CSA Share #11, Aug. 15th, 2011

Tomatoes                        1 pint blueberries

½ lb green beans            1 lb red onions

Cucumbers                        Summer squash

Basil Bag                        1 lb beets

1 head cabbage

Farm News:

            We’re a little sad this week because it is our apprentice Carisa’s last week before she goes back to school. Luckily, we have our other great apprentice, Dave, here with us and a new girl, Caitie,  slated to arrive on the 25^th!

            We harvested the garlic two weeks ago, and it has been drying down in our greenhouse. This week we will hang it in the barn to continue the drying process. We’re also hoping to harvest all of our storage onions this week or next week, and they, too will get laid out in the greenhouse to dry for a few weeks before getting trimmed and bagged for winter. Our other big project this week is getting all of our blueberries raked. Next week will probably be the last week for blueberries.

            Mostly in August we just harvest harvest harvest all the time, and try to squeeze a little sleep in too!

            No Lettuce or salad this week – we are between successional plantings in both – but the leafy greens will return next week. In the meantime, enjoy the fruits of summer!

           

Christa, Mike, and little Lizzy

Recipes of the Week:

Fresh Pesto Pasta

1 bag basil

1/2 cup Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts

3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Serve over pasta with diced fresh tomatoes.

Super Easy Sautéed Summer Squash

4 small summer squash or 2 to 3 medium

1/4 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth

2 cloves garlic, diced

 1 onion, diced

 About a dozen medium basil leaves, chopped roughly

 Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Oil a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Sauté the sliced summer squash, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Add the vegetable broth to the skillet and continue cooking and stirring for a few minutes longer, until almost tender. Add the garlic and green onions and continue cooking and stirring until tender but still a bit firm. Stir in the basil and add salt and pepper to taste.

CSA Share # 10, August 9th, 2011

½ lb salad mix                        Tomatoes

½ lb green beans            1 lb sweet onions

1 bunch Cilantro            1 lb new potatoes

1 pint blueberries            1 bunch carrots

Farm News:

            We’re riding high this week on the peak of our market season – almost everything is in season now, it was hard to choose what to give you!

            With the addition of our new intern, Dave, we are feeling a little less crazy and a little more on top of things…. Or at least falling less behind! We are pretty much harvesting harvesting harvesting all the time now, and the addition of Dave has meant we could also do a few badly needed projects. I enjoyed relaxing a little bit today, on this rainy Sunday, while Dave and Carisa went to Bar Harbor Farmers Market for us.

            The carrots you’re getting this week are a new variety we’re trying, called White Satin/ Yes, they’re supposed to be pale yellow! They are supposed to have really good flavor, let us know what you think.

Thanks so much!

Christa, Mike, and little Lizzy

Recipes of the Week:

Delicious fresh tomato-cilantro salsa

1 lb tomato

2 Tb finely chopped white onion

1 Tb of finely chopped cilantro

1 finely chopped chile (or just add to taste)

1/4 of a lime.

Salt

Chop the tomato and add it--juice skin and all--to a mixing bowl. Add the chopped onion, chile and cilantro. Squeeze your lime quarter into the mixture. Add a pinch of salt and taste, you probably need to add another pinch, but that depends on the size of your pinch! This salsa is all about balance, so taste it and think about whether the sour and the spicy and the savory are all in balance. You can add more lime juice, salt or chile to harmonize the flavors.

http://johndlee.hubpages.com/hub/Delicious_fresh_tomato_cilantro_salsa_recipe

Fresh Green Beans with Garlic

1 lb fresh green beans

2 teaspoons butter or 2 teaspoons olive oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried) or 1 tablespoon oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)

 salt

 cayenne pepper

  hazelnuts (or your favorite)

Trim beans, boil for 4 or 5 minutes until tender crisp- Drain In a cast iron fry pan or saucepan, melt butter add onion and garlic and cook over medium low heat. Stir occasionally until onion is just tender Stir in beans, thyme salt and cayenne, Heat through.

 Add nuts just before serving.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/fresh-green-beans-with-garlic-12436#ixzz1UOQnvgtY

CSA Share #9, August 2nd, 2011

1 head lettuce                        Summer Cabbage

Tomatoes                        1 bunch tropea onion

1 bunch Cilantro            1 lb new potatoes

Cucumber                        1 bunch Parsley

Farm News:

            We’re pretty excited for this week because we have a new farm intern coming on August 1^st (Hooray!). One of our interns had to leave in late June due to some back problems, so we’ve been scrambling to keep our heads above water ever since. Very excited for the extra pair of hands.

            The peas are finished, but the beans are just starting, so there should be some fresh green beans next week, as well as green peppers and more tomatoes. Our fight with the cucumber beetles continues to keep down the squash and cucumbers, but there were finally enough cukes this week to distribute. We’re starting to plant our fall cover crops in areas of the fields that had our earliest crops, and are seeding our fall spinach, turnips, and other things. The fall is coming faster than we can believe – only about 8 weeks until the Common Ground Fair!

Thanks so much!

Christa, Mike, and little Lizzy

Recipes of the Week:

Warm Cabbage, Red Onion and Apple Slaw

This recipe originally called for red cabbage, but we think it worked beautifully with green.

·      5 tbsp. olive oil

·      3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

·      1/2 head cabbage

·      3 tropea onions cut into wedges

·      1 tsp. caraway seeds

·      2 Granny Smith apples cored and cut into eight wedges

·      salt and pepper to taste

Cut out the core of the cabbage half and cut the cabbage into small pieces. Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Add the cabbage, apples, caraway seeds and vinegar. Stir well. Cook, uncovered, 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper when the cabbage is soft. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

Duncan’s New Potato Salad        

           

• 1 lb new potatoes
• 1 cucumber
• 1 medium tomato
• 2 tropea onions
• ½ bunch parsley
• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 Tb ground pepper

Christa’s Dad’s special. Wash potatoes, cut into bite sized chunks. Place in sauce pan with just enough water to cover. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook potatoes until just barely done – soft but not mushy. Drain potatoes, run cool water over them, and set in fridge to cool. Chop cucumber and tomato into small pieces.  Dice onions. Chop (finely) parsley. When potatoes are cool, stir in oil and vinegar.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix cucumber, tomato, parsley and onion into potato mixture. Optional: mix in ½ cup finely chopped bread and butter pickles.  MMMMMmmm. Summer.

CSA Share #8, July 25th, 2011

1 head lettuce                        ½ lb salad

1 bulb fennel                        1 bunch scallions

1 lb potato                        ½ lb sugar snap peas

1 bunch parsley

Farm News:

            What a hot week! It was about 85 degrees IN our house  this week, whew! There was a lot of sweating this week as we worked away. We are loving this cooler weather… and the possibility of rain tomorrow night.  We are transplanting our last fall brassicas today (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi) as well as some weeding and insect control. Now that the harvest season is in full swing, Mondays are our only full days for non-harvest maintenance projects . We are also hoping to plant our fall chard, some more fennel, chip away at the never ending weeding (of course) and maybe start to harvest……….blueberries! If they are evenly ripe enough to start raking, they’ll be in your share next week.

            Thanks so much to all of you who made it out to the CSA dinner last night. It was really great to meet those of you who we didn’t yet know, and we really lucked out with some gorgeous weather! Looking forward to the next one on October 9^th. Mark your calendar.

Thanks so much!

Christa, Mike, and little Lizzy

Recipes of the Week:

Grilled Fennel

1 fennel bulb

2 teaspoons olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Trim the fennel stalks and fronds away, you can use them for something else. Cut the bulb in four and gently trim away the core. You want to leave just enough core to hold the sections together Rub the fennel with 1 teaspoon of the oil and a generous helping of salt and pepper.

Grill 5-8 minutes per side on an oiled grill. Baste with olive oil as needed, and then drizzle with balsamic when hot. It should still have a good crispness to it, but not be raw either. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Parsley Smashed New Potatoes

1 pound new or baby red potatoes, (1- to 2-inch diameter), large ones quartered

½ cup plain yogurt

½ bunch scallions, finely chopped

¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan fitted with a steamer basket. Add potatoes, cover and steam until very tender when pierced with a fork, 20 to 25 minutes. (Check the water level near the end of steaming to be sure the pan doesn’t boil dry. Add more boiling water as needed.)

    Meanwhile, combine yogurt, scallions, parsley, butter, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

    Mix the cooked potatoes into the yogurt mixture, breaking them up with a fork until they crumble apart and lightly clump together.

CSA Share#7, July 18th, 2011

1 bunch beets                        1 head lettuce

½  lb sugar snap peas            1 kohlrabi

1 bunch scallions                   1 bulb fresh garlic

1 bunch chard                        1 bunch hakurei

Farm News:

New this week: beets! Yum. We were hoping to have cucumbers and zucchini to you by now, but we have been having some serious cucuber beetle problems this year, and our first planting has been ravaged. Hoping things will improve in that area in the next few weeks.

`We are doing our last rounds of transplanting this week, putting in our fall broccoli, kale, and cauliflower, as well as some late lettuce and the last planting of cucumbers and summer squash – which will hopefully fare better than the first! Lizzy is being fairly cooperative, hanging out with us while we pick peas in the mornings… but she is starting to put everything she can reach in her mouth, as well as roll around in every direction.

            See you on Tuesday!

Thanks so much!

Christa, Mike, and little Lizzy

Recipes of the Week:

Roasted Beet Salad with Feta:

1 bunch of beets (4-6)

3 T olive oil Sea salt

1/2 C crumbled feta cheese

 2 t lemon zest

1 T maple syrup

Remove the greens from the beets (save them, they are edible too! Cover the beets in olive oil (about 2 T of the 3) and sea salt and then wrap each of them in foil. Roast in the oven at 400 for approximately one hour, or until they can be easily pierced with a fork.

Allow the beets to cool. Chop the beets into bite-sized pieces, and toss them with the feta, lemon zest, 1 T olive oil, and maple syrup.

From http://www.wearenotmartha.com/2010/07/roasted-beet-salad-with-feta-and-mint/

Snap Pea and Swiss Chard Stir Fry

            This recipe is meant to serve six, so halve it if you want a smaller sized dish.

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 ounces sirloin steak, thinly sliced

Kosher salt

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced ginger

½ bunch scallions, thinly sliced on the bias

1 tablespoon hot chile sauce (such as Sriracha)

½ lb sugar snap peas, ends trimmed

1 bunch Swiss chard

1 lime

Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and swirl to coat. Season steak with salt and add to wok. Cook, stirring, until beef is golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside. Add another tablespoon vegetable oil to the wok and swirl to coat. Add garlic, ginger, scallions, chile sauce, sugar snap peas, and 1 pound thinly sliced Swiss chard stems (remove and tear leaves into 2-inch pieces and reserve). Cook, stirring constantly, until snap peas are bright green and crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl with beef. Add another tablespoon oil to wok and swirl to coat. Add half of the Swiss chard leaves and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer to bowl with beef and snap peas. Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and chard. Return everything to wok, heat briefly, and season with salt. Squeeze with lime juice, toss to coat, and serve immediately.

http://www.wholeliving.com/recipe/swiss-chard-snap-peas-and-beef