Baingan Bharta AKA Northern Indian Eggplant Curry

Photo by Sabra Krock for the New York Times.

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil


1/2 tsp gound cumin 
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
4 cloves smashed, peeled, finely chopped
1 green chili finely chopped, seeds removed (optional--for extra heat)
1 tomato, diced
2 cups cooked garbanzo or chicken (optional)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of cilantro or basil, finely chopped
 
Directions:


1.  Prick the eggplant with a thin-blade knife. Grill over very high heat, turning as necessary until the skin is blackened and the eggplant collapses. Or broil, or roast on a heated cast-iron pan or in a counter-top convection oven at 450 degrees F.  It will take about 20 minutes.

2.  When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, peel (this will be easy) and trim away the hard stem. Chop or mash in a bowl, with lime juice.

3.  Toast spices in a dry skillet and set to the side.

4.  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger  (and green chili, if you'd like) and cook for another minute. Add the tomato, toasted spices and salt. Cook until the tomato is soft, 5 minutes or so.

5.  If you would like for this to be a main dish, you can add two cups cooked garbanzo beans or  chopped cooked chicken. 

6. Stir in the eggplant purée and cook, stirring, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and cilantro and turn off the heat. Serve hot with warm chapati bread or pita, or over cooked rice quinoa. 

Easy Creamy Cucumber Salad with Raw Sunflower Seeds

Photomontage from Community Table, Bates Nut Farm and Serious Eats. (I couldn't find a photograph from a similar recipe.)

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The June 30 farm share from Glade Road Growing is slated to include kohlrabi, cucumbers, summer squash, basil, kale, and lettuce and baby spinach mix.

I have a friend who likes tzatziki  and didn't have any dill.  And while I rebuild bone and muscle,  I needed to come up with easy, wholesome meals with enough protein.  This was so yummy that I eat it every day, so I thought I'd share it with you this week.

The principle ingredients are cucumbers and plain non-fat yogurt (or plain yogurt of your choice or a vegan tofu "sour cream" which is at the link for tzatziki.  Plus raw sunflower seeds.  Plus green onions.  If you have them, it's nice to add  fresh chopped basil or dill or mint.  If you have a week when there are no cucumbers, it's also excellent with roasted summer squash or beets with potatoes, raw radishes or salad turnips, chopped kale or nappa or just about anything, I think.

Serves 4 as a main course

Combine in a large bowl:

2 cups of chopped cucumbers
4 cups yogurt
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of green onions (or 1/4 cup of finely chopped onions)
1/2 cup, if available, of finely chopped fresh herbs
freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

Stir and refrigerate over night, if you have time, so that the flavors will have time to meld.  It will keep for several days. You can eat this as a main course, as a dressing for your favorite greens or as a dip.

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Since we have basil this week, I plan to make pesto hummus, too.

Photo of week 5 share by Michael Sutphin.

Kohlrabi Fritters with Tzatziki (Greek Cumber Yogurt Dill Sauce)

Photo from Blooming Glen Farm in Pennsylvania

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The July 1 farm share from Glade Road Growing is expected to include kohlrabi, cabbage, summer squash, cucumbers, onion, and dill.

There's more information on the cabbage relative and a recipe for an apple and kohlrabi slaw at my post from last year.  This week I I thought I'd provide a recipe that combines it with the cucumbers, oninion and dill.  You can also eat kohlrabi raw, in soup, roasted, steamed or spicy in Indian recipes.

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I'm not sure how many kohlrabi bulbs will be in the farm share.  While this fritter recipe calls for four, you can make up the difference by using the summer squash. Or if you'd like to use the squash for another recipe, you can use potatoes (and omit the oats or brown rice.) The kohlrabi greens, if they are included, will be edible. The greens, too, are edible. Take the smaller, newer leaves, trim them and cook as you would beet greens, until they are tender.

Serves 4 - 6

Start by making the Tzatziki sauce and put in the refrigerator to thicken.  You will only use a portion for this recipe and can use the rest as a salad dressing or dip during the rest of the week.

1.  Peel 4 kohlrabi bulbs and shred (or mix shredded kohlrabi and unpeeled shredded summer squash or potatoes to make 2 - 3 cups).  Place in colander and squeeze out excess moisture.

2.  In a bowl, combine:

2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup cooked oat groats or brown rice
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3. Add kohlrabi or kohlrabi-squash mixture by the spoonful and mix until coated.

4.  Form fritter mixture into two inch balls and lightly coat with whole wheat flour.

5.  Heat lightly oiled cast iron skillet until a bead of water evaporates.  Drop into skillet. Press gently with spatula to flatten. Cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.


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Want a good recipe for the cabbage?  You can shred it and make it into a slaw using the recipe I've linked to or here's a recipe for my favorite cabbage borscht.

Broccoli and Dill Raita Slaw

Photo from Food Network. I first published this post on 6/13/14 at 10:03 PM and last updated it on 6/7/2014 to include a recipe for leeks and spinach and to add tags.

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Today, Glade Road Growing delivered its first farm shares, which included spinach, head lettuce, dill, broccoli, and leeks. I picked up my bag of produce at Vintage Cellar.  Here's a recipe you might want to try for Broccoli and Dill Raita Slaw:

1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon  juice
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoons minced fresh dill
1/2 tablespoon Garlic minced
1/2 tablespoon Ginger minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium shallot or 1 TB onions minced
2 cups of broccoli (peeled and sliced stems and florets)
2 cups shredded carrots
1/4 cup dried cranberries or pomegranate seeds
 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

If you like you can lightly steam the broccoli and carrots or use them raw for more crunch.

In a large bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except the broccoli, carrots, cranberries, and almonds. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Add remaining ingredients and gently toss. Chill before serving.

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For your leeks and spinach, you can try this soup:

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I'm lucky to swap veggies for posting a recipe every week here and on facebook.

The website has a sign up for July due by 6/29/14 here and that Sally Walker  recommends early sign up for the remaining 2014 growing season through November since she and Jason sold out of the monthly shares this month.  They are still willing to swap some volunteer time for produce this month, but it will have to be picked up at the farm (2351 Glade Road, Blacksburg, Virginia).  Planned crops include:

peas, spinach, bok choy, broccoli, lettuce and lettuce mix, radishes, carrots, cabbage, kale, beets, onions, garlic, yellow squash, zucchini, fennel, cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, eggplant, celery, celeriac, basil, beans, chard, kohlrabi, rutabaga, arugula, turnips, okra, winter squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes, parsnips, herbs (cilantro, dill, parsley and more.)

Tzatziki (Greek Cucumber Dip)

June 25's  farm share from Glade Road Growing (GRG) will contain carrots, fresh garlic, curly kale, romaine lettuce, 2 cucumbers and a mix of yellow, green, and romanesco zucchini (see the above picture from GRG's facebook page.

Sally Walker has commissioned me to develop recipes for the CSA, in exchange for veggies. Here is the first one, for Tzatziki (including vegan option).  It would be great with grilled or raw carrots and squash, served with pita triangles and black greek olives. It is also delicious over sauteed kale. It takes about 20 minutes to prep and another 2 hours to chill.

Peel, seed and dice 2 cucumbers.
Chop 1 tsp. fresh dill

Drain and strain one of the following:
4 cups plain yogurt
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups tofu "sour cream" (recipe found below) for vegan version

Combine in bowl and mix until well combined.
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed with flat side of knife, peeled, minced finely
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper

Whisk in yogurt or tofu sour cream to mix well.

Add cucumbers and dill.

Chill for at least two hours before serving.

Vegan Tofu "Sour Cream"

In a blender, process together five minutes, until very creamy and smooth:

1 (16 ounce) package silken tofu
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
6-7 teaspoons lemon juice (one lemon gives you about 9 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon demerarara sugar (or the equivalent of your favorite sweetener)
1/2-1 teaspoon salt, to taste

Refrigerate for at least an hour to thicken.

Use within 5-6 days.

Sally and JP try to predict the farm share head of time on the left sidebar here:
http://gladeroadgrowing.csasignup.com/

They make some last minute changes based on availability (like this week replacing swiss chard with a couple cucumbers.)