Fall is Officially Here and Market is Still Going Strong

Fall is Officially Here and Market is Still Going Strong

This past Saturday was the first official day of autumn.  Some years it still seems like summer at this point in September, but this year it really feels like fall is upon us.  Monday morning was the lowest temperature we have seen thus far.  I didn’t have any frost at my place, but I know that there was some patchy frost in outlying areas of the county. 

My best farmer-friend lives a couple of counties west of here in the flat farmland of central Ohio.  She texted me Monday and reported that they had a solid killing frost that morning.  The Muskingum River flows right next to my farm and, of course, I am flanked by our rolling hills.  This helps me and many of the other produce farmers in our county hold out a little longer and means that our customers at Farmers’ Market have a good selection of produce pretty late into the season.  Don’t forget that our market runs until the last week of October so there are still several weeks to come out and shop. 

I have really noticed the leaves starting to change this week.  I think they are predicted to not be as vibrant this year because of the dry weather, but what I have seen so far is still very pretty.  This reminded me that it was time to make my annual trek to my super-secret bittersweet patch.  It is a secret because in this day-and-age of over-zealous roadside cutting and spraying, it is hard to find indeed.  I was a little bummed because the vines with the prettiest berries were way too high to reach and I wasn’t prepared to risk life and limb to get to them.  I was, however, willing to risk a healthy dose of poison ivy.

            Sometimes late in the season I get a little tired of picking the same vegetables several times a week, making me almost wish for frost so I can stop.  I say “almost” though, because I know that I will really miss it as soon as the season is over.  One of those vegetables I still seem to have in overabundance is eggplant.  In fact, I took a whole bin of them in to work this week to share with my co-workers so they wouldn’t go to waste.  A couple of the girls and I have been talking about different ways to fix them, so I wanted to share this yummy recipe that was given to me at market a couple of weeks ago by a loyal customer.  She informed me that this is a Greek dish and a tradition in her family.  

Mousaka (Baked Eggplant)

·         1 ½ lbs. ground beef

·         1 clove minced garlic

·         1 ½ tsp. salt

·         ¼ tsp. pepper

·         2 chopped onions

·         1 tsp. sugar

·         Chopped Parsley

·         4 tablespoons butter

·         3 med. eggplants

·         1 cup tomato sauce

·         Grated Romano cheese

·         Vegetable oil

Add garlic, salt, and pepper to ground beef.  Cook slowly until meat juices are absorbed.  Add chopped onion, parsley, and butter; brown well.  Add tomato sauce, sugar, and 1 cup water; simmer until thickened, about 15 min.  Slice eggplants, soak in a deep bowl of saltwater, about 15 min.  Drain, squeeze slices gently to remove excess moisture.  Brush with vegetable oil; broil on both sides until browned.  In a 9”x 13” baking pan, arrange layers of eggplant slices alternately with meat mixture, topping with eggplant.  Spread crema sauce over top; sprinkle with nutmeg or with grated cheese.  Bake in oven at 350º for 45-60 min.  Makes 10-12 servings.

Crema Sauce:

·         6 tablespoons butter

·         6 tablespoons flour

·         3 cups milk

·         4-6 egg yolks

Melt butter; add flour and stir until light brown.  Add milk gradually, stirring constantly until slightly thickened.  Slowly, add slightly beaten egg yolks; cook over very low heat until thickened.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.