Enjoy the Season's Bounty!

It's the season for eggplant and peppers in NC! See below for a tasty sneak preview from Farmer John's Cookbook: Baked eggplant “lasagna” with olives, bell pepper and three cheeses. Yum! Photo: USDA

Many of you share our philosophy of buying locally-grown, organic foods for your family. If you belong to a membership farm or CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), grow your own veggies, or shop at a local farmer’s market, you are probably reveling in summer’s bounty right now. You may also be wondering… what am I going to do with all these eggplants?!

Farmer John Peterson (you may know him from the film "The Real Dirt on Farmer John") has just released a cookbook, together with the crew at his farm, Angelic Organics, that is designed for CSA members and local shoppers like us. The Real Dirt on Vegetables is organized by season, so that instead of flowing from appetizers to main courses to desserts, the book flows from early spring leafy greens to mid-summer fruiting to end-of-season root vegetables – just the way you need it if you eat with the seasons.

Most of the recipes are relatively simple, designed to showcase the flavors of just-picked vegetables and herbs (our new favorites are the Baked Eggplant Lasagna and the Roasted Red Pepper soup). The flavors are impressive, though, and you won’t hesitate to serve these dishes to company. The Real Dirt on Vegetables is also full of photos, short essays and lots of humor gleaned from many years of Angelic Organics’ CSA newsletters. But what really shines through in this book is the passion of Farmer John and the farm staff. This cookbook is full of drama, adventure, love, disappointment, faith, and of course good food. If you were to skip over the recipes, you could almost read this cookbook like a novel – a novel with a lot of carrots, tractors and remarkable weather incidents in it.

This cookbook has already broadened our kitchen repertoire and deepened our appreciation for our own CSA, Hilltop Farms, and the wonderful growers at the new downtown Raleigh farmer’s market where we shop quite often. We’re also getting more out of the experience – more good food, and more knowledge about what we have really invested in by buying more of our food from local organic growers. If you are a CSA member, farmer’s market shopper, or a grower yourself, pick up a copy of Farmer John’s Cookbook. It’s a practical handbook that inspires new awe for vegetables, and for the people who grow them.

Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables
by Farmer John Peterson and Angelic Organics
Paperback: 360 pages
225 recipes
Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publishers; 1st edition (May 30, 2006)
ISBN: 1423600142
Available for $29.95 directly from Angelic Organics, or at your local bookstore.

Suggestions for further reading:

Tasty sneak preview:

Baked eggplant “lasagna” with olives, bell pepper and three cheeses
Reprinted with permission from Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables.

With its creamy layers of sliced eggplant and ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses, this marvelous dish is a little like lasagna – without the pasta. Also featuring bell pepper, basil and black olives, the result has a lusty, Mediterranean flavor.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
Olive oil for greasing the pans and coating the eggplants and peppers
1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch slices
salt
1 red or green bell pepper, sliced into 1/4-inch rings
1 cup ricotta cheese
3 large egg whites, lightly beaten
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
pinch cayenne pepper
1 cup tomato sauce, divided
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
1/3 cup pitted, finely sliced black olives

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish with olive oil. Arrange the eggplant slices on the baking sheet, season with salt, and lightly brush the tops with olive oil. Bake until the eggplant is soft and golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer the eggplant to a plate and set aside to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Toss the peppers with a few dashes of olive oil in a medium bowl. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, egg whites, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, all of the basil, parsley, cayenne pepper, and a generous dash of salt, until all of the ingredients are well combined. Arrange half of the eggplant slices in the baking dish. Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the slices. Pour half of the tomato sauce evenly on top. Sprinkle with the mozzarella. Arrange the pepper and olives on top of the mozzarella. Top with the remaining tomato sauce. Add the remaining eggplant slices and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake until all the layers are heated through and the cheese is melted, about 45 minutes.

Tips from Toxic Free NC:

We shortened the overall time using the oven by roasting the eggplants and peppers together. At step 1, we reduced the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Then just stick the pepper rings on top of the eggplant slices to bake, pull them out after ten minutes and allow the eggplant to continue baking until golden.

This recipe is so good that you might as well make two. Double the whole thing and bake it in two separate pans. Eat one panful for supper and freeze the other for one chilly night after work this winter when you’re too tired to cook, and craving all the flavors you haven’t had since summer. Might as well use up some more of those eggplants!

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