by Joe Dennis, Nostalgia Farms, Walcott, Iowa
Along with the dog days of our hot and humid summer, comes the bounty of our garden harvest. Heirloom tomatoes are ripening on the vine as well as our sweet corn, squash, cucumbers, beans and eggplant.
With names like “Black Krim,” “Mortgage Lifter,” “Caspian pink,” “Amana orange,” and “Green zebra,” the heirloom tomatoes are as varied in color as they are in taste and are a much anticipated summer treat for our customers and myself as well.
Squash, cucumbers, beans (Romano, Blue Lake and our newest addition “Yard Long”) as well as eggplant are all welcome additions to our table. The heat has taken down most of the lettuce beds to be replaced by kale and Swiss chard. We tried a new variety of romaine called “Jericho” which seems to be handling the heat fairly well.
The sweet corn is in full swing and my regular customers are patiently looking forward to an all-white variety we grow called “Silver Queen.” In a market full of genetically modified bi-color supersweet varieties, this has been our favorite corn to grow for years.
Canning is under way. (Thank goodness my mother retired this year, because she has taken over pickle production and has supplied us with several jars of bread and butter pickles as well as sweet relish, dill.) She has also started on my grandmother’s 14-day clove pickles. I have been busy canning excess tomatoes into sauce, chili sauce, pizza sauce and pasta sauce from Mrs. Wages seasoning mixes. Many of the peppers and much of the tomatoes will be simply chopped and frozen for use throughout the winter as well.
Eggplant Cooking Ideas
The eggplant is coming in. We grow the traditional “Black Beauty” and long skinny Japanese as well as an Italian heirloom called “Rosa Bianca.” Some of the ways I prepare them are grilled on kabobs with lamb and onion, grilled until soft and mixed with tahini, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil for a Mediterranean inspired dip great served with pita bread.
Summer Stir Fry with Squash, Sweet corn and Eggplant
Another great summer side dish is a quick stir fry of summer squash, onion, garlic, green beans, sweet corn and diced eggplant simply flavored with salt, pepper and fresh basil. The first eggplant of the season almost always goes into eggplant Parmesan; it’s a great use of eggplant, tomatoes and goes great to dinner parties with any of my vegetarian friends.
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Joe Dennis is a farmer at Nostalgia Farms in Walcott, Iowa. Together with his partner, Ed Kraklio, they sell locally-grown, organic produce at the Freight House Farmer’s Market in downtown Davenport, IA near LeClaire Park, every Tuesday (3-6 pm) and Saturday (8 am -1 pm). You can visit the farm’s website at: www.nostalgiafarms.com. Read more of Farmer Joe’s blog posts on MVHNews, or try any of the Nostalgia Farms recipes on this website. |
