Recipe: Eggplant Parmigiana

There are many versions of this popular dish. This one skips the heavy breading and uses the abundant fresh tomatoes of late summer in place of tomato sauce. It's critical to drain the tomatoes first as they have a high water content and can make the final result too watery.

Ingredients:

- 2-3 eggplants
- 180 g mozzarella, grated
- 3-4 tomatoes
- 2 eggs
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
- olive oil
- salt

Method:

1. Slice eggplant into roughly 1/4 inch slices.

2. Thinly slice tomatoes, salt and drain in a strainer over the sink to get rid of excess water.

3. Beat eggs lightly. Individually dip eggplant slices in eggs before frying in olive oil on medium heat.

4. Fry until eggplant is golden brown on both sides. You many need to add olive oil to the pan once or twice as eggplant absorb oil while they cook.

5. In a baking dish, start layering ingredients. Begin with eggplant slices.

6. Cover eggplant with tomatoes, minced garlic and grated mozzarella.

7. Continue layering in that order until the baking dish is full.

8. Bake for 20 minutes at 400F.

9. Let rest for at least 10-15 minutes out of the oven before serving to allow eggplant to absorb some of the juices in the baking dish. Yummy!

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Summer's End

After an unusually cool summer it seems we're on the cusp of an early fall. This might mean some of our summer veggies fade out a bit sooner, but fortunately we've still got lots of tasty fall veggies to look forward to.

The tomato leaves start to die back once the days get shorter and the nights get cooler. Production of new tomatoes will typically slow down at this point, but there are still loads of unripe and semi-ripe tomatoes catching whatever rays of sun they can to hopefully take us into October.

The cherry tomatoes are still out in force and looking delicious.

The sweet peppers, like the tomatoes, are slowing down in growth, but there are still lots left to ripen.

Here come the fall veggies! Through the large leaves of this winter squash plant (called Gold Nugget) we spy some flashes of orange.

Can you spot the two growing butternut squashes in this photo? On a cool day like this I'm looking forward to a warm, comforting butternut squash soup.

Are you ready for fall?

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Recipe: Stuffed Tomatoes

Late summer days when the tomatoes and sweet peppers start to pile up on the kitchen counter I look for ways to use them up. This recipe makes excellent use of them both with a hand from some garlic and feta. The roasted and skinned peppers I used to stuff the tomatoes are a tasty and versatile dish in their own right. Try them with pasta, in salads or on top of a burger.

Ingredients:
- 4 medium sized tomatoes
- 4 oz feta, crumbled
- 2-3 sweet bell peppers
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt to taste

Steps:

1. Slice peppers and place skin side up on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil.

2. Place peppers directly under broiler until skins blacken, about 5-10 minutes.

3. Put peppers in a medium sized bowl with a plate or pot lid on top. The steam from the pepper will loosen the skins and make them easier to peel.

4. While the peppers are steaming, core and hollow the tomatoes with a small spoon or melon baller.

5. Combine feta, oregano, garlic and salt in a bowl.

6. Once the peppers have had a good 10 minutes to steam, remove them from the bowl and peel the skins off. Don't worry if you can't get every scrap of skin off.

7. Chop peppers and add to bowl with feta and seasoning. Mix thoroughly.

8. Fill hollowed tomatoes with pepper and feta mixture. Place tomatoes side by side in a baking dish and drizzle with the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil.

9. Bake at 350 F until tomatoes soften and the skins wrinkle slightly, about 25 minutes. Enjoy!

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Mildew Season

It's that time of the year when it seems like everything is a possible target for mildew and fungus.

These poor squash plants went from a touch of white on the lower, oldest leaves to completely coated seemingly overnight. The culprit here is powdery mildew, which is the bane of the entire cucurbit family (squash, cucumber, melon) late in the season.

These plants will be chopped out as soon as possible. Although they would happily continue producing fruit (at a reduced yield), it is better to get the infected plants out of the area. It is always tempting to try to squeeze every last bit of productivity out of each planting (especially after working so hard to establish it), but it's important to consider the bigger picture: later plantings are still coming into production now so there's no shortage, and free spaces allow for better establishment of cover crops which will benefit fertility in future years.

I've added a few new tools to my management plan this year, but no matter what I do it really just seems to delay the inevitable. Pulling out mildew-y older plants just seems like a part of the late summer rhythm.

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Guest Recipe: Late Summer Lasagna

Our second of two recipes from vegan cook extraordinaire: Natalie! This one is my favorite, it's so yummy. Zucchini, patty pan squash and potatoes stand in for the traditional lasagna sheet pasta, making this dish gluten free and loaded with fresh garden flavour. Vegan cashew cheeze holds it all together, but those of us who eat dairy can opt for the more standard ricotta or cottage cheese. I challenge you to try the cashew cheeze if you never have before, its lightly nutty taste works so well with the roasted veggies.

Ingredients:

Lasagna "Noodles":

- 2 large pattypan and/or zucchini squash, sliced into 1/2 inch thick sections

- 2 lbs potatoes, washed well and sliced lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick ovals

- olive oil for drizzling

- salt to taste

Tomato Sauce:

- 2 lbs/1 pint Roma or other fresh garden tomatoes

- 1 tsp oregano (fresh or dried)

- 4 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp black pepper

- 2 tbsp olive oil

Cashew Cheeze (or 2-3 cups ricotta/cottage cheese in it's place):

- 1 cup raw cashews

- 1 block (454 g) Firm or Extra Firm tofu

- 1/2 cup fresh (or 1 tsp dried) basil

- olive oil

- juice of 1 lemon

Topping:

- 1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes, zucchini, or melty cheese, whatever you'd like!

Steps:

To prepare noodles:

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Coat squash and potato slices in olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and place on them on baking sheets.

2. Roast at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until slightly browned. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your slices or if you only use one baking sheet.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce:

1. Chop tomatoes and set in a colander (in a bowl or the sink) with about 2 tablespoons of salt for 15 minutes. This should reduce the juice...and don't worry, most of the salt will drain with the juices.

2. Once they are ready, coat a medium sized heavy bottomed saucepan with the oil and set to medium/high heat.

3. Add garlic and cook until just fragrant, then add oregano, salt, pepper, and the tomatoes. Simmer for 15 minutes or until desired consistency is reached. If desired, blend with an immersion blender to eliminate any remaining chunks or skin.

Lastly, ready the cashew cheeze:

1. Place the cashews, garlic, salt and oil in a food processor or blender and process into a paste. Add the tofu and lemon juice and blend until the mixture reaches a spreadable consistency. Adding water is sometimes necessary depending on the type of tofu used.

2. Once smooth, add the basil and pulse to chop and combine.

Now put it all together:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9 x 11 pan.

2. Layer the lasagna. First a layer of squash to cover the pan. Make sure to cover the pan completely.

3. Next all of the potatoes.

4. Half of the cheeze/cheese.

5. Half of the sauce.

6. The remaining squash.

7. The remaining cheeze/cheese.

8. The remaining sauce.

9. Lastly add your topping of choice. We chose sliced tomatoes for this late summer feast!

10. Cover in foil and bake for 15 minutes with it on, then 15 with it off. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Denver is all business when it comes to this delicious lasagna.

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Guest Recipe: Roasted Salad

For the next two weeks I'm thrilled to feature guest recipes from my dear friend Natalie. She's an awesome vegan cook, a mom to two sweet little boys, and a Toronto ex-pat like myself. Our respective downtown apartments used to be just a couple blocks from one another, but these days I pack the kids in the car and we drive from the farm out to Peterborough to visit. Wish we had the time to do it more often.

Natalie with her two monkeys, Barrett and Denver.

Natalie's at her most creative in the wee hours, when the house is quiet, and that's when this dish came to her. Sure, salad is delicious, but what about a roasted salad? That is, a salad made up entirely of oven roasted veggies. Mmm. The potatoes, squash and beans give this dish some weight and texture, while the tomatoes add caramelized sweetness and the kale a crisp leafiness. I think all I need to say are two final words: roasted garlic.

Ingredients:

- 1 lb potatoes, cubed
- 1 medium sized patty pan squash, sliced
- 2 cups snap beans, trimmed
- 2 cups kale, coarsely chopped
- 2 cups tomatoes, chopped
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Toss patty pan squash, potatoes and snap beans in olive oil in a roasting pan and salt lightly.

2. Bake, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender and beginning to brown, about 45 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes, kale and garlic to roasting pan along with a bit more olive oil and salt.

4. Bake until kale is beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes.

5. Remove from pan to a salad bowl and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Take this time to pull kids away from their fun activity for boring old dinner. Might take longer than expected...

6. Serve with additional olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and enjoy with some good friends. Yum!

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