C.S.A. week 6

I was reminded of a piece I heard on the radio a couple of years ago, as it is currently resurfacing in the news. Several Maine Dairy Farms are prohibited from selling milk after their product tested very high in levels of PFAS. PFAS are chemicals now banned for use in the United States, but were used in things like stain resistant clothing, spot cleaners, shampoos, and more. These chemicals are referred to as forever chemicals and they build up in the environment and the human body. These chemicals ended up in the milk. Starting in the 80’s, dairy farmers were encouraged by the state of Maine to spread Sludge from mills and state sewer processing plants. It seemed like a win-win, effective fertilizer and a good way to mitigate some of the waste costs associated with sludge removal. Come to find out, the sludge contained high levels of PFAS which don’t break down, and thus were absorbed by the cows grazing and eating hay from the contaminated fields. The PFAS then made their way into the cows milk and onto store shelves.

. The sludge may seem like an obvious wrong turn now, but the truth is, as human beings we are always a bit behind the curve. It takes years to figure out that something which has a positive may also have a delayed negative.

This brings me to the last point, although you are not receiving any root crops this week, you don’t need to peel our vegetables, ever. Except Kohlrabi of course. Eat the skin, it’s often the most nutritious part of the plant.

In the share:

• Sweet Corn -From Hancock Family Farm in Casco, ME

• Tomatoes

• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

• Eggplant

• Green Leaf Lettuce

• Cucumbers

• Zucchini/Squash

Simple use of corn

-Shave off the kernels into a bowl, add cherry tomatoes halved, basil sliced small, and some olive oil and balsamic. Mix, serve. No cooking required! Feta is a bonus.

Moroccan Style Eggplant

Thanks again to Joyce for sending this recipe my way originally from feastingathome.com

ingredients

• 2 lbs eggplant- Japanese, Chinese or fairytale

• 10 garlic cloves

• 2 fat shallots, quartered

• 3/4 cup olive oil

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 2 teaspoons ras el hanout(you can look up how to make this)

• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (or sub fennel seeds)

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 4 medium tomatoes (or 1 lb cherry tomatoes)

• large lemon zest pieces, from one lemon (use a veggie peeler or sharp knife)

preheat oven to 375F

Cut eggplant in half lengthwise (no thicker than 3/4 inch) and place in an ovenproof baking dish along with the whole garlic cloves and shallots.

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, ras el hanout, and caraway seeds.

Pour over the eggplant and toss well to coat. Cover with foil and bake 20 mins on the middle rack.

After the first 20 minutes, lower heat to 350F and uncover. Add the tomatoes, zest and give a toss.

Continue baking 50-75 minutes, uncovered, checking every 20 minutes, giving a gentle stir, until the eggplant is meltingly tender and creamy. Depending on the eggplant size, the time may vary. Please be patient here and check more often if eggplants are very small.

Once the eggplant is very tender, and edges are crisp,  pull out of the oven, cover lightly with foil until ready to serve. Garnish with the olives, fresh herbs and optional chili flakes.

Serve warm or at room temp.