June 14,
2005
CSA— Week Three
Summer’s here, and the time is right for...staying cool! We have gone from one extreme to another with this weeks hot summer weather. We aren’t complaining though, because this means our crops are catching up from being a couple of weeks behind schedule from the cool, wet spring. The forecasted cooler weather for the next couple of days will give all the newly transplanted crops some relief from the shocking heat. Some more rain wouldn’t hurt either!
The U-pick area is starting to fill up with newly sprouted and transplanted crops. The snap peas are flowering, and the strawberries are ripening so expect those to be rolling in sometime in the next couple of weeks. We’ll continue to keep you updated as to what is happening in the U-pick area, and when things will be ready for U to pick them.
We recognize that convenience is an important factor in buying food directly from the producer. We try to make your experience easy and straightforward by providing you with clear and accurate harvest amounts, recipes and ideas for using your produce in the newsletter, and a way to communicate with us and other members easily via the “share the harvest”/suggestion basket. If you have any ideas about how we can make the pick-ups and your CSA experience more convenient or enjoyable, please let us know!
I try to put the CSA Notes on our website as early as I can, but sometimes the to-the-minute nature of the harvest can mean last-minute editing of the harvest details. We thank you for understanding this reality of a farm harvest.
Chelsea Clark — CSA Outreach
This Weeks Harvest:
Head lettuce, spinach, radishes, kohlrabi, and cilantro
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Farm Updates:
-The corn is off to a promising start!
-Tina’s flower garden is looking gorgeous...you should take a look! (it is next to the utility pole south of the farm stand).
-Everything is growing like crazy in the summer-like weather - including the weeds!
-We could still use more rain.
-The frogs in the pond are really happy and engage in choir rehearsal every night.
-Berries are forming on the strawberry plants.
-The first wave of seeding and planting of U-Pick area will be finished later this week.
-Many birds are nesting here: robins, redwing blackbirds, killdeer, bluebirds, swallows...You are sure to meet a very lively mama redwing blackbird mama near the pond.
Add-Ons
Chicken— Eric Wells will be here next week with the first delivery of pre-order chickens, as well as some samples for those of you who are still deciding.
Bread—Pat is still taking pre-orders for baguettes, so let him know if you would like a baguette (or two) each week!
Don't forget! The deadline for all pre-ordering is Tuesday, June 28th.
The Recipes:
Kohlrabi—the 'sputnik veggie' returns!
Those otherworldly, flattish purple spheroids with the leaf stalks jutting out from their equator would be kohlrabi. Kohlrabi is not a root vegetable like carrots or beets. The bulb is actually a fat part of the stem, and grows above ground. Both the bulb and the greens can be eaten. The simplest, and my favorite way to eat kohlrabi is raw: Simply peel off the purple skin much like you would with jicama, cut into slices or sticks for dipping, or into thinner slices or matchsticks for tossing into salads. But kohlrabi can also be cooked. Prepare as above and add to stir-frys for crispness like water chestnuts. Alternatively, kohlrabi can be boiled and mashed like or along with potatoes, or baked in gratins.
Radish Sandwiches
Good radishes with plenty of flavor but not too hot make great sandwiches. The other requirements are real French bread and sweet unsalted butter. Just slice the rad-ishes and pile them on the buttered bread. You can sprinkle some salt on the radishes, but the unsalted butter still seems better than salted butter. A slice of cheese can also be added, or the bread can simply be "buttered" with goat cheese. This is an old favorite in rural France. Try it.
Spinach prep
This technique has worked well for me, as if I prepare my spinach this way shortly after I get it home, it will easily last me the week without wilting or rotting. It also helps at mealtime, as the spinach is ‘ready to go’, making for quick salads and stir-frys. Thoroughly rinse leaves (to remove all traces of dirt and any resident critters) removing stems if you do not like them (some do, some don’t). Spin in a salad spinner to remove excess water. Lay a strip of 2 - 3 paper towels out and top with a layer of spinach. If you have lots of spinach, add another layer of paper towels and spinach. Carefully roll this arrangement up and then slip it into a plastic bag. Gently squeeze the air out, tie with a twisty & refrigerate.
Oriental Tabbouleh
(for 4 - 6 people)
(made this one up recently -- great for hot summer weather, like we're having now!)
Combine and cover, allowing to "plump" for about 30 minutes:
1 C bulghur
2 C boiling water
1/2 tsp. salt
Meanwhile, make a dressing/marinade by combining the following:
juice of 1/2 a lemon (about 1/4 C) (or half a lime would work too)
about 1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
a clove or two of garlic, crushed
1 tsp. chinese chili-garlic sauce (or equivalent)
1 tsp. sesame oil
3 tbsp. olive oil
a few tbsp. minced cilantro
Drain off any soaking water remaining after the bulghur has soaked the 30 minutes, then stir in marinade and as many chopped veggies from the list below as you like. Combine and chill well. Serving suggestion: romaine lettuce leaves (the smaller, inner ones) work great as 'scoops' for eating the tabbouleh with.
Veggie additions:
asian greens (steam-to-wilt, then run under cold water to stop cooking, then drain and chop)
any other greens could be used as above also... spinach, chard, beet greens, kale, kohlrabi greens
diced carrot
diced seasoned tofu (optional)
chopped green onion
diced summer squash
peeled and diced raw kohlrabi
Cilantro Rice
I love making this – the rice comes out bright green and redolent of cilantro. It is great with Mexican food (as an alternative to red rice), but would go well as a side dish to, oh... lots of things!
rice
lots of fresh cilantro, washed, roots removed (but it's okay to use the stems!)
boiling water
Cook rice however you normally do. While your rice is cooking, in a separate pot blanch cilantro in boiling water about a minute to soften. Fish it out with tongs or a slotted spoon and drop into a blender with a tiny bit of water and purée. When your rice is done cooking, simply fold/stir the pureed cilantro into it until evenly mixed, adding salt to taste. It's that simple!
I am passing these recipes along from the fabulous website of Live Earth Farm, a CSA farm in California. For more great recipes from Live Earth Farm, go to http://www.writerguy.com/deb/recipes/
Enjoy!
~Chelsea
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