It seems that the idea we had three years ago to have the harvest dinner at the farm is a hit. A splendid time was had by all, and the food was so delicious. The craft beers were a nice addition too.

The sweet peppers are in full ripeness these days, and they are a treat to pick and wash. The colors are vibrant and the taste is sweet. Do as the farmworkers do, and eat them like a hand fruit.

Another peak performer is the French fingerling potatoes. Their elongated shape makes it  easy to cut into fries or wedges. The simplest of recipes is to then lightly oil them and coat with the herb rub of your choice before baking at 400 deg F for about half an hour. They are a favorite here on the farm.

This morning I captured Momma prowling the grounds near a couple buckwheat patches. These cover crops are a wonderful morning sight, and perhaps the source of a cat’s breakfast.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that we wondered if summer would ever come. But once it did, it kept going. Last week’s warm days and nights were a nice boost to the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. The occasional inch of rain has also helped. So the summer vegetables continue on.

It has given us a little peak in our okra production this week. We hope that those of you who enjoy okra as much as we do get a chance to enjoy it this week. We get to cook up the extra long ones that won’t fit into the bags. While larger than you want them ideally, the top 2/3rd of the Red Burgundy are quite tender.

As usual with okra, I recommend the wok-fried recipe from our 2010 Week 15 blog. We cooked up a variation tonight, baking instead of frying, and with a coating of olive oil, paprika, marjoram and salt. Cut the okra into chunks and bake at 425 for 10 minutes, or until tender and browned.

A good sign in the fields (and we have lots of them)

The rain from last Thursday and sunshine of late have made for a beautiful week. Hot weather is forecast for awhile and the peppers and eggplant are happy with the heat wave. The hot peppers especially have been putting on the fruit and maturing with very few blemishes or problems.

While not everyone’s favorite, the fiery ones are used frequently in our kitchen. If you are a jalapeno lover you can make short work of your share item. The NuMex Anaheim-type peppers can be treated like a Hatch chile. Just burn the skin of the pepper until it bubbles and blackens, then put it in a closed container to steam. When cool, peel off the skin.

A variety of hot peppers is a treat to grow

While a bit of a repeat recipe form last week, a combination of our summer vegetables, stewed together with ground beef is quick and delicious. The match of color between the Tropea onions and Dancer eggplant is something that I never quite noticed before, but is yet another thing that makes this a wonderful dish.

The ebb and flow of this year continues, as the peppers start to ripen up, beans are ready for a first picking, and tomatoes start to wane. It is a time of year when the recipe is to simply cook whatever you have together.

I suggest two different recipes for this. The first is a hash of potatoes, beans and onions. It is a good way to use the modest harvest of beans that will be in the shares over the next few weeks. As a side note, it is interesting to read the entire newsletter the recipe is in (July 20, 2007) and see what we were up to.

Sorry, no food picture this week, just a slow-opening sunflower.

Another way to blend the share but cook a different combination is eggplant, onion, garlic and tomato over rice. You can use whatever proportions you like making this dish. Ours had a healthy amount of onion and garlic, but consisted mainly of chopped eggplant and tomato. First sauté the onion, eggplant and garlic for a good 10 minutes and then quickly chop the tomatoes and add them to the hot pot. It helps the sauce thicken up.

In reading an article on how last month was the hottest July on record, I came across this map. You can see that for us in Missouri the first half of 2015 was relatively cool. Guess we should consider ourselves lucky.

August is waning, but it does still feel like summer. Tomatoes continue for now, with the paste varieties starting to peak. We normally reserve these tomatoes for bulk sale to the canners among us. This year they will end up in the share.

We grow a mix of paste tomatoes. Some are bush-type hybrids that we grow in tomato cages. They look like the ones you see in the grocery. The remainder are open-pollinated varieties that come from both purchased and saved seeds. The ruffled paste tomatoes even come in a variety of colors-pink, brown, and red. There are plum-shaped ones called speckled Roman, and a pear-shaped one called a pear tomato.

These tomatoes are best cooked. One trick to keep your sauce thick and to keep the juice from separating out is to always put your cut tomatoes into a hot pot. Work with a small amount at a time and keep the sauce well mixed. These tomatoes are meaty and great in sauce making.

On Friday I leave for a short trip to Indianapolis to be part of a medal presentation for my WWII veteran father Frank “Rocky” Ruggieri. He served in a naval group called “Scout and Raiders”, the pre-cursor to the Navy SEALS. Part of his duty landed him in China as one of 2,500 Americans participating in SACO (the Sino-American Cooperative Organization).

His job was reconnaissance and helping the Chinese government fight the Japanese. This government later fled to Taiwan when the communists took control. The medal our family will receive will be presented by the Taiwanese government. A once in a lifetime opportunity.

My dad on the right, about 24 years old.