Sunday, July 10, 2011

CSA Share #6, July 12th, 2011



             
1 lb new potatoes
basil bag
1 sprig rosemary
½ lb salad
1 head lettuce
½ lb sugar snap peas
1 kohlrabi
1 bunch scallions

Farm News:
What beautiful weather we’ve been having this past week! Even the rain was welcome. Walking around our fields this afternoon we were amazed at all the new growth. Looks like we’ll have peppers very soon, and we ate our first tomatoes this week – it will be weeks before we have enough to distribute to everyone, but it was still exciting for us! The peas are exciting too, a few weeks later than last year, but still incredible
            The new potatoes in this weeks share are just a tease, I know, but we’d thought you’d like a little taste of their incredible flavor. I always forget how amazing new potatoes are – what a treat. More to come soon on the potato front.  Not as many greens this week, but after sneaking that extra head of lettuce into the shares last week, I thought you might like a little break.
            We lost one of our apprentices to back problems a few weeks ago, but have found a replacement who will be arriving August 1st. A few weeks of being shorthanded, but that’s ok – we’re used to scrambling this time of year anyway.
            See you on Tuesday!
Thanks so much!
Christa, Mike, and little Lizzy

Recipes of the Week:

Roast New Potatoes with Rosemary
  • 1 lb of new potatoes, cleaned
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1-2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450°F. Place potatoes in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle on salt and pepper. Add olive oil, rosemary, and garlic. Toss until potatoes are well coated. Spread potatoes out on a single layer of a baking pan. Roast for 40 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through and browned. Serve immediately.

Got leftover lettuce from last week? Use it up in this yummy recipe….

Caramelized Pork over Lettuce
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
  • 1 1/2 pounds boned pork loin, cut into cubes
  • 1 (10 1/2-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
  • 2 cups (2-inch) chopped scallions
  • 6 cups shredded lettuce
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

    Place the sugar in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat; cook 5 minutes or until golden (do not stir). Add water and fish sauce (mixture will splatter); remove from heat.
    Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add pork, and cook 4 minutes or until browned on all sides. Remove pork from skillet. Stir broth into skillet, scraping skillet to loosen browned bits. Return pork to pan; add the caramelized sugar mixture, black pepper, and cinnamon stick, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until pork is tender. Remove from skillet, and keep warm.
    Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in skillet; add scallions. Sauté 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Add to pork mixture; keep warm.
    Combine shredded lettuce, rice vinegar and basil in a large bowl, and toss well. Serve pork mixture over lettuce mixture.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

CSA Share #5, July 5th, 2011


1 bunch swiss chard           
1 head lettuce
1 head napa cabbage
1 bunch garlic scapes
1 bunch Hakurei summer turnip
1 bunch fresh mint

Farm News:

Happy July 4th!

Peas and potatoes are sizing up, beets are on the horizon, tomatoes are laden with green fruit, and the zucchini and summer squash will be here any day now…. Yowza! We can’t wait for all the summer veggies. I couldn’t restrain myself to two recipes today, so don’t forget to scroll down to the second page today.
            Things on the farm are going great, getting very hectic! Today we went over to Sand Hill Farm in Somerville to pick some strawberries and to daydream about the ¼ acre of strawberries we’d like to put in next year. So hopefully there will be strawberries in the CSA in the next few years! For now, you’ll have to be content with blueberries. Not long now for those, either! Can’t wait!
           

Thanks so much!
Christa, Mike, and little Lizzy

Recipes of the Week:

Mojito!

  • 10 fresh mint leaves
  • 1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar, or to taste
  • 1 cup ice cubes
  • 1 1/2 fluid ounces white rum
  • 1/2 cup club soda

    Place mint leaves and 1 lime wedge into a sturdy glass. Use a muddler to crush the mint and lime to release the mint oils and lime juice. Add 2 more lime wedges and the sugar, and muddle again to release the lime juice. Do not strain the mixture. Fill the glass almost to the top with ice. Pour the rum over the ice, and fill the glass with carbonated water. Stir, taste, and add more sugar if desired. Garnish with the remaining lime wedge.


Napa Cabbage-Hakurei Slaw with Honey Lime Dressing
  • 1 1/2 lbs Napa Cabbage,
  • 1 bunch Hakurei turnips,
  • 3 spring onions (or 8 scallions),
  • 1/4 cup cilantro

Honey Lime Dressing
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar, juice and zest of 1 lime, 1 tbsp honey, 1 clove garlic, minced, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

 Prep the vegetables: Core the cabbage, and cut it into 1/4" to 1/2" thick slices, then slice as thin as possible.  Remove the greens from the turnips and grate the turnips. Trim the leaves and roots from the onions, halve, and cut into 1/4" slices. Mince the cilantro. Put all the ingredients in a salad spinner, rinse thoroughly, then spin dry. Make the dressing: Put the vinegar, lime, honey, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl, and whisk until the honey and salt have dissolved in the vinegar. Add the olive oil in a thin stream, whisking constantly to emulsify the oil. Toss the slaw: Add the vegetables to the bowl with the dressing, and toss until the vegetables are thoroughly coated with dressing. (To make ahead, save this step until just before it is time to serve the slaw.)

Sautéed Swiss Chard with Parmesan
 1/2 cup dry white wine
 3 tablespoons olive oil 
 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
 1 tablespoon minced garlic           
 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
 1/2 small red onion, diced           
  salt to taste (optional)
 1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and center ribs cut out and chopped together, leaves coarsely chopped separately

    Heat olive oil  in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and onion, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the chard stems and the white wine. Simmer until the stems begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chard leaves, and cook until wilted. Finally, stir in lemon juice and Parmesan cheese; season to taste with salt if needed.