This N That ...
This week starts the second half of the summer
CSA season – one of the strangest growing years ever known to two generations of
farmers producing your vegetables. Last
winter’s mild weather, followed by the hot early spring, a drought-dry summer,
intensely high temperatures not seen in a generation, waves of storms and
rainfall around the area but not at the farm: combined scenarios to show us
that everyday at the farm is a reward, surprise, mystery, disappointment, and
never, ever the same.
Sweet
Corn:
It
has such a short season, and makes such a strong impact – sweet corn ranks up
there with berries, tomatoes and lettuce as one of your favorite fruits or
vegetables. Many years ago when Elmwood
diversified into vegetables for fresh markets, customers still asked for field
corn, not just sweet corn. Apparently
our collective palates desire sweeter flavors these days as no one asks for the
starchy, non-sweet, field corn fresh on the cob anymore. It’s used for livestock, ethanol, corn
flakes, corn syrup, and various other things.
Corn
does not transplant well, so it is often direct seeded into the soil in May and
June for harvest 90 to 120 days later, depending on the variety. Each plant produces 1 to 2 ears (not a whole
lot for the amount of space it uses), the silk strands go inside the ear to the
kernel, each one is to be pollinated individually – have you ever had an ear missing
a few kernels? Poor pollination due to heat, drought, cold, or other
challenging growing condition.
Non-organic
corn is usually treated with a fungicide allowing corn to be planted when the
soil is cold and moist. The kernel will
germinate and grow before soil bacteria starts to break down the corn
kernel. Common conventional production
practice these days is to drench the soil row with a pesticide that keep a
specific soil worm from burrowing inside the newly-planted kernel and eating it
out hollow, leaving nothing left to germinate.
Alternatively, organic corn starts with organic seeds that are planted
with a knowledge of soil temperatures, an awareness of the life cycle of
predatory insects and bacteria, and the discipline to only plant when these
conditions are right. It may be more
challenging, but seeds have been germinating on Earth for hundreds of thousands
of years, without the use of fungicides and pesticides developed in the last
forty years.
Tomatoes:
Once
tomatoes start to change color from green to the red, pink, black or yellow
color they ultimately become, the process happens pretty fast. We often have tomatoes at various stages of
ripeness and include them this way in your shares to give you a sequence of
ripening over the week rather than having them all ready the first day. Some varieties of tomatoes are harvested a
little earlier than dead-ripe in order to get them to you un-smashed. Most of the heirloom varieties have a thin
skin and will ripen faster than the red hybrids. They are also very difficult to package and transport, especially
in the mini share bags. Tomatoes give
off a natural ethylene when ripening, and by closing them in a container you
can speed up the ripening process (most of you know this about peaches, and tomatoes
are the same way). Don’t store tomatoes
in the refrigerator.
Heirloom
tomato seeds can be saved and the next generation will reproduce true to the
parent. Hybrid tomatoes are a cross
between two different parent stock seeds, which is a natural production
process, and a saved seed may revert to one of the parent tomatoes, not be the
same as the hybrid from which it came.
No genetically altered seed is used at Elmwood including tomato seeds. One must assume these days that all seeds
are GMO unless the seed seller gives assurance or proof that the seed is not
genetically modified. No GMO is allowed
in organic production and affidavits from seed companies are required to prove
it.
Varieties
this season include Arkansas Traveler, Pink Rose, Green Zebra, Sungold, Yellow
Pear, Black Plum, Persimmon, Rocky Top, Purden’s Purple, Brandywine, Cherokee
Purple, Black Krim, Rose de Berne, West Virginia Mt Princess, Peron (a South
American tomato with the highest Vitamin C of all tomatoes), and more!
Farm
Crew:
We
want to mention how proud we are of the farm crew this season, and make sure
you know how fortunate we all are to rely on them in making your CSA share come
together each week. We made slight
adjustments in the work schedule during the 11-day stretch of 98-104°
temperatures, but there was never a complaint, nor a no-show during the
terribly hard outdoor working conditions.
Each person takes pride in the produce grown at the farm, and wants to
keep bringing you the best. And, a
little rain this past week helps all of our spirits!
In Your Share...
Blackberries-
organic
Cucumber
Sweet
Corn - organic
Lettuce
or Salad Mix - organic
Green
Bell Pepper
Yellow Squash and/or Green Zucchini
Heirloom
& Hybrid Tomatoes – organic
Garlic – organic
Purple Top White Turnips - organic
Recipes to Enjoy
Garden Vegetable Tart, our thanks to a CSA member for sharing this easy, pizza style
recipe.
1 frozen puff pastry sheet
2 ears sweet corn, shucked and cleaned
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 pint cherry tomatoes
olive oil
salt
¼ C tomato paste
¼ C water
4 oz fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 425°F. On a lightly floured surface roll puff
pastry into a 10 x 14 inch rectangle; transfer to a baking sheet. Prick pastry all over with a fork. Bake 10 minutes, until center is set. Remove from oven; lightly press center with
a spatula.
Wrap sweet corn in wax paper and microwave
cook on high for 2 minutes. Preheat an
indoor grill pan over medium-high heat, then add corn, zucchini, and tomatoes,
brushed with 1 T olive oil and sprinkled with ½ tsp salt. Grill until tender, 5 to 7 minutes, turning
when needed.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together
tomato paste and water; spread onto pastry.
Cut corn from cob. Top pastry
with vegetables and cheese. Bake 10
minutes until pastry is golden and cheese is melted. Serves 4.
Squash Casserole
Thanks to the CSA
member who shared this delicious recipe, originally in a Southern Living
magazine. Makes 8 servings.
2 ½ lbs yellow squash, sliced
¼ C butter
2 large eggs
¼ C mayonnaise
½ C chopped onion
2 tsp sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
½ C crackers, crushed, either Saltine or
buttery
½ C shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Cook squash, covered, in a small amount of
boiling water 8 to 10 minutes or until tender; drain well. Combine squash and butter in a bowl; mash
until butter melts. Stir in eggs,
mayonnaise, onion, sugar and salt; spoon into a lightly greased shallow 2-quart
baking dish. Sprinkle with crushed
crackers. Bake at 325° for 30
minutes. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 5
more minutes or until cheese melts.
Sweet Spicy Turnips
Serves 4, from recipezaar . com, our thanks to a
CSA member for sharing this recipe
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons butter,
melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
flakes
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 dash ground allspice
3 turnips, peeled and each
cut into 6 wedges (6 ounces each)
cooking spray
Preheat oven to
400f degrees. Combine first 7 ingredients in a jelly roll pan or shallow
roasting pan coated with cooking spray, toss to coat. Bake at 400f degrees for 35 minutes or until tender,
stirring every 10 minutes.
Italian Corn, from Mario Batali and Judith Sutton’s Italian Grill, makes 6
ears
6 ears corn, shucked
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 to 1-1/2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
About 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Hot red pepper flakes
1. Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal
grill.
2. Place the corn on the hottest part of the grill and cook
for 3 minutes, or until grill marks appear on the first side. Roll each ear
over a quarter turn and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then repeat two more times.
3. Meanwhile, mix the oil and vinegar on a large flat plate.
Spread the Parmigiano on another flat plate.
4. When the corn is cooked, roll each ear in the olive oil
and vinegar mixture, shake off the extra liquid, and dredge in the Parmigiano
to coat lightly. Place on a platter, sprinkle with the mint and pepper flakes,
and serve immediately.
Tomato and
Bread Salad, our
thanks to a friend of the farm
¼ lb Italian
bread, torn into chunks (4 cups)
¼ cup olive oil
½ small red
onion, chopped
1 clove garlic,
minced
3 large tomatoes
(1 ½ lbs), diced
2 tbsp balsamic
vinegar ½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 cucumber,
peeled, seeded, and sliced
¼ cup thinly
sliced basil leaves
1. Toast bread on baking sheet in 350-degree
oven for 5 minutes.
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Cool onion and garlic over medium-high heat,
2 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, then stir in tomatoes,
vinegar, slat, and pepper.
4. Place bread in large bowl and toss with
tomato mixture, cucumber, and basil.
