Roasted Eggplant & Tomato Soup

I received my last farm share of the season in the middle of September, but I'm still working my way through an assortment of peppers a month later. Can you believe they're still in great condition? Just as Farmer John suggested, I kept the peppers in the plastic produce bag that they came in and stored them in the fridge.

In case anyone is still with me, I thought I'd let you know that I will continue to post recipes and ideas on this blog. I hope to keep feeding you simple and practical ways to use up your produce, especially the ones you're not so familiar with. I'll also share some inspiration from my personal chef clients, like the awesome recipes I cook from the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (no grains, big emphasis on almond flour to make "breads") and the nourishing whole-foods based recipes I cook for a good number of my clients.

Please let me know what you would like to learn how to prepare- either by commenting here or contacting me on my Facebook business page:

http://www.facebook.com/chefvictoriacortes

Thanks for following me :)

-Victoria

Here's a soup that you hardly need a recipe for. It's a unique combination that makes great use of eggplant and tomatoes.

Roasted Tomato & Eggplant Soup

-Cut an eggplant in half and score the flesh in a criss-cross pattern. Halve some fresh tomatoes. Brush the eggplant and tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place both on a sheet-pan, flesh side down. Roast at 375 degrees until both are soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Scoop out the flesh of the eggplant.

-Rough cut an onion (no fancy cuts needed here since you will later puree this soup) and cook it in a large sauce pan with some olive oil or butter over medium heat. Add some minced garlic and fresh herbs like thyme and oregano if you'd like. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper.

-Once the onion is soft, add the eggplant and tomatoes to the sauce pan. Let them cook for a few minutes and then add enough vegetable or chicken stock to cover. Keep some extra stock on hand to thin out the soup later, if necessary.

-Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer gently until all the vegetables are soft. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper.

-Puree the soup until very smooth and add cream or stock as desired. Add salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with basil.

Last farm share of the season :( Watermelon popsicles and homemade salsa

This week I received the last share of the season. Sigh! (Ugh, I wrote this post in the middle of September. Sorry, just posting it now.)

Most of the produce included in the last few shares has a long shelf-life, something I'm so thankful for since over the past month I've been busy cooking for people other than myself (and my family).

However, collecting a few batches of the same type of produce suits me well, since when I do cook at home, I like to cook in large batches and then freeze most of it. See, I personally support the personal chef method!

Here is what has been included in the farm share lately:

butternut squash

eggplant

beets

scallions

green beans

tomatoes

sweet corn

new potatoes

peppers- a colorful assortment of mild and spicy

Below are a few things I've prepared in the past month with the farmshare:

Salsa made with Graceland farm bell peppers, jalapenos, and tomatoes, along with some of the orange tomatoes from my garden.

Watermelon popsicles: puree a seeded watermelon in a blender, maybe add a little water, and freeze in molds. No need to add any sweetener for my two-year old, but a little honey and vanilla would suit my taste. An added bonus is that these popsicles take a while for my son to eat.