CSA Share #9, Tuesday August 6th

What you're getting:

Standard:

1 bunch carrots

1 bunch fresh onions

1 kohlrabi

1 pint mixed tomatoes

1 lb summer squash and zucchini

1 lb cucumbers

¼ lb arugula

¼ lb basil

Family:

 

2 bunches carrots

2 bunches fresh onions

2 kohlrabi

1 quart mixed tomatoes

2 lb summer squash and zucchini

2 lb cucumbers

½  lb arugula

¼ lb basil

 

Farm News:

Hi all!

Can you believe it’s August already? Now we just need some warmer, sunny weather and warm nights to ripen up all these melons and tomatoes! They’re really taking their sweet time this year. Jeeze.

Some of you may be wondering about our CSA dinner this year. We usually do it earlier in the season, but with our construction project dragging on and on this year, it hasn’t been a good place to gather a large group of people. Right now we’re thinking about early September, and we’ll keep you posted about specific dates!

Hope you are all enjoying your summer and your veggies.

Thanks!

Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Recipes

Bruschetta with Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Basil

    2 ripe tomatoes, chopped

    1/2 large red onion, diced

    1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced

    1 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded

    Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

    1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing

    1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar

    1 baguette

    2 to 3 peeled garlic cloves, for rubbing

In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, cucumber, and basil; season lightly with salt and pepper. Add olive oil and vinegar, and toss well to combine. Let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour but no longer than 3 hours.

             Heat broiler or grill pan. Cut bread diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Brush both sides of each slice lightly with olive oil; grill or broil on both sides until toasted.

Rub hot bread lightly with garlic cloves on one side only. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top with tomato mixture. Let stand a few minutes to allow juices to soak into bread before serving.

http://www.marthastewart.com/332415/bruschetta-with-tomatoes-cucumbers-and-b

Kohlrabi and Summer Squash with Almonds

    2 small-medium summer squash or zucchini

    1-3 oz. sliced almonds

    1 T. butter or olive oil

    salt and pepper to taste

    1 medium-large kohlrabi bulb (optional)

    2-3 cloves garlic (optional)

Peel the kohlrabi. Dice into matchsticks, place in a bowl with 2-3 T. water and cook on high for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Alternatively, boil/steam the matchsticks in a small saucepan.

Heat the butter or oil in a large pan. Mince the garlic, if using, and add the almonds and garlic to the fat.

While the almonds are toasting—or before, if you’re a stickler about having your mise en place—slice the squash into thin pieces. You want them to be thin enough to just cook through in about a minute in the pan.

When the almonds are turning brown, add the squash. Toss gently to coat in the fat. After about a minute, remove from the heat.

From http://soursaltybittersweet.com/content/csa-2010-files-kohlrabi-and-summer-squash-almonds

Share #10, Tuesday August 14th

 

What You’re Getting:

1 lb mixed tomatoes

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 head lettuce

1 bunch parsley

1 lb cukes

1 lb zucchini/summer squash

1 pepper

1/2 lb green beans

1 bunch carrots

Farm News:

Farm life in August is harvest, harvest, harvest all the time. Oh yeah, and also make time to care for those important fall crops.  This is the point in the season that most of our hard work all spring has been leading up to, so we try to make the best we can of it!

We really enjoyed meeting so many of you last week at the CSA dinner, thank you so much to those of you who made it out! It was definitely the best turn out we’ve had, and we’re already brainstorming for next year’s dinner.

Enjoy!

Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Recipes:

Greek Salad (Horiatiki)

As seen at last week’s CSA dinner!

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

2 medium tomatoes, cut into 1 ½ “ pieces

1 cucumber, peeled, halved, and sliced into ¼” slices

½ medium onion, thinly sliced

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/8 tsp. dried oregano (actually better with fresh, if you can get it)

6 oz. feta. Cut into thick slabs

8 kalamata olives

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine parsly, tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions in a bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, and oregano; season with salt and pepper and pour over vegetable mixture. Toss. Transfer salad to a serving bowl and top with feta and olives. Garnish with more oregano.

Sesame Green Beans

½  pound green beans, trimmed

1 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 teaspoon  sesame oil

Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

 Toast sesame seeds: Place in a small dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500ºF.  Toss green beans with olive oil. Spread in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast, turning once halfway through cooking, until tender and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Toss with sesame seeds, sesame oil, salt and pepper.

Mosaic Salad

    1 medium cucumber, sliced

    2 yellow summer squash or zucchini, thinly sliced

     2 medium tomatoes, sliced

   

DRESSING:

     1/4 cup vegetable oil

     3 tablespoons minced fresh basil

     2 tablespoons lemon juice

     2 tablespoons cider vinegar

     1 teaspoon sugar

     1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

     1/4 teaspoon salt

Arrange the cucumber, squash and tomatoes on a large serving platter. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the dressing ingredients; shake well. Drizzle over salad. Serve immediately.

Finally Catching Up!

After losing the use of our computer for a few weeks and then being swamped ever since, I am finally catching the blog back up! Here are the CSA Newsletters and contents for the last few weeks...

Share # 7

Tuesday, July 24^th

What You’re Getting:

Head Lettuce, 1 head

Swiss Chard, 1 bunch

Kohlrabi, 1 head

Zucchini and Summer Squash, 2 lbs

Cukes, 1 lb

Baby carrots, 1 bunch

Garlic, 2 heads

Basil, ¼ lb

Farm News:

We are just getting in to the part of the season where we harvest harvest harvest and try to sneak in our other tasks whenever we can. Looks like next week we will finally get you some peppers and tomatoes! They are starting to ripen in larger numbers now.

We have been way too dry lately, and are really hoping for rain here. Do a rain dance for us! We can irrigate some things at our home fields, but can’t irrigate at our leased fields.

Blueberry report: It doesn’t look good. Our field was apparently pollinated very poorly this year, possibly due to the rainy weather we were having during flowering, and the berries are very sparse, possibly too sparse to rake. We have been buying in berries to sell in the farmstand, and you are more then welcome to come by the farmstand and buy some of those, but we’re not sure what we will be able to harvest to put in the shares. We are hoping to get you some at least in one share.

Enjoy!

Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Recipes:

Summer Squash Salad

From the James Beard Foundation (http://www.jamesbeard.org/recipes/insalata-di-zucchine-e-menta-raw-summer-squash-salad)

    1/4 cup dried currants (or raisins)

    1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

    1/4 cup raw pine nuts (or chopped walnuts)

    2 medium yellow squash, seeded and julienned

    2 medium green zucchini, seeded and julienned

    1 green Serrano chile, thinly sliced

    1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

    Juice from 1 lemon

    1/2 bunch mint, thinly sliced

    1/4 cup chopped oil-cured black olives

    1/4 cup sliced ricotta salata

    Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine the currants, cayenne and 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and allow to steep for 20 minutes. Drain currants.

Spread pine nuts in an even layer on a baking sheet and bake until lightly golden and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes.

Combine the yellow squash, zucchini, and chile with the olive oil and lemon juice. Add the mint, olives, ricotta salata, pine nuts and currants. Gently toss together, season to taste with salt and pepper, and divide among serving plates.

Stir Fried Lettuce

    1 head lettuce

    2 teaspoons soy sauce

    1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

    3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

    1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil

    2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

    1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger

    1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil (such as Kadoya)

Wash the lettuce, drain and separate the leaves. It’s important to make sure the lettuce is dry). Cut across the leaves into pieces about 1 inch wide. Combine the rice wine or dry sherry, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl, stirring. Set aside. Heat a wok on medium-high heat and add oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Stir-fry until aromatic (5 - 10 seconds) and add the lettuce. Stir-fry the lettuce, sprinkling with the salt, for 1 - 2 minutes, until the leaves begin to wilt. Give the sauce a quick re-stir and swirl it into the wok. Stir-fry for 1 - 2 more minutes, until the lettuce turns dark green. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Serve immediately.

Share # 6
Tuesday, July 17thWhat You’re Getting:

Head Lettuce, 2 heads
Kohlrabi, 1 bulb
Scallions, 1 bunch
Cilantro, 1 bunch
Parsley, 1 bunch
Zucchini and summer squash, 1 lb
Sugar snap peas
Garlic, 2 bulbs

Whew, we’ve sure been sweating around here with
the summer heat and humidity! The plants seem to
love it, everything is growing in leaps and bounds...
but we sure could use a little rain!

If anyone needs extras beyond what’s in their share,
the farmstand is now open four days a week:

Tuesday 3:00-7:00 (during CSA pickup)
Friday 12:00-7:00
Sat. and Sun. 10:00-6:00

You are all invited to our annual CSA Farm Dinner,
on Tuesday, August 7th at 5:00 pm. It will start with
a farm tour and then we will have a great dinner
made from our farm grown veggies and other
products. We prepare all the food, all you have to do
is show up! We hope you will be able to attend.
Email us to RSVP! Thanks!

Enjoy!
Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Grilled Summer Squash with Lime Cilantro
Dressing

Dressing:
¼ cup lime juice
2 Tbsp. shallot, minced
1 tsp. garlic, minced¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
½ Tbsp. thyme, chopped
1 Tbsp. lime zest
1 lb zucchini, bias cut ¼” thick slices
1 lb yellow squash, bias cut ¼” thick slices

1. Preheat a grill.
2. Lime and cilantro dressing: Combine the lime
juice, shallots, and garlic in a bowl. Sprinkle with a
pinch of salt and pepper. Let sit for 15 minutes,
Whisk in the olive oil. Adjust the seasoning with salt
and pepper. Stir in the cilantro.
3. Combine the extra virgin olive oil, garlic, thyme
and lime zest in a large bowl. Toss in
the zucchini and yellow squash. Adjust the seasoning
with salt and pepper.
4. Grill until just tender. Toss with cilantro and lime
dressing.

Source: The Culinary Institute of America at
Greystone, Napa Valley, California

Sugar Snap Peas with Scallions and Lettuce

1/2 cup Scallions sliced
4 leaves Organic Romaine Lettuce shredded
1/2 pound Sugar Snap Peas
Salt and Pepper to your taste
1 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Oil

Slice scallions, including the green tops. Shred the
lettuce. Remove any tough strings from the snap peas
and cook peas in boiling salted water until tender,
about 5 minutes. Drain.

In a large frying pan, melt butter in the oil over
medium-low heat. Add scallions and 1/4 teaspoon
salt. Cover and cook until tender, about 3 minutes.
Add snap peas and cook, stirring, until heated
through. Add the lettuce and stir until wilted. Taste
for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

http://www.recipebridge.com/g/297/2147786537/sug
ar-snap-peas-with-scallions-and-lettuce


CSA Share #5

Tuesday, July 10th

What You’re Getting:

Head Lettuce, 1 head

Salad mix, ¼ lb

Basil, ¼ lb

Kale, 1 bunch

Carrots, 1 mini bunch

Scallions, 1 bunch

Garlic Scapes, 1 bunch

1 greenhouse cucumber

 

Farm News:

We got our computer back! Hooray! Thanks for being patient while we were technologically impaired. In the last few weeks, things have really started to produce. We ate our very first few ripe cherry tomatoes and are hoping to be giving those out soon, maybe in two weeks.. they start in a trickle, but the flood will come!

We haven’t giving you guys salad mix yet this year. In the past we have alternated head lettuce one week, and then salad mix the next week. We haven’t been able to do that this year, as some of the earlier rains this year really washed a lot of nutrition out of the field where the salad is growing, and it’s been performing poorly ever since. However, we decided you guys had waited long enough, and we’ll start out by supplementing your head lettuce with a little salad bag.

The carrots from this week and last week were from the greenhouse – after this we’ll have to wait a few more weeks for the field carrots to size up.

Summer is really truly here! Summer squash, peppers, onions, tomatoes, beets, new potatoes… all coming soon!

Enjoy!

Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Recipes:

Garlic Scape Pesto


1 bunch garlic scapes


¼  cup grated parmesan cheese


Olive oil (about ¼  cup)


Pine nuts if available (Walnuts do fine, too)

Chop the garlic scapes into 3 inch lengths. Put it in the food processor and process until pureed. Add the parmesan and nuts and process until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil as the food processor runs and continue until all the oil is combined into the garlic.  Serve over pasta. Will store well in an air-tight jar in the refrigerator. Also freezes excellently for winter use! Makes enough for 1 lb pasta.

You can add some basil to this too!

Scallion Pancakes

This is one of my all-time favorites – a dumbed down version of the amazing Korean scallion pancakes a friend used to make for us.

1 bunch scallions                       

1 t salt                                                ½ cup water

1 ½ cups flour                                    soy sauce

4 eggs                                                lemon juice

½ cup vegetable oil                        red wine vinegar

            Remove the scallion roots and dice the whole bunch (use all the green, right up to the tips!).  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. In a smaller bowl, combine the eggs, oil, and water, mixed thoroughly. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture, and mix well, until there are little to no lumps. Stir in chopped scallions. Oil the surface of a large skillet or griddle, and heat until water flicked onto it pops and fizzles. Pour the batter on, about 1 cup per pancake, spreading the mixture out with your spatula to achieve a nice thin pancake. Fry until golden brown on each side. Serve with a sauce made from ½ soy sauce, ¼ lemon juice, and ¼ red wine vinegar. 

CSA Share #4, Tuesday July 3rd

Hi CSA Folks!
Unfortunately, we have still not gotten our computer back from the fixers yet, so no blogpost or newsletter again, but here's hoping that we'll be able to catch up on those by next week.

Pick up is TODAY!

Here's what's is this week's share:

Standard Share

2 Heads Lettuce
1 bunch Swiss Chard
1 Kohlrabi
1 bunch Hakurei
1 bunch garlic scapes
1 mini bunch carrots
Snap peas


Family Share

4 Heads Lettuce
2 bunches Swiss Chard
2 Kohlrabi
2 Bunches Hakurei
2 bunches garlic scapes
1 large bunch carrots
Snap peas

Enjoy your 4th!

Thanks,
Christa and Mike

CSA Share #3, Tuesday, June 26th:

Hi CSAers!
We are sadly without a computer this week, so this will be short and sweet.

In the standard shares this week:
1 Head lettuce
1 Kohlrabi
1 Greenhouse cuke
Snap peas
1 Bunch hakurei summer turnips
1 Bunch radishes
1 Bunch kale

In the full shares:
2 Head lettuce
2 Kohlrabi
1 Greenhouse cuke
2 Snap peas
2 Bunch hakurei summer turnips
2 Bunch radishes
2 Bunch kale
If you haven't had kohlrabi before, it's delicious! Just peel and eat!


Thanks!
See you this afternoon!

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.