June 27 - 2007

CSA Newsletter
June 27th 2007

'In agriculture there have always been prevalent patterns of technology, practice, and attitude that may have had the customary force of orthodoxy. But these patterns were local; they varied in response to local conditions. And, unlike orthodoxies, they were not imposed by external authority, but grew as part of a complex relationship between the human community and natural conditions. Until the triumph of the industrial values of the ‘agribusiness’ vision, agriculture was very much a regional affair, a response at once to human need and to regional possibilities and limits, and it was successful and long-lasting in proportion to the sensitivity of that response.'
Wendell Berry from The Unsettling of America

Nothing like a little light reading…

Well, it’s round two, and it looks pretty similar to round one. You will find you are getting much the same produce as you did last week, with the exception of a few people getting some herbs. I hope you all enjoyed last week’s goodies, and thanks for all the positive emails you sent, makes my heart warm.

The Harvest

1 lb salad mix
½ lb baby spinach
¼ lb arugula
¼ lb basil
1 bunch of radishes
Garlic scapes

A few members will receive either Parsley or Tarragon.

I realized last week (after my Mother mentioned it to me) that many of you may not know what a Garlic scape is, and I never told you. Garlic scapes are the primary reproductive part of the garlic plant. They come out of the top of the plant within the leaves. If I were to let the scape mature (which I will do for a few plants) it would produce a seed head at the top of the curly Q stem. The seeds look like little pearls of garlic, and they taste like garlic too. This whole reproductive part looks very similar to an onion plant when it goes to seed. When I snap off the scape, the garlic plant puts all of its energy into the bulb (the secondary reproductive part of the plant). Basically the bulbs get bigger when I do this.

If I were to plant one of the little garlic pearls that come out of the seed head at the top of the scape, I would get a garlic plant the first year but it would not form a bulb until the second year. That is why this is not the first choice of garlic reproduction for garlic growers – we plant garlic cloves instead.

The News

I know you have all been on pins and needles…….the potatoes and the squash are going to recover from last week’s frost. The potatoes are looking great, and the squash plants are gasping their way back to life. Gotta love the resiliency of plants!

If you have any friends that would like to be on our CSA waitlist please email me their names, phone numbers, and email addresses. The way we are going to work the waitlist this year is this: when I have extra produce, I will call them on Wednesday to let them know what is available and how much each item costs. If they are interested they can reserve the produce and come pick it up and pay for it either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning.

The Recipe

Another great recipe from Gavin Baker:

Basil-Citrus Lassi

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz Copper Moose Farm Basil, any variety, sliced
2 cup thick plain yogurt
2 cup cold milk (skim or whole)
3 tablespoons of local honey
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon of yuzu juice
16 ice cubes

PREPARATION:

Blanch the basil in boiling, very lightly salted water for 45 seconds. Remove and immediately plunge into ice water for another 45 seconds. Remove from the ice water and press or squeeze out any excess water. Reserve.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a blender and puree until well combined. Taste and adjust flavors. Strain through a sieve and reserve.
Serve immediately in tall glasses with something spicy.

NOTE:
You could, of course, substitute soy milk and yogurt to make this refreshing summer smoothie vegan.

Yuzu juice can be purchased at Deep Blue Seafood here in Park City or at most Asian stores in Salt Lake City. Fresh lemon juice can be substituted if necessary.

Serves 4.

If you are already feeling a little overwhelmed by all the basil, may I recommend making pesto and freezing it. My husband and I do this, and we enjoy ‘fresh’ pesto all year long. I freeze mine in little round Tupperware or snack sized Ziploc baggies – they are the perfect size for a 2 person serving of pesto. Below is a simple recipe for pesto.

2 cups packed basil leaves
¼ cup graded parmesan cheese
½ cup olive oil
3 tablespoon pine nuts or walnuts
3 garlic cloves
salt and pepper to taste

Throw it all in the food processor and go for it!
That’s all for this week, see you at the farm.

Daisy