July 29, 2003

Open Farm Day!
This Sunday, August 2nd, we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary at Arcana’s annual Open Farm Day! Please join us from 1-5pm on Sunday for full and fun day’s worth of farm tours, refreshments, live music, demonstrations, door prizes, scarecrow making and salad scavenger hunts for the kids, a pepper eating contest (if you dare) and more! We are especially thrilled to be celebrating Open Farm Day this year with you, our CSA members! We hope to see you there!

U-Pick
Beans, beans and more beans...as well as cherry tomatoes! The cherry toms are conveniently located right next to some gorgeous basil. You won’t be able to resist wrapping a luscious, sweet cherry tom in a fragrant basil leaf and popping them into your mouth. What an explosion of flavor! Take the beans, toms and basil home, toss with a little vinaigrette: A savory, sweet summer salad. Also in u-pick: summer squash, cilantro and peas.

Herb Boxes
The herb boxes that are located on the west side of the farm stand contain a large variety of herbs that are there for your pickin’. Please take what you need when you need it. There is oregano, cilantro, basil, dill, fennel, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, etc. etc.

Confounded by Kale? Reserved about Radicchio?
Don’t be shy about admitting you don’t know what to do with some of the vegetables. We include recipes in every edition of CSA Notes to give you suggestions on how to transform those beautiful but sometimes unfamiliar veggies in to your new favorite dish! If the vegetable that challenges your culinary knowledge isn’t featured in a recipe, let us know. We have many recipe books in our farm stand from which we are happy to make copies. (And if Kale and Radicchio have got you stumped, you’re not alone! Many CSA members requested recipes for these, so we’ve included them this week.)

Farm Updates:
~Field Tomatoes are ripe and beautiful.
~Congratulations to Entro Mauck (field production) and his partner Tisha Shull for the birth of their baby daughter, Litza Isadore Mauck!

This Week’s Harvest:
Carrots, radishes, kohlrabi?, cucumbers, kale, radicchio, scallions, tomatoes, bell peppers, chili peppers, fresh garlic, onions, summer squash.

RECIPES
Basic Kale Preparation
From “Cool Green Leaves and Red Hot Peppers. A Guide to Cooking With Fresh Vegetables.”
“...The basic rule with cabbages and kale is short cooking time—5-7 minutes at most—for crispness and color, or very long cooking to bring out the sweetness; anything in between is a disaster. Cabbages and kales should be cooked uncovered. Kale does not lend itself to anything more complicated than boiling or steaming, although it can be used to a good effect in a soup if not allowed to dominate. Baby kale is delicious in stir fries, or used raw in salads dressed with a little walnut oil…”

We at Arcana love to steam kale and garlic together for about 5 minutes, then toss with balsamic vinegar and salt to taste. Quick and fabulous.

New Mexican Caldo Verde (a soup)
CSA vegetables used: kale, onions, oregano, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro.
Serves 6

4 tablespoons peanut oil
1 lb 2 oz lean boneless pork, cut into
bite-sized pieces
2 white onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
1/4 tsp oregano
41/2 cups chicken stock
2 lg garlic cloves
1-3 jalapeno chilies, seeded and finely chopped
3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
4 cups cooked great northern white beans
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 cups trimmed and shredded kale
5 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1-2 tbsp lime juice

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over moderate to high heat. Add the pork and fry until lightly browned. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Reduce the heat to low and add the onion, cumin, and oregano, stirring to coat them in the fat, Cover and cook for 25– 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add a splash of stock if necessary. When the onion is very soft, add the garlic, chilies, and tomatoes. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Next, add the meat, beans, stock, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently, with the lid slightly askew, for 45 minutes, until the meat is tender.
Raise the heat to a brisk simmer and stir in the kale. Cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes more, until the kale is tender but still bright green. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice just before serving. Serve with the garnishes ant tortillas

Warm Pasta Salad With Mushrooms and Radicchio
CSA veggies used: garlic, peas, radicchio
Makes 2 servings
1/3 lb bow-tie pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb fresh white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb fresh shitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced
1 lg garlic clove, minced
3 tbsp red-wine vinegar
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth
3/4 cup peas
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cups shredded radicchio
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
In a kettle of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente.
While pasta is cooking, in a large nonstick skillet heat 1 tbs oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, and sauté all mushrooms with salt and pepper to taste, stirring occasionally until golden brown. Add garlic and 1 tbsp vinegar and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth and peas, simmer 3 minutes.
Drain pasta, stir into mushroom mixture. Toss mixture and remove skillet from heat. In a large bowl, whisk together mustard, remaining tablespoon oil and remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar until blended. Add radicchio and toss to coat with dressing. Add pasta mixture and Parmesan and toss well..

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