CSA Share #8, Tuesday July 30th, 2013

What You’re Getting: 

Standard:

1 bunch kale

1 kohlrabi

1 head lettuce

1 bunch onions

1 lb cucumbers

1 quart new potatoes

Mixed tomatoes, 1 pint

1 bunch parsley

1 spring fresh rosemary

Family:

 

1 bunch kale

2 kohlrabi

2 head lettuce

2 bunch onions

2 lb cucumbers

2 quart new potatoes

Mixed tomatoes, 1 quart

1 bunch parsley

2 springs fresh rosemary

Farm News:

Hi all!

I’m just too sleepy to write farm news this week…..you understand. I’ll give you some extra recipes to make up for it. Have a great week!

Thanks and Enjoy!

Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Recipes

Duncan’s New Potato Salad       

          

   1 lb new potatoes

    1 cucumber

    1 medium tomato

    2 fresh 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.

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

    Ground 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.

Roasted Kale Chips with a twist!

Ok, we’ve all had kale chips before… but this new recipe I found via a customer this weekend is twice as amazing!

    1 bunch kale

    2-3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

    3/4 teaspoon salt

    2 teaspoon nutritional yeast

    ½ teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Roughly chop washed, dry kale leaves. Toss the leaves in a large bowl with the other ingredients.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the leaves on the paper in a single layer. Do not crowd the leaves or they will not dry evenly. If necessary, bake in more than one batch or on several trays. Bake for 12-15 minutes until they are crisp but not beginning to burn.

Let cool before transferring to serving bowls or storing in paper bags. If you have a vacuum sealer, once the chips are cooled you can vacuum seal them in plastic for long term storage. Otherwise, they will keep their crunch longer if stored in paper rather than plastic bags. Do not refrigerate.

If your chips lose their crunch, re-crisp them by spreading them out on a baking sheet again and baking at 300 F for just 5 minutes. They will crisp up as they cool.

CSA SHare #7, Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013

 

What You’re Getting:

Standard:

1 bunch chard

¼ lb salad mix

½ lb green beans

1 bunch scallions

1 ½ lb cucumbers

1 ½ lb zucchini

¼ lb basil

Family:

 

1 bunch chard

1 bunch kale

½  lb salad mix

1 lb green beans

1 bunch scallions

3 lb cucumbers

3 lb zucchini

¼ lb basil

1 head green cabbage

Farm News:

Hi all!

After the hot, hot dry weather lately, the rain today is a welcome drink for thirsty fields. We’re enjoying the cooler weather, too! Of course, plenty of things in the field love the heat – peppers, basil, tomatoes, cukes, zucchini and melons have all been thriving in the recent heat.

We hope you have been finding ways to enjoy your summer months! We’ve been squeezing little trips in to the beach and late night swims when we can. Got to enjoy it while it’s here!

Thanks and Enjoy!

Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Recipes

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.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

In a small bowl combine 1 ½ cup cooked rice, 1 cup cooked lentils, 2 medium diced tomatoes, ¼ cup parmesan cheese, ½ cup tomato sauce, salt and pepper, some fresh chopped basil and 1 lb cooked ground beef. Mix well and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cut the stem ends off of 2 medium zucchini and cut in half.  Scoop out the flesh, leaving 1/4 inch thick shells. Chop the reserved trimmings and flesh coarsely. In a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, cook the shells for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; drain on paper towels.

            Heat  a medium skillet over medium heat with 1 T olive oil. Chop 1 small zucchini. Saute chopped zucchini for 5 minutes, or until tender. Stir in remaining basil, salt and pepper.  Transfer to the bowl that contains the other filling.  Spoon mixture into shells and place in prepared baking dish. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until tender.

Basil Pesto

¼ lb fresh basil

1/3 cup pine nuts (or walnuts)

2 medium cloves garlic

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

½ cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Process the basil, nuts, cheese and garlic in the food processor. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil. If the sauce seems dry (It should be a thick paste), add a little more olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with linguine. Yum!

From the Joy of Cooking, 1997

CSA Share #6, Tuesday, July 16th, 2013

-->What You’re Getting:

Standard Share:

1 bunch chard

1 bunch kale

1 head lettuce

½ lb green beans

1 bunch scallions

1 kohlrabi

½ lb summer squash and/or zucchini

1 bunch parsley

Family Share:

-->

1 bunch chard

2 bunches kale

2 heads lettuce

1 lb green beans

1 bunch scallions

2 kohlrabi

1 lb summer squash and/or zucchini

1 bunch parsley

1 head napa cabbage

Farm News:

Hi all!

With the hot week coming up, we are looking forward to a lot of late night, post-work swims. We hope you guys are finding a good place to cool off, too! The greenhouses are boiling and the dogs are panting…. And the first few tomatoes are ripening! We had cherry tomatoes for the first time on Friday, and I look forward to giving them to you guys as soon as we have enough for all of you!

In the mean time, enjoy the greens and the first few exciting summer items… summer squash! Green beans!

Thanks and Enjoy!

Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Recipes

Crispy Garlic Kale with Chorizo and Beans

    1 tablespoon olive oil

    6 small cloves garlic, sliced thin

    2 links chorizo sausage, cooked

    1 cup homemade vegetable stock

    2 large bunches curly kale, large stems removed and shredded

    1 14.5-ounce can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

    1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions

Place a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil to the warm pan, then add the garlic. Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring often so the garlic doesn't burn.

Add the sausage to the pan, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon as it browns. If the pan gets too hot, add 1/4 cup of the stock to pull up any fond (crust) that has developed on the bottom of pan. After the sausage is browned, add the kale to the pan, cover, and allow to wilt for two minutes.

Stir the kale mixture, then add the beans, pepper and remaining stock. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook for 5 minutes.

From: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1988910

Kolrābju Salāti (Latvian Kohlrabi Salad)

1 cup farmer's cheese or cottage cheese, drained overnight in a cheesecloth-lined strainer

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup peeled and grated Granny Smith apple

1 tbsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste

2 medium kohlrabies, peeled and grated

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tbsp. sliced parsley leaves

In a large bowl, stir cheese, cream, apple, salt, kohlrabies, and pepper until evenly combined; let sit for 10 minutes, so flavors can marry. Garnish with parsley before serving.

From Saveur, http://www.saveur.com/article/Travels/Riga-Revisited

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.

CSA Share #5, Tuesday July 9th, 2013

What You’re Getting:

Standard Share:

 1 bunch chard

1 bunch kale

3 heads lettuce

2 heads broccoli (or 3-4 small heads)

2 bunch scallions

2 Kohlrabi

2 pints sugar snap peas

Family Share:

1 bunch chard

1 bunch kale

3 heads lettuce

2 heads broccoli (or 3-4 small heads) 

2 bunch scallions
2 Kohlrabi 

2 pints sugar snap peas 

Farm News:

Hi all!

I hope you all had a wonderful 4^th of July! Although it’s been hot as anything, we really enjoyed getting a little more sunshine and a little less rain this week – I hope it stays that way!

We are entering the truly chaotic part of our season, where we are starting to harvest constantly, and the weeds are growing twice as fast. Yipes. We’ll be scrambling to stay on top until October! Although a lot of things have been a few weeks behind this year, thanks to our cold May temperatures and loss of fertility through some heavy rains, everything is starting to catch up now. I expect to be giving you guys cukes, summer squash and maybe even peppers within a few weeks, and we’ve been seeing our first few ripe cherry tomatoes, so hopefully it will only be a few weeks before we get enough of those at once that I can give those out, too!

For those of you missing the garlic scapes – there will be no garlic this year. For the last three years, we have lost a majority of our garlic to post harvest rots and molds, which spread each year from bulb to bulb, and stay in the soil for years. In an attempt to break this cycle, we are starting our seedstock over from the garlic bulbils, or the flowering part of the garlic (The mature scape). It takes two years to get garlic by this method, so we won’t have garlic again until next year. A bummer, but we do what we have to do.

Thanks and Enjoy!

Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Recipes

Swiss Chard and Cheddar Quiche (with simple side salad)

    3  tablespoons  olive oil

    1  bunch Swiss chard, chopped

    1  onion, chopped (Or 2 scallions, minced)

    3  large eggs

    3/4  cup  half-and-half

    kosher salt and black pepper

    2  ounces  Cheddar, grated (1⁄2 cup)

    1  prebaked 9-inch piecrust

    4  cups chopped lettuce

    1  tablespoon  red wine vinegar

    Heat oven to 350° F.

    Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chard and onion and cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes.

    In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the half-and-half; season with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add the Cheddar and chard mixture and mix to combine. Pour into the prebaked 9-inch piecrust and bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes.

    Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss together the lettuce with the vinegar, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

    Serve the quiche with the salad.

From http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/swiss-chard-cheddar-quiche-00000000054978/index.html

Sugar Snap Peas with Scallions and Lettuce

1/2 cup Scallions sliced

4 leaves 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 #4, Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013

 

What You’re Getting: 

Standard Share:

1 bunch kale

2 heads lettuce

1 bunch Hakurei summer turnips

1 bunch scallions

1 Kohlrabi

1 pint sugar snap peas

Family Share:

 

1 bunch kale

1 bunch chard

3 heads lettuce

1 head green cabbage

2 bunches Hakurei summer turnips

1 bunch scallions

2 Kohlrabi

1 pint sugar snap peas

Farm News:

Everyone do their sun dance! We have had enough rain! We are feeling pretty soggy over here, and the plants all need SUN! The weeds, of course, are still growing gangbusters, the clever bastards.

We are excited to be starting construction on a new packing and processing building, with multiple coolers and indoor and outdoor wash areas. We will be able to better store vegetables for the winter CSA, have more refrigerated storage space overall, and better clean and organize our wash area and packing materials. We can’t wait for it to be finished!

Hope you have all been enjoying the week and are looking forward to the 4^th. Need a pie for your celebration? Lindsey of Let Them Eat Cake Bakery in Belfast is taking pie orders for the holiday! There is a choice of mixed berry or apple with either a lattice or a crumb topping, and pies would be available for pickup at the farmstand on Wednesday after 3:00 pm. Let us know if you’re interested!

Thanks and Enjoy!

Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Recipes

Roasted Kale Chips

·       1 bunch kale

·       3 Tablespoons olive oil

·       1 Tablespoon rice vinegar

·       Sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Remove leaves from stems, and tear leaves into 2-inch pieces and place in large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, stir together olive oil and vinegar with a fork. Drizzle over kale leaves; toss to coat evenly. Lay kale leaves in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper to taste. Roast kale for 5 minutes in preheated oven. Remove from oven and gently toss leaves with tongs or spatula; return to oven. Roast another 5 minutes, or until the kale is crispy and browned. The leaves with crisp further on standing, so don’t allow them to get too dark in the oven or they’ll be bitter. Let stand one minute on baking sheet, then remove to plate.

Easy-Peasy Hakurei-Kohlrabi Tuna Pasta Salad

1 bulb kohlrabi

2 large hakurei turnips

2 cans chunk light tuna fish, drained

½ lb spaghetti, cooked

¼ lb salad mix

3 T mayonnaise

1 T rice vinegar (or balsamic, if you prefer)

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Peel kohlrabi and wash turnips. Dice finely. Combine vegetables in small mixing bowl with tuna, mayonnaise, vinegar, and ground black pepper to taste. If you don’t like mayo, try using an Italian salad dressing instead.

Arrange salad mix on two plates.  Place pasta over salad, and tuna mixture over pasta. Light and delicious!

CSA Share #3, Tuesday June 25th

Lizzy loves Hakurei Summer Turnips!

What You’re Getting:

Standard Share:

1 head lettuce

1 head Pac Choi (Bok Choy)

2 bunches Hakurei summer turnips

1 bunch scallions

1 Kohlrabi

1 head broccoli (Or 2 small heads)

Family Share: 

2 heads lettuce

2 heads Pac Choi (Bok Choy)

2 bunches Hakurei summer turnips

2 bunches radishes

1 bunch scallions

2 Kohlrabi

2 heads broccoli (Or 4 small heads)

Farm News:

Whew, it’s sticky today!

We hope you guys have been enjoying your veggies! Despite the crazy temperature fluctuations earlier, most things are doing fine. Our late spring spinach, a lot of arugula, and our first few plantings of beets and carrots bit the dust in those heavy rains a few weeks ago, but there are lots of other things doing beautifully. There will be more spinach in the fall, and we’ll just have to be more patient than usual for carrots and beets, but we’ll have lots of other things to keep us happy.

We should have peas, chard, bunching onions and cukes soon, and zucchini and summer squash soon after that. The green beans and tomatoes are growing beautifully, and the peppers and eggplant are looking good – I can’t wait! Of course, there will be lots of radishes, kale, kohlrabi, cabbage, head lettuce, salad and other fun things between now and then. Yum!

Stay cool this muggy week, and stay out of all these thunderstorms coming our way!

Thanks and Enjoy!

Christa, Mike, and Lizzy

Recipes:

Scallion Pancakes

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

1 bunch scallions                      

1 t salt                                               

1 ½ cups flour                                    

4 eggs                                               

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup water

red wine vinegar

soy sauce

lemon juice

            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.

Glazed Hakurei Turnips

Simple and delicious. Check out http://blog.cookingchanneltv.com/2011/07/16/hakurei-turnips-recipes-and-tips/ for more Hakurei ideas!

2 bunches baby hakurei turnips trimmed, greens reserved

    1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

    3 tablespoons sugar

    Kosher salt

    Place turnips in a large skillet; add water to cover turnips halfway. Add butter, sugar, and a large pinch of salt; bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is syrupy and turnips are tender, about 15 minutes. (If turnips are tender before liquid has reduced, use a slotted spoon to transfer turnips to a plate and reduce liquid until syrupy. Return turnips to pan and stir to coat well.)

From: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/11/glazed-hakurei-turnips#ixzz1yEE4lLTH

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.