What a Difference a Year Makes!

CSA, Week 6, June 2008

The pop-up rainstorms have been good to the farm so far. We have not had storm or hail damage during the last week like others in the area. Last Friday evening brought 2.4 inches when it was very much needed. We received more on Monday morning (though a little challenging to harvest in). Even with a cool spring, several weeks of a contin-uous dry wind quickly dries out plants and the soil. Looking back one year ago, we were already in the midst of the ‘07drought. Unlike last year, we have been able to plant corn, beans, beets, and Brussels sprouts and achieve successful germination in the fields. We do contend with fast-growing weeds that often will outpace the desired plant if not addressed within 2 or 3 days, mostly with hand work of chopping and pulling. It is sad to know about farms in the Midwest experiencing the worst possible flooding; but from our own exper-iences with drought, both last year and in the late 1980’s when our spring-fed well ran out of water, we really don’t want either extreme!

The first cutting, raking and baling of hay is al-most complete. Grasses and clovers have contin-ued strong growth in the pastures for the grazing cattle and sheep (and the chickens and turkeys too). In general, most things look good!

In Your Share . . .
Items will vary depending on your harvest and pickup day and the share size - every share may not have every item listed.

Beets – organic – new this week!
We harvested today 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, or oven-roasted. Roasting brings out a sweet flavor enjoyed by folks who think they don’t care for beets. Refrigerate the bulbs 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, and can be mixed with chard or spinach.

Cilantro – organic – new this week!
Found in many types of cooking styles, cilantro is more desired as a fresh herb in American cooking. It grows well in cooler weather and must be replanted often to withstand hot temperatures. Cilantro likes cool refrigeration to maintain freshness. Can be frozen or dried (but flavor is lost when dried).Use in green salad, pasta, or with sautéed veggies. Add to homemade salsas, marinade, or vinaigrettes.

Garlic Scapes – organic – new this week!
Garlic scapes are the center stalks of the hard neck garlic plant. Early in the season, you had the green garlic leaves of the garlic plant. Both grow above the ground and can be enjoyed in many dishes while we wait for the bulbs to fill out into cloves underground. Use the scapes in any manner you would use garlic cloves. Chop finely or use a processor since some stalks can be fibrous. The heads are also edible. You can make pesto; chop in salads; or sauté similar to green onions. Store refrigerated or in water in a vase.

Red Oak Leaf Lettuce Head – organic
This week’s healthy head is an heirloom variety that is unique in appearance and full of flavor. Bronze Arrow, a loose leaf rather than heading type, handles the heat better than some other types.

Red Butterhead Lettuce – organic
This week find a striking butterhead heirloom variety, Carmona Red. We are unable to grown iceberg type of lettuces here as the heat gets the plants before they can make a tight head. We think the butterheads are a nicer alternative.

Green Leaf Lettuce Head – organic
This week’s green leaf is the first harvest from our most recent planting.

Snow Peas – organic – new this week!

This variety, Oregon Giant, is a large pod, sweet pea similar to sugar snaps – you do eat the pod too! Some larger peas may have a string on one side that should be removed before preparing.

Spinach – organic
We continue to harvest from our spinach beds although the plants will not get much larger, nor produce a lot more. The heat and longer days cause the leaves to thicken and flavor to become diminished. Chop and enjoy raw or add to a pasta dish.

Summer Squash – new this week!
Our squash plantings include yellow straight-neck summer squash, green zucchini, pale green cousa, and round patty pan types. Today we are harvesting the early yellow squash/green zucchini squash. Store refrigerated for a week or more. Find a new recipe below.

Red Leaf Lettuce – organic
This week’s red leaf head is a French crisp head variety, Rouge de Grenoblouse. It is one of the more sweet red lettuces, which usually have stronger flavors. The more color in the vegetable, the more nutrition!

Recipes to Enjoy . . .

Garlic Scape Pesto
This recipe is shared by a member who found it on the internet when researching garlic scapes.

1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼ inch slices
1/3 cup walnuts
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 -1/2 cup grated parmigiano
1/2 teaspoon saltblack pepper to taste

Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. For ½ pound short pasta such as penne, add about 2 Tablespoons of pesto to cooked pasta along with 2 Tablespoons of the pasta water and stir until pasta is well coated.

Rice With Squash and Cumin
an excellent tasting recipe from The Food Network

5 to 6 assorted small squashes, zucchini, yellow summer squashes, patty pans
1/2 cup olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed (you can use your chopped garlic scapes)
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 to 2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked rice, (aromatic is nice)
1 bunch parsley leaves, washed and chopped roughly (substitute cilantro if desired)

Trim squashes and cut into small 1/4-inch diced.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan and add 1/3 of the diced squashes and some salt and pepper. Sauté small batches briefly over high heat stirring often until lightly browned and slightly soft. Transfer to a bowl.

Cook diced onion in remaining olive oil in frying pan over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook briefly. Add cumin, reduce heat to low, cook stirring about 2 minutes, and then add to squashes in bowl. Add rice and chopped parsley and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

Salad Mix with Beets and Feta
adapted from Rock Spring Farm

Wash, dry, and tear your lettuce ready for salad toppings. Plan ahead to roast beets in advance.
2 tsp red wine vinegar
3 Tbs. olive or nut oil
1 lb roasted red beets
3 cups salad mix
1/4 lb feta cheese, crumbled

Whisk together the vinegar and oil to make avinaigrette. Add salt to taste. Slice the beets thinly and toss with a little bit of the vinaigrette. Combine the greens with the vinaigrette, and arrange over the beet slices. Crumble feta on top.

To Roast Beets:

Scrub beets and trim tops to 1 inch (leaving a little stem prevents the bleeding common with red beets). Place in foil, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap tightly. Oven roast 350-400 degrees or put on grill for 30 minutes – 1 hour depending on size of beets. Beets are done when can be easily pierced with a fork. Let cool and remove skins.

Week 5, CSA

News from the Farm . . .
Giving a report from the farm about current jobs, the crops, and expected produce harvest also has to include a weather report. Unless someone keeps a garden (food or flower), has employment that depends on weather conditions, or is involved in an outdoor sport, one does not realize how challenging and often unpredictable localized climate conditions affect our lives. As little as ten years ago, local radio and television meterologists used to include in their forecasts information that was geared toward farming schedules. The coverage area was much smaller, so rainfall prediction, for example, was more accurate since it was for a smaller, more local area. With the closure of the National Weather Service office in Central KY, the consolidation of radio and television stations resulting in fewer folks working in weather, and the focus of our local economy moving away from agriculture to indoor industry – meterology applied to a crop farm is practically not available.

New “tools” used today include personal localized satellite radar downloaded to a pc or cell phone. A farmer’s log of air temperatures, precipation, soil temperatures, and other observations of nature from year to year aid in making critical decisions on planting, transplanting, hay cutting, crop harvest, and irrigation.

Hail, floods, tornados, and ice storms are obvious “big events” in weather. Drought is just as serious. Recent public awareness of issues surrounding municipal water sourcing along with water usage restrictions should have made us all aware of the problems of drought. Utilizing last century systems such as cisterns and deep wells are a small step towards a back-up plan in food production farming.

Farm Report . . .
High air temperatures and dry winds are beginning to affect some crops. With the late spring (cold soil temperatures and cool air temperatures preventing plant growth) followed by the high heat, many spring crops will have a shortened harvest period. Broccoli (see below), lettuces, spinach, heavy greens, and peas are already affected by unharvestable plants or low yield.

Garlic, onion and early potato plants look green and healthy; we hope to not have to set up irrigation on these crops prior to harvest. Transplanting and chopping out weeds continues on the days we are not picking. The summer tomatoes, peppers, egg-plant, and cucumbers are well-established. Direct seeded crops of sweet corn, edamame, and root veggies are underway. Most of the late tomatoes are ready to go out, along with plantings of winter squash and sweet potatoes. The perennial herb plants are in the ground; mulching and setting up the irrigation system continues.

In Your Share . . .
Not every share will have every item as it depends on your share size and day of harvest.

Strawberries – organic

Broccoli – organic – new this week!
We are harvesting from three plantings this week – this was not the plan. Intended to grow and mature at different weeks during the spring, all of the broccoli plants are starting to bolt from the high heat. By going from a compact head the size of a golf ball to an open-stemmed flower within a 24-hour period, this year the spring broccoli will be considered a lost crop.
Each share may have three or four tiny heads rather than the single large head that is expected. As a result of the heat, today’s tiny harvest may be the only yield from the spring broccoli plants.

Green Oak Leaf Lettuce Head – organic
This frilly leaf lettuce is as tasty as it is pretty! Due to the heat, refresh in a water bath before refrigerating if necessary.

Red Romaine Lettuce Head – organic
The organic Red Romaine harvested this week is Rouge d’Hiver, a French Heirloom variety, one of the most striking in appearance making a very pretty head. It also will keep quite awhile in your refrigerator.

Red Leaf Lettuce – organic
The Batavian type lettuce has purplish-red leaves with a pale green inside. Named Rouge de’Grenoblouse, it maintains a sweet flavor even in a hot season.

Sugar Snap Peas – organic – new this week!
Snap peas are a sweet indicator of spring in Kentucky. This organic variety, Sugar Sprint, is a stringless snap pea (both the pod and the pea are edible). Eat fresh in salads or lightly sauté in olive oil to bring out the flavor. You may want to quickly blanche in boiling water, then throw into an ice water bath to stop the cooking. Add to your lettuce or pasta salad, or enjoy as a snack or appetizer with your favorite dip.

Spinach – organic
Our next two plantings of fresh spinach are beginning to size up. Enjoy raw in salads or in wraps, add to any pasta or egg recipe, or cook by steaming or sautéing. Just remember how much it shrinks down when cooked. Add a little vinegar when ready to eat.

Radishes – organic
This week’s harvest of French Breakfast and Plum Purple offers a spicy kick to your fresh green salad. Try a quick-pickle recipe for sliced radishes and sliced turnips to enjoy with sushi, in place of a cucumber pickle, or add to your falafels or other sandwiches.
Sliced radishes served on bread with butter is an old-time favorite Southern snack.

Turnips – organic
These Purple Top White Globe Turnips are the traditional American variety. Remove the tops to enjoy steamed, boiled, sautéed, or with pasta. The bulbs will store refrigerated for several weeks. Peel and enjoy sliced or grated raw; steam or boil and serve with butter; oven roast to bring out natural sweetness; add chunks to kabobs on the grill; oven bake with chicken along with radishes, potatoes, and carrots.

Sweet Basil – organic – new this week!
Use fresh basil fairly soon in salad, pasta, marinara, or as pesto. Seal in container to store in refrigerator as cold temperatures will turn the leaves dark.

Romaine Lettuce – organic
This organic variety, Green Forest, is one of the darkest green types of romaine lettuce. It has a good sized head, not easy in this hot weather. Romaine will keep the longest in your refrigerator.

Recipes to Enjoy . . .

Pasta with Broccoli and Ginger

1 bunch broccoli (1 ½ lbs)
1 ½ cups chicken or vegetable broth, divided
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1/8 to ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
½ tsp salt
1 lb fusilli, rotelle or radiatore pasta, cooked according to pasta directions

Cut broccoli florets from stem. Trim to small florets. Peel and slice stems. Process sliced stems and ½ cup broth in food processor until very fine.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger, garlic, and red pepper. Cook 15 seconds. Stir in pureed broccoli mixture, florets, remaining 1 cup broth and salt. Boil, stirring occasionally, just until broccoli is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Toss with pasta.

Spinach, Walnut, and Curried-Apple Salad
adapted from Cooking Light, March 2002

1 ½ cups thinly sliced Granny Smith (or tart) apple
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 tsp red curry powder
3 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp chicken or vegetable broth
1 Tbsp honey
½ lb fresh spinach
2 Tbsp chopped walnuts, toasted
2 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (optional)

Heat skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add apple and onion. Sauté 3 minutes. Stir in curry powder and sauté 1 minute. Stir in vinegar, broth, and honey. Remove from heat.

Place spinach in large bowl. Pour warm apple mixture over spinach. Toss well. Sprinkle with nuts and bacon (if using). Makes 6 servings.

Wilted Lettuce Salad
We get a lot of requests at farmers market on how to make this traditional Kentucky spring salad.

6 slices bacon
½ cup sliced green onion
¼ cup vinegar
4 tsp sugar
8 cups torn lettuce leaves

Fry bacon. Drain on paper towels. To grease, add vinegar, sugar, onion, and crumbled bacon. Heat until hot. Pour over lettuce.

June - Week 4, CSA

News from the Farm Kitchen . . .

Thanks to Mollie Katzen, author of Moosewood Cookbook for tips to sneak more vegetables into your eating plans. Her recent cookbook, Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without, offers several tried and true recipes using both common and the more unusual vegetables.

Her tips include going “taller” on your pizzas and sandwiches: pile the leftover veggies from last nights’ dinner onto a pre-made pizza crust or onto your open-faced sandwich bread. Try stuffing a hollowed-out already baked potato with sauteed, steamed, or grilled vegetables; top with cheese and broil. Add veggies to cooked pasta and season with olive oil, garlic and herbs; may be eaten cold as salad or heated. Add leftover veggies to your scrambled eggs for added punch in the morning!

Other sources of fresh vegetable recipes include Local Flavors: Coooking and Eating from America’s Farmers’ Markets by Deborah Madison along with her Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone; Greene on Greens by Bert Greene; books by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, authors of The Silver Palate Cookbook; Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables by Farmer John Peterson and Angelelic Organics; From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce by the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition; and books by Alice Waters, leader of Slow Food and founder of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkley.

Online resources for recipes include the following:
http://www.epicurious.com/
http://www.chow.com/
http://www.101cookbooks.com/
http://www.chocolateandzucchini.com/

Please share any recipes, cooking tips, or recipe sources with us that you find are family favorites using your CSA produce items this summer.

In Your Share . . .

Items will vary depending on your harvest and pickup day and the share size - every share may not have every item listed.

Asparagus
Enjoy this last harvest of fresh asparagus. Try grilling outdoors and serving with balsamic vinegar.

Kohlrabi – organic – new this week!
The alien looking vegetable with leaves coming out of a bulb is the kohlrabi – a member of the brassica family, like broccoli and cabbage. The leaves should be removed and can be cooked with other greens, but most dishes focus on the bulb. You will need to peel the bulb, but this veggie has excellent flavor either raw or cooked. Grate it into salads or thinly slice as a snack -food similar to carrots. We have had several reports that raw kohlrabi is a favorite for kids. The bulb will store well in your refrigerator for several weeks once the leaves are removed.
This highly nutritious vegetable is high in fiber, potassium and calcium while low in calories. Find a recipe below.

Salad Mix – organic
This week’s harvest comes from several varieties including green leaf, red oak leaf and the beautiful Rubin’s Red romaine. While field dirt has been rinsed, you do need to wash well before eating. Try a new recipe below with salad greens and fresh strawberries!

Strawberries - organic
After last season’s Easter weekend freeze-out that caused so much of the KY fruit to be lost for the season, we are pleased with this year’s strawberry yields. A wetter spring does mean less concentrated sugar in the fruit, but we think the flavor has changed over the last four weeks – jam making does not require as much sugar as recipes suggest. If you have extra berries, try rinsing well, hulling the stems, and putting in freezer bags to store for the winter. Even a pint or so makes a nice treat when there is snow on the ground outside.

Spinach - organic
Our next two plantings of fresh spinach are beginning to size up. Enjoy raw in salads or in wraps, add to any pasta or egg recipe, or cook by steaming or sautéing. Just remember how much it shrinks down when cooked. Add a little vinegar when ready to eat.

Swiss Chard - organic
Enjoy your rainbow Swiss chard chopped into ribbons and added to a lettuce salad, or sautéed with the kohlrabi this week.

Green Leaf Lettuce – organic
The Thai Green is an organic variety of the most popular type of green leaf lettuce. Butterheads are an organic variety of a popular type of green leaf lettuce – similar to Bibb lettuce, they have tender leaves with wonderful flavor.

Sugar Snap Peas – organic – new this week!

Snap peas are a sweet indicator of spring in Kentucky. This organic variety, Sugar Sprint, is a stringless snap pea (both the pod and the pea are edible). Eat fresh in salads or lightly sauté in olive oil to bring out the flavor. You may want to quickly blanche in boiling water, then throw into an ice water bath to stop the cooking. Add to your lettuce or pasta salad, or enjoy as a snack or appetizer with your favorite dip.

Recipes to Enjoy . . .

Fresh Strawberry Pie
recipe from a friend of the farm

1 baked and cooled 9-inch pie shell
3 pints fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt

1. Cover the bottom of the pie shell with the prettiest berries, arranging them stem-side down.
2. Mash remaining berries (about 1 pint).
3. Put into a medium saucepan. Add sugar, water, cornstarch, and salt.
4. Stir over medium heat until boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 1 minute, stirring, until thickened and clear.
5. Remove from heat. Let cool until barely warm.
6. Pour over berries in pie shell.
7. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or until set.

Basic Method for Cooking Kohlrabi
adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook by Marion Cunningham

1 pound kohlrabi
melted butter
salt
freshly ground pepper
Cut off the tops of the kohlrabi and peel and slice the globes. Cook, uncovered, in boiling, salted water until tender, about 20 –30 minutes (cook less if the kohlrabi is very small). Or, steam on a a rack, over boiling water, covered for about 15 minutes until tender. Drain, toss with melted butter and season to taste.

Option: Kohlrabi au Gratin
Put the cooked, seasoned kohlrabi in a shallow, buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with ½ C freshly grated Parmesan cheese and put under the broiler until the cheese has melted.

Simple Spring Salad with Vanilla Vinaigrette
recipe adapted by Melissa for use at the farm

Vinaigrette:
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp minced chives or green onion
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt
Black pepper to taste

Salad:
6 cups spring mix greens
½ cup chopped green onions (green & white parts)
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries or peaches
½ cup sliced almonds

Toast almonds in dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, until golden and fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat immediately. Let cool.

Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients and transfer to cruet. Set aside.

Place greens in large bowl and drizzle with 2 Tbsp vinaigrette. Divide among 4 salad plates and sprinkle with green onions. Mound strawberries in center of greens and sprinkle with almonds. Drizzle each salad with 1 tsp of vinaigrette and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

CSA News, Week 3

News From the Farm . . .

Over the years of growing and selling fresh vegetables, we have learned that unless you are standing in the field eating your produce just seconds after you picked it, good post-harvest handling is necessary to keep fresh veggies fresh. We do everything we can to make sure what goes into your share is in the best possible shape when it leaves the farm. We begin harvest in early mornings picking greens and lettuces first before the sun heats up the plants. Our harvest containers are regularly returned to our packing barn where we hand rinse most items to remove soil, reduce the field heat, and remove any damaged leaves. We use on-farm coolers to chill produce to its preferred temperature. The quicker all this happens, the longer the fresh-life for everything. The quicker you can cool your items after pickup, the better. We all have days when we don’t make it home as early as plan-ned. If so, swirl your greens in a sink of cold water for about 10 min-utes, shake dry, then put in a sealed container in the refrigerator to re-invigorate the slightly wilted leaves. Remember that all greens need to be stored in a closed container in the coolest part of your fridge. Enjoy!

In Your Share . . .

Greens, Cooking – organic
Many folks put greens into the categories of “love it” or “hate it.” If you fall into the latter, you owe it to yourself to try cooking greens again! Some are more common and some unusual, but each has unique flavors that change slightly depending on weather conditions and the season. The nutritional benefit to human health of vitamins, minerals, and folic acid just cannot be duplicated in tablet or capsule forms. Disease prevention is well documented from leafy greens – so experiment a little bit and find a recipe that works for you and your family. We have many recipes for kale, chard, arugula, turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, and more in newsletters over the past years – you can substitute one for the other in most recipes. If all else fails, throw chopped greens into soup, stew, casseroles and add to your holiday backyard barbeque!Today’s harvest is Giant Red Mustard Greens and Tasty Turnip Greens. Both have a pungent, spicy flavor and will cook down to 25% or less of fresh volume if boiled in the country style. Try rough-chopping into smaller pieces and adding to an omelet, quiche, or frittata. Find a recipe below.

Lettuce – organic
This week’s harvest comes from several varieties of tender heads. You will have one of Thai Green, Reine des Glaces Crisphead, or Optima Greenleaf. The Thai resembles the old-time traditional Black Seeded Simpson long grown in Kentucky gardens. The Reine des Glaces has a scalloped, spiky outer edge on the lower leaves resembling the spikes of a crown, leading to its name as Queen of Ice. The Optima is a darker green than the Thai with enjoyable butterhead flavor.

Swiss Chard - organic
This crop is a Rainbow mix of red, pink, white, yellow, orange, and striped color chard. The greens of the chard plant can be prepared like spinach. Large stalks can be cut into bite size pieces and used in any chard recipe – just know they take a little longer to cook than the more tender leaf.For a quick side dish, chop leaves and stems into ribbons and 1 inch chunks. Sauté in olive oil or steam – either way start with stems first, then after 3-4 minutes, add the ribbon leaves.
Enjoy baby leaves added to salad, or add to pasta, quiche, or a frittata – if you choose to steam, it will wilt way down as does spinach!

Strawberries - organic
Yeh, more berries! In our region, strawberry plants produce berries once per year. In other areas like California or South America, mul-tiple climate zones allow for many plant-ings resulting in longer seasons for ripe berries. Some say the tasty flavor is worth our shorter KY season. Enjoy all you can of local organic berries now!

Larger Baskets Only:

Asparagus
We still are getting some asparagus, but the harvest each day is much smaller. Since asparagus must grow its roots for a full year prior to producing the spears we enjoy, now is the time in the season to cut back on harvesting. The asparagus stalk needs to put energy into flowering in order to have a sufficient crop next spring. Enjoy this last treat as the season for asparagus winds down.

Bok Choy - organic
Long viewed as a specialty item, bok choy is becoming better known and well liked as our menus and palates expand. Try a simple stir-fry by sautéing some garlic or onion in olive oil or butter; add the chopped white stalks, then a few minutes later add the chopped green leaves. When wilted, but still crunchy, add a dash of sesame oil. Enjoy as a nice side dish with fresh garden flavor.

Recipes to Enjoy . . .

Strawberry-Blueberry Compote in Red Wine Syrup
adapted, not original farm recipe

1 cup dry red wine
½ cup sugar
½ tsp whole black peppercorns
2 (2 ½-inch) orange rind strips
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
4 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup blueberries

Combine first 6 ingredients in small non-aluminum saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until liquid is reduced to ½ cup.

Drain mixture in colander over large bowl. Discard solids. Add berries. Toss to coat. Serve warm or chill up to 2 hours. Makes 8 servings.


Spicy Mustard Greens with Cumin
recipe from Bon Appetit – use any of your greens including tops from beets and turnips – may want to halve the recipe since smallish bunch harvested this week.

¼ C extra virgin olive oil
2 med. onions, coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 T cumin seeds
½ tsp dried crushed red pepper
2 bunches mustard greens, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper
1 T balsamic vinegar

Heat oil in large pot, medium high heat. Add onions & sauté until soft, about 7 min.
Stir in garlic, cumin seeds, and red pepper flakes. Sauté 3 minutes.
Add mustard greens in batches, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook until greens are very tender, 15 minutes or more. Stir frequently.
Season with salt and pepper. Mix in vinegar.
Can be made 3 hours ahead. Serve hot or at room temperature. Recipe can be halved.

Wilted Chard with Onions
from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters

1 bunch chard
2 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
salt

Wash and drain chard. Pull the leaves from the ribs. Trim the ends from the ribs and then cut them into thin slices. Cut the leaves into wide ribbons. Heat oil in a heavy pan and add onion. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chard ribs and continue cooking for 3 minutes. Add the leaves and salt. Cook, stirring now and then, until the leaves are tender. Add a little bit of water if the pan gets dry and the inions begin to stick and brown.

Week 2, CSA News

News from the Farm . . .

Currently living and farming at Elmwood Stock Farm are the fifth and sixth genera-tion of the Bell family to farm in Central Kentucky. Over the generations the farming operations have varied in overall degrees of diversity and utilization of specific crops and/or livestock but there have been some fundamental consistencies handed down from one generation to the next. There have always been family sized operations, usually over 100 acres and under 500 acres, big enough to support the family, but no bigger. Each farmer utilized a mix of livestock and crops, with consistent, planned rotations of livestock grazing on pasture and the seasonal crops. Passed down is the knowledge to plant a diverse mix of forages for livestock and the utilization of fall cover crops to prevent soil erosion and protect the topsoil during winter.

Some specific practices added by the fifth generation to the family-farming recipe include the extensive use of no-till row crop production starting in the early 1970s. This early conservation practice is now a backbone for organic production. Elmwood was one of the first farms in the area to utilize greenhouses instead of outdoor field beds for transplant production. Early models were home-built structures with low cost engineering, but healthy, sturdy transplants during wet, blustery springtime proved the benefit of the system. Always having livestock as part of the diversified operation, Elmwood began raising and selling registered breeding stock instead of only commercial livestock, eventually specializing in the Black Angus breed.

The farm's management now includes an increase in the volume and diversity of retail food crops and livestock, and less dependency on traditional wholesale marketing outlets. Crop production has added management intensive but highly efficient plasticulture and the dripline irrigation system. Produce quality is en-hanced, evaporation of irrigation water is reduced, and while necessary to produce vegetables, more water is conserved in food production. Elmwood's soil fertility program uses less manufactured fertilizer and more mined natural minerals, spreading less animal manure but more compost, and results in less focus on treating insects or disease and more focus on producing healthy plants in healthy soil that are less attractive to such predatory problems.

Early generations depended on the large family to perform all of the daily chores and neighbors to assist in the crop harvest. While not possible today to rely so much on family and friends to perform farm work, much of the current crop production and livestock management does still depend on manual tasks. Mostly family works in the winter months while the summer crop season requires seasonal help for the labor -intensive vegetable crop production and direct-to-you distribution of the fruits of the labor. The diversification of the type and number of crops has increased since years past, with over 240 varieties of different vegetables this year. As there is a renewed interest in eating locally produced foods, a diverse product offering is required and a longer season of availability is desired. Ongoing efforts at the farm to meet these customer demands may make it possible for more generations to continue farming at Elmwood Stock Farm.

The photo above shows Cecil Bell, along with family and neighbors, adding water to the transplanter while putting out the crop near the Elkhorn Creek in Scott County.

In Your Share . . .

Items will vary depending on your harvest and pickup day and the share size - every share may not have every item listed.

Asparagus

Enjoy another week of fresh asparagus with a new recipe below. Added to its popular taste is the benefit of Vitamins A, B-complex, C and E.

Bok Choy – organic

This week’s harvest finds the popular Asian vegetable, Bok Choy, ready to enjoy. It can withstand the cooler temperatures better than some, and will keep on growing even if frosted. Bok Choy is said to be high in calcium and vita-mins, but low calories of only 24 per cup serving.Use both the stalk and the leafy greens, either together in a dish, or chopped and prepared separately. If stir-frying, add the stalks first as they cook a little longer than the more tender greens. Though loved by flea beetles (which have somehow started their quest for brassica vegetables even in cold temperatures!), taste and flavor of the bok choy will not change if there are a few holes in the leaves. Store in a plastic bag or other closed container in the refrigerator, leaves will wilt prior to the stalk.

Green Oakleaf Lettuce – organic

This week’s lettuce is a tender, green variety called Emerald Green Oakleaf. Remember that the sooner you can wash and process, the longer you can store your fresh greens. It does really payoff to acquire a salad spinner that helps to remove the wash water. Your refrigerator will dry out most items if not stored in a closed container.

Concept Crisphead Lettuce - organic

This Batavia type of dense head lettuce offers a sweet flavor while flourishing in our cool temperatures. Remember that the sooner you can wash and process, the longer you can store your fresh greens. It does really payoff to acquire a salad spinner that helps to remove the wash water. Your refrigerator will dry out most items if not stored in a closed container.

Spinach – organic
Your spinach harvest this week is the first of the spring planting. Earlier spinach to date was harvested from fall plantings that had good roots established and was able to grow leaves early in the spring.Enjoy as a salad, or added to pasta, quiche, or a frittata – if you choose to steam, it will wilt way, way down!

Strawberries-organic
A couple of sunny days seem to make all the dif-ference – everyone gets the yummy berries this week. Store refrigerated and wash right before eating or using.

Garlic Greens – organic
This will be the last week of garlic greens, the center stalk begins to toughen up a little which is what we want to make the bulb. Find a new recipe below.

Recipes to Enjoy . . .

Sesame Grilled Asparagus
a Food Network recipe

Wooden toothpicks or bamboo skewers 1 pound asparagus 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 clove garlic, minced (or use your garlic greens)2 tablespoons sesame seeds Salt and black pepper

In a shallow pan, soak skewers in cold water for 1 hour, then drain and set aside. Preheat grill to high. Snap off the woody bases of the asparagus and discard. Skewer 4 or 5 asparagus spears together, using the toothpicks or 2 bamboo skewers, forming a raft shape. In a small bowl, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, and garlic and stir with a fork to mix. Brush this mixture on the asparagus rafts on both sides. Season the asparagus with a little salt and lots of pepper. When ready to cook, place the asparagus rafts on the hot grate and grill until nicely browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds as they grill. You can serve the asparagus as rafts or unskewered.

Coconut Curried Bok Choy

recipe from Harmony Valley Farm

3 tsp olive oil
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
2 T yellow curry powder
2 tsp sugar
¾ tsp salt
2 tsp lime juice
½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

½ C cilantro, chopped
1 head bok choy

Cut bok choy into bite size pieces, keeping the stems separate from the leaves. In a medium sauté pan, heat oil. Stir in curry powder, salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook about 1 minute. Add bok choy stems on the bottom of the pan and layer the greens on top. Pour coconut milk over the top. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until stems are tender and the greens are wilted. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, lime juice, and cilantro.

Parsley-Green-Garlic Vinaigrette
recipe from San Francisco Chef Daniel Patterson

6 T fruity extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
2 to 3 stalks green garlic, chopped, dark green parts
removed
Salt
2 T Champagne vinegar
2 T lemon juice
¼ C chopped parsley
Freshly ground black pepper.

Prepare a grill or set an iron skillet over high heat. When it is very hot, lightly oil the stalks and cook them for about 2 minutes. Season with salt, and mince. In a bowl, combine the green garlic, vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil. Just before serving, stir in the parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon over baked cod, grilled chicken or steamed asparagus. Makes about 1 cup.

Has Spring Sprung? Week 1

News from the Farm

Welcome to the 2008 season of Elmwood Stock Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture program. Our goal is to provide you clean, tasty, beautiful, special, high quality fresh foods. We hope you enjoy eating fresh from the farm and have fun with the experience of sometimes trying new things!
Seasonal eating is an adventure. As each basket comes, you will be exposed to the new colors and flavors of foods you have never cooked with before, as well as familiar favorites. We have a few tips to help anyone through the adjustment period.
· Take a few minutes to assess your basket – look at the listing at top right to scan the contents - you might choose to utilize the swap basket at your pickup location. When you get home, decide what needs to be eaten fairly soon and what can wait until later in the week. A few minutes now will save you time later and often some items are more perishable than others – we will let you know what keeps well.
· Remember to wash your vegetables. We do not offer the produce ready to eat. Some items are rinsed and cooled before you get them, but this aids in removing dirt and reducing the field temperature – things we do to ensure better post-harvest quality.
· Try to refrigerate as soon as possible. This is the number one way to keep everything fresh. We do have tips to refresh your greens or lettuce; so don’t give up if you are not able to go straight home.
· Keep your newsletters handy (a 3 ring binder or file folder) or revisit our web-blog www.elmwoodstockfarm.blogspot.com. Later in the summer when you might be really busy or another family member gets CSA duty the week you are gone, a quick recipe or description of a new vegetable may be needed.Find recipes that fit your lifestyle from vegetable cookbooks or the internet. We have resources if you need them.

Note: Each week we scout the fields ready to harvest each new produce crop at the peak of ripeness. A few plants will be ready early, then the majority of the crop comes, followed by a few more that ripen a little later. Think of the bell curve.If you do not have an item like the spinach, this week, don’t worry, there is plenty planted and warmer weather will bring a much larger harvest soon. We keep track of what goes into each share every week to make sure everyone shares in the bounty!

In Your Basket

Asparagus
Our late, wet season is not holding back the asparagus. It’s fresh flavor makes it a farm favorite and one of the top veggies each year for CSA shares. You don’t have to cut the end on a long piece – just bend lightly until it breaks naturally. Short stalks may not have to be trimmed if the ends are tender or you may want to lightly peel away the outer skin at the bottom of the stalk. Enjoy raw, boiled, steamed, sautéed, baked, or roasted. To store, put the cut ends in water or wrap in a wet paper towel and place inside a plastic container. Below are some recipes.

Salad Mix - organic
This week find young and tender lettuces to make a fresh salad. If you wash gently, they should store very well in the fridge for several days. After washing, a salad spinner will help remove excess water as lettuce will keep better when not soggy and prevents your dressing from slipping off. This week’s mix includes Ruben’s Red Romaine, Jericho Romaine, and Thai Green varieties.

Garlic Greens - organic
Resembling a green onion, the delicate green garlic can be enjoyed only in the spring before the plant’s energy is put into making a bulb under the ground. Use all of the white and as much of the green as you find tender. You can enjoy any way you would a scallion or green onion: sauté in olive oil; chop in salad or pasta, make pesto, or add to soups. A yummy Alice Waters recipe is below.

Radishes – organic
We hope you like both the look and the taste of the Plum Purple round radishes – a newer variety this season. We also are harvesting the cylinder shaped French Breakfast radish that is actually easier to slice! Enjoy with salad, or dip lightly in salt or favorite cream cheese for a nice healthy snack. The leaves are not so tasty and will wilt quickly, but the radish itself stores well refrigerated.

Only in Larger Baskets:

Spinach – organic
This Bloomsdale variety offers enough for an early small harvest. Add to your lettuce for a week of green salads, or lightly sauté with a green garlic and radish. It wilts dramatically when steamed down to a very little portion!

Strawberries–organic
Our strawberries are planted in two sections of our unheated high tunnel, protected from the pelting rains. After Sunday’s day of storms, we are happy to have a few berries ready to harvest, as they would have been ruined if completely outdoors. We try to only pick the reddest, ripest berries; they should be washed right before eating rather than in advance, and will keep best refrigerated. This is the first week of the berry harvest and we expect to have plenty more once a little sunshine comes our way.

Recipes to Enjoy

New Garlic and Semolina Soup from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.
Semolina, coarsely ground durum wheat, turns simple, homemade chicken broth into a more substantial, silky textured soup.

In a heavy soup pot, bring to a boil:
2 quarts chicken broth
1 herb bouquet, tied with cotton string (a few sprigs of thyme and parsley, and a bay leaf)
Salt

Stirring constantly with a whisk, sprinkle in:
½ cup semolina

Lower the heat and continue stirring until the semolina is suspended in the broth and no longer settles to the bottom, about 5 minutes. Add:
3 green garlic plants (bulbs and stalks), trimmed and finely chopped

Cook at a simmer, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for 20 minutes. Discard the herb bouquet, taste for salt. Adjust as needed, and serve hot.

[Variation: add cooked, chopped spinach to the bowl when serving.] Makes about two quarts, 4 to 6 servings.

Baked Asparagus with Goat Cheese and Bread-crumbs
from www.calasparagus.com

1½ lb fresh asparagus
2¼ T butter, melted
2 oz fresh white goat cheese, crumbled (¼ C)
½ C fresh breadcrumbs
Coat asparagus spears in 1½ T of the butter, then salt lightly. Arrange in a shallow baking dish large enough to accommodate all the asparagus in a single layer. Evenly distribute cheese over asparagus, then breadcrumbs. Drizzle with remaining butter, and bake at 400 degrees until the asparagus is lightly crisped and the bread-crumbs are browned, about 10 minutes.

Asparagus Vinaigrette
adapted from the food-blog Orangette

1 bunch asparagus, blanched until bright greenSalt2 T lemon juice1 T white wine or champagne vinegar1 T Dijon mustard½ tsp fine sea salt5 T olive oilScant 1/8 t pressed garlic1 hard-boiled egg, finely chopped (optional)Zest of half a lemon (optional) In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and salt. Add the oil, and whisk well to emulsify. Taste, and if necessary, add a bit more oil. Add the garlic, and whisk to combine.To serve, drizzle the vinaigrette over the asparagus, and top, if you like, with hard-boiled egg. If you choose to use the lemon zest, sprinkle a couple of pinches on top.

New Year, New Season!

Now is the time to sign up for Elmwood's CSA organic vegetable program. Visit our website for details and to print out a sign up form.