August 14 - 2007
CSA Newsletter
August 14th 2007
'We have difficulty understanding a benevolent nature with elegantly simple systems because we have made nature in our own image. As members of the human species, we find ourselves surrounded by conflict, confusion, violence, and war. We interpret nature to fit our pattern. We see natural processes as if they were projections of our action. Thus, we see malevolence in the relationship of one organism to another and in nature’s relationship to us. We don’t notice the beneficial balances between predator and prey that are maintained throughout the natural world. We miss the obvious garden logic of tipping that balance in our favor by creating optimum growing conditions for our plants. Instead we see the temporary agents of that balance (insects and diseases) as threatening forces to be battled and defeated. We need to look again.'
Eliot Coleman in Four Seasons Harvest
Hello again. Hope you all had a great week. Wow, school starts next week! Crazy! Hope all the kids are excited.
The Harvest
· 1# salad mix· ½# Swiss Chard
· ¼# arugula· 1 bunch carrots
· 1 bunch beets
· 1 bunch Evergreen Hardy White Bunching onions
· Squash· Tomatoes· Cucumbers
· Peppers (Long red ones are sweet, little red ones are HOT, orange bell are delicious!)· Eggplant
· Herbs
· Banana Fingerling Potatoes
· Green and purple Beans
· Edible Flowers
* Not everyone will get Edible flowers, beans, cucumbers, peppers, squash or eggplant, but you will get at least one of those!
Potatoes: Yup, it’s the beginning of potato time, a favorite time of the year for me! We have grown a few varieties of potatoes this year. I will tell you about each one as you get them. This week it’s Banana Fingerling Potato also known as Russian Fingerling, the most popular fingerling potato. It has smooth yellow skin and yellow flesh. These potatoes are meant for fresh eating not for storage. I would recommend steaming or roasting Green parts of a potato indicate it has been exposed to the light (sunlight or florescent lighting). A chemical called solanine is produced in the potato when exposed to light. Eating a large amount of solanine can be toxic. Hedge your bets by cutting away any green sections of the potato before cooking (you do not need to discard the whole potato, just the green part). I hill my potatoes (hoe dirt up around the base of the plant) to keep the tubers out of the sun. I expect not to find too many green tinted potatoes. I hope you all enjoy the potatoes this year as much as I know I will.
The News
I just want to check in to see how everyone is doing. Are you getting enough food? Too much food? Please let me know what you think about the general amount of food, i.e. too many greens, perfect amount of greens, too many roots crops, enough root crops, etc. This doesn’t necessarily mean anything will change; I just want to get a feel for how you all are doing. We are going to get new vases because the stainless vases leak and are tippy. We are wondering if you all like to keep the flowers in the vase you get them in, or if you prefer to take them out of our vase and put them into your own. Let me know so we can order new ones soon. That’s all the questions this week. We will do a more thorough survey at the end of the season; this is just a little check in. Thanks for your responses.
The Recipe
Alayne and I found the recipe this week.
Chopped Salad with Beets, Beans, Goat Cheese and Hazelnuts
ACTIVE TIME: 30 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 1 HR
SERVES: 6
Hugo Matheson suggests reserving the beet greens and using them as a bed for whole grilled fish: Clean the greens, then wilt them in a saucepan with a bit of water, olive oil and salt.
Ingredients
· 1 large beet (6 ounces), quartered
· Water
· 1/4 cup skinned hazelnuts
· 1/4 pound green beans
· 2 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt
· 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
· 1 teaspoon honey
· 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
· Salt and freshly ground pepper
· 1/2 pound mixed salad greens, such as baby romaine, butter lettuce, radicchio and endives, coarsely chopped
· 1 carrot, finely diced
· 1 celery rib, finely diced
· 1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped
· 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
· 2 1/2 ounces soft, fresh goat cheese, crumbled
directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
Place the beet in a small baking dish with 1/4 cup of water.
Cover with foil and roast the beet for 45 minutes, until tender.
Let cool slightly, then peel and finely dice.
2. Meanwhile, spread the hazelnuts in a pie plate and toast them for about 10 minutes, until they are golden. Let cool, then coarsely chop the nuts.
3. In a small saucepan of boiling salted water, blanch the green beans until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and cool under running water. Pat the beans dry and cut them into 1/4-inch pieces.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the yogurt with the lemon juice, honey and olive oil and season the dressing with salt and pepper. Add the diced beet, hazelnuts, green beans, salad greens, carrot, celery, tomato, mint and goat cheese and toss gently. Serve the salad right away.
MAKE AHEAD
The recipe can be prepared through Step 3 and refrigerated overnight. Store the toasted hazelnuts in an airtight container.
NOTES One Serving 138 Calories, 10 gm Total Fat, 2.6 gm Saturated Fat, 9 gm Carbohydrate, 3 gm Fiber.
Enjoy the bounty!
Daisy
August 14th 2007
'We have difficulty understanding a benevolent nature with elegantly simple systems because we have made nature in our own image. As members of the human species, we find ourselves surrounded by conflict, confusion, violence, and war. We interpret nature to fit our pattern. We see natural processes as if they were projections of our action. Thus, we see malevolence in the relationship of one organism to another and in nature’s relationship to us. We don’t notice the beneficial balances between predator and prey that are maintained throughout the natural world. We miss the obvious garden logic of tipping that balance in our favor by creating optimum growing conditions for our plants. Instead we see the temporary agents of that balance (insects and diseases) as threatening forces to be battled and defeated. We need to look again.'
Eliot Coleman in Four Seasons Harvest
Hello again. Hope you all had a great week. Wow, school starts next week! Crazy! Hope all the kids are excited.
The Harvest
· 1# salad mix· ½# Swiss Chard
· ¼# arugula· 1 bunch carrots
· 1 bunch beets
· 1 bunch Evergreen Hardy White Bunching onions
· Squash· Tomatoes· Cucumbers
· Peppers (Long red ones are sweet, little red ones are HOT, orange bell are delicious!)· Eggplant
· Herbs
· Banana Fingerling Potatoes
· Green and purple Beans
· Edible Flowers
* Not everyone will get Edible flowers, beans, cucumbers, peppers, squash or eggplant, but you will get at least one of those!
Potatoes: Yup, it’s the beginning of potato time, a favorite time of the year for me! We have grown a few varieties of potatoes this year. I will tell you about each one as you get them. This week it’s Banana Fingerling Potato also known as Russian Fingerling, the most popular fingerling potato. It has smooth yellow skin and yellow flesh. These potatoes are meant for fresh eating not for storage. I would recommend steaming or roasting Green parts of a potato indicate it has been exposed to the light (sunlight or florescent lighting). A chemical called solanine is produced in the potato when exposed to light. Eating a large amount of solanine can be toxic. Hedge your bets by cutting away any green sections of the potato before cooking (you do not need to discard the whole potato, just the green part). I hill my potatoes (hoe dirt up around the base of the plant) to keep the tubers out of the sun. I expect not to find too many green tinted potatoes. I hope you all enjoy the potatoes this year as much as I know I will.
The News
I just want to check in to see how everyone is doing. Are you getting enough food? Too much food? Please let me know what you think about the general amount of food, i.e. too many greens, perfect amount of greens, too many roots crops, enough root crops, etc. This doesn’t necessarily mean anything will change; I just want to get a feel for how you all are doing. We are going to get new vases because the stainless vases leak and are tippy. We are wondering if you all like to keep the flowers in the vase you get them in, or if you prefer to take them out of our vase and put them into your own. Let me know so we can order new ones soon. That’s all the questions this week. We will do a more thorough survey at the end of the season; this is just a little check in. Thanks for your responses.
The Recipe
Alayne and I found the recipe this week.
Chopped Salad with Beets, Beans, Goat Cheese and Hazelnuts
ACTIVE TIME: 30 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 1 HR
SERVES: 6
Hugo Matheson suggests reserving the beet greens and using them as a bed for whole grilled fish: Clean the greens, then wilt them in a saucepan with a bit of water, olive oil and salt.
Ingredients
· 1 large beet (6 ounces), quartered
· Water
· 1/4 cup skinned hazelnuts
· 1/4 pound green beans
· 2 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt
· 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
· 1 teaspoon honey
· 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
· Salt and freshly ground pepper
· 1/2 pound mixed salad greens, such as baby romaine, butter lettuce, radicchio and endives, coarsely chopped
· 1 carrot, finely diced
· 1 celery rib, finely diced
· 1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped
· 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
· 2 1/2 ounces soft, fresh goat cheese, crumbled
directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
Place the beet in a small baking dish with 1/4 cup of water.
Cover with foil and roast the beet for 45 minutes, until tender.
Let cool slightly, then peel and finely dice.
2. Meanwhile, spread the hazelnuts in a pie plate and toast them for about 10 minutes, until they are golden. Let cool, then coarsely chop the nuts.
3. In a small saucepan of boiling salted water, blanch the green beans until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and cool under running water. Pat the beans dry and cut them into 1/4-inch pieces.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the yogurt with the lemon juice, honey and olive oil and season the dressing with salt and pepper. Add the diced beet, hazelnuts, green beans, salad greens, carrot, celery, tomato, mint and goat cheese and toss gently. Serve the salad right away.
MAKE AHEAD
The recipe can be prepared through Step 3 and refrigerated overnight. Store the toasted hazelnuts in an airtight container.
NOTES One Serving 138 Calories, 10 gm Total Fat, 2.6 gm Saturated Fat, 9 gm Carbohydrate, 3 gm Fiber.
Enjoy the bounty!
Daisy
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