For the second time this summer, we lost a Sunday entirely; I picked up the box of vegetables between errands last week, tucking the carton into the fridge as-is and Clay actually looked through it and started making a meal-plan sometime on Tuesday. We ate well all week, but it wasn’t what you might call “well-planned”.

By contrast, this morning’s collection was leisurely – tucked as it was between Clay’s substitute-church-organist gig and my volunteer board meeting. I managed to lose myself in another bookshop on the walk between the meeting and the Farmer’s Market, but Clay kept us on task from that point forward, collecting our share and some extras (globe radishes and summer peaches). We had lunch, a little nap, a little exercise (running for Clay and yoga for me), and are settling in for a few hours of cooking.

What’s In The Share

These last few weeks are the reason I love the CSA so much: lush heirloom tomatoes, vibrant peppers (sweet and hot), and delicate garlic define summer for me. We haven’t had such a glut that we’ve needed to preserve any of it, until this week.

Vegetables

• Beans, Green
• Chard (untouched from last week, so a bit wilted)
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Leeks
• Lettuce, Green
• Onions, Red
• Onions, White
• Onions, Yellow
• Squash, Acorn
• Tomatoes, Heirloom
• Tomatoes, Roma
• Tomatoes, Cherry
• Peppers, Bell
• Peppers, Bull Horn
• Peppers, Jalapeno

Herbs

• Dill
• Sage
• Thyme

Other

• Eggs, 1 dozen

We have a few other ingredients at our disposal, too – either intentionally chosen or leftover from another time:

• Asparagus (a few spears)
• Baby Lettuces
• Blueberries (from my uncle’s garden)
• Peaches, 6 medium-sized
• Potatoes, Heirloom Minis
• Radishes, 1 bunch with their greens

What to Make With this Week’s Share

Eggplant Caponata

Clay made a delicious caponata inspired by our grocery stores “Recipe Ideas” Magazine. It’s a combination of grilled-then-pureed eggplant with diced tomato and onion, minced garlic and basil, and an assortment of spices. We ate it over the top of crostini toasts as one meal and as a fantastic pizza topping (along with fresh mozzarella cheese) for another. We’ll make another batch of it tonight that’s chopped a bit more finely, and use it as a salad layer in sandwiches.

Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches

Since we opted to stay in Connecticut this weekend rather than travel to hang with my family, we’re missing out on the hometown fair near Nana’s house. Rather than skip all the fun we’ll grill up a few onion slices and bullhorn peppers to make our own sandwiches with heritage breed pork sausage. (I’ll spoon some of the caponata onto mine…)

Pico de Gallo

We opened the last jar of last year’s salsa for a party yesterday, so I intend to preserve at least a few half-pint jars of a chunky salsa for this winter.

Perfectly Delectable Pasta Sauce

Since more tomatoes and peppers is never a guarantee, we’ll make another batch of that perfect summer pasta sauce we stumbled into a few weeks ago.

Pepper Paste

The mid-August episode of The Splendid Table included an interview with Maricel Presilla where she described making a hot pepper paste from chili peppers. I can’t handle very spicy food, but I think a variation of this made with bell and jalapeno peppers and a single dried chili from our spice cabinet will be terrific for Clay’s homemade chili this fall, so we’ll turn any peppers that aren’t used for other recipes into paste, stored in the freezer.

Compound Butter

Speaking of the freezer, we’ll combine the fresh thyme springs with sweet marjoram from our garden and a little garlic to make a compound butter. We wrap it in butcher paper to freeze and slice off small rounds to use with steaks or roasts.

Herby Potatoes

The other herbs – dill and sage – will season a pan of roasted mini potatoes. The potatoes are great to eat alongside a breakfast omelette!

Autumn Chili

Reading up on Acorn Squash, I know it will keep in the fridge for several weeks – but luckily for us it won’t have to. Next weekend is supposed to be cool and damp, and Clay starts tech week for a new show. That’s a perfect circumstance for autumn chili with cornbread, so we’ll make a pot of pressure cooker beef chili with cubes of acorn squash substituting for beans.

And Ideas for Baking

It’s nearly cool enough to fire up the oven for long stretches of time, so I fully intend to bake this week. My fall issue of Bake From Scratch includes three recipes I’m terribly excited for: Rosemary Shortbread Sandwich Cookies with Concord Grape Jam, Plum Skillet Cake, and Poached Ginger Pears.

My aunt and uncle grow concord grapes; while I’ll use store-bought jam for these sandwich cookies, the taste will remind me of them. As for the skillet cake, I’ll make that with the gorgeous peaches we bought today instead of plums. And since I made a gorgeous ginger syrup two weeks ago, I’ll use that to poach some pears as soon as they come into season!

What are you most looking forward to cooking this weekend?