CSA Share #1, Tuesday June 10th, 2014

What You’re Getting:

Standard Shares:

2 heads Pac Choi (Bok Choy)

2 bunches radishes
1 small head broccoli

1 small bunch carrots

Family Shares:

3 heads Pac Choi (Bok Choy)

2 bunches radishes

1 small head broccoli

1 bunch kale

2 small bunches carrots

Farm News:

It’s that wonderful time of the year again…. CSA season!

We are so glad you’ve joined us this season, and we hope you enjoy every bit of the veggies you receive in your CSA bags. If you ever need some ideas on how to prepare anything, don’t hesitate to check out our blog at bahnerfarm.blogspot.com for a list of hundreds of recipes by vegetable.

So far our spring is going well here – The frost we got a few weeks ago didn’t kill the tomato plants, and everything is recovering from the cold April and May temps. We are a few weeks behind, but if the weather stays this warm we’ll be catching up fast!

Enjoy!

Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Recipes:

Roasted Radishes with their Greens

People seem to be on one side of the fence or the other with radishes, but if you’ve never liked them, this dish has changed many minds! The roasted radishes are juicy and slightly sweet… not spicy!

    2 bunches medium radishes

    1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

    Coarse kosher salt

    2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

    1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush large heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Cut off all but 1/2 inch of green radish tops; reserve trimmed tops and rinse them well, checking for grit. Coarsely chop radish tops and set aside. Cut radishes lengthwise in half and place in medium bowl. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and toss thoroughly to coat. Place radishes, cut side down, on prepared baking sheet; sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Roast until radishes are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally, about 18 minutes. Season to taste with more coarse kosher salt, if desired.

Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add pinch of coarse kosher salt to skillet and cook until butter browns, swirling skillet frequently to keep butter solids from burning, about 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in fresh lemon juice.

Transfer roasted radishes to warmed shallow serving bowl and drizzle brown butter over. Sprinkle with chopped radish tops and serve.

From Bon Appetit, April 2011

Pac Choi and Garlic Sausage Stir Fry

Pac choi, 2 heads

1 medium onion

1-2 inches hot pepper

½ cup vegetable oil

1/2 lb garlic sausage

Ginger (a piece about as big as your thumb)

Soy sauce

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. Dice the onion and add to hot oil. Add minced ginger, minced hot pepper, and sausage. Sautee, stirring every few minutes, until sausage is cooked through. In the meantime, chop pac choi into large chunks and rinse in cool water. Shake off water, and add to dish with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Cook for about one minute, or until leafy portions are wilted and lightly cooked, while the stem portions remain juicy.

If you’re not a sausage fan, this recipe also works well with crispy fried tofu.

Serve over rice. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

CSA Share #2, Tuesday June 18th, 2013

 

What You’re Getting: 

 Standard Share:

1/4 lb bag Salad Mix

2 heads Pac Choi (Bok Choy)

1 bunches Hakurei summer turnips

1 bunches Radishes

1 Kohlrabi

Family Share: 

 

1/2 lb bag Salad Mix

4 heads Pac Choi (Bok Choy)

2 bunches Hakurei summer turnips

2 bunches Radishes

2 Kohlrabi

1 head Napa cabbage

Farm News:

We are so excited that this week’s weather looks like it will be sunny (Or, at least, not rainy.). The heavy rains we got over the last few weeks and the generally cooler temperatures this spring have really slowed some things down, so we are really looking forward to a nice stretch of sunshine and warming temperatures (We hope.)!

            Mike and the crew are out planting our melons today. I can’t WAIT for them to ripen, usually in mid to late August.  I also can’t wait for peas, carrots, beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, green beans…. Jeeze, it’s a long list!

            We hope that you and your friends and family find ways to enjoy the beautiful weather as well. Isn’t a Maine summer day something special?

Enjoy!

Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Recipes:

Kohlrabi, that green bulbous looking round veggie with the tough skin, is a delicious treat in disguise. Peel off the skin to get at the crunchy, slightly sweet broccoli flavored yumminess! Wonderful for eating raw in a salad or slaw, it can also be simply roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper. More recipes can be found on the blog!

'Carpaccio' of Kohlrabi with Radishes and Blue Cheese

2 small, young kohlrabi

6 young radishes

4 Tbsp (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

4 tsp (20 ml) white wine vinegar, or white balsamic vinegar

a pinch of mustard powder

blue cheese (Gorgonzola, Roquefort, or whatever you fancy)

flaky sea salt

freshly milled black pepper

Strip the leaves off the kohlrabi and cut off the tops and bottoms. Using a mandolin, cut the bulbs into paper-thin slices (Note from Christa: We don’t have a mandolin, but the slicing blade on our food processor works well, or just slicing it by hand). Do the same with the radishes. Arrange the kohlrabi and radish slices on a platter, or on individual salad plates. Whisk the olive oil, white wine vinegar and mustard powder together in a small bowl, and drizzle the dressing over the slices. Season well with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese.

Serve immediately. From http://whatsforsupper-juno.blogspot.com/2009/05/carpaccio-of-kohlrabi-with-radishes-and.html

Grilled Pac Choi

In case you were wondering….Pac Choi is Bok Choy (Just like Beijing is Peking)

    2 head of bok choy

    1/4 cup melted butter

    1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

    1/8 teaspoon paprika

    1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

    1 teaspoon seasoned

    1 teaspoon ground black pepper

    Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.

    In a bowl, mix butter, garlic powder, paprika, and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper. Slice the bottom off the head of pac choi, and remove and clean the stalks. Sprinkle seasoned salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper over both sides of the stalks.

    Lay the pac choi stalks on the preheated grill. Brush with seasoned butter mixture, cover the grill, and cook until the pac choi stalks show grill marks and the leaves are crisp at the edges, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the pac choi, brush with butter mixture, cover, and grill the other sides. Brush with any remaining butter mixture, and remove to a platter to serve.

CSA Share #1, Tuesday June 11th, 2013

What You’re Getting:

Standard Share:

2 heads Pac Choi (Bok Choy)

2 bunches Hakurei summer turnips

1 bunch kale

1 kohlrabi

Family Share:

 

4 heads Pac Choi (Bok Choy)

2 bunches Hakurei summer turnips

2 bunches radishes

1 bunch kale

2 mini heads lettuce

2 kohlrabi

Farm News:

Hooray, It’s the first CSA share! Although the first share is always smaller then the many shares to come, it’s still an exciting start to the CSA season. With the cold temperatures in May and the rain in the last few weeks, some things are slow to start this year, but the sun WILL come out, and things WILL grow! All things with patience.

            We have a wonderful crew of apprentices this year. Eitan, Laura and Jess have been a great help, and Lizzy is starting to get in on the action too, seeding her own flat of seeds in the greenhouse and using her tiny hoe.

Our exciting news is that Lizzy will have a baby brother or sister in November! Please forgive me if I am slow returning an email or the like, as I am definitely not operating at 100%. Good thing everyone else is!

Enjoy!

Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Recipes:

Pac Choi and Garlic Sausage Stir Fry

Pac choi, up to 4 heads (We recommend at least 1 head per person)

1 medium onion

1-2 inches hot pepper

½ cup vegetable oil

1 lb garlic sausage

Ginger (a piece about as big as your thumb)

Soy sauce

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. Dice the onion and add to hot oil. Add minced ginger, minced hot pepper, and sausage. Sautee, stirring every few minutes, until sausage is cooked through. In the meantime, chop pac choi into large chunks and rinse in cool water. Shake off water, and add to dish with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Cook for about one minute, or until leafy portions are wilted and lightly cooked, while the stem portions remain juicy. Serve over rice.

How to eat Hakurei:

Hakurei summer turnips are very different from fall turnips you may be used to. Hakrurei are delicious raw, slightly sweet and nutty. They’ll make a turnip lover out of anybody! They are perfect sliced into salads or dipped into a tangy sauce. The greens can also be used for any recipe calling for turnip greens. Hakurei do not need to be peeling before eating. If you’d like to try cooking these spring treats, here’s one idea:

Hakurei Turnip Gratin

Recipe from http://www.gfzing.com/2009/white-spring-turnips/

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 bunch of Hakurei turnips
• 1 teaspoon dry thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1/8- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup of fresh parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a non-stick 12 inch skillet (make sure you have a top to fit the pan.) Wash turnips well, top and tail them, and slice them in 1/4 inch slices. Layer the slices in the pan.  Sprinkle the sliced turnips salt and herbs. Cook for 3 minutes over medium heat, then pour cream and 1/2 cup chicken stock over the top.  Cover and cook the turnips over medium heat for 20 minutes.  The turnips will be completely cooked through, but there will be considerable liquid left in the pan.  Remove the cover and cook to reduce the liquid.  When most of the liquid has reduced (about 5-10 minutes), and the sauce is thickened, grate finely parmesan cheese evenly over the top. Watch closely as the cheese melts and make sure that the liquid does not entirely cook away.

2011 Share #2, June 14th

1 bunch radishes            2 head pac choi

1 bunch fresh sage         1 kohlrabi

¼ lb salad mix                       

Farm News:

What a drizzly Sunday! Luckily, we have a lot more planting to do this week, and plants love to be plated in damp, cool weather – it’s much less stressful to them. Last week we planted eggplant, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, winter squash, peppers, more scallions, parsley, chard, head lettuce, and much more – this week: celery, celeriac, flowers, more head lettuce, Brussels sprouts….

The baby is crying and bed is calling, so this will be short this week. Hope you’re all doing well out there, and enjoying the fresh veggies!

Thanks so much!

Christa, Mike, and little Lizzy

Recipes of the Week:

Tempura Spring Veggies with Sweet and Sour Sauce

While at Hannaford a few weeks ago, I found a Tempura mix in the Asian section. Tempura is an Asian-style batter-frying technique, and is very easy to do, especially with the boxed mix. We sliced radishes and cut the pac choi into big chunks, and basically followed the directions on the box to make the tempura. It was delicious! We served it with this sweet-and-sour sauce from allrecipes.com:

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

    Place the sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce, ketchup and cornstarch in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Stir continuously until the mixture has thickened.

Grilled Pac Choi

In case you were wondering….Pac Choi is Bok Choy (Just like Beijing is Peking)

• 2 head of bok choy
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon seasoned
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

    Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.

    In a bowl, mix butter, garlic powder, paprika, and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper. Slice the bottom off the head of pac choi, and remove and clean the stalks. Sprinkle seasoned salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper over both sides of the stalks.

    Lay the pac choi stalks on the preheated grill. Brush with seasoned butter mixture, cover the grill, and cook until the pac choi stalks show grill marks and the leaves are crisp at the edges, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the pac choi, brush with butter mixture, cover, and grill the other sides. Brush with any remaining butter mixture, and remove to a platter to serve.

Buttered Noodles with Fresh Sage

(From www.food.com)

• 16 ounces egg noodles
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 6 fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4-1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Melt butter in the empty pot; simmer onion and sage leaves 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Toss with noodles. Top with parmesan cheese just before serving.

How to eat Kohlrabi:

Kohlrabi is a delicious member of the cabbage family. Crisp and sweet, it is delicious in salads and slaws, or dipped in sauces. Peel the tough outer skin with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler to get at the yummy insides!