FarmShare C.S.A. Newsletter, week of August 5th, 2014
Farm News:
Hi There! Can you believe August snuck in so quickly? I know all of us here are reveling in all the field-fresh goodies that are pouring in every day. Our height of season boxes are here, chock full of corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers, quintessential summer staples and then some.
This week those of you who are Locavores and Flower & Herb share members will finally be able to take home a bouquet. Here’s the deal on flowers, each week Flower share members get to cut a dozen stems of regular flowers. Three sprigs of herbs count for one flower, and once sunflowers come in, each sunflower counts as 3 flowers. Heads up, if you’ve been a flower share member before you’ll notice our cutting garden isn’t up to its full potential (yet). Because of the super late start to the season, they haven’t been very happy. They’ve kind of turned around and are starting to come in a little stronger now. Hopefully with a few weeks of consistent cutting and attention they will be bloomin’ up a storm. The herbs are doing very well though, so make sure to grab a bunch for dinner! Note: Off-site members will receive a hand-picked bouquet at their pick-up location including some herbs for cooking.
What’s in this week’s box?
Carrots
Butter & Sugar Corn
Scallions
Cucumbers–Pickling and Slicers
Green Beans
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Fruit:
Blueberries
Peaches, both White and Yellow
Snow Leopard Honey Dew melons
Storage, handling and general cooking tips…
Melon
Storage and Handling
Melon can keep up to a week, whole and uncut, into your fridge. IF your melon has been sitting in your car and its a hot day, let it cool off before sticking it right into the fridge, as the drastic temperature change will cause the fruit to spoil faster. Melons can be eaten cut up, wrapped in salty, cured meats, in fruit salad, or even sliced and grilled.
Corn
Corn is quintessential Americana, synonymous with BBQs, Summertime, and Grilling. There isn’t a red-checkered tablecloth on a picnic table that won’t see a bowl of these steaming ears. Sweet corn is not only tasty it also contains fiber, protein, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, magnesium and phosphorous. Fun fact: there is one silk for every kernel of corn, on average there are 800 kernels in 16 rows on each ear of corn. Here at Applecrest we grow about 5 acres of corn, which at the height of the season will remove about 40 tons of carbon dioxide from the air, talk about goin’ green!
Storage and Handling
Corn can be stored in its husk up to four days in the refrigerator but it will be at its sweetest the closer it is to the day it was picked. Corn can also be frozen. Boil your ears of corn for 4-6 minutes, cool in an ice bath, cut kernels off the cob, store in air tight container (bag or tupperware works), and stick in freezer. You’ll thank yourself on a cold February night, when you can taste these sun kissed kernels alongside your meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
Cook tips
Corn can be grilled, boiled, or roasted. Easily eaten directly off the cob, added to a salad, or frozen for later use.
Cucumbers
Storage-Most supermarket cucumbers are usually waxed to keep them from drying out during the trip from wherever they were grown. Our cucumbers will dehydrate faster than a waxy cucumber so be sure to get them into the refrigerator right away. If you store unwashed cucumbers in a sealed plastic bag in the vegetable crisper bin, they’ll hold for at least a week. Cucumbers store best at around 45 degrees F, but refrigerators are usually set cooler than this. Keep cucumbers tucked far away from tomatoes, apples, and citrus fruits, as these give off ethylene gas that accelerates cucumber deterioration.
Handling- You can do a lot of fancy things to the skin of a cucumber, and when it is young, fresh, and unwaxed, it really only needs to be thoroughly washed. However, if the skin seems touch or bitter you can remove it; if they seeds are bulky, slice the cucumber lengthwise and scoop them out. Scoring the skin of a cucumber with a fork or citrus zester gives it attractive stripes and may help release any bitterness. Slice, dice, or cut a cucumber into chunks according to specifications given in your recipe.
Tomatoes
The sun-loving tomato’s arrival could mean only one thing—Summer is definitely here! This delectable, heart healthy summer fruit, beyond being a palate pleaser is fantastic in so many ways. Tomatoes can be eaten raw, stewed, sun dried, in soup, as a snack, with balsamic vinegar and fresh mozzarella, chopped into salsa, on sandwiches and burgers. The possibilities are endless.
FYI-Tomato paste will remove chlorine from hair, especially if you have blond hair and the recent heat wave has turned you into a pool diving mermaid and your locks are now greenish.
Did you know that tomatoes are thought to originate in Peru where their Aztec name “xitomatl’ means “plump thing with a navel”.
Storage
Tomatoes bruise easily, so handle them with care. Wash and dry your tomatoes before storing. Unless you’re planning to store your tomatoes for over a week, a windowsill, counter-top or bowl, stem side down, works fine. If you know you won’t use them in the next few days, then lower temperatures (a cool entryway) will help to preserve the fruit. Contrary to our common practice in the US, storing in a refrigerator is not otherwise recommended, as the cooler temperatures can reduce flavor and cause mushiness and mealyness. Your fresh-picked tomatoes will last longer on the kitchen counter than store-bought ones anyways, which are probably a few days old when you get them.
Blueberries
Storage and Handling
Blueberries are delicate and fickle, be gentle with them. Keep your fresh blueberries refrigerated, unwashed, in their container. They should last up to two weeks. Water on fresh blueberries hastens deterioration, so do not wash before refrigerating. Blueberries are highly perishable so do try to use them as soon as possible.
Recipes of the Week!
- Green Beans, Corn and Carrot Salad
- Quinoa with Corn and Scallions
- Slow-Roasted Green Beans with Sage
- Scallions and Carrots
- Chili Cottage Cheese Dip
- Scallion Pancakes
- Blueberry Pie
- Cheesecake-Stuffed Peaches
Green Beans, Corn and Carrot Salad
from NYTimes
- YIELD
- 6 to 8 servings
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup minced fresh chives
- Black pepper, as needed
- 1 pound green beans, trimmed ** can also use purple and wax
- 2 2/3 cups cooked fresh corn kernels (from about 4 corn cobs)
- 1/2 pound carrot, peeled and coarsely grated (2 cups)
- In a small bowl, whisk together salt, vinegar, garlic and mustard. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk in oil until incorporated. Whisk in chives and pepper.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in beanss and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, cool and chop into bite-size pieces
- In a large bowl, toss together beans, corn and carrot. Toss in dressing and season with salt and pepper.
Oma Wagner’s Corn Dish
If you have leftover corn and a love for bacon, you’ve got a thing or two in common with the Wagner’s! This dish is all about personal preference and can be served alongside dinner, or alone, or with your once-over-easy eggs for breakfast.
Ingredients:
3-6 leftover ears of corn, boiled 3-5 minutes
3-6 slices of bacon
Directions
- Boil corn 3-5 minutes so still crunchy
- Set aside to cool
- Cook bacon in large frying pan until crisp, one strip of bacon per ear of corn
- While frying bacon, slice corn kernels off the cob
- Once bacon done, remove from pan and drain drippings into jar, leaving enough in pan to sauté corn.
- Add corn to frying pan and sauté on low to medium heat
- Add crumbled bacon before corn turns brown and continue to sauté until corn is cooked to personal preference. Some of us like it crispy, some of us like it right before crispy. Taste as you go along until perfect!
Quinoa with Corn and Scallions
from Just a Taste
- 4 ears corn, shucked
- 1 Tablespoon grated fresh lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups uncooked quinoa
- 4 scallions, chopped
Place the corn in a large pot and fill it with enough water to cover the corn. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil. As soon as the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat and let the pot stand, covered, for 5 minutes.
Remove the corn from the pot and let it cool on a cutting board until it’s easy to handle. Then, using a sharp knife, cut the kernels off the cob.
Prepare the dressing by whisking together the lemon zest, lemon juice, melted butter, honey, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Rinse the uncooked quinoa in a sieve under cold water until the water runs clear.
Cook the quinoa in a pot of of boiling salted water per the package directions.
Add the quinoa, corn kernels and chopped scallions to the bowl with the dressing and toss until it’s evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Slow-Roasted Green Beans with Sage
from EpiCurious
- 1- 2 pounds tender green beans, trimmed
- 1 bunch scallions, trimmed with 1″ green tops still attached, halved lengthwise
- 6 large garlic cloves, each cut lengthwise into 4 slices
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl and season with pepper. Toss to evenly incorporate. Transfer beans to a large rimmed baking sheet.
Roast beans, stirring every 10 minutes, until wilted, shrunken, and browned at edges, about 1 hour. (You may need to stir more often toward end for even browning.)
Scallions and Carrots
from Mariquita Farm
1 bunch scallions, roots trimmed and white part cut into a 4″ length
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
1/4 t sugar
2 T soy sauce
Saute the scallions in the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the carrots and continue to cook until vegetables begin to soften and turn golden. Add butter, soy sauce and sugar and cook 30 seconds more.
Chili Cottage Cheese Dip from Too Many Tomatoes, Squash, Beans, and Other Good Things A cookbook for when your garden explodes by L. Landau and L. Myers
from Mariquita Farm
1 pint small curd cottage cheese
2-4 chili peppers (jalapeños or wax peppers, the waxes this week are spicier…), peeled and chopped (you can roast or blanch them to peel them, or not peel them at all… -Julia)
2 tomatoes, peeled and diced
3 scallions, including tops, chopped
1 teaspoon salt or less to taste
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce to make it completely vegetarian: worch. sauce has a bit of fish in it….)
Mix. Chill for 3 hours, enjoy with crackers or on pita chips.
Scallion Pancakes
from Food52
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon room-temperature lard or shortening (I saved the pork fat from my last braised pork belly), separated
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 cup thin-sliced scallion rounds (green part only)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, separated
- In a bowl, stir together the flour and salt.
- Combine water and milk in a small measuring cup. Warm in microwave at full power for 1 minute. Pour into flour and stir with a fork until dough comes together. Add a little more warm water or flour, if needed. You want a soft dough – not at all sticky.
- Using a bowl scraper, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute. Divide dough evenly into two pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and let rest, covered with a barely-damp paper towel, for at least 5 minutes.
- On a lightly-floured surface, roll out one piece of dough into a 9″ circle, using a generously-floured rolling pin. With your fingertips, smear about a half-tablespoon of the lard over the dough circle. Beginning at an edge, roll up the dough into a tight log. Then, from one end of the log, roll up the log into a spiral (see pictures for details.) Tuck the end under and set aside, covered with the slightly-damp paper towel, and rest the dough for at least 5 minutes. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
- On a lightly-floured surface, using a well-floured rolling pin, roll out one spiral of dough into a 9″ circle again. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of sliced scallions over the dough. Beginning at an edge, roll up the dough into a tight log. Then, from one end of the log, roll up the log into a spiral again. Tuck the end under and set aside, covered with the slightly-damp paper towel, and rest the dough for at least 5 minutes. Repeat with the second spiral of dough.
- On a lightly-floured surface, using a generously-floured rolling pin, gently roll out one spiral of scallion-filled dough into an 8″ circle (about 1/8-inch thick). Set aside, and cover with the slightly-damp paper towel. Repeat with the second scallion-filled dough spiral.
- Heat 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium to medium/high heat. Carefully lay one pancake into the skillet, taking care not to splatter the hot oil onto yourself. Cook until the underside takes on nice splotches of toasty golden-brown. Flip and cook other side until toasty/splotchy (you may want to ask a friend to help you add a bit more oil for the second side). Remove to a plate, cut into triangles and serve immediately with dipping sauce.
- For a quick and easy dipping sauce, mix together 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of Chinese rice cooking wine, a pinch of grated ginger and a few scallion slices.
Blueberry Pie
from The Kitchn
Serves 8 to 10
2 prepared 9-inch Pie Crusts
6 cups fresh blueberries, washed and dried
3/4 – 1 cup sugar
3 – 4 tablespoons cornstarch
Zest from 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 large egg yolk whisked with 1 tablespoon warm water, for the glaze
Roll out one of the pie crusts to a diameter of 12 to 13 inches and transfer it to a 9-inch pie. Snug it into the corners of the pan. Transfer the pie pan to the fridge and chill the crust for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425°F while the crust is chilling.
Combine the blueberries, 3/4 cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, lemon zest and lemon juice in a small bowl. Use more sugar if your berries are very tart and more cornstarch if your berries seem very juicy or if you prefer a more firm pie filling. Stir until the sugar dissolves into a gooey coating and let the berries macerate on the counter 15 to 30 minutes.
Remove the pie crust from the fridge and pour the berries inside. Roll the second pie crust to a diameter of 11 to 12 inches and gently lay it over the top of your pie. Trim the edges to make them even, then tuck the edges under themselves and crimp. Cut a few vent holes in the top pie crust and brush all over with the egg yolk.
Transfer the pie to a baking sheet (to catch any drips) and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Turn down the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for another 30 to 40 minutes, until the berry juices are bubbling and the top crust is golden brown. If the edges of the pie are browning faster than the middle, cover the edges with tin foil.
Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool for at least 4 hours before serving. If serving the next day, leave the pie on the counter and cover with a cake dome or very large bowl once it is cool.
Cheesecake-Stuffed Peaches
from Chocolate Moosey
- 3 peaches, halved and pitted
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground clove
- 2 ounce cream cheese, softened
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In one small bowl, place the melted butter. In another small bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and clove. Take one peach half and dip it cut-side down into the butter then dip it into the sugar mixture. Place it face-up on the cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining peach halves.
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla.
- Fill each peach center with the cream cheese mixture. If you have leftover batter, you can bake it in a ramekin. Bake 25-30 minutes or until browned and softened. Serve warm or at room temperature.
As a reminder, part of the fun of being a member of a CSA is collaborating with your community, so always feel free to post cooking suggestions or feedback on recipes that we post, or favorite recipes of your own that you’d like to share.
