What’s Happening on the Farm:

Hi There!

We’ve come upon a fairly strange conundrum here on the farm. With a late cold spring, and then lots of heat, and no rain, our season has been funky, to say the least.

Even though our strawberries started a little late, this didn’t transfer into the strawberry season lasting longer. What happens usually around this time is that blueberries overlap with strawberries. This hasn’t happened yet, at least not in the quantities we anticipate.

In any case, our shares have taken a light hit, and aren’t as diverse, or as full, as we would them to be this time of year.

The good news: As always, you will regain the entire value of your share by the end of our season. If not more. Historically, our Full share members receive a 30% return on their investment and our Half share members are pretty close, with a 25% return. This means they received 25-30% more fruit and veggies than what was originally paid for. So have no fear, abundance is on the horizon. This is just a part of being a CSA member–living and eating with the season and your farmer’s harvest.

Thank you for your understanding!

What’s in this week’s box?

Veggies:

Red Leaf Lettuce

Greenhouse Tomatoes- Rebelski, Geronimo, Trust

Scallions

Zucchini

Spring Mix

Red Russian Kale

Bright Lights Swiss Chard

English Shell Peas

 

Fruit:

Strawberries

 

Storage, handling and general cooking tips…

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.

 

Zucchini

 Storage– Un-waxed farm-fresh zucchini and summer squash respire through their skins, so they need to be refrigerated as soon as possible. Store them unwashed in a perforated plastic bag in the vegetable bin, or refrigerate them in a sealed plastic container that you’ve lined with a kitchen towel. In the refrigerator they keep for about a week and a half.

 Handling– Rinse under cool running water to remove any dirt or prickles; then slice off the stem and blossom ends. According to the specifications of your recipe, slice the vegetable into rounds, quarters, or chunks.

Handle zucchini with care as they are easily damaged.

Storage

Store zucchini in a plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper drawer four to five days and do not wash until just before you are ready to use it. At the first sign of wilting, use immediately. Softness is a sign of deterioration.

Cook tips

Zucchini is wonderful steamed, sautéed, grilled or stuffed and baked. You can also cut uncooked zucchini into strips and serve it as an appetizer, or dice and grate it into a salad. Overcooked zucchini will end up as mush. To salvage it, make soup!

Scallions

Store in a jar filled with an inch or two of water. Stand scallions in jar, cover the whole thing with a plastic bag and keep in your refrigerator. They should last about a week.

 

Strawberries:

Storage and Handling– Use your strawberries as soon as possible (this usually isn’t a problem for me) as they stop ripening as soon as they’re picked.  Don’t wash your strawberries until you’re ready to use them, as moisture causes them to spoil more quickly.  Leave the caps on and store your strawberries in an uncovered container in the fridge. Take them out of the fridge about an hour before you’re ready to use them, as they tend to have the best flavor and texture at room temperature. Rinse your strawberries gently in cold water and then pat them dry with a towel.  Finally, remove the tops with a paring knife or with a slight twist of the wrist, and they’re ready to eat or use in your favorite strawberry recipe.

Lettuce, Salad Greens and Mesclun:

Storage- Store unwashed lettuce, greens or mesclun in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. To store lettuce or greens that you have already washed and dried, roll the leaves loosely in a kitchen towel, put the towel in a plastic bag, and place the package in the vegetable crisper bin. Wet greens will wilt quickly, so make sure they are good and dry before refrigerating them. If you have a salad spinner, wash and spin the greens before refrigerating them. Eat mesclun mix within three or four days, and use lettuce within a week.

Handling- Salad greens are fragile, so make sure to be gentle with them.  For lettuce, slice the head at the base to allow the leaves to separate from each other.  Tear your leaves into smaller more manageable pieces for use.  Lettuce, greens and mesclun mix can be washed by swishing them around in a basin of cold water.  If you see a lot of dirt settling in the water, wash them again, until they’re nice and clean.  The best way to dry your greens is in a salad spinner if you’ve got one, or if not, you can always pat them dry with a towel.

Cook Tips- Salad greens taste great lightly braised or stir-fried, but keep an eye on them, as they cook very quickly.

Try adding salad greens into sandwiches, tacos, burritos, omelets, or whatever else you can think of!

Salad greens are a great addition to quiches, lasagna, and other baked dishes, wanna green up your pizza? It’s great on top, right after you pull it out of the oven.

Our mesclun mix isn’t that spicy: a combination of peppery arugula, mustards, mizuna and some tat soy. These greens are great as a pizza topping, on top of an egg and toast, or simply added to your daily salad.

 

Peas-

 This nitrogen fixing, soil-loving veggie provides benefits to all aspects of its’ life.  Chock full of antioxidants and phytonutrients, this colorful, versatile, interactive vegetable is a sure family favorite. Mashed for the baby, shelled fresh for snack at the beach, or steamed to go alongside a tasty grilled steak, we know, these sweet little gems probably won’t last a day at your house.

Storage

Peas don’t have much of a shelf life, so we don’t recommend storing them —in their pods or shelled—for very long. Store pods in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator and use them within a couple of days. Once they’re shelled, the best way to store peas is to freeze them. First blanch them for a minute or two in boiling salted water and then shock them in an ice-water bath until cool, to help maintain their bright color. Drain and freeze them in zip-top bags. They will keep for five to six months.

 

Cooking Greens (Kale, Swiss Chard, Beet Greens, Bok Choi)

 Storage- Keep dry, unwashed greens in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator. Thicker greens will keep up to two weeks, but tender ones like beet greens should be eaten within a week.

 Handling- Just prior to use, swish leaves in a large basin of lukewarm water. After any grit has settled to the bottom, life the leaves out carefully. Additional rounds of washing may be necessary. If the sink has dirt in it or if you sample a leaf and it tastes gritty, the greens probably need to be rinsed again.

 How you prepare greens for cooking can make or break a dish. It’s fine to leave the stems on small baby greens, but many greens (choi, chard, kale) have thick stems that cook more slowly than the leaves. If stems are not removed, you wind up with either soggy greens or raw stems. Fold each leaf in half and slice out the stem De-stem several leaves, then stack them up and slice them diagonally into 1 inch-wide ribbons. If you want to use the stems in your dish, slice them a quarter inch thick and begin cooking them before you add the greens.

 

Eggs:

Store- Our producer, Pete & Gerry’s, recommends storing the eggs in a refrigerator, reason being that they wash their eggs before sending them to market. This makes them slightly more porous and in turn the eggs age a little faster.

FYI-You may be wondering why there is a discrepancy between eggs and refrigeration around the world. Well, we did too and did some research. In the US, industry standards are to wash the eggs before sending them out, in order to lower the risk of transmitting diseases. That’s not to say that local small scale egg producers’ eggs aren’t clean, but they probably haven’t been subjected to a pressure wash.

 

Recipes of the Week!

Take a fancy foodie picture with your Applecrest fruit and veggies? Let us know and post it on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter with #applecrest !

• Zucchini-Ricotta Fritters
• Swiss Chard with Garbanzo Beans and Fresh Tomatoes
• Milanese Style Chard
• Pea and Kale Soup
• Tomato, Zucchini and Potato Gratin

 

Zucchini Ricotta Fritters

From Food and Wine

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium zucchini (about 7 ounces each), coarsely shredded
• 2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
• 3 large scallions, very thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh sheep-milk ricotta cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Olive oil, for frying
• Lemon wedges, for serving

1. In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, garlic, scallions, ricotta, eggs, lemon zest and 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Stir well, then stir in the flour just until incorporated.
2.  Line a large baking sheet with paper towels. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of olive oil until shimmering. Working in batches, add 2-tablespoon mounds of the zucchini batter to the hot oil, spreading them to form 3-inch fritters. Fry over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain the fritters on the paper towels and serve right away, with lemon wedges.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup garbanzo beans, drained
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bunch red Swiss chard, rinsed and chopped
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions

Milanese-Style Chard 

From Mariquita Farm

1 bunch Swiss Chard
1 Tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks green garlic, chopped
6 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped basil
pinch nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped prosciutto or ham
2 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
salt and pepper to taste

garnish: toasted pine nuts or walnuts

Trim the chard, discarding tough stems, and coarsely chop.

In a large, deep skillet, heat olive oil, add garlic and scallions and saute until softened and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add chard, parsley, basil, nutmeg, prosciutto or ham and mix well together. Cover the skillet and cook over medium heat until tender and wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in Parmesan Cheese and then add salt and pepper to taste. Serve garnished with pine nuts or walnuts.

 

Pea and Kale Soup

Adapted from Tasty Plan

Serves 3-4

• Olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp salt and black pepper to taste
• ½ medium onion (sliced)
• 1 ¼ inch slice of ginger
• 1 bunch oregano
• 1-2 cups shelled peas
• 3 large Kale leaves (sliced)
• 3 cups vegetable broth, or water

In a medium to large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, salt, and cook for five to seven minutes. Incorporate garlic, ginger and oregano leaves. Cook until fragrant. Add kale, peas, and broth (or water). Bring to a boil, and then remove from heat. Ladle ½ cup and puree until smooth. Continue to add ½ cup at a time until all soup has been pureed. Pour back into the saucepan and heat. Taste for seasoning. Serve immediately with a drizzle of olive oil, Parmigiano, and fresh oregano leaves.

 

Zucchini, Tomato and Potato Gratin

From Martha Stewart

• 5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
• 1 medium zucchini (about 8 ounces)
• 2 vine-ripened or other ripe tomatoes (about 3/4 pound), sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 2 ounces finely grated Cantal or cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in upper third. Coat a 9-by-13-inch gratin dish with 1 teaspoon oil, and sprinkle with garlic. Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, slice potatoes and zucchini as thinly as possible into rounds. Arrange potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes in overlapping layers around prepared dish, and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Drizzle with remaining 4 teaspoons oil, and sprinkle with thyme and cheese.

2. Cover with foil; bake until potatoes are tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove foil; continue baking until top is golden brown, about 25 minutes more. Remove from oven; and serve immediately.

 

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.