Week 20 ~ Oct.4 – Oct.10 CSA Newsletter

This Weeks Share: Chard, Sweet Corn, a Brassica, Cucumber, Summer Squash, Peppers, Tomatoes, Beets, Beans and Celery.

• Chard: This week your yummy organic greens are wonderful chard. A small note of defense on the topic of  ‘big greens’….they are an important part of our diet and of what we believe being part of a CSA represents in the Willamette Valley. This time of year they are great warmed/wilted with a lite vinigarette and some goat cheese or any cheese if you wilt… 🙂 … I know some of you feel a bit bombarded with the greens, but you can always quick blanche and freeze them for later. Yes! This works! So please don’t pass them up. The small leaves are wonderful raw, never bitter. If you’re still at a loss with what to do with swiss chard, here’s a simple recipe that you can come back to, http://www.weheartfood.com/2009/02/taste-the-rainbow-swiss-chard-with-golden-raisins-and-pine-nuts.html. Farmer John’s Cookbook, The Real Dirt on Vegetables has almost the exact same recipe. So do several other folks out there.
• Sweet Corn: Back in the share this week is what may be the last of our sweet corn. It continues to have an unsurpassed nice, sweet flavor and makes eating your vegetables that much easier. Here’s something new…. http://www.sustainablesettings.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93 . This recipe for sweet corn and zucchini salad sounds really great and interesting…corn, zucchini and basil, oh my!
• Brassica: This in fact means you will get one of the many different crops that fall into this category including broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, brussel sprouts or cabbage.

• Cucumber: Yep…more, never bitter, fresh and crisp cucumber for you. The big ones are great and we are seeing some big ones! The funky shapes are pretty fun too! We eat these every day and they are something I don’t like buying…soon they will be gone and you’ll miss them like us.
• Summer Squash: This is one of the great years for your summer squash and that will likely mean it’s a not-so-good year for the winter squash. We are in fact seeing low production with most winter squash and especially pumpkins. Sorry about that one members….please enjoy the fresh, thin-skinned summer squash that are easy and quick to prepare and go with most any meal.
• Peppers: We will have peppers for you in some form this week. We love all the different shapes and colors of our bell pepper varieties, and other peppers as well and hope you do too. The flavors range from sweet to hot and we have had a rainbow of in-betweenness. Some form of this rainbow will be in your share.

• Tomatoes: Nice sized, sweet, ripe, heirloom, red, greenish yellow, yellow, bright orange and dark-greenish red tomatoes are turning every day now in the fields and we gratefully pass them on to you. The year that looked to be the green tomato year somehow turned around for us all. Hooray!

• Beets: Fabulous root beets are back for another week. You may get golden, red or white ones. The greens are great too! I am so happy to report that I almost always hear sounds of joy rather than regret from you members when you see the beets. You often say how sweet and wonderful they are too. This makes us smile. If you are looking for so,ething new to do with beets, why not give sauteeing them a try? http://blog.fromnanaskitchenwithlove.com/2010/04/farm-fresh-beets-with-spinach.html This recipe looks beautiful!
• Beans: Week two of lovely string beans for you….we are thrilled!  You should be getting great Blue Lake greenies, some purples or some pale golden yellow beans this week. They are all similar in flavor, sweet and easy steamed or boiled. I love this gal’s recipe of golden beans with dill and her blog as well…. http://freshcatering.blogspot.com/2009/07/sultans-golden-crescent-beans-dill-and.html. We didn’t grow this particular seed strain of golden beans, but you get the idea. Enjoy.
• Celery: This week the fabulous red cutting celery is back for you. The celery flavor has strengthened in the harvest of today and this week and even less like the bland celery of the grocery store. The timing is ripe for cooking this farm fresh gem. Try it in stir fries or a nice creamy soup….http://fromgardentokitchen.blogspot.com/2007/08/cutting-celery.html. I enjoyed this Seattle bloggers description and recipes regarding the featured celery we have…hope you do too. Thanks fabulous bloggers!

FARM NEWS: Here we are at week 20. With only 4 more weeks ahead of this one, it is beginning to feel like we’re headed for the dormant season. How about for you? Hopefully you didn’t get caught in the rain today. The skies are forecast not to spill a drop of rain until perhaps Friday, so we’ll see. I want to mention the Annual Fall Harvest Gathering / Work Party Potluck again, so you’ll make a note of it ~ October 17th, Sunday. We’ll be planting garlic from 10am until noon and then gather in our woods for hanging out by the fire, eating, drinking and relaxing. Bring a dish and come share yourself and your farm! We look forward to having you. If you missed it last week I posted the details (scroll down) and I will next week as well. See you soon and happy, healthy eating!

Your farmers~ Kip, Amy and all of us out on the farm

Week 15 ~ August 30 – September 4 CSA Newsletter

This Weeks Share: Lacinato (Dinosaur) Kale, Broccoli or Cauliflower or Cabbage, Garlic, Cucumber, Onions, Head of Lettuce, Summer Squash, Redventure Celery, Hot Peppers and Tomatoes.

• Lacinato Kale: The Lacinato kale is looking good and tasting great this week. The kids and I were all munching on the leaves and stems at pick-up today. You must try this Kale and Walnut Pesto if you haven’t yet. It’s wonderful over potatoes and pasta. I am sure I’ve posted the recipe in the past, but trust me it’s one you will want again…and again…

Kale and Walnut Pesto

From Farmer John’s Cookbook (page 86).
This version of pesto is particularly good over roasted potatoes, but it works great over pasta, too. If you plan to freeze it, add the cheese only after the pesto has thawed, when you are ready to serve.
Makes about 1 cup~

1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon plus
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 pound kale, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
(about 1 teaspoon)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)
freshly ground black pepper
Toast the chopped walnuts in a dry, heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over high heat, stirring constantly, until they start to brown in spots and become fragrant. (Be careful not to overtoast them, as they will burn very quickly once they are toasted.) Immediately transfer the walnuts to a dish to cool.
Bring two quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt, then add the kale. Cook kale until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.
Put the garlic, walnuts, and kale in a blender or food processor; pulse until well combined. With the blender or food processor running, pour in the olive oil in a steady, smooth, pencil-thin stream.
When the ingredients are thoroughly combined, transfer to a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Serve hot.

• Broccoli/ Cauliflower/ Cabbage: I know….yes, more. We really can’t believe it either, but are happy to have it for you. I’ve been making random jars of cabbage sauerkraut and have them at various stages of fermentation. We really have been enjoying the fermented, live food. Any free-radicals within are not happy! The cauliflower and cabbage still taste sweet. The broccoli shoots are tall and flavorful.
• Garlic: Keep stocking up the storage crops for Winter….do you feel like a squirrel? We actually eat quite a bit of fresh garlic, especially once the tomatoes start steadily making it into the kitchen. However, it’s always good to have a garlic jar that overfloweth. 🙂
• Cucumber: Did anyone try the cucumber shake from last week? If so, I’d love to hear about it….I haven’t tried it yet. I’ve made a couple jars of refrigerator dill spears. Mine were simple salt brine soaked cucs in jars on the counter, and after a couple days put in the fridge. They were good but could be better. I’ve been doing more reading and found out some tips, I have yet to try the results of. Have a look here http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/05/arthur-schwartz-1/ for some good information on homemade fermented, kosher dills. I have also heard that soaking your cucumbers in an ice bath until you’re ready to stuff the jars helps to ensure a crispy pickle. I’m all about spears for a couple reasons…1. My girls LOVE the seed part of the cucumber and pickle, often leaving a paper thin shell of skin on their plate. 2. We cannot keep up with a pickling cucumber plant on the farm to save our life, and therefore don’t grow them. I think they need to be picked every 7 minutes or something.
• Onions: This week we mostly have yellow storage onions for you. They are hotter and will hold for months.
• Lettuce: Yep. Everyone gets a nice head of lettuce this week. The farm is happy to help with your weekly salad even more.
• Summer Squash: What to do with more squash this week? This is a lovely idea from Zephyr Community Farm (adapted by hungrymonster.com). There are actually tons of recipes out there with the same premise.

Baked Zucchini Spears

2 medium sized zucchini or yellow summer squash
3 tablespoons dried bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried summer savory
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons corn oil
Prepared marinara sauce, optional

Preheat oven to 475°F. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Wash zucchini and pat dry. Do not peel. Cut into eighths lengthwise, then halves crosswise. On a sheet of wax paper, toss bread crumbs, cheese, herbs, garlic powder, and pepper. Whisk oil and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Moisten zucchini spears in this mixture, then roll them in crumb mixture, covering all sides. Arrange on baking sheet. Bake 7 minutes, or until the spears are lightly browned. Turn spears over; bake 3 minutes more. Serve immediately with hot marinara sauce, if desired. Makes four servings.

• Redventure Celery: Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seed developed this exciting new celery by crossing his own selections of Giant Red with Ventura, the classic industry standard. This is a delightful and ideal salad celery. It’s tender more than tough or stringy. The enhanced flavor of the thinner farm celery and greens makes it ideal for soups or casseroles. We really enjoy growing it and eating it! Hope you are enjoying this new addition to your farm share bounty.
• Hot Peppers: Everyone will get a couple Jalepenos in the share this week. The red ones pack more punch than the green so choose at your own risk. Their fiery heat is sure to spice up your favorite dishes.
• Tomatoes: I’m still in a little shock about this one so I’m working on finding the words………other than YES!
  

FARM NEWS: We are so confused about the weather this year that we’re finally throwing our hands up and our hats off and saying it is what it is, for real. We hope that we have fed you well thus far, and we hope to still bring you more. Each year that is truly the goal. It is now time to think about how to celebrate this bewildering season of farm fresh food. We are planning the annual Fall Harvest Party aka Member Appreciation/Get-together. It’s fun. Hopefully all of you will try to come see your farm, run around, maybe even pull a weed or two, or just eat, drink and relax. We are trying for October 17th or 24th….more to come on that. I want to bring you more farm news, but am so truly happy to not be lamenting on tomato-less-ness that I think I’ll just wish you a wonderful week.  See you soon!

Your loving Farmers,

Kip, Amy and all of the Love Farm