thoughtful consumption

How about this weather, huh? Summer crops have been a little disappointing with the heat and bugs (except for the fruit!), so that just gives us another reason to look forward to fall.

Here’s what I got this week.

• garlic
• okra
• Asian eggplant

Last night I had an encounter with non-Asian eggplant. Even though I purged the slices, they still were gushy. I think it’s the diameter of the fruit. The fatter an eggplant, the larger the seedy parts. When I get a bite that’s mostly seedy parts, it makes me gag. So I’m happy to have this lovely, svelte Asian eggplant. I’ll broil some slices and maybe fry some, too.

• blueberries
• apples
• eggs

What an incredible blueberry year it’s been! Whenever I feel like mourning the lack of fresh tomatoes this summer, I eat a few blueberries. It really helps.

• dried oyster mushrooms
• infused olive oil (roasted garlic and crushed red pepper)
• sweet onion

The sweet onion was a little damp and had some powdery mold under the peel. I peeled most of it, washed off the mold, and dried the onion.

All better!

Without its outer peel, it’ll live in the refrigerator instead of the pantry.

I’ve never used dried mushrooms before, but after reading about them I’m excited to try. According to this page,  they should live in the freezer and will be good for a year. You can choose between steeping dried mushrooms and using the flavored liquid or reconstituting the mushrooms in cold water and using the mushrooms. Pretty cool! I look forward to trying these out, but given their hardiness, they probably won’t make this week’s menu.

The infused oil looks really cool. I’m going to try it out first on some fresh pasta and with some nice bread for dipping. I bet it’ll make neat vinaigrette dressings, too.

• hydroponic lettuce
• hydroponic arugula

These guys are begorgeous; the picture does not do them justice. Hydroponic stuff grows so clean and pretty!

The arugula is young, peppery, and delicious. And it’s got a lot of stems. I cut off the bottom couple of inches to use in this week’s lo mein.

I may go back through the arugula and break off the biggest leaves for salad and save the rest for lo mein and other pasta dishes.

Off to the store!

I didn’t get anything from the online store this week because I’m going to be in Carrollton tomorrow and will stop by the real store. Hooray!

So while I’ve made some plans, they are all subject to change depending on what I come home with tomorrow.

• Lo mein: arugula parts, diced eggplant, onion, eggs, and possibly shrimp.
• Fried okra with Riverview Farms cornmeal!
• Fried eggplant? Probably not if I fry the okra.
• Broiled eggplant slices
• Lettuce-arugula-onion salad
• Linguine with arugula, onion, and broiled eggplant tossed in infused olive oil.

If you’re running out of eggplant ideas, here are a bunch from the Salon Kitchen Challenge (that Lucy at A Cook and Her Books rocks every week).