CSA Week 7

Hey there, Misfit Members! It's going to be a hot one today, so if you're on my front porch drop route, make sure to bring your veggies inside as soon as you can this morning. Here's what you'll find in your box this week:

-Green beans

-Broccolini

-Baby Eggplant

-Cherry tomatoes: Sun Gold and Chocolate Cherry

-Peppers:

-Sweet Gypsy and Jalapeno

-Bell (Bi-weekly only)

-Zucchini

-Yellow Squash

-Patty Pan Squash or Delicata Squash

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Sheet Pan Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

-1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch slices -2 eggs -1 tbsp water -1 cup panko breadcrumbs -1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese -1 tsp dried oregano -1 tsp dried basil -1 tsp garlic powder -2 tbsp olive oil -1 jar marinara sauce -1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

-Spread the sliced eggplant in a single layer onto paper towels. Salt the eggplant and let it sit for 15 minutes. Flip the eggplant, salt the other side, and let sit for another 15 minutes. Rinse the eggplant with water and pat dry with clean paper towels. (This process will draw out the excess moisture and bitterness from the eggplant. You can skip it but I don't recommend it.)

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the panko, parm, basil, oregano, and garlic powder in a shallow dish. In a separate dish, lightly beat the eggs with the water.

-Dip the eggplant slices in the egg and then the breadcrumb mixture, pressing the breadcrumbs onto the eggplant to evenly coat both sides.

-Drizzle a foil-lined sheet pan with the olive oil and spread it around to cover the whole pan. Place the breaded eggplant in a single layer on the baking sheet.

-Bake for 15 minutes, carefully flip the slices, then bake for an additional 10 minutes on the other side. Spoon sauce onto each slice and top with shredded cheese. Return to the oven and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Top with fresh basil right before serving if desired.

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I know I've given y'all a lot of green beans this week, so I'll give you a quick run-down on how to freeze them in case you don't want to cook them all right away.

• Snap the ends off of your beans and wash them thoroughly.

• Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. While you're waiting on the waiter to boil, prepare a large bowl with ice water. This will be for blanching the beans, which basically means stopping the cooking process rapidly via very cold temperature change.

• Place your beans in the boiling water. After about three minutes, or when the boiling starts again, immediately remove the beans and submerge into the ice bath.

• After the beans are cooled, pat them dry with paper towels or a clean dish towel. Place them into freezer bags, and pop them into the freezer. Done!

• Alternatively, you can flash freeze them first by spreading them on a baking sheet until frozen or mostly frozen, then place into the freezer bags. The reason for this would be if you didn't want to use the entire package at once, it makes it easier to grab out just what you need, since the beans won't stick together.

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Hope y'all are ready for some corn, because this is all for you!! Just look at all those tasseling beauties! The first planting has ears that will likely be ready next week, and the second planting is starting to form small ears as well. The third planting is still a little while away, so we'll have it for several weeks!

That's all for this week! Hope everyone has a great week, and don't forget to wash your produce!