7-22-2008
CSA Newsletter
July 22, 2008
Microbes in a healthy acre of soil will weigh as much as an average sized cow.
Hands on Agronomy by Neil Kinsey and Charles Walters
Hello! Hope you all had a great week. We actually got some rain here at the farm, hope you got some at your house also.
The Harvest
1# salad greens
½# baby spinach
2.5 oz basil (Red Rubin, Lemon, Sweet, and/or Lettuce Leaf)
1 bag garlic scapes
1 bunch scallions (this is the last week of these…)
1 bunch turnips (you may wish this was the last week of these…)
1 bunch carrots (Napoli)
1 bunch herbs (lavender, dill or cilantro)
Sweet pepper (Sweet Cal Wonder Bell or Purple Beauty)
Not everyone will get the following:
1 bunch beets
¼# arugula
Edible Flowers
Broccoli
Eggplant
Cucumber
Heirloom Tomatoes
Shiso
Baby Spinach – gotta love the rain….but it splashes soil onto the baby spinach (spinach is a very low growing green, especially when harvested at the baby stage, so it gets muddier than the other greens). We washed it as usual, and even a little more thoroughly, but there still may be some grit on it. You may need to wash it again…depending on your grit tolerance level…
Napoli Carrots – I will let them speak for themselves..
Shiso – Technically named Perilla, is a member of the mint family. It is rich in Calcium and Iron and has anti-inflammatory properties. Perilla seeds form an essential part of the famous seven spices of Japan, which originated more than 300 years ago in Kyoto. Shiso can be used in soups, with Tofu dishes, wrapped around sushi or pieces of meat, shredded in salad, or just a leafy green on a sandwich.
It has an incredible flavor, and I hope you have fun playing around with it. Below you will find a recipe to help you out.
Heirloom Tomatoes – The varieties remain the same: Green Zebra (green with a little yellow streaking – THIS TOMATO IS RIPE!), Brandywine (rose colored), Cherokee Purple (dusky dark red), and Striped German (multi-colored red, yellow, orange).
The News
Things are going well around here. The veggies are growing really quickly right now – gotta love it.
There is a sign-up on the cooler door regarding the Park City Marathon. One of our members is the race organizer and she is hoping that we will have enough members sign up to run a Copper Moose Farm aid station. She is just looking for a 2 hour commitment on August 23rd. Check out the sheet for more info.
Tomato Tasting!! We’d like to invite ya’ll over for a tomato tasting, Wednesday August 6th from 5:30 to 6:30. It’s BYOB and anything else you might like to enjoy your tomato tastes with. Very informal, but thought it would be fun for us all to get together and explore the very different flavors of our heirloom tomato varieties.
The Recipe
These come from our new favorite cookbook, Quail Hill Farm Cookbook, sent home to us from John and Kristi from a farm on Long Island.
Scallion Appetizer
Clean and trim scallions. Dry and rill the scallions in beaten egg, then in corn meal or flour. Heat olive oil in a skillet or wok till close to sizzling. Drop scallions into oil. Add to oil finely chopped herbs such as parsley, thyme, sage, or dill. Season with salt and pepper. Lower heat to medium. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes. Drain and serve immediately.
Ginger Sesame Eggplant
Coat 1 medium eggplant with olive oil and roast at 400 degrees until soft. Allow to cool, then peel, chunk into ½” dice, and mix with any juices. Combine 1 glove of finely chopped or pureed garlic (or a garlic scape instead) and 1 tbsp peeled fresh ginger and 1 tbsp sesame oil. Saute together until translucent. Toss with the eggplant chunks and season with ¼ tsp hot sauve, 1 tbsp rice vinegar, ½ tsp sugar, soy sauce to taste and 2 tbsp chopped cilantro. Serve warm or cold – with chips as a dip, or a sauce for soba noodles.
This comes from Food and Wine network:
Lemon-Lavender Short Bread
ingredients
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon dried lavender blossoms, chopped
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
directions
1. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar with the chopped lavender and grated lemon zest. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat in the butter at moderate speed. At low speed, beat in the flour and salt until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to a sheet of wax paper and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Form the dough into a 4-inch log and chill for at least 45 minutes longer.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Slice the shortbread dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and place the rounds on ungreased baking sheets. Freeze the rounds for 10 minutes.
3. Bake the shortbread for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Transfer the baked shortbread to a wire rack to cool completely.
MAKE AHEAD The cookie-dough log can be frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw slightly before slicing. The baked shortbread can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5
Shiso-jito (probably not the recipe you were expecting..)
ingredients
3 shiso or mint leaves, 2 torn into 4 pieces each
2 lime wedges
1 teaspoon chopped candied ginger
Ice
2 ounces citrus vodka
1 ounce chilled ginger ale
directions
1. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the torn shiso and lime wedges with the candied ginger. Add ice and the vodka. Shake well; strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Stir in the ginger ale and garnish with the shiso leaf.
That’s all I’ve got. Hope you enjoy this summer bounty. See you tomorrow.
Daisy
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