cooked in the same way if you want.  Slice eggplants the long way and place on an oiled baking sheet.  Brush with olive oil and salt and pepper and bake at 375 until soft, about 15 minutes.

Take and oiled spring form pan and layer the bottom and sides with eggplant slices.  Spread tomato sauce over eggplant and sprinkle with grated cheese of your choice.  (we like monterey jack and Parmesan in ours)  Make another layer of eggplant followed by sauce and cheese.  Repeat once more, or until you run out of ingredients.  Poke holes in the torta with a fork and pour three beaten eggs over the top so it soaks in.  Sprinkle the top with Parmesan.   Bake on top of a baking sheet at 350 for about 30 minutes or until browned and bubbly on top.  let it cool a bit before you release the spring form and slice it.

this is like lasagna with no wheat!  The eggplant absolutely melts in your mouth.  You can also serve it with extra sauce.  We are still trying to use up our final few containers of tomato sauce that we made last summer so we have been liking this recipe and hope you enjoy it too!