No need to "stick your toe in to test the water." You know it is cold. The temperature reached down to 26 degrees early, early Sunday morning for the first frost (and freeze) of the season.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
CSA News, Final Week 22
Thanks from the farm . . .
We want to give you our whole-hearted thanks for your commitment to Elmwood Stock Farm this year. Your partnership with the farm allows us to make plans in advance of the season of how much to grow, how much seed to purchase, how many employees to hire, and orga-nize a true business plan for the farm. This is so different from the unpredictability of sales at farmers markets and wholesale quantity produce markets.
Our belief is that the future of sustaining local, organic farming depends on the direct link from the farm and its products to you and other families making conscious choices to eat healthy and locally. By establishing a relationship with Elmwood through your commitment to share in its production, you are an extremely important partner in this locally-focused community food system. Thank you for the work on your part to pick up your share each week, make time to prepare healthy dishes from whole foods, and even sharing news about the program with friends and neighbors. We will continue to work as hard as we can to grow good food, choose tasty varieties, negotiate challenging weather, and get items to you as clean and fresh as we can!
● Elmwood Stock Farm will continue to attend the Saturday farmers market in downtown Lexington through Thanksgiving, and the Southland Drive Sunday market through Nov. 1 -- we hope to see you there (you can return your boxes or baskets!) We also attend the indoor market, Victorian Square, Lexington, the first Saturday morning of the winter months (Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar) with a few winter veggies, fresh eggs, and organic meats. You can always contact the farm to stock up on items for the pantry or freezer.
● If you are interested in the Fall CSA (Oct-Dec), please visit the website homepage to review details and contact the farm about the few shares that remain.
● We survey our membership each season to help us improve our CSA program. Some things we cannot change (like a warmer climate to grow olives or figs in KY), but we always appreciate your time in sharing your comments. A survey is being sent by email this week – if you need a paper copy mailed, please let us know.
● We are taking signups for our Heritage breed Certified Organic Turkeys. Please visit our website for information on our pastured poultry and contact the farm for details on reserving your holiday season organic heritage turkey.
● After we evaluate records of this year’s production and make any necessary changes, we can open the signup for the 2010 CSA season. You, our current members will get first opportunity to renew your share with the farm. Look for an email this winter!
In Your Share . . .
Items in shares may vary depending on your share size and harvest day. Every share may not have each item listed below.
Beets – organic
We harvested a mixture of Heirloom Chioggia (pink outside, pink and white striped on the inside), Dark Red Beets, Golden Beets, and some Sweet White Beets. They all can be cooked whole, steamed, sautéed, oven-roasted, or pickled.
Roasting brings out a sweet flavor enjoyed by folks who think they don’t care for beets. Refrigerate the beetroots several weeks if desired, but cut off the tops 1-2 inches just above the root for long-time storage. The greens should be used fairly soon, are desirable as a mild salad or cooking green. You can substitute the beet greens in any recipe calling for spinach or Swiss chard. We’ve shared several recipes this season, but find a new recipe below.
Brussels Sprouts – organic
Fresh sprouts have so much flavor and can be prepared various ways. Store refrigerated and try to use within a few days for the tenderest results. As a result of all the rainfall and cloudy days, you will need to remove any loose or discolored leaves from the little sprouts. The easiest way to do this is to slice off the elongated stem. A few of the outer leaves will then fall away more easily. Depending on your preparation technique, you can then score an “x” in the bottom of the larger sprouts for faster and more even cooking.
Cabbage, Green – organic
Enjoy one more share of little green cabbage heads this week. You can sauté, steam, or use in soups. Will store refrigerated for several weeks.
Celery – organic
You may recall from earlier in the season that flavorful celery can be the star of your meal. Visit the blog for soup recipe 8-27-07.
Cucumber
These late cucumbers seemed to have survived the colder temperatures (38 last week, 39 on Sunday night) without damage to flavor or appearance. Have you made Benedictine spread this season? Or, try a sweet salad with the new recipe below. Store refrigerated.
Garlic - organic
Garlic Powder – organic
Included this week is a little packet of our own garlic powder made from our organic hard neck garlic bulbs. We peeled, dried, and ground the cloves into a flavorful powder. Enjoy!
Peppers, Bell
Potatoes – organic
These all-purpose golden potatoes will keep for you if you desire (refrigerated and out of light is best). They hold their shape when cooked and also make great masked potatoes.
Radishes, Spanish Black – organic
Many varieties of radishes are well-liked in Europe and grown all over. Most popular are sandwiches made with thinly sliced breakfast radishes and good butter with freshly baked bread. You can enjoy yours many ways and know that they are interchangeable in most recipes. Have you seen something you want to try that calls for a Daikon radish? Substitute instead. You might want to peel the skin before pre-paring. They will keep in the crisper for weeks.
The greens are also edible and can by used in soups, stews, stir-fry; a great source of Vits. A, C, B and helps to cleanse your blood.
Radishes - organic
Add these Easter Egg and French Breakfast baby radishes to your fresh cucumber salad. You can also oven roast with other root vegetables – peeling the skin is optional. Store refrigerated and don’t forget to throw your radish tops in with your beet greens to get the most nutritional benefit of this healthy item.
Raspberries - organic
Squash, Acorn
This item will keep well for you, no need to refrigerate until you cut into it. We’ve included a recipe below that has proved quite popular over the years – you may have seen different versions, but it still remains a tried and true favorite!
Squash, Spaghetti
Squash, Yellow Summer
Turnips, Purple Top White - organic
Recipes to Enjoy . . .
Pickled Beets, a Martha Stewart recipe
2 to 3 red or golden beets
1 Thai chile pepper (optional)
1 C rice vinegar
¼ C sugar
1 bay leaf
½ tsp black peppercorns
Slice beets thinly and transfer to a jar. Split chile in half. Bring chile and remaining ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour hot mixture over beets. Seal jar, and refrigerate. Beets will keep for 1 month.
Stewed Beet Greens, a Martha Stewart recipe
Reserved beet stems and green from pickled beets
2 T olive oil
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp coarse salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
1T fresh lemon juice
Thinly slice beet stems, rinse well and drain. Coarsely chop beet greens, rinse well and drain. Recipe expects 3 cups of stems and greens. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring often until translucent and tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute.
Raise heat to medium-high. Add beet stems; cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper. Stir in lemon juice, and serve.
Sweet Cucumber Salad Recipe
Thanks to a CSA member for sharing this tasty Cooks Garden recipe earlier this season.
2 cucumbers, thinly sliced
1/8 C rice wine vinegar
¼ C extra virgin olive oil
1 T sugar
1 T soy sauce
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
fresh chopped dill, as garnish
Thinly slice 2 cucumbers and place in bowl. Add in vinegar, olive oil, sugar, soy sauce, and pepper. Stir thoroughly to coat cucumbers. Garnish with dill. Allow to marinate an hour or more before serving.
Baked Acorn Squash with Apricot Preserves
internet recipe from allrecipes.com
1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
salt, to taste
2 tsp butter
3 T apricot preserves
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place squash halves cut side down in a baking dish. Fill the dish with water to a depth of ¼ inch. Bake 40 minutes in a preheated oven. Remove squash from oven and set oven to broil. Turn squash cut side up in dish and season lightly with salt. Place 1 tsp butter and 1 ½ T preserves in each squash half. Return to oven and broil 5 minutes or until butter is melted and squash is lightly browned.
We want to give you our whole-hearted thanks for your commitment to Elmwood Stock Farm this year. Your partnership with the farm allows us to make plans in advance of the season of how much to grow, how much seed to purchase, how many employees to hire, and orga-nize a true business plan for the farm. This is so different from the unpredictability of sales at farmers markets and wholesale quantity produce markets.
Our belief is that the future of sustaining local, organic farming depends on the direct link from the farm and its products to you and other families making conscious choices to eat healthy and locally. By establishing a relationship with Elmwood through your commitment to share in its production, you are an extremely important partner in this locally-focused community food system. Thank you for the work on your part to pick up your share each week, make time to prepare healthy dishes from whole foods, and even sharing news about the program with friends and neighbors. We will continue to work as hard as we can to grow good food, choose tasty varieties, negotiate challenging weather, and get items to you as clean and fresh as we can!
● Elmwood Stock Farm will continue to attend the Saturday farmers market in downtown Lexington through Thanksgiving, and the Southland Drive Sunday market through Nov. 1 -- we hope to see you there (you can return your boxes or baskets!) We also attend the indoor market, Victorian Square, Lexington, the first Saturday morning of the winter months (Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar) with a few winter veggies, fresh eggs, and organic meats. You can always contact the farm to stock up on items for the pantry or freezer.
● If you are interested in the Fall CSA (Oct-Dec), please visit the website homepage to review details and contact the farm about the few shares that remain.
● We survey our membership each season to help us improve our CSA program. Some things we cannot change (like a warmer climate to grow olives or figs in KY), but we always appreciate your time in sharing your comments. A survey is being sent by email this week – if you need a paper copy mailed, please let us know.
● We are taking signups for our Heritage breed Certified Organic Turkeys. Please visit our website for information on our pastured poultry and contact the farm for details on reserving your holiday season organic heritage turkey.
● After we evaluate records of this year’s production and make any necessary changes, we can open the signup for the 2010 CSA season. You, our current members will get first opportunity to renew your share with the farm. Look for an email this winter!
In Your Share . . .
Items in shares may vary depending on your share size and harvest day. Every share may not have each item listed below.
Beets – organic
We harvested a mixture of Heirloom Chioggia (pink outside, pink and white striped on the inside), Dark Red Beets, Golden Beets, and some Sweet White Beets. They all can be cooked whole, steamed, sautéed, oven-roasted, or pickled.
Roasting brings out a sweet flavor enjoyed by folks who think they don’t care for beets. Refrigerate the beetroots several weeks if desired, but cut off the tops 1-2 inches just above the root for long-time storage. The greens should be used fairly soon, are desirable as a mild salad or cooking green. You can substitute the beet greens in any recipe calling for spinach or Swiss chard. We’ve shared several recipes this season, but find a new recipe below.
Brussels Sprouts – organic
Fresh sprouts have so much flavor and can be prepared various ways. Store refrigerated and try to use within a few days for the tenderest results. As a result of all the rainfall and cloudy days, you will need to remove any loose or discolored leaves from the little sprouts. The easiest way to do this is to slice off the elongated stem. A few of the outer leaves will then fall away more easily. Depending on your preparation technique, you can then score an “x” in the bottom of the larger sprouts for faster and more even cooking.
Cabbage, Green – organic
Enjoy one more share of little green cabbage heads this week. You can sauté, steam, or use in soups. Will store refrigerated for several weeks.
Celery – organic
You may recall from earlier in the season that flavorful celery can be the star of your meal. Visit the blog for soup recipe 8-27-07.
Cucumber
These late cucumbers seemed to have survived the colder temperatures (38 last week, 39 on Sunday night) without damage to flavor or appearance. Have you made Benedictine spread this season? Or, try a sweet salad with the new recipe below. Store refrigerated.
Garlic - organic
Garlic Powder – organic
Included this week is a little packet of our own garlic powder made from our organic hard neck garlic bulbs. We peeled, dried, and ground the cloves into a flavorful powder. Enjoy!
Peppers, Bell
Potatoes – organic
These all-purpose golden potatoes will keep for you if you desire (refrigerated and out of light is best). They hold their shape when cooked and also make great masked potatoes.
Radishes, Spanish Black – organic
Many varieties of radishes are well-liked in Europe and grown all over. Most popular are sandwiches made with thinly sliced breakfast radishes and good butter with freshly baked bread. You can enjoy yours many ways and know that they are interchangeable in most recipes. Have you seen something you want to try that calls for a Daikon radish? Substitute instead. You might want to peel the skin before pre-paring. They will keep in the crisper for weeks.
The greens are also edible and can by used in soups, stews, stir-fry; a great source of Vits. A, C, B and helps to cleanse your blood.
Radishes - organic
Add these Easter Egg and French Breakfast baby radishes to your fresh cucumber salad. You can also oven roast with other root vegetables – peeling the skin is optional. Store refrigerated and don’t forget to throw your radish tops in with your beet greens to get the most nutritional benefit of this healthy item.
Raspberries - organic
Squash, Acorn
This item will keep well for you, no need to refrigerate until you cut into it. We’ve included a recipe below that has proved quite popular over the years – you may have seen different versions, but it still remains a tried and true favorite!
Squash, Spaghetti
Squash, Yellow Summer
Turnips, Purple Top White - organic
Recipes to Enjoy . . .
Pickled Beets, a Martha Stewart recipe
2 to 3 red or golden beets
1 Thai chile pepper (optional)
1 C rice vinegar
¼ C sugar
1 bay leaf
½ tsp black peppercorns
Slice beets thinly and transfer to a jar. Split chile in half. Bring chile and remaining ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour hot mixture over beets. Seal jar, and refrigerate. Beets will keep for 1 month.
Stewed Beet Greens, a Martha Stewart recipe
Reserved beet stems and green from pickled beets
2 T olive oil
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp coarse salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
1T fresh lemon juice
Thinly slice beet stems, rinse well and drain. Coarsely chop beet greens, rinse well and drain. Recipe expects 3 cups of stems and greens. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring often until translucent and tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute.
Raise heat to medium-high. Add beet stems; cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper. Stir in lemon juice, and serve.
Sweet Cucumber Salad Recipe
Thanks to a CSA member for sharing this tasty Cooks Garden recipe earlier this season.
2 cucumbers, thinly sliced
1/8 C rice wine vinegar
¼ C extra virgin olive oil
1 T sugar
1 T soy sauce
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
fresh chopped dill, as garnish
Thinly slice 2 cucumbers and place in bowl. Add in vinegar, olive oil, sugar, soy sauce, and pepper. Stir thoroughly to coat cucumbers. Garnish with dill. Allow to marinate an hour or more before serving.
Baked Acorn Squash with Apricot Preserves
internet recipe from allrecipes.com
1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
salt, to taste
2 tsp butter
3 T apricot preserves
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place squash halves cut side down in a baking dish. Fill the dish with water to a depth of ¼ inch. Bake 40 minutes in a preheated oven. Remove squash from oven and set oven to broil. Turn squash cut side up in dish and season lightly with salt. Place 1 tsp butter and 1 ½ T preserves in each squash half. Return to oven and broil 5 minutes or until butter is melted and squash is lightly browned.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Week 21, CSA
From the Farm . . .
Garlic – organic
Horseradish Root – organic
Okra - organic
Peppers, Bell
Potatoes – organic – new varieties this week!
Find both the all-blue small potatoes along with a fingerling variety called Austrian Crescent. These are both waxy, moist flesh potatoes that are best prepared either roasted or steamed.
Raspberries - organic
Squash, Yellow Summer
1 C onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 C butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½ inch pieces
½ C vegetable or chicken broth
½ C white wine or additional broth
4 C water or broth for cooking orzo
1 C orzo
½ C Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
2 T fresh sage, chopped
In a large fry pan, sauté onion over medium heat in 1 T oil until tender, about 6 minutes. Add and sauté garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add squash and stir to coat. Add broth and wine and simmer until squash is almost tender and liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring 4 C water or broth to a boil in a large saucepan and add orzo. Boil until tender but still firm to bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, transfer to a large bowl. Stir in squash mixture. Stir in cheese and sage. Salt and pepper to taste.
Crustless Eggplant Pie
from Mark Bittman’s The Best Recipes in the World
2 pounds eggplant
salt and black pepper to taste
1/3 C extra virgin olive oil, plus little more
1 large onion, chopped
2 red or yellow bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and sliced
½ C chopped pitted olives, optional
½ C chopped fresh basil leaves
5 eggs
½ C grated firm, but not dry cheese (Gruyere, Cheddar, Cantal)
¼ C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ C breadcrumbs (optional)
Peel eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes, and place in colander. Sprinkle liberally with salt, toss to distribute the salt. Let sit in a sink or over a bowl, undisturbed, for at least 30 and preferably 60 minutes. It will shed a great deal of liquid. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can, rinse with fresh water, and pat dry.
Butter a casserole dish large enough to hold the filling comfortably. Put the mixture in, sprinkle with breadcrumbs if desired (optional) and bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes, until almost firm. The center should still jiggle a little, but a thin-bladed knife inserted near the edge will come out clean.
Roasted Garlic Sauce
After a full week of rain, we are glad to see a little sunshine at the farm again. Several of the summer veggies are winding up their final harvest as we move to harvest more cool weather crops for next week’s share. Next week will be your final share of the summer season. Please return your boxes to your pickup location – and you may consider bringing your own containers next week to take home your last share.
If you are interested in continuing with the Fall Share, visit the homepage of our website for details.
And this photograph is a reminder that Elmwood will be at the Saturday morning farmers market downtown Lexington through Thanksgiving AND at the Sunday, Southland Drive farmers market in Lexington through October. We hope to see you there!
In Your Share . . .
Items may vary depending on your share size and harvest day. Each share may not contain every item listed below.
Beans, Green - organic
Find a handful of stringless green beans for a nice end-of-summer treat. Add a little bell pepper or a few potatoes for a nice extra.
Celery – organic
You may recall from earlier in the season that flavorful celery can be the star of your meal. Visit the blog for soup recipe Aug 27, 2007.
You may recall from earlier in the season that flavorful celery can be the star of your meal. Visit the blog for soup recipe Aug 27, 2007.
Chard, Rainbow Swiss - organic
Enjoy one more bunch of Swiss chard this week. You can sauté or steam for a quick side veggie, or use in soups. Remember that you can substitute in any recipe that calls for spinach or kale greens. Refrigerate.
Cabbage, Green - organic
Find a couple of small heads of green cabbage. You can saute, steam, or use in soups. You can refrigerate for up to a month.
Eggplant
Garlic – organic
Herb, Fresh – Sage, Rosemary & Thyme – organic
Horseradish Root – organic
If you have never seen fresh horseradish root before, process of elimination will identify it as the whitish, curly root. Store refrigerated for several weeks if not ready to use soon. To prepare, peel the skin (optional) and use either a hand grater or food processor to grate into fine pieces. Add some white vinegar and store in a sealed container or jar in your refrigerator. As the root is exposed to air, the heat will begin to mellow; so to retain the most heat, add the vinegar as quickly as possible after grating. Add your prepared horse-radish to ketchup for homemade cocktail sauce; add to mayonnaise for a spicy spread for meats or roasted vegetables on sandwiches or wraps.
Okra - organic
Peppers, Bell
Potatoes – organic – new varieties this week!
Find both the all-blue small potatoes along with a fingerling variety called Austrian Crescent. These are both waxy, moist flesh potatoes that are best prepared either roasted or steamed.
Raspberries - organic
Squash, Butternut – new this week!
The oblong shaped, peanut colored, hard squash is a butternut, a great “keeper” for the fall season. No need to refrigerate, can be stored for several weeks. You need a big knife to cut, and the flesh goes all the way up into the neck. To make a little easier to handle, cut it in half just above the bulb part, then cut each of those halves lengthwise. Remove the seeds and bake in a covered baking dish, with some water in the pan, at 350° degrees for 40 to 60 minutes depending on the amount of squash your have. Use the cooked squash in many recipes. You can refrigerate or freeze at this point for use in soup later on.
The oblong shaped, peanut colored, hard squash is a butternut, a great “keeper” for the fall season. No need to refrigerate, can be stored for several weeks. You need a big knife to cut, and the flesh goes all the way up into the neck. To make a little easier to handle, cut it in half just above the bulb part, then cut each of those halves lengthwise. Remove the seeds and bake in a covered baking dish, with some water in the pan, at 350° degrees for 40 to 60 minutes depending on the amount of squash your have. Use the cooked squash in many recipes. You can refrigerate or freeze at this point for use in soup later on.
Squash, Spaghetti
Squash, Yellow Summer
Recipes to Enjoy . . .
Butternut Sage Orzo
from Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert’s Simply In Season, serves 4
1 C onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 C butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½ inch pieces
½ C vegetable or chicken broth
½ C white wine or additional broth
4 C water or broth for cooking orzo
1 C orzo
½ C Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
2 T fresh sage, chopped
In a large fry pan, sauté onion over medium heat in 1 T oil until tender, about 6 minutes. Add and sauté garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add squash and stir to coat. Add broth and wine and simmer until squash is almost tender and liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring 4 C water or broth to a boil in a large saucepan and add orzo. Boil until tender but still firm to bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, transfer to a large bowl. Stir in squash mixture. Stir in cheese and sage. Salt and pepper to taste.
Crustless Eggplant Pie
from Mark Bittman’s The Best Recipes in the World
2 pounds eggplant
salt and black pepper to taste
1/3 C extra virgin olive oil, plus little more
1 large onion, chopped
2 red or yellow bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and sliced
½ C chopped pitted olives, optional
½ C chopped fresh basil leaves
5 eggs
½ C grated firm, but not dry cheese (Gruyere, Cheddar, Cantal)
¼ C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ C breadcrumbs (optional)
Peel eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes, and place in colander. Sprinkle liberally with salt, toss to distribute the salt. Let sit in a sink or over a bowl, undisturbed, for at least 30 and preferably 60 minutes. It will shed a great deal of liquid. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can, rinse with fresh water, and pat dry.
Put oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Two minutes later, add the onion and bell peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the eggplant and cook until all the vegetables are softened, 10 minutes or longer. Stir in the olives if you are using them, taste and adjust seasonings. Cool slightly and combine with basil, eggs and cheeses.
Butter a casserole dish large enough to hold the filling comfortably. Put the mixture in, sprinkle with breadcrumbs if desired (optional) and bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes, until almost firm. The center should still jiggle a little, but a thin-bladed knife inserted near the edge will come out clean.
Roasted Garlic Sauce
serve with roasted vegetables or as a dip for raw vegetables
1 whole garlic bulb
1 T olive oil
¾ C plain yogurt
Remove loose papery layers from outside of a whole garlic bulb but do not peel. Slice off top of the bulb, exposing the tip of each clove. Place on a square of aluminum foil and drizzle with 1 T olive oil or just season with salt and pepper. Wrap tightly and bake with roasted vegetables (try potatoes, butternut squash cubes, beets, turnips, radishes) 425° for 30-45 minutes until tender. Squeeze soft roasted cloves into a small bowl, mash with fork, and stir in yogurt.
Fresh Applesauce with Horseradish
from Barbara Kafka’s Vegetable Love
8 apples, cored, peeled and cut into eighths
4 T unsalted butter
1 scant tsp kosher salt
½ C prepared horseradish, vinegar drained
In a large saucepan, cook the apples with the butter and 2 T water for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender.
Place the apple mixture in a food processor and puree. When smooth, add the salt and horseradish and pulse to mix. Makes 5 cups.
1 T olive oil
¾ C plain yogurt
Remove loose papery layers from outside of a whole garlic bulb but do not peel. Slice off top of the bulb, exposing the tip of each clove. Place on a square of aluminum foil and drizzle with 1 T olive oil or just season with salt and pepper. Wrap tightly and bake with roasted vegetables (try potatoes, butternut squash cubes, beets, turnips, radishes) 425° for 30-45 minutes until tender. Squeeze soft roasted cloves into a small bowl, mash with fork, and stir in yogurt.
Fresh Applesauce with Horseradish
from Barbara Kafka’s Vegetable Love
8 apples, cored, peeled and cut into eighths
4 T unsalted butter
1 scant tsp kosher salt
½ C prepared horseradish, vinegar drained
In a large saucepan, cook the apples with the butter and 2 T water for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender.
Place the apple mixture in a food processor and puree. When smooth, add the salt and horseradish and pulse to mix. Makes 5 cups.
Monday, September 21, 2009
CSA News, Week 20
From the FarmWe started the fall potato harvest this week. A few years ago, we acquired an antiquated potato harvester that cuts underneath the soil and brings the potatoes up into the machine where we can pick out rocks; cull potatoes, and plant material from the good potatoes that then fall into a large bin. It was probably used for baking potatoes as smaller potatoes fall through; so we still walk the rows to hand gather all of the potatoes pulled up to the surface.
In Your Share . . .
Items in shares may vary depending on your share size and harvest day. Each share may not have every item listed.
Bean, Half Runner - organic
Find some beans this week, an unexpected harvest from the last planting. Refrigerate.
Beets – organic, new this week for all the shares!
This week’s beets may be white, red, golden, or a pinkish rose color. The rose skinned beet has a striped flesh inside: Chioggia variety. Each color has similar beet flavor and makes a striking dish when prepared. You can also enjoy the beet tops in any recipe that calls for spinach, kale or chard. Store your tops and beetroots separately and use your tops soon while they are fresh. The beetroots will keep for several weeks in the crisper area of your refrigerator.
Cucumber
It seems this late in the season that some items will never be ready to harvest (we’ve been watching these cucumbers for several weeks). But definitely worth the wait. Though late in the year, they have a crisp flavor and the skin is not yet bitter since this is the first harvest from the last planting. Refrigerate to prevent dehydration as cucumbers are mostly made up of water.
Herb, Fresh – Sweet Basil – organic
Peppers, Bell
This week find both a sweet red bell and the little more tart green bell pepper. We wrote before about the ripening process of the pepper plant. They have high levels of Vits. A, C, E and iron and potassium. Store refrigerated. You can also freeze peppers either whole, chopped, or cut into strips for use later on.
Potatoes – organic
Raspberries - organic
Squash, Acorn
No need to refrigerate, can be stored for a few weeks.
Squash, Yellow Summer
Garlic – organic
Lettuce – organic
Radishes, French Breakfast – organic
Radishes, Easter Egg - organic
Radishes, Black Spanish - organic
Radishes are well-liked in Europe and grown all over. Most popular are the sandwiches made with thinly sliced breakfast radishes and good butter with freshly baked bread.
You can enjoy many ways and know that radishes are interchangeable in most recipes. Have you seen something you want to try that calls for a Daikon radish? Substitute instead.
The greens are also edible and can by used in soups, stews, stir-fry, and more. They are a great source of Vits. A, C, and Bs and help to cleanse your blood.
Recipes to Enjoy . . .
Best Acorn Squash
Thanks to a CSA member who pulled this from The Joy of Cooking. She says, "Hands down, the best squash dish I've ever had.”
Preheat oven to 375°F. Scrub acorn squash and place on a rack. Bake until it can be pierced easily with a wooden pick (1 to 1.5 hours). Cut in halves; remove seeds. Peel the squash and mash the pulp.
For each cup of squash, add:
1 T butter
1 tsp brown sugar
¼ tsp t salt
1/8 tsp ginger
enough orange juice mixed in to make a good consistency
Place in a serving dish. Sprinkle on top:
raisins or nutmeats
¼ C crushed pineapple
Squash Casserole
Thanks to a CSA member for this recipe. She says, “It is truly delicious and I was genuinely amazed at how well it turned out - pretty easy to prepare, and it doesn't last long once its on the table. A real winner.” Serves 6.
1 lb squash
1 large sweet onion
1 egg
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ to ¾ C mayonnaise
½ to ¾ C parmesan cheesebread crumbs or Ritz-style cracker crumbs for topping
1/3 C butter, melted
Slice squash into bite-sized pieces and dice onion. Boil or steam together until just soft (5-8 minutes). Meanwhile, mix egg, mayo, Parmesan, salt and pepper in a bowl until well blended. Pour cooked onion and squash into a casserole dish and pour Parmesan mixture on top. Stir gently to cover vegetables. Sprinkle with enough bread or cracker crumbs to cover the mixture and then sprinkle all over with melted margarine. Bake, uncovered, at 350 F for 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
Roasted Beet Salad with Beet Greens
Recipe from Bon Appetit magazine, makes 6 servings, beets can be roasted the day ahead and refrigerated
6 medium beets with beet greens attached
2 large oranges
1 small sweet onion, cut into thin wedges
For dressing:
1/3 C red wine vinegar
¼ C extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp grated orange peel
Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim greens from beets. Coarsely chop leaves and stems, reserve. Wrap each beet in foil. Place beets directly on oven rack and roast until tender when pierced with fork, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Cool. Peel beets, then cut each into 8 wedges. Place beets in medium bowl.
Cook beet greens in large saucepan of boiling water just until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Cool. Squeeze greens to remove excess moisture. Add greens to bowl with beets. Cut peel and white pith from oranges. Working over another bowl and using small sharp knife, cut between membranes to release segments. Add orange segments and onion to bowl with beet mixture. Whisk vinegar, oil, garlic, and orange peel in small bowl to blend; add to beet mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.
Flourless Chocolate Beet Cake
Though a little unusual to plan beets for dessert, we don’t bat en eye when thinking of carrot cake or zucchini bread. This recipe is absent any flour so will be dense and chocolaty = yummy! Thanks to a friend of the farm for suggesting this recipe she loves; found online at just braise (dot) com.
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
6 T butter
¼ C sugar
1 tsp orange zest
1 egg, separated plus 2 egg whites
salt
1 ½ C grated (cooked) beets plus 2 T cooking juice
¼ C cocoa powder
Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter an 8-inch cake pan, line it with parchment paper and butter the parchment paper. In a double boiler set over medium heat, melt the chocolate and butter. With an electric mixer, begin beating egg whites with a pinch of salt and the beet juice. As whites build, add the sugar, egg yolk and zest into the chocolate mixture, stirring to incorporate evenly. Add grated beets to the chocolate and incorporate. Gently fold in the egg whites and cocoa powder until just combined. Pour into the buttered cake pan and bake 25 minutes in the center of the oven. Cake is ready when a toothpick comes out clean on the sides, but slightly wet in the middle. Removefrom the oven and let cool 5 minutes. Invert the cake on a plate and refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Week 19, CSA
From the Farm . . .
There are a few more details we can share with you about crop production this season. As we mentioned in an earlier news report, the rainy weather is much preferred over drought conditions; it just brings its own set of challenges to the farm. Plant diseases are more prevalent and spread rapidly without enough of the sun’s solarization that helps kill disease spores. Even farms with regular chemical usage have found it difficult to eliminate airborne diseases. Cloudy conditions with heavy morning dew, cool temperatures, and regular rains encourage weed growth (as we shared earlier with you), promote high insect activity, and reduces the ripening times for warm-weather loving peppers, tomatoes, squashes, and other items.
From the farm’s perspective, the onions this season are disappointing to us in respect to the extremely low yield of good quality onions we were able to dry after harvesting the entire crop. Like the garlic, the onions require a lot of attention and labor to grow organically. Rather than using onion sets in the spring you see available locally (not organically grown), we must start onions from organic seed. We prepare our own transplants (not direct sown into the field) requiring greenhouse space, potting soil, someone’s time to handle each seed individually and then daily monitoring of the watering – this is during the late summer to put out in the fall. We keep weeded and mulch with straw over the winter. In the spring, we continue with weeding and fertilization to encourage the onion bulbs to size up for summer harvest. This year many onions had soft spots due to the summer rains keeping the soil so moist, and unfortunately could not be dried out to be edible. The smaller onions tended to dry better than any of the larger ones, reflected in your shares. We know that nationwide, many onion growers experienced this similar situation with wet soil conditions this year.
On the other hand, with summer rains we did not have to put so much work into irrigation as the last two years. Water-loving crops like cucumbers, beans, squashes, and tomatoes were still set up on the drip irrigation system to ensure their needs were met, but we did not have to set up pipe and move lines on root crops, early greens, sweet corn, potatoes, berries and herbs. This allows time for other work and reduces the long hours of keeping the water pumps going around the clock.
The fall raspberries have been producing well for only their first harvest season. We experienced bird pressure last month but in recent weeks the birds have backed off a little (maybe the tine thorns on the berry briars have something to do with it?) The raspberries seem to be one of the most fragile items on the farm with the shortest “shelf-life”. This term refers to the time period from harvest to when something is prepared or eaten. Grocery stores want items with a long shelf life so they have more days to sell their inventory. Raspberries taste best when picked really ripe – so days to keep before eating may be as few as one or two. Store refrigerated if you do store them. Or, lie out on a baking sheet in the freezer; once individually frozen, gather up in another container for efficient freezer storage to enjoy this winter.
In Your Share . . .
Shares may vary depending on your share size and harvest day. Each share may not have every item listed below.
Brussels Sprouts - organic
Store refrigerated and remember to cut the ends removing the outer wrapper leaves before preparing.
Corn, Sweet
This is really the last of the season – we are taking down the electric raccoon fence this week also – it seems to work as well as anything we have tried the last few years. We removed ends that may be damaged. Store refrigerated until ready to prepare.
Eggplant
Garlic – organic
Lettuce – organic
With cooler temperatures we have some lettuces ready for harvest this week. We sure have missed it this summer and you probably have also! We planted a mix of several varieties and your share may have a red or green head. Store refrigerated.
Onions, Red - organic
Potatoes – organic
These all-purpose cranberry all-red potatoes are wonderful baked. You can also boil to serve with a little herbs and butter, or make potato salad. Try slicing, coating with olive oil, and oven-roasting at a high temperature for more healthy French fries.
Raspberries - organic
Squash, Spaghetti
Store this hard skin squash in your pantry until ready to use, as this item will keep for you for weeks. Boil whole; or halve and bake with flesh side down in a little water until done; remove seeds, then enjoy with a little butter, fresh pesto, or your favorite pasta sauce.
Tomatoes – organic
Most likely this is the last tomato harvest of the season, one to enjoy with your lettuce salad this week.
Beets – organic
This week’s beets may be white, red, golden, or the pink skinned, striped flesh Chioggia variety. Each color has similar beet flavor and makes a striking dish when prepared. You can also enjoy the beet tops in any recipe that calls for spinach, kale or chard. Store your beet tops and beetroots separately and use your tops soon while they are fresh. The beetroots will keep for several weeks in the crisper area of your refrigerator.
Herb, Fresh – organic – Rosemary and Tarragon
Okra - organic
Recipes to Enjoy . . .
Spaghetti Squash and Shrimp or Scallops
Thanks to a CSA member who shared this great recipe! She was thrilled that her whole family really enjoyed this one-dish meal. You can use your beet tops this week if desired.
1 med. spaghetti squash (about 3 lbs.)
¼ C olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
½ pound shrimp, shelled and cleaned (or scallops)
2 T lemon juice
1 ½ T fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 sm. tomatoes, chopped
1 lg. bunch watercress or ½ bag spinach, washed
¼ C toasted pine nuts (optional)
1 C crumbled Feta or grated Parmesan cheese
Cut squash lengthwise; bake face down on oiled cookie sheet at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until easily pierced by fork. Cool; scoop out insides. Heat oil and sauté garlic. Add shrimp, lemon juice, and spices. Sauté, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and watercress or spinach and cook 1 minute longer until vegetables are wilted. Add pine nuts and cheese and toss with squash. Serve heaped in squash shells or individual casseroles. Makes 2 generous servings.
Brussels Sprouts with Orange Butter
Recipe from Bluegrass Winners
2 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts
½ C unsalted butter
juice and zest of 1 orange
1 tsp Dijon type mustard
cracked black pepper to taste
Remove outer leaves and trim bases of sprouts. Rinse and score stems with an “X” to cook more evenly. Steam for 5 to 10 minutes until just tender and still bright green.
Melt butter in large sauté pan; add orange juice, zest, and mustard. Add sprouts to the sauce and coat. Outer leaves of the sprouts will begin to caramelize, yielding a lovely brown color. Serve immediately. Recipe serves 6 to 8, can be adjusted for quantity of sprouts on hand.
Eggplant Cakes
2 eggplant (roasted and mashed)
¼ C mayonnaise (preferable from scratch)
½ C whole wheat bread crumbs
¼ C chopped fresh parsley
Salt & fresh ground black pepper
1 whole egg (for breading)
¼ C whole wheat bread crumbs (for breading)
¼ C all purpose flower (for breading)
Cut both eggplants in half lengthwise, using a paring knife score the inside of the eggplant in a checkerboard pattern. Place the eggplants flesh side up in a sheet pant. Brush the eggplants with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 375 for thirty to forty-five minutes until golden brown, and allow cooling. Using a spoon, scrape the meat away from the skin and lightly mash.
In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the eggplant, mayonnaise, breadcrumbs, and parsley. Mix to combine and season with salt and pepper, refrigerate for ½ hr.
For breading; place the flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs on three separate plates. Using your hands, form golf ball sized balls out of the cooled eggplant mixture. Lightly coat the balls first in flour, then egg wash, and finally bread crumbs. Using light pressure flatten the balls into discs. In a medium sized sauté pan on medium heat, carefully brown both sides of the cakes in vegetable oil. Drain on paper towels and season again with a touch of salt.
There are a few more details we can share with you about crop production this season. As we mentioned in an earlier news report, the rainy weather is much preferred over drought conditions; it just brings its own set of challenges to the farm. Plant diseases are more prevalent and spread rapidly without enough of the sun’s solarization that helps kill disease spores. Even farms with regular chemical usage have found it difficult to eliminate airborne diseases. Cloudy conditions with heavy morning dew, cool temperatures, and regular rains encourage weed growth (as we shared earlier with you), promote high insect activity, and reduces the ripening times for warm-weather loving peppers, tomatoes, squashes, and other items.
From the farm’s perspective, the onions this season are disappointing to us in respect to the extremely low yield of good quality onions we were able to dry after harvesting the entire crop. Like the garlic, the onions require a lot of attention and labor to grow organically. Rather than using onion sets in the spring you see available locally (not organically grown), we must start onions from organic seed. We prepare our own transplants (not direct sown into the field) requiring greenhouse space, potting soil, someone’s time to handle each seed individually and then daily monitoring of the watering – this is during the late summer to put out in the fall. We keep weeded and mulch with straw over the winter. In the spring, we continue with weeding and fertilization to encourage the onion bulbs to size up for summer harvest. This year many onions had soft spots due to the summer rains keeping the soil so moist, and unfortunately could not be dried out to be edible. The smaller onions tended to dry better than any of the larger ones, reflected in your shares. We know that nationwide, many onion growers experienced this similar situation with wet soil conditions this year.
On the other hand, with summer rains we did not have to put so much work into irrigation as the last two years. Water-loving crops like cucumbers, beans, squashes, and tomatoes were still set up on the drip irrigation system to ensure their needs were met, but we did not have to set up pipe and move lines on root crops, early greens, sweet corn, potatoes, berries and herbs. This allows time for other work and reduces the long hours of keeping the water pumps going around the clock.
The fall raspberries have been producing well for only their first harvest season. We experienced bird pressure last month but in recent weeks the birds have backed off a little (maybe the tine thorns on the berry briars have something to do with it?) The raspberries seem to be one of the most fragile items on the farm with the shortest “shelf-life”. This term refers to the time period from harvest to when something is prepared or eaten. Grocery stores want items with a long shelf life so they have more days to sell their inventory. Raspberries taste best when picked really ripe – so days to keep before eating may be as few as one or two. Store refrigerated if you do store them. Or, lie out on a baking sheet in the freezer; once individually frozen, gather up in another container for efficient freezer storage to enjoy this winter.
In Your Share . . .
Shares may vary depending on your share size and harvest day. Each share may not have every item listed below.
Brussels Sprouts - organic
Store refrigerated and remember to cut the ends removing the outer wrapper leaves before preparing.
Corn, Sweet
This is really the last of the season – we are taking down the electric raccoon fence this week also – it seems to work as well as anything we have tried the last few years. We removed ends that may be damaged. Store refrigerated until ready to prepare.
Eggplant
Garlic – organic
Lettuce – organic
With cooler temperatures we have some lettuces ready for harvest this week. We sure have missed it this summer and you probably have also! We planted a mix of several varieties and your share may have a red or green head. Store refrigerated.
Onions, Red - organic
Potatoes – organic
These all-purpose cranberry all-red potatoes are wonderful baked. You can also boil to serve with a little herbs and butter, or make potato salad. Try slicing, coating with olive oil, and oven-roasting at a high temperature for more healthy French fries.
Raspberries - organic
Squash, Spaghetti
Store this hard skin squash in your pantry until ready to use, as this item will keep for you for weeks. Boil whole; or halve and bake with flesh side down in a little water until done; remove seeds, then enjoy with a little butter, fresh pesto, or your favorite pasta sauce.
Tomatoes – organic
Most likely this is the last tomato harvest of the season, one to enjoy with your lettuce salad this week.
Beets – organic
This week’s beets may be white, red, golden, or the pink skinned, striped flesh Chioggia variety. Each color has similar beet flavor and makes a striking dish when prepared. You can also enjoy the beet tops in any recipe that calls for spinach, kale or chard. Store your beet tops and beetroots separately and use your tops soon while they are fresh. The beetroots will keep for several weeks in the crisper area of your refrigerator.
Herb, Fresh – organic – Rosemary and Tarragon
Okra - organic
Recipes to Enjoy . . .
Spaghetti Squash and Shrimp or Scallops
Thanks to a CSA member who shared this great recipe! She was thrilled that her whole family really enjoyed this one-dish meal. You can use your beet tops this week if desired.
1 med. spaghetti squash (about 3 lbs.)
¼ C olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
½ pound shrimp, shelled and cleaned (or scallops)
2 T lemon juice
1 ½ T fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 sm. tomatoes, chopped
1 lg. bunch watercress or ½ bag spinach, washed
¼ C toasted pine nuts (optional)
1 C crumbled Feta or grated Parmesan cheese
Cut squash lengthwise; bake face down on oiled cookie sheet at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until easily pierced by fork. Cool; scoop out insides. Heat oil and sauté garlic. Add shrimp, lemon juice, and spices. Sauté, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and watercress or spinach and cook 1 minute longer until vegetables are wilted. Add pine nuts and cheese and toss with squash. Serve heaped in squash shells or individual casseroles. Makes 2 generous servings.
Brussels Sprouts with Orange Butter
Recipe from Bluegrass Winners
2 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts
½ C unsalted butter
juice and zest of 1 orange
1 tsp Dijon type mustard
cracked black pepper to taste
Remove outer leaves and trim bases of sprouts. Rinse and score stems with an “X” to cook more evenly. Steam for 5 to 10 minutes until just tender and still bright green.
Melt butter in large sauté pan; add orange juice, zest, and mustard. Add sprouts to the sauce and coat. Outer leaves of the sprouts will begin to caramelize, yielding a lovely brown color. Serve immediately. Recipe serves 6 to 8, can be adjusted for quantity of sprouts on hand.
Eggplant Cakes
2 eggplant (roasted and mashed)
¼ C mayonnaise (preferable from scratch)
½ C whole wheat bread crumbs
¼ C chopped fresh parsley
Salt & fresh ground black pepper
1 whole egg (for breading)
¼ C whole wheat bread crumbs (for breading)
¼ C all purpose flower (for breading)
Cut both eggplants in half lengthwise, using a paring knife score the inside of the eggplant in a checkerboard pattern. Place the eggplants flesh side up in a sheet pant. Brush the eggplants with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 375 for thirty to forty-five minutes until golden brown, and allow cooling. Using a spoon, scrape the meat away from the skin and lightly mash.
In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the eggplant, mayonnaise, breadcrumbs, and parsley. Mix to combine and season with salt and pepper, refrigerate for ½ hr.
For breading; place the flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs on three separate plates. Using your hands, form golf ball sized balls out of the cooled eggplant mixture. Lightly coat the balls first in flour, then egg wash, and finally bread crumbs. Using light pressure flatten the balls into discs. In a medium sized sauté pan on medium heat, carefully brown both sides of the cakes in vegetable oil. Drain on paper towels and season again with a touch of salt.
Monday, September 7, 2009
CSA News Week 18
From the Farm . . .
It has been a little while since we gave you a crop report from the farm. We have been very busy with harvesting, seeding, harvesting, transplanting, harvesting, weeding, weeding, weeding. Well, you get the picture.
The wonderful spring and summer rain gives everything an equal opportunity to grow and flourish – including both perennial and annual weeds. In the spring we plant ryegrass between some crop rows to crowd out the weeds and we can then mow those strips later on. Some crops are planted through mulch that shows its importance now as it keeps the weeds from taking over the desired crop. In other fields, between the plants within each row we can use tractor driven cultivators to remove small weeds. But, with lots of rain resulting in wet field conditions, we will not use the tractor as it will compact our precious soil (creating more of a long-term problem), and we resort to hand weeding and hand hoeing.
We are direct seeding fall season roots, cole crops, lettuces, and greens for harvest in October and later. Other crops must be planted this fall for harvest next year including onions (we start from seeds in the greenhouse to transplant out), strawberry cuttings we root for new plants, and garlic. These will all be transplanted out by hand, watered, and mulched with straw that we have been cutting and baling during the last few months to hopefully buffer them a bit during our winter weather.
We harvest most mornings (before the sun has a chance to wilt the plants) for your CSA shares, the farmers market, or a special restaurant or bulk order and try to work on other jobs in the afternoons. We feel fortunate to still have a few tomatoes to harvest with so much early and late blight disease around the area. So far, our late potato crop also seems unaffected by the devastating blight, as we still have the fall crop to harvest and get into storage, along with the sweet potatoes that take the entire summer season to grow.
In the weeks ahead we have late plantings of squash, zucchini, peppers, and cucumbers we hope to harvest before frost. There are early crops of beets, cabbage, lettuce, and the hard shelled winter squashes on the harvest schedule also. Both plant and vegetable growth slows down as the day length lessens and the temperatures cool a bit, but fortunately the weeds do too!
In Your Share . . .
Items in shares may vary depending on your harvest day and share size. Every share may not have every item listed below.
Beans, Green - organic
Enjoy a flashback to the middle of the season with such summer staples as corn, beans, potatoes and tomatoes this week. These stringless green beans are the first harvest from our last planting and really did not suffer from bean beetles or the rust spots that come when it rains so much. You can enjoy simmered with potatoes or blanched and prepared as a green bean salad. Store refrigerated for up to a week; or wash, snap, blanch and throw into a freezer bag.
Celery – organic
Your fresh celery can also be washed, cut into ½ inch pieces, and put in the freezer for use later on. Remember the leaves are useful as a fresh herb replacement (try in any recipe that calls for parsley, a cousin of celery). Dice it fresh into potato or egg salad – remember from earlier weeks that the center stalks are tenderer than the outer stalks – the darker green, the better for cooked dishes. Celery is a difficult crop to grow so we don’t see it very often at our local markets. As a result, most folks are surprised at how flavorful KY grown celery can be! Store refrigerated.
Corn, Sweet
Yeh! We are excited to have more corn, even though it is late in the season for it. The last for the year, enjoy it boiled to just eat off the cob, or put on the grill. It stores best in the husk in the coldest part of your refrigerator.
Garlic – organic
We shared the conditions of this season’s garlic crop in an earlier newsletter. As described, any more cleaning by us at the farm will result in the cloves being too exposed to keep well. Store in your pantry or a dry, dark space, not in your refrigerator.
Herb, Fresh – organic – Sweet Basil
Peppers, Bell
Potatoes – organic
As we do rinse the field dirt off the potatoes, you will want to store them in your refrigerator if possible. Also remember that light will cause the skins to turn green since the organic potatoes are not chemically treated to prevent it. If you do get greening while storing them, just cut it away before preparing. Try the large potatoes baked whole, or cut into 1-inch pieces and boil. The gold potatoes don’t even need butter, as their yellowy flesh is creamy already. Eat the skin also to get your full source of complex carbohydrates and minerals (especially potassium).
Squash, Acorn – new this week!
Store this hard skin squash in your pantry until ready to use, as this item will keep for you for weeks. Boil whole; or halve and bake with flesh side down in a little water until done; remove seeds, then enjoy with a little butter and honey or maple syrup.
Tomato, Salad, Heirloom & Red Slicing - organic
Purple Topped White Turnips – organic
Turnips as well as the turnip greens have so many vitamins as well as potassium and calcium. They are also one of the cruciferous vegetables said to help prevent cancer. The spicy, yet sweet, flavor is tempered when cooked. Turnips can also be peeled and eaten raw as an apple; or grated and eaten with radishes, kohlrabi, cabbage or carrots as a fresh salad with vinaigrette dressing.
Recipes to Enjoy . . .
Fresh Tomato Salad
a Mark Bittman recipe. He reports that since the garlic in the dressing is strained out, it does not overpower the dish. Peeling the tomatoes is not necessary, but nice. Makes 4 servings.
4-6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
salt and black pepper to taste
1 T red wine vinegar
3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds tomatoes, cored, peeled if desired, sliced
20 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
Whisk together the garlic, salt, vinegar, and olive oil. Place the tomatoes on a platter and strain the dressing over them. Top with basil leaves, a little more salt, and some pepper. Serve immediately.
Variation: Instead of dressing tomatoes, toss green beans with the strained dressing and place on top of the tomatoes. Then finish with basil, salt and pepper as above. To prepare beans, trim the ends of 1 pound of beans. Cook them in a large pot of boiling water for 2 minutes or until bright green, then immediately drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.
Balsamic Vinaigrette with Fresh Basil
Recipe from Bluegrass Winners: New Recipes and Menus from Kentucky’s Legendary Horse Farms
1 C good quality olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
½ C aged balsamic vinegar
1 T chopped fresh basil
1 tsp Dijon type mustard
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients in Mason jar. Shake well and vigorously. Makes 2 cups.
Maple Glazed Turnips
Recipe from Culinary Institute of America’s Cook for the Home, serves 4. At a farm crew lunch, even the so-called turnip haters really enjoyed this dish. They assumed it was potatoes or never would have tried it to start with.
2 lb purple top turnips
2 T butter
3 T maple syrup
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 T parsley, for garnish
2 tsp lemon juice
Peel turnips and cut into 1-inch pieces. Heat 1 T butter in a pan on medium heat. Add maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add turnips and ¼ inch water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and pan steam until tender, 7-8 minutes.
Remove cover and continue to cook the turnips until water has cooked away and syrup has glazed the turnips evenly, 3 more minutes. Add remaining T butter and lemon juice. Sprinkle with parsley and adjust salt and pepper if needed.
Winter Squash with Jam
1 acorn squash, cut in half, seeds removed
2 tsp butter
1 T raspberry, apricot, or peach jam
Heat oven to 350°F. Place squash in ovenproof dish. Fill each cavity with butter and jam. Cover and bake until tender, 35-45 minutes. Serves 2.
It has been a little while since we gave you a crop report from the farm. We have been very busy with harvesting, seeding, harvesting, transplanting, harvesting, weeding, weeding, weeding. Well, you get the picture.
The wonderful spring and summer rain gives everything an equal opportunity to grow and flourish – including both perennial and annual weeds. In the spring we plant ryegrass between some crop rows to crowd out the weeds and we can then mow those strips later on. Some crops are planted through mulch that shows its importance now as it keeps the weeds from taking over the desired crop. In other fields, between the plants within each row we can use tractor driven cultivators to remove small weeds. But, with lots of rain resulting in wet field conditions, we will not use the tractor as it will compact our precious soil (creating more of a long-term problem), and we resort to hand weeding and hand hoeing.
We are direct seeding fall season roots, cole crops, lettuces, and greens for harvest in October and later. Other crops must be planted this fall for harvest next year including onions (we start from seeds in the greenhouse to transplant out), strawberry cuttings we root for new plants, and garlic. These will all be transplanted out by hand, watered, and mulched with straw that we have been cutting and baling during the last few months to hopefully buffer them a bit during our winter weather.
We harvest most mornings (before the sun has a chance to wilt the plants) for your CSA shares, the farmers market, or a special restaurant or bulk order and try to work on other jobs in the afternoons. We feel fortunate to still have a few tomatoes to harvest with so much early and late blight disease around the area. So far, our late potato crop also seems unaffected by the devastating blight, as we still have the fall crop to harvest and get into storage, along with the sweet potatoes that take the entire summer season to grow.
In the weeks ahead we have late plantings of squash, zucchini, peppers, and cucumbers we hope to harvest before frost. There are early crops of beets, cabbage, lettuce, and the hard shelled winter squashes on the harvest schedule also. Both plant and vegetable growth slows down as the day length lessens and the temperatures cool a bit, but fortunately the weeds do too!
In Your Share . . .
Items in shares may vary depending on your harvest day and share size. Every share may not have every item listed below.
Beans, Green - organic
Enjoy a flashback to the middle of the season with such summer staples as corn, beans, potatoes and tomatoes this week. These stringless green beans are the first harvest from our last planting and really did not suffer from bean beetles or the rust spots that come when it rains so much. You can enjoy simmered with potatoes or blanched and prepared as a green bean salad. Store refrigerated for up to a week; or wash, snap, blanch and throw into a freezer bag.
Celery – organic
Your fresh celery can also be washed, cut into ½ inch pieces, and put in the freezer for use later on. Remember the leaves are useful as a fresh herb replacement (try in any recipe that calls for parsley, a cousin of celery). Dice it fresh into potato or egg salad – remember from earlier weeks that the center stalks are tenderer than the outer stalks – the darker green, the better for cooked dishes. Celery is a difficult crop to grow so we don’t see it very often at our local markets. As a result, most folks are surprised at how flavorful KY grown celery can be! Store refrigerated.
Corn, Sweet
Yeh! We are excited to have more corn, even though it is late in the season for it. The last for the year, enjoy it boiled to just eat off the cob, or put on the grill. It stores best in the husk in the coldest part of your refrigerator.
Garlic – organic
We shared the conditions of this season’s garlic crop in an earlier newsletter. As described, any more cleaning by us at the farm will result in the cloves being too exposed to keep well. Store in your pantry or a dry, dark space, not in your refrigerator.
Herb, Fresh – organic – Sweet Basil
Peppers, Bell
Potatoes – organic
As we do rinse the field dirt off the potatoes, you will want to store them in your refrigerator if possible. Also remember that light will cause the skins to turn green since the organic potatoes are not chemically treated to prevent it. If you do get greening while storing them, just cut it away before preparing. Try the large potatoes baked whole, or cut into 1-inch pieces and boil. The gold potatoes don’t even need butter, as their yellowy flesh is creamy already. Eat the skin also to get your full source of complex carbohydrates and minerals (especially potassium).
Squash, Acorn – new this week!
Store this hard skin squash in your pantry until ready to use, as this item will keep for you for weeks. Boil whole; or halve and bake with flesh side down in a little water until done; remove seeds, then enjoy with a little butter and honey or maple syrup.
Tomato, Salad, Heirloom & Red Slicing - organic
Purple Topped White Turnips – organic
Turnips as well as the turnip greens have so many vitamins as well as potassium and calcium. They are also one of the cruciferous vegetables said to help prevent cancer. The spicy, yet sweet, flavor is tempered when cooked. Turnips can also be peeled and eaten raw as an apple; or grated and eaten with radishes, kohlrabi, cabbage or carrots as a fresh salad with vinaigrette dressing.
Recipes to Enjoy . . .
Fresh Tomato Salad
a Mark Bittman recipe. He reports that since the garlic in the dressing is strained out, it does not overpower the dish. Peeling the tomatoes is not necessary, but nice. Makes 4 servings.
4-6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
salt and black pepper to taste
1 T red wine vinegar
3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds tomatoes, cored, peeled if desired, sliced
20 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
Whisk together the garlic, salt, vinegar, and olive oil. Place the tomatoes on a platter and strain the dressing over them. Top with basil leaves, a little more salt, and some pepper. Serve immediately.
Variation: Instead of dressing tomatoes, toss green beans with the strained dressing and place on top of the tomatoes. Then finish with basil, salt and pepper as above. To prepare beans, trim the ends of 1 pound of beans. Cook them in a large pot of boiling water for 2 minutes or until bright green, then immediately drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.
Balsamic Vinaigrette with Fresh Basil
Recipe from Bluegrass Winners: New Recipes and Menus from Kentucky’s Legendary Horse Farms
1 C good quality olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
½ C aged balsamic vinegar
1 T chopped fresh basil
1 tsp Dijon type mustard
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients in Mason jar. Shake well and vigorously. Makes 2 cups.
Maple Glazed Turnips
Recipe from Culinary Institute of America’s Cook for the Home, serves 4. At a farm crew lunch, even the so-called turnip haters really enjoyed this dish. They assumed it was potatoes or never would have tried it to start with.
2 lb purple top turnips
2 T butter
3 T maple syrup
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 T parsley, for garnish
2 tsp lemon juice
Peel turnips and cut into 1-inch pieces. Heat 1 T butter in a pan on medium heat. Add maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add turnips and ¼ inch water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and pan steam until tender, 7-8 minutes.
Remove cover and continue to cook the turnips until water has cooked away and syrup has glazed the turnips evenly, 3 more minutes. Add remaining T butter and lemon juice. Sprinkle with parsley and adjust salt and pepper if needed.
Winter Squash with Jam
1 acorn squash, cut in half, seeds removed
2 tsp butter
1 T raspberry, apricot, or peach jam
Heat oven to 350°F. Place squash in ovenproof dish. Fill each cavity with butter and jam. Cover and bake until tender, 35-45 minutes. Serves 2.
Monday, August 31, 2009
CSA News, Week 17
In Your Share
Items in shares may vary depending on your share size and harvest day. Each share may not have every item listed.
Brussels Sprouts – organic
Store refrigerated and try to use within a few days if possible. As we told you last week, you will need to remove any loose or discolored leaves. The easiest way to do this is to slice off the elongated stem. A few of the outer leaves will then fall away more easily.
Chard, Swiss - organic
Eggplant
Herbs, Fresh – organic – Cilantro
Use fresh in recipes or add to fresh salsa. Store refrigerated.
Okra - organic
Yellow Onions – organic
Peppers, Bell
The weather has finally allowed the bell peppers to begin turning from green to red. You may already know, but we get regular questions about the red bell peppers (cost and less availability), so to clear up the confusion: there are many varieties of peppers. Green bell peppers, if not harvested and left on the plant, will eventually turn yellow, red, orange, chocolate brown, or maybe just rot – it depends on the variety grown. During these weeks of the pepper changing color (and the flavor becoming much more sweet), the plant does not continue setting blooms for more peppers. Production is reduced, more peppers are lost to insects, disease, or wea-ther, and costs to grow each pepper increase.
Roasting red bell peppers is an easy process. The final peppers can be frozen for use anytime.
To roast peppers: Over a gas range top or outdoor grill, place fresh peppers directly onto the flame. Char the peppers all the way around each side; the pepper skins should turn black and blistered. After the peppers are charred, place them in a paper or plastic bag and allow steaming for twenty minutes. Steaming allows the skins to be removed more easily. After the peppers have cooled, remove them from the bag and peel them. Discard the seeds and the charred skins, remember to save the pepper juice, it has a lot of flavor. You can also roast peppers in the oven, lightly oiled on a sheet pan. Roasting in the oven works well if you do not have a gas range, but the end result is not quite as good. Save whole strips or chop into desired pieces.
Raspberries – organic
Squash, Spaghetti
Store this hard skin squash in your pantry until ready to use, as this item will keep for you for weeks. Boil whole; or halve and bake with flesh side down in a little water until done; remove seeds. Fleck out strands with a fork and enjoy with ‘spaghetti’ sauce, pesto, or butter and seasonings. This is a great substitute for those on a pasta-free diet.
Tomato, Heirloom – Red Slicing – Yellow Slicing - organic
Your salad heirlooms include Black Plum and Chadwick Cherry. We try to pick our tomatoes often to let them ripen as much as we can on the vine, but some of the blacks or pinks you may want to ripen a little more on the counter at home. The thin skins make transporting and boxing super ripe ones difficult. Do not refrigerate for best flavor.
Garlic – organic
Potatoes – organic
This week find a popular gold flesh all-purpose potato. Store these out of light to prevent the skin from greening.
Cooking Radish, Spanish Black - organic
This root vegetable grows for the cooler fall season and is meant to be enjoyed cooked rather than eaten raw as a salad radish. The greens keep less time, so try to utilize them in a few days as they wilt rather quickly. View the week of 6/30/08 newsletter for a nice recipe shared by a CSA member that works well for the radish tops – Cinnamon Spiced Pancakes (they turn out more like fritters).
Recipes to Enjoy
Cross Creek Shrimp and Okra
recipe from Greene on Greens, serves 4
4 T unsalted butter
2 whole green onions, bulbs and green tops, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound raw shrimp, shelled, deveined
½ pound okra, cut into ½ inch thick rounds
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Melt 2 T of the butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add the green onions; cook until slightly wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic; cook 2 minutes longer. Add the remaining 2 T butter to the skillet. Add the shrimp and cook, tossing constantly, 3 minutes. Add the okra and cook, tossing constantly, 3 minutes longer. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Sweet and Sour Swiss Chard
from Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert’s Simply In Season, serves 4
1 pound Swiss Chard
1 medium onion
¼ C dried cranberries or raisins
2 cloves garlic
3 T white or cider vinegar
1½ T sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Rinse and pat dry chard. Remove stems and chop diagonally into small pieces. Stack leaves, roll up, and slice in 1 inch strips; keep separate from stems and set aside. Sauté onion about 2 minutes in deep fry pan over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add rest of ingredients and chard stems to pan, cover and cook for 8 minutes. Place chopped leaves on top of the mixture, cover and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir and serve.
Cilantro Vinaigrette
from Cooking with Nora. This can be used over a green salad, for roasted vegetables, or as a marinade for items for the grill.
1/3 C cilantro leaves, tightly packed
2 shallots or 1 small onion, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 small green jalapeno pepper
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 T tamari
1 T rice wine vinegar
3 T water
3 T oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put garlic and onion in non-reactive baking dish. Add 1 tsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and roast for 30-40 minutes until soft. After roasted, put all ingredients in a blender. Puree until smooth.
Eggplant Caviar, an Alice Waters recipe, makes 2 cups, can reduce ingredients to meet the quantity of eggplant you have on hand
2 medium eggplant
2 T fresh lemon juice
4 T olive oil
salt
fresh-ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, peeled and pounded into a puree
2-4 T chopped cilantro
Preheat the oven to 400°. Cut in half lengthwise 2 medium eggplants. Sprinkle the cut surfaces with salt, fresh-ground black pepper, and olive oil. Place cut side down on a baking sheet and roast until soft. Test for doneness at the stem end; eggplant should be very soft. Remove from the oven and let cool. Scrape the flesh out of the skins into a bowl and stir vigorously to loosen into a puree. Add rest of ingredients. Mix well, taste for salt and lemon
Master Recipe for Braised Radishes
Recipe adapted from Perfect Vegetables by the editors of Cook’s Illustrated
1 T unsalted butter
1 medium onion, minced
1 pound radishes, leaves and stems removed, cut into bite sized pieces
½ C organic chicken broth
2 tsp minced fresh herbs (thyme or chives are great but feel free to try other favorites)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter begins to sizzle, add the onion and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the radishes and cook for 1 minute longer.
Add the broth, cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until the radishes are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the cover and simmer until the liquid thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Add the chives and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Items in shares may vary depending on your share size and harvest day. Each share may not have every item listed.
Brussels Sprouts – organic
Store refrigerated and try to use within a few days if possible. As we told you last week, you will need to remove any loose or discolored leaves. The easiest way to do this is to slice off the elongated stem. A few of the outer leaves will then fall away more easily.
Chard, Swiss - organic
Eggplant
Herbs, Fresh – organic – Cilantro
Use fresh in recipes or add to fresh salsa. Store refrigerated.
Okra - organic
Yellow Onions – organic
Peppers, Bell
The weather has finally allowed the bell peppers to begin turning from green to red. You may already know, but we get regular questions about the red bell peppers (cost and less availability), so to clear up the confusion: there are many varieties of peppers. Green bell peppers, if not harvested and left on the plant, will eventually turn yellow, red, orange, chocolate brown, or maybe just rot – it depends on the variety grown. During these weeks of the pepper changing color (and the flavor becoming much more sweet), the plant does not continue setting blooms for more peppers. Production is reduced, more peppers are lost to insects, disease, or wea-ther, and costs to grow each pepper increase.
Roasting red bell peppers is an easy process. The final peppers can be frozen for use anytime.
To roast peppers: Over a gas range top or outdoor grill, place fresh peppers directly onto the flame. Char the peppers all the way around each side; the pepper skins should turn black and blistered. After the peppers are charred, place them in a paper or plastic bag and allow steaming for twenty minutes. Steaming allows the skins to be removed more easily. After the peppers have cooled, remove them from the bag and peel them. Discard the seeds and the charred skins, remember to save the pepper juice, it has a lot of flavor. You can also roast peppers in the oven, lightly oiled on a sheet pan. Roasting in the oven works well if you do not have a gas range, but the end result is not quite as good. Save whole strips or chop into desired pieces.
Raspberries – organic
Squash, Spaghetti
Store this hard skin squash in your pantry until ready to use, as this item will keep for you for weeks. Boil whole; or halve and bake with flesh side down in a little water until done; remove seeds. Fleck out strands with a fork and enjoy with ‘spaghetti’ sauce, pesto, or butter and seasonings. This is a great substitute for those on a pasta-free diet.
Tomato, Heirloom – Red Slicing – Yellow Slicing - organic
Your salad heirlooms include Black Plum and Chadwick Cherry. We try to pick our tomatoes often to let them ripen as much as we can on the vine, but some of the blacks or pinks you may want to ripen a little more on the counter at home. The thin skins make transporting and boxing super ripe ones difficult. Do not refrigerate for best flavor.
Garlic – organic
Potatoes – organic
This week find a popular gold flesh all-purpose potato. Store these out of light to prevent the skin from greening.
Cooking Radish, Spanish Black - organic
This root vegetable grows for the cooler fall season and is meant to be enjoyed cooked rather than eaten raw as a salad radish. The greens keep less time, so try to utilize them in a few days as they wilt rather quickly. View the week of 6/30/08 newsletter for a nice recipe shared by a CSA member that works well for the radish tops – Cinnamon Spiced Pancakes (they turn out more like fritters).
Recipes to Enjoy
Cross Creek Shrimp and Okra
recipe from Greene on Greens, serves 4
4 T unsalted butter
2 whole green onions, bulbs and green tops, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound raw shrimp, shelled, deveined
½ pound okra, cut into ½ inch thick rounds
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Melt 2 T of the butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add the green onions; cook until slightly wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic; cook 2 minutes longer. Add the remaining 2 T butter to the skillet. Add the shrimp and cook, tossing constantly, 3 minutes. Add the okra and cook, tossing constantly, 3 minutes longer. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Sweet and Sour Swiss Chard
from Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert’s Simply In Season, serves 4
1 pound Swiss Chard
1 medium onion
¼ C dried cranberries or raisins
2 cloves garlic
3 T white or cider vinegar
1½ T sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Rinse and pat dry chard. Remove stems and chop diagonally into small pieces. Stack leaves, roll up, and slice in 1 inch strips; keep separate from stems and set aside. Sauté onion about 2 minutes in deep fry pan over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add rest of ingredients and chard stems to pan, cover and cook for 8 minutes. Place chopped leaves on top of the mixture, cover and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir and serve.
Cilantro Vinaigrette
from Cooking with Nora. This can be used over a green salad, for roasted vegetables, or as a marinade for items for the grill.
1/3 C cilantro leaves, tightly packed
2 shallots or 1 small onion, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 small green jalapeno pepper
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 T tamari
1 T rice wine vinegar
3 T water
3 T oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put garlic and onion in non-reactive baking dish. Add 1 tsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and roast for 30-40 minutes until soft. After roasted, put all ingredients in a blender. Puree until smooth.
Eggplant Caviar, an Alice Waters recipe, makes 2 cups, can reduce ingredients to meet the quantity of eggplant you have on hand
2 medium eggplant
2 T fresh lemon juice
4 T olive oil
salt
fresh-ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, peeled and pounded into a puree
2-4 T chopped cilantro
Preheat the oven to 400°. Cut in half lengthwise 2 medium eggplants. Sprinkle the cut surfaces with salt, fresh-ground black pepper, and olive oil. Place cut side down on a baking sheet and roast until soft. Test for doneness at the stem end; eggplant should be very soft. Remove from the oven and let cool. Scrape the flesh out of the skins into a bowl and stir vigorously to loosen into a puree. Add rest of ingredients. Mix well, taste for salt and lemon
Master Recipe for Braised Radishes
Recipe adapted from Perfect Vegetables by the editors of Cook’s Illustrated
1 T unsalted butter
1 medium onion, minced
1 pound radishes, leaves and stems removed, cut into bite sized pieces
½ C organic chicken broth
2 tsp minced fresh herbs (thyme or chives are great but feel free to try other favorites)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter begins to sizzle, add the onion and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the radishes and cook for 1 minute longer.
Add the broth, cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until the radishes are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the cover and simmer until the liquid thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Add the chives and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
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