Wednesday, July 31, 2013

CSA Harvest Week 12: Gumboots and Farm Boot Fashion

CSA Harvest Week 12: Gumboots and Farm Boot Fashion

Around the farm
It’s looking like summer in your vegetable boxes! Juicy tomatoes, tender green beans, aromatic basil, crisp cucumbers, and more!  Vegetables are all about the sun. It’s what makes everything ripen on the plants.   And we just haven’t seen much sun this summer.

Tomato hoophouse 
Rain is the downfall of tomatoes. Well, how about building a rain-proof covering over the tomatoes?  It’s like an umbrella for the tomato plants since the fruit cracks so easily in the rain.  We currently have 2 of these structures built and we are building a third structure over 3 beds of tomatoes that will produce in late August.  We call these structures “tomato hoophouses” or “tomato umbrellas.”  They are long structures that look like greenhouses, but the plastic covering does not reach the ground on the two long sides, and the structure doesn’t keep the tomatoes warm in the spring or fall.  There are no end walls on the narrow ends or doors.  We have 2 goals: keep the tomatoes out of the rain and keep the humid air circulating.  What are the benefits?  We are keeping fungus/ blight from landing on the plants and killing them.  Conventional (not organic) tomatoes are sprayed with fungicides to kill these fungal diseases.  We are preventing these tomato problems and not using the conventional fungicides.  Another added benefit…rain on the fruit usually causes the fruit to crack before it ripens. 
Marie in the cherry tomatoes

Bush Beans- This week only! These tender bean are tender and juicy.  You can eat them raw too since they’re so sweet.  We sauté them in olive oil with some garlic and onion for about 10 minutes.  Then I add a spash of lemon juice and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.  We most likely will not have these beans next week.  Our vegetable field along the creek was saturated so many times this spring and summer that the other plantings of beans did not make it.

Have you purchased rain boots yet this year?  Did you already own rain boots and you live it in them this summer?  Several years ago, a friend of ours who’s from New Zealand, commented that North Carolinians needed to stop complaining about it being wet outside and just wear gumboots to the grocery store.  Yep. Gumboots.  Great name, right? William and I each spend about 5 hours a day in rain boots, so we both own very comfortable rain boots from Muck Boot.  Shoe fashion is still important on the farm, but shoe function is even more important.  Muck Boots are very flexible and the neoprene uppers roll down if it’s too hot for tall calf high boots.  I start each morning in these boots to keep my feet dry in the heavy morning dew.  I also have a 2nd “dirty” pair to wear into mucky animal pastures.  I think I need a third pair of fashion gumboots to wear into town, since my farm pairs live a rough, dirty life!  William and I think that Bluebird Farm should be sponsored by Muck Boot! 

Here's a few ripe ones!

Farm Fresh Harvest
Tomatoes  Here’s a few tomatoes for you! We usually pick several boxes of tomatoes a day (boxes have about 36 tomatoes in them).  So far, it’s been 5-10 total tomatoes a day.  We’ve saved up some tomatoes for you.  There is also a sampling of cherry tomatoes.
Basil- Store your basil in a little glass of water on the kitchen counter.  Basil does not like to be refrigerated.  What a welcome fresh, aromatic bunch of basil.  We won’t have very much basil this year unless the weather dries out a bit.  Make sure to rinse it well before using- the rains are splashing sand on the leaves.  Chop it up and sprinkle it over your summer dishes that include peppers, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers.  The flavor is so fresh and aromatic.
Bush Beans- These tender bean are tender and juicy.  You can eat them raw too since they’re so sweet.  We sauté them in olive oil with some garlic and onion for about 10 minutes.  Then I add a spash of lemon juice and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
Bell peppers- Here’s a few more for you!  The peppers are slowly catching up. 
Beets- Beautiful Beets!
Summer squash and Zucchini- Not a very good squash year.  Guess we just get to savor and appreciate the small harvest!
Cucumbers- The plants are doing well still.  We’re working hard to make sure there aren’t any gaps between harvest of cucumbers, since the plants only produce for a few weeks.  We have to always have young plants to start producing.  Cucumbers come in all shapes and sizes.  We grow little mini cucumbers, large crisp American slicers, and delicate slender European cucumbers.
Scallions- Scallions are a spring or green onion.  Eat the white stalk and the green leaves! They add a sweet, mild onion flavor to any dish! Great raw or substitute a few scallions for a big onion in cooking.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We're growing for you! 
We can't be around to farm great food without your support.  Thanks for the continued support! 
Please consider becoming a member of the 8 week Fall CSA in October and November.   We thank everyone for being a part of the Bluebird CSA farm membership and also for your additional purchases at the farmers' market and farm!



Fall CSA Vegetable Boxes

The Fall CSA is 8 weeks long and runs from October 2nd until November 20th.  Pickup on Wednesdays in Hickory or Morganton.  Fall CSA boxes are a little bit smaller than our full season CSA boxes and  cost $120 for 8 weeks. ($15 week average)
Here's an example Fall CSA box.
1 kale bunch
1 Swiss chard bunch (or tender baby collards)
1 head of lettuce
1 bag of arugula
1 bunch radishes (or 1 bunch of herbs)
plus a few others...
Other Possible Vegetables that may be included
Hawkerai turnips
sweet potatoes
tomatoes
sweet bell peppers
carrots
beets
scallions

Weather challenges are always huge obstacles for farmers. 
The Positive Side...
We'll have some beautiful tomatoes and peppers if the plants can handle the weather stress.  We currently have beautiful cucumbers. Beautiful!  Beets aren't a sexy vegetable like a tomato. They just aren't natural divas like tomatoes are.  But we have some very handsome beets.  Very sweet tasting and good-natured beets for you to enjoy

And...We've got our packets of amazing organic seeds, the organic fertilizer, and a positive outlook on beautiful fall vegetables.  More kale, Swiss chard, lettuce, radishes, Hakerai turnips, carrots, beets, arugula, and scallions.  And hopefully peppers and tomatoes will produce well all the way into the end of September.  Sweet potatoes should be making an entrance around the 3rd week of September.
Here's to fine summer farm eating! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recipes
Fresh Gingered Beets
Adapted from The Passionate Vegetarian, 2002.

Basic Cooking Method
1.       Wash beets well. Cut off and discard root tails and all except 1 inch of stems.  Do not peel.  Cook, covered in lightly salted boiling water for 40 to 50 minutes or until just tender. Drain.  Let cool until easy to handle.
2.       Slip skins off beets under running water.  Carefully slice each beet into 1/4 inch thick slices, removing and discarding remaining stem ends.
Once the beets are sliced, you may splash them with a bit of olive oil and store for about 2 days before using or creating them into a dish.  I like to store beets in Mason jars, so they don’t stain the Tupperware.
1 bunch of beets (approx 5 large beets or 10 golf ball size beets)
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1-2 teaspoons finely diced ginger
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons water

Recipe:                                                                                                     
1.       Heat 1 teaspoon each butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  When the oils are sizzling hot, add the cooked beets and toss them in the hot fat. 
2.       Then add 1 to 2 teaspoons peeled very finely dice ginger.  Toss for about 30 seconds.
3.       Then add 3 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 tablespoons water.  Cook, stirring, until the water and brown sugar have bubbled into a glaze, about 30 seconds.

Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)
This great pasta salad recipe can be made with a variety of summer vegetables.  It is easy to mix and match ingredients based on seasonal availability.
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 eggplant
4 tomatoes
4 portobello mushrooms
1 red bell pepper
Olive oil spray
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound penne, cooked, rinsed, and cooled
4 oz. mozzarella, sliced
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Approximately 1 cup vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar

Heat/prepare an outdoor grill.  Slice zucchini, squash, and eggplant into long ½ inch thick “planks.”   Cut tomatoes in half.  Remove stems from mushrooms.  Cut pepper into quarters; discard core and seeds.  Spray veggies with light coating of oil.  Sprinkle with minced garlic; season with salt and pepper.  Grill until lightly charred and barely tender.  Chop and place in large bowl with pasta, cheese, nuts, and basil.  Toss with vinaigrette.  Season with salt and pepper.  6-8 servings.

Late Summer Bruschetta
 (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)
2-3 large tomatoes
1 crunchy sweet pepper
1 medium sweet onion
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
Small handful fresh basil, chopped (optional)
Crusty bread (like baguette)
Shredded mozzarella or grated parmesan (optional)
Chop the vegetables into a midsize dice.  Combine with garlic 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, and optional basil.  Slice baguette down the middle and lay the two sides cut side up.  Brush with additional 1-2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle on cheese, if using.  Broil bread for several minutes until bread or cheese browns a bit.  Top the sections (you may cut them smaller, if desired) with some of the vegetable mixture.  Makes 4 servings

Mediterranean Salsa
Fresh flavor! This is a great salsa, salad or pita stuffing.

1 medium cucumber, diced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced, remove as much of the spicy ribs and seeds as needed
1 bell pepper, diced
1 bunch parsley, finely diced
2/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup pitted kalamata olives
Juice from 1-2 fresh lemons
Combine all ingredients and toss well.  Let marinate at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.


How about some green bean recipe ideas? Martha Stewart provides inspiration again…
Healthy Green Bean Recipes
Three Bean Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
If you don’t have watercress or mache on hand (and you won’t, because mache doesn’t grow here when green beans grow), you can use arugula, lettuce, or any other salad green,


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

We're growing for you! 
We can't be around to farm great food without your support.  Thanks for the continued support! 

Please consider becoming a member of the 8 week Fall CSA in October and November.   We thank everyone for being a part of the Bluebird CSA farm membership and also for your additional purchases at the farmers' market and farm!



Fall CSA Vegetable Boxes

The Fall CSA is 8 weeks long and runs from October 2nd until November 20th.  Pickup on Wednesdays in Hickory or Morganton.  Fall CSA boxes are a little bit smaller than our full season CSA boxes and  cost $120 for 8 weeks. ($15 week average)
Here's an example Fall CSA box.
1 kale bunch
1 Swiss chard bunch (or tender baby collards)
1 head of lettuce
1 bag of arugula
1 bunch radishes (or 1 bunch of herbs)
plus a few others...
Other Possible Vegetables that may be included
Hawkerai turnips
sweet potatoes
tomatoes
sweet bell peppers
carrots
beets
scallions

Around the farm
Tomatoes really are coming soon!  The plants are loaded with fruit- and the fruit is still green.  As you all know, the lack of a regular summer weather pattern is very strange.  Large share members will get a pint of delicious sun-ripened cherry tomatoes this week.  More to come next week! The large tomatoes are starting to turn.  We’re looking forward to some awesome tomatoes all the way until October.

We’ve been rocking and rolling this week in the vegetable field!  We’ve been nursing the pepper plants that are recovering from physical damage to their roots and canopy from thunderstorms. 
Young cucumbers are weeded, more young cucumbers are seeding in the soil, and the oldest plants have been fertilized with some organic fish emulsion to help prolong the harvest! Long live cucumbers!  Hopefully the munchy creature will stay out of the garden because we sprayed the stinky fish fertilizer.

Weather challenges are always huge obstacles for farmers. 
The Positive Side...
We'll have some beautiful tomatoes and peppers if the plants can handle the weather stress.  We currently have beautiful cucumbers. Beautiful!  Beets aren't a sexy vegetable like a tomato. They just aren't natural divas like tomatoes are.  But we have some very handsome beets.  Very sweet tasting and good-natured beets for you to enjoy

And...We've got our packets of amazing organic seeds, the organic fertilizer, and a positive outlook on beautiful fall vegetables.  More kale, Swiss chard, lettuce, radishes, Hakerai turnips, carrots, beets, arugula, and scallions.  And hopefully peppers and tomatoes will produce well all the way into the end of September.  Sweet potatoes should be making an entrance around the 3rd week of September.

Here's to fine summer farm eating! 
Farm Fresh Harvest
Large shares only>>Cherry tomatoes<< Don’t worry, there will be more tomatoes for everyone soon.
Basil- Yum! Finally- we get a little bit of basil.  Usually the basil is ready way back in mid-June.  It hates cool weather!  Chop it up and sprinkle it over your summer dishes that include peppers, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers.  The flavor is so fresh and aromatic.
Garlic- Here’s a little stockpile of heirloom garlic bulbs for you.
Bell peppers- Here’s a few more for you!  The peppers are slowly catching up. 
Beets- Beautiful Beets!
Summer squash and Zucchini- Not a very good squash year.  Guess we just get to savor and appreciate the small harvest!
Cucumbers- The plants are doing well still.  We’re working hard to make sure there aren’t any gaps between harvest of cucumbers, since the plants only produce for a few weeks.  We have to always have young plants to start producing.  Cucumbers come in all shapes and sizes.  We grow little mini cucumbers, large crisp American slicers, and delicate slender European cucumbers.
Scallions- Scallions are a spring or green onion.  Eat the white stalk and the green leaves! They add a sweet, mild onion flavor to any dish! Great raw or substitute a few scallions for a big onion in cooking.

Recipes
Remember, you can look at past articles from the CSA blog for recipes from previous newsletters.

Cool as a cucumbers: 10 Fresh Recipes for Summer
     -from www.Thekitchn.com

Fresh Gingered Beets
Adapted from The Passionate Vegetarian, 2002.

Basic Cooking Method
1.       Wash beets well. Cut off and discard root tails and all except 1 inch of stems.  Do not peel.  Cook, covered in lightly salted boiling water for 40 to 50 minutes or until just tender. Drain.  Let cool until easy to handle.
2.       Slip skins off beets under running water.  Carefully slice each beet into 1/4 inch thick slices, removing and discarding remaining stem ends.
Once the beets are sliced, you may splash them with a bit of olive oil and store for about 2 days before using or creating them into a dish.  I like to store beets in Mason jars, so they don’t stain the Tupperware.
1 bunch of beets (approx 5 large beets or 10 golf ball size beets)
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1-2 teaspoons finely diced ginger
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons water

Recipe:                                                                                                     
1.       Heat 1 teaspoon each butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  When the oils are sizzling hot, add the cooked beets and toss them in the hot fat. 
2.       Then add 1 to 2 teaspoons peeled very finely dice ginger.  Toss for about 30 seconds.
3.       Then add 3 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 tablespoons water.  Cook, stirring, until the water and brown sugar have bubbled into a glaze, about 30 seconds.


Orange-Beet Salad
From Better Homes and Gardens annual Recipes 2001
Marie’s notes: I used olive oil instead of walnut oil and plain chevre instead of feta cheese. I also omitted the orange peel (the peel of conventional citrus have a high concentration of pesticides) and used 1 extra tablespoon of orange juice.
Tip: Roll the plain goat chevre or feta cheese in a black pepper and thyme mixture (coat the cheese in herbs)  to keep the red juice of the beets from staining the cheese.  I let the beets marinate overnight in the dressing, drained the beets, and then topped the beets with the walnuts and cheese on the dinner plates.   It was delicious!

3 medium beets (about 9 oz)
3 Tbsp. walnut oil or salad oil
1 tsp. shredded orange peel
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar or white vinegar
2 Tbsp. broken walnuts toasted
3 Tbsp crumbled feta cheese
¼ coarsely ground pepper
3.      Wash beets well. Cut off and discard root tails and all except 1 inch of stems.  Do not peel.  Cook, covered in lightly salted boiling water for 40 to 50 minutes or until just tender. Drain.  Let cool until easy to handle.
4.     Slip skins off beets under running water.  Carefully slice each beet into 1/4 inch thick slices, removing and discarding remaining stem ends.
5.     Meanwhile, for dressing, in a screw-top jar combine walnut oil or salad oil, orange peel, orange juice, and vinegar.  Cover and shake well.
6.     In a medium mixing bowl gently toss the beet slices with the dressing. Cover, and chill to marinade for 2 to 24 hours. 
7.     To serve, let mixture come to room temperature. Gently stir walnuts into beets. Sprinkle with feta cheese and pepper. Makes 4 servings.


Tuesday, July 16, 2013

We haven't washed away...yet!

CSA Week 10: Still here, haven't washed away..yet!
We're growing for you! 
Trying to keep the weeds at bay.
We thank everyone for being a part of the Bluebird CSA farm membership and also for your additional purchases at the farmers' market and farm!

Box Fullness
Remember, your weekly vegetable boxes are based on a season average of either $20 or $25 per week for Small and Large vegetable shares, respectively.  Some weeks may be a bit less full than others.  This week’s boxes are quite full, but next week’s boxes may be under the average size. 
Tomatoes are coming soon!  The plants look great and are loaded with fruit- it’s just still green.  They are late due to cold weather back in May and the lack of sunshine.
 We can't be around to farm without your support.  Thanks for the continued support! Please consider becoming a member of the 8 week Fall CSA in October and November. See an overview below.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fall CSA Vegetable Boxes
Become a Member

Look for an official Fall CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) email and signup link in the next few days.  The Fall CSA is 8 weeks long and runs from October 2nd until November 20th.  Pickup on Wednesdays in Hickory or Morganton.  Fall CSA boxes are a little bit smaller than our full season CSA boxes and  cost $120 for 8 weeks. ($15 week average)
Here's an example Fall CSA box.
1 kale bunch
1 Swiss chard bunch (or tender baby collards)
1 head of lettuce
1 bag of arugula
1 bunch radishes (or 1 bunch of herbs)
plus a few others...
Other Possible Vegetables that may be included
Hawkerai turnips
sweet potatoes
tomatoes
sweet bell peppers
carrots
beets
scallions
Look for a CSA signup email in the next few days.
 ~~~~~~~~


Farm news
We had a scare with Friday night’s storm.  The pounding rain came down as loud as hail and totaled 3 inches in 2 hours.  I was sure the fruit laden peppers were snapped in half.  They are not snapped, but they are bent sideways a few inches from the ground.  We’re pretty sure they will survive with a few setbacks.

Weather challenges are always huge obstacles for farmers. 
Garden and pasture
What is more disheartening than weather challenges  is to have losses from weather, harvest what you have left in the fields, and then not sell the harvested vegetables at the Farmers' Market.  That’s why you, our CSA members are so important to us! We know you are there for us! We’re growing for you!
We haven't had any severe damages with the flooding and wet weather (no floating cars or animals or completely wiped out plants), but many plants have been struggling and not producing well  (lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, potatoes, basil)  That's because it's been cool and the field has been flooded or saturated with water.  (roots don't like to drown.)

This is for all you out there that have wanted to know the details..We don't want to sound negative, but here's a bit of the damage in the vegetable field.  The water table is at the surface of the field for the 7th?(stopped counting) time.  This means there are small ponds and standing water in many places.  The squash blossoms have rotted on the plants. The bell peppers plants are alive but toppled over almost to the ground.  Some potatoes have rotted in the ground.  The weeds are ferocious and grow 3 inches a week.  Some beans plants and cucumbers plants are rotting at the base of their stems.  The pigs are happy "as a pig in mud," but we are keeping them moving around the farm into new paddocks so they don't make mud bricks!

baby cucumbers



The Positive Side...
We'll have some beautiful tomatoes and peppers if the plants can handle the weather stress.  We currently have beautiful cucumbers. Beautiful!  Beets aren't a sexy vegetable like a tomato. They just aren't natural divas like tomatoes are.  But we have some very handsome beets.  Very sweet tasting and good-natured beets for you to enjoy

And...We've got our packets of amazing organic seeds, the organic fertilizer, and a positive outlook on beautiful fall vegetables.  More kale, Swiss chard, lettuce, radishes, Hakerai turnips, carrots, beets, arugula, and scallions.  And hopefully peppers and tomatoes will produce well all the way into the end of September.  Sweet potatoes should be making an entrance around the 3rd week of September.

baby squash

baby dill

baby scallions

baby lettuce

beets, in the "wild"

Sweet potato jungle

edamame beans!

So green for July!




Here's to fine summer farm eating! 
Farm Fresh Harvest
(Garlic correction from last week…there was no garlic last week)
Bell peppers- Here’s a few more for you!  The peppers are slowly catching up.  Potatoes- King Harry. A white fleshed, all-round boiling, roasting, au gratin potato with a pleasant flavor.  These taters have been dried/cured for a short while in the barn, so they will keep for a medium length…2-4 weeks. Store them in the fridge.  You won’t get any potatoes next week.  This variety does well in the South; it’s resistant to Colorado Potato Beetle- a major pest.  
Beets- Beautiful Beets! This is our best crop of beets ever. Beets can be a love ‘em or hate ‘em crop.  You should love ‘em.  Their earthy flavor has sweet notes to it.  Try the Gingered Beets recipe.  Try my Orange Marinated Beet Salad recipe below.  It’s tasty!
Carrots- Mmmm. These tasty garden carrots are the last ones! We’ve harvested them all!
Summer squash and Zucchini- We are still waiting on a younger planting of squash and zucchini to come into production.  Enjoy the moderate amount of fruit- once the plants start producing they go all out!
Cucumbers- The smell of summer! They are really cranking out some tasty fruit. It is a beautiful patch of plants.  Cucumbers come in all shapes and sizes.  We grow little mini cucumbers, large crisp American slicers, and delicate slender European cucumbers.
Scallions- Scallions are a spring or green onion.  Eat the white stalk and the green leaves! They add a sweet, mild onion flavor to any dish! Great raw or substitute a few scallions for a big onion in cooking.

Recipes
Cool as a cucumbers: 10 Fresh Recipes for Summer
     -from www.Thekitchn.com

Fresh Gingered Beets
Adapted from The Passionate Vegetarian, 2002.

Basic Cooking Method
  1. Wash beets well. Cut off and discard root tails and all except 1 inch of stems.  Do not peel.  Cook, covered in lightly salted boiling water for 40 to 50 minutes or until just tender. Drain.  Let cool until easy to handle.
  2. Slip skins off beets under running water.  Carefully slice each beet into 1/4 inch thick slices, removing and discarding remaining stem ends.
Once the beets are sliced, you may splash them with a bit of olive oil and store for about 2 days before using or creating them into a dish.  I like to store beets in Mason jars, so they don’t stain the Tupperware.
1 bunch of beets (approx 5 large beets or 10 golf ball size beets)
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1-2 teaspoons finely diced ginger
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons water

Recipe:                                                                                                     
  1. Heat 1 teaspoon each butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  When the oils are sizzling hot, add the cooked beets and toss them in the hot fat. 
  2. Then add 1 to 2 teaspoons peeled very finely dice ginger.  Toss for about 30 seconds.
  3. Then add 3 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 tablespoons water.  Cook, stirring, until the water and brown sugar have bubbled into a glaze, about 30 seconds.


Orange-Beet Salad
From Better Homes and Gardens annual Recipes 2001
Marie’s notes: I used olive oil instead of walnut oil and plain chevre instead of feta cheese. I also omitted the orange peel (the peel of conventional citrus have a high concentration of pesticides) and used 1 extra tablespoon of orange juice.
Tip: Roll the plain goat chevre or feta cheese in a black pepper and thyme mixture (coat the cheese in herbs)  to keep the red juice of the beets from staining the cheese.  I let the beets marinate overnight in the dressing, drained the beets, and then topped the beets with the walnuts and cheese on the dinner plates.   It was delicious!

3 medium beets (about 9 oz)
3 Tbsp. walnut oil or salad oil
1 tsp. shredded orange peel
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar or white vinegar
2 Tbsp. broken walnuts toasted
3 Tbsp crumbled feta cheese
¼ coarsely ground pepper
  1.  Wash beets well. Cut off and discard root tails and all except 1 inch of stems.  Do not peel.  Cook, covered in lightly salted boiling water for 40 to 50 minutes or until just tender. Drain.  Let cool until easy to handle.
  2. Slip skins off beets under running water.  Carefully slice each beet into 1/4 inch thick slices, removing and discarding remaining stem ends.
  3. Meanwhile, for dressing, in a screw-top jar combine walnut oil or salad oil, orange peel, orange juice, and vinegar.  Cover and shake well.
  4. In a medium mixing bowl gently toss the beet slices with the dressing. Cover, and chill to marinade for 2 to 24 hours. 
  5. To serve, let mixture come to room temperature. Gently stir walnuts into beets. Sprinkle with feta cheese and pepper. Makes 4 servings.

Roasted Carrot Stick Snack
Best when served hot out of the oven, these healthful substitutes for French fries are loaded with vitamin A.
6 medium carrots (1 lb.)
2 to 3 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh or dried dillweed or basil
Coarse sea salt or salt

1. Preheat oven to 475F.  Peel carrots.  Cut carrots into strips about 3 inches long and ½ inch wide.
2.  In a large bowl combine olive oil and snipped dillweed or basil.  Add carrots; toss to coat.
3.  In a 15x10x1 inch baking pan spread carrots in a single layer.  Roast, uncovered, about 10 minutes or until carrots are just tender, stirring once.  Sprinkle with coarse salt.  Makes 6 side dish or snack servings. 


Cucumber yogurt salad
            Wash cucumbers well.  Finely slice, dice, or grate cucumber.  Mix with plain yogurt (greek style yogurts are particularly good for this recipe).  Add as much yogurt as you prefer.  This salad can range from being almost purely cucumbers with a yogurt dressing to a bowl of yogurt with some cucumbers in it.  Salt to taste. 

Add fresh flavor. Try adding dill, crushed garlic, diced spring onion, parsley, or another of your favorite herbs. 

Creamy Cucumber Soup
From EatingWell:  May/June 2007
There's no reason to only use cucumbers raw—they are wonderful sautéed then pureed with avocado for a silken-textured soup that's good warm or cold.
4 servings, about 1 cup each Active Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 4 cups peeled, seeded and thinly sliced cucumbers, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
  • 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
Preparation
  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 1 to 4 minutes. Add lemon juice and cook for 1 minute. Add 3 3/4 cups cucumber slices, broth, salt, pepper and cayenne; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook at a gentle simmer until the cucumbers are soft, 6 to 8 minutes.
  2. Transfer the soup to a blender. Add avocado and parsley; blend on low speed until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Pour into a serving bowl and stir in yogurt. Chop the remaining 1/4 cup cucumber slices. Serve the soup warm or refrigerate and serve it chilled. Just before serving, garnish with the chopped cucumber and more chopped parsley, if desired.
Nutrition
Per serving : 173 Calories; 12 g Fat; 2 g Sat; 8 g Mono; 2 mg Cholesterol; 15 g Carbohydrates; 4 g Protein; 5 g Fiber; 494 mg Sodium; 544 mg Potassium
1 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 2 fat
Tips & Notes
  • Make Ahead Tip: Refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Cold Cucumber Soup
Ingredients
  • 3  medium seedless cucumbers, peeled and chopped
  • 3/4  cup(s) thinly sliced green onions
  • 1  tablespoon(s) lemon juice
  • 1  teaspoon(s) lemon zest
  • 1  teaspoon(s) sea salt
  • 1/2  teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
  • 1 1/2 cup(s) vegetable broth
  • 1/2  cup(s) sour cream
Directions
  1. Place cucumbers, green onions, lemon juice, lemon zest, sea salt, pepper, and vegetable broth in a blender or food processor and puree.
  2. Stir in sour cream and chill until very cold, about 1 hour.
  3. Serve topped with additional chopped cucumber, green onion, and lemon zest.
http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/cold-cucumber-soup-recipe

We're growing for you! 

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

CSA Harvest Week 8: Beets, Carrots, Lettuce Mix- Oh my!

  
Saladnova
You’ll find a nice big bag of premium salad mix in your box today. This planting of lettuce was a bit of a gamble. Usually it is too hot to harvest good tasting lettuce, but this planting is delicious.  The salad mix blend is called Saladnova, and it is a fine blend of lofty, crunchy, and buttery types of lettuce.  You will notice that the lettuce is a bit wet.  (You guessed it- the weather) Please spin the lettuce in a salad spinner and put back into its bag…or…place a couple of pieces of paper towels in the back to help absorb the moisture.  Store the bag tied shut and eat within this week.

Juggling and Gambling
We’re going to attempt to grow early fall lettuce (harvest early September). You won’t get to eat it for 65-75 days from now. That seems like a lot of days, but lettuce is one of the quickest growing crops.  Most crops take 90-120 days.
The lettuce may not succeed either.  It will have challenges.  It will take us about 6 or 7 hours of work to pamper the lettuce along throughout the following months. Why am I telling you this? This special lettuce is unusual in that there even a remote possibility of germination in the beginning of July! The lettuce will take all of July and August to grow before it is ready to eat.  Before that this lettuce will have to overcome several challenges to survive to harvest during those months.  It needs cool soil temperatures to germinate (sprout), plenty of water (difficult to do in most hot summers), and temperatures below 87 degrees.
So even though we are struggling with the heat loving summer crops with all of the cool rainstorms, we have an opportunity to try to grow and reap a special crop for you !

Farm Fresh Harvest

Saladnova lettuce mix-  Special summer crop
Beets- Beautiful Beets! This is our best crop of beets ever. You’ll get more bunches in the weeks to follow. Once you get a planting of beets growing strong, it is a beautiful sight to behold.  Their magenta stems and burgundy leaves march in straight rows right down the bed. (Pictures don’t do the sight justice.) Beets can be a love ‘em or hate ‘em crop.  But try my Orange Marinated Beet Salad recipe below.  It’s tasty!
Carrots- Mmmm. These gems are very tasty raw.  If you are going to cook them, cook them lightly.  These aren’t your grocery store carrots. Our carrots are not storage carrots- they are fresh eating carrots.  Check out the Roasted Carrot Stick Snack Recipe below.
Summer squash and Zucchini- We are still waiting on a younger planting of squash and zucchini to come into production.  Enjoy the moderate amount of fruit- once the plants start producing they go all out!
Cucumbers- The smell of summer! They are really cranking out some tasty fruit. It is a beautiful patch of plants.  Cucumbers come in all shapes and sizes.  We grow little mini cucumbers, large crisp American slicers, and delicate slender European cucumbers. Note: Critters are eating the younger cucumber plants that should produce in August. We are trying to outsmart and scare them away.
Scallions- Scallions are a spring or green onion.  Eat the white stalk and the green leaves! They add a sweet, mild onion flavor to any dish! Great raw or substitute a few scallions for a big onion in cooking.
Red Russian Kale- Try this kale sautéed with the green onions. Sautee some zucchini or squash separately (I’d add some chopped green onion tops in the last 30 of cooking to the squash as well).  The two vegetables dishes complement each other quite well on the same plate.

Recipes
Remember, you can look at past articles from the CSA blog for recipes from previous newsletters.

Orange-Beet Salad
From Better Homes and Gardens annual Recipes 2001
Marie’s notes: I used olive oil instead of walnut oil and plain chevre instead of feta cheese. I also omitted the orange peel (the peel of conventional citrus have a high concentration of pesticides) and used 1 extra tablespoon of orange juice.
Tip: Roll the plain goat chevre or feta cheese in a black pepper and thyme mixture (coat the cheese in herbs)  to keep the red juice of the beets from staining the cheese.  I let the beets marinate overnight in the dressing, drained the beets, and then topped the beets with the walnuts and cheese on the dinner plates.   It was delicious!

3 medium beets (about 9 oz)
3 Tbsp. walnut oil or salad oil
1 tsp. shredded orange peel
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar or white vinegar
2 Tbsp. broken walnuts toasted
3 Tbsp crumbled feta cheese
¼ coarsely ground pepper
1.      Wash beets well. Cut off and discard root tails and all except 1 inch of stems.  Do not peel.  Cook, covered in lightly salted boiling water for 40 to 50 minutes or until just tender. Drain.  Let cool until easy to handle.
2.     Slip skins off beets under running water.  Carefully slice each beet into 1/4 inch thick slices, removing and discarding remaining stem ends.
3.     Meanwhile, for dressing, in a screw-top jar combine walnut oil or salad oil, orange peel, orange juice, and vinegar.  Cover and shake well.
4.     In a medium mixing bowl gently toss the beet slices with the dressing. Cover, and chill to marinade for 2 to 24 hours. 
5.     To serve, let mixture come to room temperature. Gently stir walnuts into beets. Sprinkle with feta cheese and pepper. Makes 4 servings.

Roasted Carrot Stick Snack
Best when served hot out of the oven, these healthful substitutes for French fries are loaded with vitamin A.
6 medium carrots (1 lb.)
2 to 3 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh or dried dillweed or basil
Coarse sea salt or salt

1. Preheat oven to 475F.  Peel carrots.  Cut carrots into strips about 3 inches long and ½ inch wide.
2.  In a large bowl combine olive oil and snipped dillweed or basil.  Add carrots; toss to coat.
3.  In a 15x10x1 inch baking pan spread carrots in a single layer.  Roast, uncovered, about 10 minutes or until carrots are just tender, stirring once.  Sprinkle with coarse salt.  Makes 6 side dish or snack servings. 


Cucumber yogurt salad
            Wash cucumbers well.  Finely slice, dice, or grate cucumber.  Mix with plain yogurt (greek style yogurts are particularly good for this recipe).  Add as much yogurt as you prefer.  This salad can range from being almost purely cucumbers with a yogurt dressing to a bowl of yogurt with some cucumbers in it.  Salt to taste. 

Add fresh flavor. Try adding dill, crushed garlic, diced spring onion, parsley, or another of your favorite herbs. 

Creamy Cucumber Soup
From EatingWell:  May/June 2007
There's no reason to only use cucumbers raw—they are wonderful sautéed then pureed with avocado for a silken-textured soup that's good warm or cold.
4 servings, about 1 cup each | Active Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 4 cups peeled, seeded and thinly sliced cucumbers, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
  • 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
Preparation
1.     Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 1 to 4 minutes. Add lemon juice and cook for 1 minute. Add 3 3/4 cups cucumber slices, broth, salt, pepper and cayenne; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook at a gentle simmer until the cucumbers are soft, 6 to 8 minutes.
2.     Transfer the soup to a blender. Add avocado and parsley; blend on low speed until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Pour into a serving bowl and stir in yogurt. Chop the remaining 1/4 cup cucumber slices. Serve the soup warm or refrigerate and serve it chilled. Just before serving, garnish with the chopped cucumber and more chopped parsley, if desired.
Nutrition
Per serving : 173 Calories; 12 g Fat; 2 g Sat; 8 g Mono; 2 mg Cholesterol; 15 g Carbohydrates; 4 g Protein; 5 g Fiber; 494 mg Sodium; 544 mg Potassium
1 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 2 fat
Tips & Notes
  • Make Ahead Tip: Refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Cold Cucumber Soup
Ingredients
·         3  medium seedless cucumbers, peeled and chopped
·         3/4  cup(s) thinly sliced green onions
·         1  tablespoon(s) lemon juice
·         1  teaspoon(s) lemon zest
·         1  teaspoon(s) sea salt
·         1/2  teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
·         1 1/2 cup(s) vegetable broth
·         1/2  cup(s) sour cream
Directions
  1. Place cucumbers, green onions, lemon juice, lemon zest, sea salt, pepper, and vegetable broth in a blender or food processor and puree.
  2. Stir in sour cream and chill until very cold, about 1 hour.
  3. Serve topped with additional chopped cucumber, green onion, and lemon zest.
http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/cold-cucumber-soup-recipe