Char Siu Tofu with Soba Noodles and Summer Vegetables

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, held between 10 am - 2 pm on the corner of Agate and 19th Ave., stock up on summer produce from Camas Swale Farm and pastured meat and poultry from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm.

A favorite summer meal in our household is bibim guksu, where lightly seasoned soba noodles serve as a palette for your choice of vegetables and protein. Last Sunday I used Camas Swale produce to make sides of crunchy cucumbers, seared padrone peppers, a smokey eggplant salad, and sweet and sour summer squash. For a protein I made these seared char siu tofu slabs from Andrea Nguyen's Vietnamese Food Any Day. It's a great recipe because you don't have to bother with pressing moisture out of the tofu, but rather you mix up your marinade in an unheated skillet, let the tofu absorb the flavors as you heat and evaporate the liquid, and then end by searing the slabs in a little oil in the same pan. If you spend Sunday afternoon prepping your fresh market produce into these delicious sides, your Monday and Tuesday self will thank you for the multitude of mix and match dinners you can put together in a flash.

Char Siu Tofu with Soba Noodles and Summer Vegetables

noodles
300 g (3 circular packets) of soba noodles
Cook in salted boiling water until barely cooked through (about 5 minutes), then immediately rinse under cold water until entirely cooled. Toss with a drizzle of sesame oil to help prevent the strands from congealing. 

sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Korean gochujang paste for a mild, kid-friendly sauce, or more as desired 
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Mix together all the ingredients. Taste and adjust flavorings as desired.

Char Siu Tofu (adapted from Andrea Nguyen's Vietnamese Food Any Day)
14 ounces extra-firm tofu
1 Tbsp soy sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos
1/4 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp canola or other neutral oil

Cut the tofu block into 8 1/2 inch thick slabs. In a large skillet, combine the ingredients except the tofu and mix well. Add the tofu and turn several times, then arrange flat in the skillet. Set the skillet over medium heat and when the sauce starts to bubble, in about two minutes, use a spatula to flip the tofu. Continue cooking to allow the seasonings to concentrate and stick to the tofu. When little liquid remains in the pan, drizzle 1 Tbsp oil over the tofu, shake the pan and flip the tofu again. Let the tofu sizzle for 3 to 4 minutes to dry out and brown.  Drizzle on the remaining 1 Tbsp oil and flip again. The finished tofu will have be orange-brown with some dark brown spots. Remove the pan from the heat and let the sizzling subside.  

Chinese smokey eggplant with garlic (adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice)
2 large eggplants
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp Chinkiang vinegar
2 Tbsp chili oil with its sediment (or use a diced fresh hot pepper and 2 Tbsp sesame oil)
1 tsp sesame seeds
2 Tbsp finely sliced scallions (green part only) 
cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)

Char the eggplants on a grill, under a broiler, or using the broiler of a toaster oven, for about 30 minutes, or over gas flames for about 10 minutes, turning with tongs, until they are completely soft and collapsed. At the same time, roast a couple of cloves of garlic in a small cast iron pan on the grill, under the broiler, or on the stove, until soft (if you don't mind raw garlic, you can skip this step). Cool the eggplant until you can handle them and then peel off the charred skin with a pairing knife or your fingers. Place the softened pulp in a strainer for about 15 minutes to drain out some of the liquid. Mince the garlic and chop the eggplant pulp. Combine in a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients. Garnish with cilantro leaves if you like and serve.

Sweet and sour summer squash (from Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice)
2 zucchini
salt
2 Tbsp cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Chinkiang vinegar

Quarter the summer squash lengthwise, and slice thinly. Toss with 1/2 tsp salt, mix well and set aside for 30 minutes or so to sweat. When you are ready to cook, squeeze the slices to get rid of excess water. Heat a wok over a high flame. Add the oil, then the garlic, and stir-fry for a few seconds until you smell its fragrance. Add the squash and stir-fry until they are hot and just cooked, but still a little crisp. Add the sugar and vinegar, with salt to taste, stir a couple of times, then tip on to a dish and serve.

Roasted Pepper, Eggplant and Feta Scramble with Sausage Patties

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you'll find pastured meats from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm and fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm, including celery, greens, peppers, and winter squash.

Having weathered our first full week back at school, and with the fall chill in the air, this morning felt like the time to have a hearty, celebratory breakfast. I made a batch of these buttermilk biscuits, fried up some Fair Valley Farm sausage meat into patties with caramelized onions, and whipped up some scrambled eggs with feta cheese and left over roasted eggplants and peppers from Camas Swale Farm. A leisurely weekend breakfast was just the right prescription to offset the weekday mornings' increased hecticness and dwindling summer sunlight.

Roasted Pepper, Eggplant, and Feta Scramble (for two)

I cup roasted vegetables, such as peppers and eggplant, chopped
1/4 cup cubed feta cheese
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
butter for the pan

Heat a skillet over medium low heat. Whisk the eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper. Prepare the roasted vegetables and feta cheese. Melt a pad of butter in the skillet and swirl to coat. Pour in the egg mixture and then sprinkle over the cheese cubes and chopped vegetables. Use a fork to pull the cooked edges of the eggs to the center and tip the pan to distribute the liquid eggs outward. Repeat until all of the eggs are cooked. Immediately transfer the scrambled eggs to two warm plates. 

Sausage Patties with Caramelized Onions

1 lb ground sausage meat
1 large or two small onions, peeled, halved, and sliced into half moons
slick of vegetable oil

Shape the sausage meat into 8 to 10 small patties, 1 inch thick. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Coat with a slick of neutral vegetable oil. Add the sliced onions to the pan and toss to coat in the oil and to break up the onion layers into strands a bit. Move the onion to the center of the pan and add the sausage patties. Allow to cook until well browned on one side, then flip and cook on the other side until the meat is completely cooked through. Meanwhile stir the onion strands occasionally so that brown nicely but do not burn. Serve warm.

Grilled Vegetable Bibim Guksu

You can shop for all of your Labor Day weekend supplied this Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market. You'll find pastured meats from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm and fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm, including tomatoes, eggplants, summer squash, and peppers for grilling.

If you are planning to grill this weekend, I can highly recommend a grilled vegetable version of bibim guksu, which is a variation on Korean bibim bap, but with soba noodles instead of rice. We've made this dish a couple times this summer with grilled vegetable, chicken skewers, smokey Chinese eggplant salad, crunchy cucumbers, cilantro, and kimchi. Every time it's been gobbled up before I can get a picture of the full spread.

Bibim Guksu

serves four

noodles
300 g (3 circular packets) of soba noodles
Cook in salted boiling water until barely cooked through (about 4 minutes), then immediately rinse under cold water until entirely cooled. Toss with the bibim guksu sauce (below).

Bibim guksu sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Korean gochujang paste for a mild, kid-friendly sauce, or more as desired 
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Mix together all the ingredients. Taste and adjust flavorings as desired.

Serve the noodles at room temperature with grilled vegetables and meats, Chinese smokey eggplant salad (below), fresh cucumbers and cilantro, and kimchi.

Chinese Smokey Eggplant with Garlic

adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice

2 large eggplants

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp light soy sauce

2 tsp Chinkiang vinegar

2 Tbsp chili oil with its sediment (or use a diced fresh hot pepper and 2 Tbsp sesame oil)

1 tsp sesame seeds

2 Tbsp finely sliced scallions (green part only) 
Cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)

1. Prepare the eggplant and garlic cloves as in the recipe above.

2. Mince the garlic and dice the eggplant pulp. Combine in a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients. Garnish with cilantro leaves if you like and serve with soba noodles.

BLTs, Blistered Padrons and Smoky Eggplant Salad

At the Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market this week you'll find pastured meats and eggs from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm and fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm, including plenty of tomatoes and a selection of spicy peppers: jalapenos, padrons, and shishitos.

Don't let the summer go by without savoring a classic BLT. And as a few accompaniments, I can recommend some cool cucumbers, some blistered padron peppers, and a smoky grilled eggplant salad. 

Quick Smokey Eggplant Salad

1 small eggplant
1 tsp tahini
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt

1. Hold the eggplant with tongs directly over a stove burner until it is scorched on all sides and softened to collapsing (for a bigger eggplant, you can start it over the burner and finish it in the oven. Or you can cook it whole in a grill).

2. Mix together the dressing of tahini, vinegar, olive oil, and salt.

3. When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, remove the top and the blistered peel (you don't have to be a perfectionist about this, some lingering char is nice). Cut into approximately 1/2 inch dice and fold into the dressing. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Roasted Chickpea and Pasta Salad

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you'll find pastured meats and eggs from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm, cut flowers from Tiger Lily Art Company, and fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm, including eggplant, tomatoes, and corn on the cob.

For the past year I've been cooking many variations on this chickpea pasta dish, in which the pasta cooks in chickpea broth, absorbing all of the flavors. It's come to the point that the rest of my family members will roll their eyes when I suggest this dish. But tasked with bringing a side dish to a work picnic, I thought of a new variant on the theme: cooking pasta for a salad in the same broth used to cook chickpeas that I then roasted, along with eggplant and carrots, to layer on top. The pan was empty by the end of the picnic.

Roasted Chickpea and Pasta Salad

2 cups dried chickpeas (will make twice as much chickpeas as needed, but they store well)
1 bay leaf
olive oil
1 lb small pasta such as ditalini or shells
1 eggplant
6 to 8 carrots
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 large lemon

1. Rinse the chickpeas, transfer to a large cooking pot or Instant Pot insert, add water until they are covered by 2 inches, add 2 tsp salt, bay leaf, and a drizzle of olive oil. Cook on low heat until soft through or if using an Instant Pot, cook on high pressure for 40 minutes and allow the heat to release naturally.

2. When the chickpeas are cooked, drain them and reserve the cooking liquid. Taste and add more salt if needed. Return the chickpea broth to the pot, bring to a boil, and cook the pasta until just cooked but still firm. If using an Instant Pot, cook the pasta on low pressure for 5 minutes. Drain the pasta, toss with a little olive oil, and reserve.

3. Meanwhile prepare the vegetables. Cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch cubes, toss with a tsp of salt, and allow to drain for at least 20 minutes. Clean and trim the carrots and cut into 1/8 inch thick ovals. 

4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place in two sheet pans. In a mixing bowl, combine the cumin seeds, smoked paprika, and a pinch of salt. Peel and slice the garlic cloves and add to the bowl. Use a vegetable peeler to peel the lemon and cut the lemon peel strips into thin matchsticks and add to the bowl. Add the chickpeas and a generous drizzle of olive oil and mix to coat the chickpeas with the spices. Transfer the chickpeas to one of the hot sheet pans and roast for about 30 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until they are well crisped and starting to brown.

5. In the same mixing bowl, toss the carrot slices with a another drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt and transfer the carrots to the second sheet pan. Roast for about ten minutes, flipping once with a spatula, until they are cooked through and browned at the edges.

6. In the same mixing bowl, toss the drained eggplant cubes with another drizzle of olive oil. When the carrots are done, transfer them to a bowl, spread the eggplant cubes on the  hot sheet pan, and return it to the oven. Roast the eggplant cubes for about twenty minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to flip, until they are cooked through and browned at the edges.

7. Assemble the salad. On a serving platter, layer the pasta, then the eggplant cubes, then the carrots, and then the chickpeas with all of the roasted cumin seeds, lemon peel, and garlic slices. Juice the lemon and drizzle over the platter, along with a final drizzle of olive oil. Serve at room temperature.

Grilled Vegetable and Stale Bread Tuna Salad

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you'll find pastured meats and eggs from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm, cut flowers from Tiger Lily Art Company, and fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm, including torpedo onions, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, and radicchio for grilling.

We grilled a large platter of vegetables for the 4th of July, to go along with our Fair Valley Farm beef burgers. My philosophy is that you can not have enough leftover grilled vegetables, which can be reincarnated in many guises such as on pizza or in grain salad.

When assessing the leftover situation for packing lunch this morning, I realized that we still had some grilled vegetables and a quarter of a stale baguette. In my family I am famous for my aversion to soggy sandwiches and I generally avoid packing any ladened bread that will have to sit from morning until noon. These ingredients, however, inspired me to throw together a lunch in which the intension was to hydrate the bread into an edible state by lunchtime. 

On top of cubed stale baguette I layer a can of tuna in olive oil and then the grilled vegetables with some balsamic vinegar and basil. By lunchtime the flavors had melded, the bread was softened but not soggy, and the whole mixture made a delicious meal mounded on top of fresh, crunchy lettuce leaves.

Grilled Vegetable and Stale Bread Tuna Salad

recipe for two servings

~8 slices stale baguette
~two cups of grilled vegetables such as zucchini, eggplant, peppers, onions, corn, mushrooms, and radicchio
1 can good tuna in olive oil
~1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
~8 basil leaves
~12 lettuce leaves, washed

1. Chop the baguette slices into bite size pieces and layer on the bottom of a serving bowl or transportable lunch container.

2. Flake the tuna and layer it over the bread pieces, drizzling over the olive oil.

3. Cut the grilled vegetables into bite size pieces and layer over the bread and tuna. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with some torn basil leaves.

4. Allow the salad to marinate for several hours at room temperature so that the bread absorbs the dressing and flavors. To serve, tear the lettuce leaves and distribute over two plates. Toss the bread salad to mix and distribute it over the lettuce on the two plates. Enjoy.

Wildflour Oven Bread at the Market

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you will find fresh eggs and pastured chicken, beef, pork, and lamb from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm, fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company, and plenty of fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm including lots of sweet peppers and collard greens (both so delicious roasted on toast or in tacos).

Also this Sunday we're happy to have a new addition to the Market of WildFlour Oven offering wild fermented breads with local whole grains.

If you are a bread enthusiast and were sad to see our local Eugene City Bakery close a couple years ago, now your Sunday market shopping can be completed with some home made loaves from Wildflour Oven. Last week we enjoyed a Sunday dinner of lamb burgers with Fair Valley Farm ground lamb on Wildfour Oven's challah topped with harissa, accompanied by Camas Swale Farm grilled eggplants and sweet peppers and fresh cucumbers and cherry tomatoes topped with lemon crème fraîche sauce. For the week we had delicious sandwiches of grilled vegetables and feta cheese on Wildflour Oven's whole wheat loaf bread. A source of fresh baked bread is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Roasted Eggplant and Beans with Marinated Feta

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you will find fresh eggs and pastured chicken, beef, pork, and lamb from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm, as well as fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company. 

Camas Swale Farm will have plenty of summer produce including melons and watermelons, cucumbers, garlic, salad greens, green beans, carrots, a variety of peppers, and tomatoes. 

For the last few weeks, Camas Swale has had pretty purple mottled dragon tongue beans. To preserve their vibrant colors, I served them raw in a composed salad of farmers market produce, along with a mustardy vinaigrette. 

Another week I paired them with a kindred spirit eggplant, roasted both and served with marinated feta cheese. The colors weren't quite as pretty, but the roasted vegetables were delicious coated with the creamy cheese for a summery alternative to a cheesy gratin.

Roasted Eggplant and Beans with Marinated Feta

roasted vegetables
2 handfuls dragon tongue or regular green beans, stems trimmed
1 large or 2 small eggplants, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place in two baking sheets. 

2. Toss the trimmed beans with 1 Tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread them on one of the hot baking sheets. Roast for about 3 minutes, toss and roast for another 2 minutes until they are slightly charred but still retain some crunch.

3. Toss the cubed eggplant with 2 Tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread them on the other hot baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes, tossing occasionally, until well charred on the outside and soft on the inside. 

4. Arrange on a platter and serve with marinated feta cheese (below).

marinated feta cheese
8 ounce block of feta cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes.
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper corns
zest of 1 small lemon
about 1/4 cup of olive oil

Place the feta cheese cubes in a snug fitting bowl. Sprinkle with spices and lemon zest and drizzle over olive oil to submerge. Let marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or longer in the refrigerator. Give the cheese a gentle stir and serve with the roasted vegetables.

Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Pizza

The fall harvest is in full swing at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, including these beautiful speckled eggplants from Camas Swale Farm.

With the temperatures dropping, turning on the oven for pizza was appealing, and once I had it preheating, I thought I'd roast some toppings ahead.

Roasting the eggplant cubes gave them a wonderful caramelized exterior, while making them meltingly soft and creamy inside. They paired perfectly with melting chunks of feta and crunchy slices of pimento pepper. I can recommend this combination as a delicious harvest pizza pie.

Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Pizza

1 recipe of Jim Lahey's no-knead pizza dough (enough for four individual pizzas)
tomato sauce (preferably made with fresh rooms)
1 small eggplant per pizza
1 sweet red pepper per pizza
1/2 cup cubed feta cheese per pizza
fresh basil leaves for garnish

1. Prepare the pizza dough the evening before, according to Lahey's instructions. Combine 500 g flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon yeast, and 1 1/2 cups (350 g) water, and mix briefly in an electric mixer or by hand until combined into a ball. Cover and let stand for about 18 hours.

2. Cut the eggplant into 1 inch cubes. Toss the eggplant cubes with a sprinkle of kosher salt (about 1 teaspoon per eggplant) and leave in a colander to drain for about 15 minutes. Seed and slice the pepper. Cut the feta into 1/2 inch cubes.

3. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and insert a pizza stone if you are using one. 

4. Squeeze the eggplant cubes in a clean dishcloth to remove released moisture and toss the pieces with a generous drizzle of olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Insert into the preheating oven and bake for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through with a spatula, until the eggplant pieces are browned and soft. 

5. Meanwhile, divide the dough into four balls, flour them lightly, and shape them according to Lahey's instructions (or use a rolling pin to roll them out on a silicone mat). Sprinkle polenta on a baking sheet or pizza peel and place the pizza dough on top. If you like, you can prebake the crust for 5 minutes in the preheated oven to ensure an extra crispy pizza.

6. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the dough, distribute over the roasted eggplant pieces, the sliced red pepper, and then cubed feta.  Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes until the crust in browned and the cheese is bubbling. Top with fresh basil leaves and enjoy.

Miso-Glazed Eggplant

This week Fair Valley Farm will be at the Fairmount Farmers Market with their pastured meat, along with gorgeous fresh produce of Camas Swale Farm and lovely flowers from Tiger Lily Art Company.

Our favorite eggplant recipe these days comes from the Lucky Peach 101 Easy Asian Recipes cookbook and it's dead easy. Halve eggplants (Japanese or otherwise), bake them a bit (and you can do this in a toaster oven if it feels too hot to turn on your real oven), then slather with a miso and mirin paste and bake some more. This makes a substantial vegetarian entree, and is also a nice accompaniment to other Japanese-inspired dishes. With some Fair Valley Farm boneless pork chops, we made Melissa Clark's recipe for breaded and fried tonkatsu, which she points out is essentially the same and German weiner schnitzel, a dish of my youth. To round out the meal we had crunchy quick pickles (tsukemono) and sweet and sour zucchini.

Miso-Glazed Eggplant

from Lucky Peach 101 Easy Asian Recipes 

4 Japanese eggplants or 2 regular eggplants, halved lengthwise

1 Tbsp neutral oil

1/4 cup red miso

2 Tbsp mirin

sesame seeds

1. Heat the oven (or toaster oven) to 450 degrees. 

2. Slick the eggplant halves all over with oil and arrange them cut side up on a baking sheet. Roast for 10-15 minutes until they are just wilted, a very light roast. 

3. Meanwhile, whisk together the miso and miring in a small bowl.

4. Smear the cut side of the eggplants with the miso mixture and roast until the eggplants are tender and the miso is browned and bubbling, about 10 minutes longer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Grilled Summer Vegetables for the Fourth of July

For the next two weekends, the corner of 19th and Agate will be bustling with would-be Olympians, but don't let that keep you away from the Sunday Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market. Rather than its usual location in the Sun Automotive Lot, look for it across the street in front of the bike shop next to Sweet Life Patisserie. This Sunday you will be able to find lots of glorious summer produce, including a plethora of berries, from Camas Swale Farm, pastured meats from Fair Valley Farm, and fresh cut flowers from Tiger Lily Art Company.

Plan to stock up on plenty of summer vegetables -- cherry tomatoes, summer squash, eggplant, onions -- to grill for the Fourth of July. And if you are grilling vegetables, be sure to make a lot more than you need for one meal, because they are a great start toward many additional meals. 

I like using grilled vegetables to top grain salads or pesto pasta, and they are great for transforming a plain margarita pizza into a summer vegetable feast. So grill on the fourth and keep celebrating throughout the week.

Grilled Vegetable Pizza

1 recipe of Jim Lahey's no-knead pizza dough
tomato sauce (preferably made with fresh romas)
grilled vegetables such as onions, summer squash, eggplant, and corn on the cob
fresh mozzarella balls, sliced
handful of basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and insert a pizza stone if you are using one. Chop the grilled vegetables into bite sized pieces and cut the corn kernels from the cob. Divide the dough into four balls, flour them lightly, and shape them according to Lahey's instructions (or use a rolling pin to roll them out on a silicone mat). Sprinkle polenta on a baking sheet or pizza peel and place the pizza dough on top. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the dough, distribute over the grilled vegetables, and then sliced mozzarella.  Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes until the crust in browned and the cheese is bubbling. Top with fresh basil leaves and enjoy.

Roasted Eggplant and Basil Spread

At the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market this Sunday, you can look forward to these beautiful little orb eggplants from Sweetwater Farm. Wonderful things happen when you roast eggplants, as in these Middle Eastern and Chinese roasted eggplant dishes.

In Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's Jerusalem, they present a version of Baba Ganoush that is light and refreshing and lacks the traditional sesame paste. The eggplants are infused with smokiness by roasting them directly over the flames of a gas range. Rather than take the eggplants to the point when they were dripping messy juices over the range, I followed David Lebovitz's strategy of roasting followed by baking.

After the eggplants were soft and collapsed, I scooped out the flesh and whipped up an even simpler version of a roasted eggplant spread, seasoned with basil, lemon, sea salt, and olive oil. This is delicious served on toasted bread or as a vegetable side dish for a post-farmers market feast. 

Roasted Eggpant and Basil Spread

4 small globe eggplants
zest and juice from one lemon
1 handful basil leaves, torn
2 Tbsp olive oil
sea salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees  Place the eggplants directly over the flames of a gas range and roast, turning occasionally, until they are charred all over, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a baking dish and bake for an additional 15 minutes or so until they are soft when pierced through. Allow the eggplants to cool a little, then halve and scoop out the flesh from the charred skin. Chop the flesh coarsely and combine in a bowl with the lemon zest and juice, basil, olive oil, and salt. Taste and add more lemon, olive oil, or salt if needed. Enjoy.

Miso Tofu Salad with an Egg on Top

If you get to the Fairmount Farmers Market early this Sunday, you might be lucky enough to pick up some of Fair Valley Farm's pasture raised eggs. 

If you also pick up an bunch of greens, some basil, a cucumber, some baby potatoes, and a handful of these Japanese eggplants from Sweetwater Farm, then you'll have the fixings for a satisfying dinner salad, perfect for these hot days.

I baked sliced eggplant and tofu in a miso marinade in my toaster oven, to avoid heating the kitchen. Over a bed of chopped kale and basil leaves, I layered on the eggplant and tofu with baby potatoes, cucumber spears, and a six-minute egg, and drizzled it all with the sweet and spicy dipping sauce left over from last week's chicken recipe. A delicious farm to table dinner, without generating much heat.

Miso Tofu Salad with an Egg on Top

makes four dinner salads

Miso marinate
1 tablespoon white miso
1/4 cup hot water
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Salad
4 Japanese eggplants, sliced on the diagonal into 1 inch slices
1 block firm tofu, sliced into 8 slabs and pre-frozen or pressed to remove liquid
1 bunch kale or lettuce
~16 basil leaves
1 large or 2 small cucumbers
16 baby potatoes
4 eggs

For the sweet and hot dipping sauce (1/2 recipe):
1/4 cup rice or cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons dried red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fish sauce

1. Prepare the miso marinade by whisking together all of the ingredients directly in a toaster oven pan or small baking dish. Dip both sides of the eggplant slices and tofu slabs into the marinate and let soak for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or for a day in the refrigerator. Bake at 350 degrees in a toaster oven or stove for 30 to 40 minutes until the eggplants are sift and have started to char and the tofu is dry and firm. Slice the tofu into strips and reserve.

2. Prepare the dipping sauce. In a small saucepan, heat the vinegar to a boil. Add the sugar, stirring until it dissolves, then lower the heat to a simmer for 5 minutes. In the meantime, pound or mash the garlic and salt into a paste in a mortar or on a cutting board with the side of your knife. Stir the red pepper flakes into the sauce. When the vinegar and sugar mixture is done simmering, stir in the garlic paste and fish sauce and let the sauce cool to room temperature. 

3. Prepare the remaining salad ingredients. Boil the baby potatoes until cooked, about 15 minutes, then drain and reserve. For the eggs, set a small pot of water to boil and the carefully lower in each egg with a slotted spoon. Lower the heat and cook for 6 minutes for eggs with yokes that are still a little runny, or up to 10 minutes for firm yokes. Transfer to a bowl with ice water to cool and peel gently. Peel the cucumber if desired and cut into spears. Rinse the kale leaves, remove the stems with your hands or a knife, and chop into small pieces. Rinse the basil leaves, tear into pieces and mix with the kale leaves.

4. Assemble the salads. On four plates, distribute the kale and basil leaves. Layer on eggplant slices, tofu strips, baby potatoes, cucumber spears, and an egg. Drizzle with a little of the dipping sauce and serve with more sauce on the side. Enjoy.