8-19-2008
CSA Newsletter
August 19th, 2008
…using organic techniques does not mean simply substituting organic inputs for a conventional one. The most basic organic technique is to observe your farm: what are the complex interrelationships among crops, soils, and wildlife. As organic farmers we take this circle wider – we observe the relationships between our farms and the surrounding community, between our region and the rest of the earth….Organic agriculture is not just a method of production – it is an attitude and an approach towards the world. Organic farming has developed in the country without the benefit of university support, government subsidies, or corporate influence…
Elizabeth Henderson touching on the direction organic has gone since government involvement starting in 1990.
What a week it’s been! Cold nighttime temps, the Slow Food fundraiser, the ducks started laying eggs, the dahlia’s started blooming and the tomatoes are petering out!
It feels like the harvest is a little slim this week…we are kind of in a lull right now, pre potatoes and storage onions, no cabbage or leeks this week (we’ll start with those again next week), and the greenhouse crops are slowing down. We are in the transition into fall-ish crops (hard to believe). That means that the spinach will show up again in a few weeks, and hopefully some pac choi again also, and then the already mentioned leeks, cabbage, potatoes, and garlic. The tomatoes, cucs, peppers, and eggplant will start dwindling down to nothing, but we’ll keep on keepin’ on with carrots, beets, and greens.
The Harvest
1# salad greens
1 bunch carrots
1 bunch herbs
¼# arugula
Hot peppers
Squash
Not everyone will get the following:
¼# basil (still working on getting everyone ¼# for pesto making)
eggplant
cucumber
heirloom tomatoes
1 bunch beets
Sweet peppers
U-pick
Beans or cherry tomatoes – ask us where and how. I
If you harvested last week, please let others harvest this week.
Mustard Greens – There will be ½# bags of mustard greens in the cooler in a bin as well – take a bag if you would like one.
Patty Pan Squash – We are growing 2 varieties of Patty Pan this year: Golden Scaloppini and Flying Saucer. The Golden Scaloppini is a golden color, while the Flying Saucer is golden yellow with a dark green kiss around the stem and the blossom end. I haven’t tasted the Scaloppini yet this year, but the Flying Saucer is very sweet, crunchy and juicy – I like it! I even really like it raw, which is unusual for squash and me.
The Patty Pan squash originates in North and Central America, as will all squash, and is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family along with cucumbers. The French name patisson comes from the Provencal word for a cake made in a scalloped mould. The French have also nicknamed it Israel artichoke and Priest’s bonnet.
Patty Pans are 90% water, and yet still a good source of vitamin A, magnesium, copper and iron.
Patty Pan squash should be kept in a cool place with no plastic wrapper, and eaten as soon as possible.
I can’t help mentioning the spelling – some spell it Pattypan, and some Patty Pan…….
Tomatoes – The tomatoes peaked about 3 weeks ago. At our peak we were getting around 44# twice a week. Then we started dropping to 20 something #’s twice a week, then it went straight from a 22# harvest last Wednesday to a 10# harvest on Saturday…….we’ll see what we get this Wednesday. Anyway, that is the story with most heirloom tomatoes – they have a defined peak, and then they drop off. We will continue to send out tomatoes for a few more weeks, but not nearly at the rate we were. The Green Zebras still have quite a bit of fruit on the vine.
The News
Two varieties of garlic (Metechi Red Strip and Georgian Crystal) are out of the ground and hanging to cure in and around the flower shed – be sure to check it out. It is a beautiful sign of late summer harvest for me. I love jobs like harvesting garlic, jobs that happen every year about the same time. They make me remember each year that has passed and what I was doing and feeling at this time each year. Last year’s harvest – reveling in the first garlic harvest at Copper Moose Farm. Three harvests ago – just breaking ground on our home. Six harvests ago – marveling at my first garlic harvest ever - at Ranui Gardens.
I’m starting to seriously think about the CSA potluck on September 6th. Mark it on your calendars. Next week I am going to put a sign-up sheet on the cooler door so people can mark down A: if they are coming, and B: what they would like to bring. I would like to harvest anything I can for you for your potluck item. We (the farmies) will be in charge of the pulled pork and beverages.
Becca’s Nutritional Tip
Lycopene is a phytonutrient found in tomatoes, watermelon, and red peppers. Current studies show that lycopene has strong anticancer properties. It is also great for the skin, helping to protect against the sun’s harmful rays. Lycopene becomes more bioavailable when cooked and eaten with a bit of fat or oil. So make sure to sprinkle olive oil over a tomato salad or smother your cheese pizza with fresh tomato sauce and olive oil.
The Recipe
This one is from the Internet – forgive the awkward copying.
StuffedPattyPan Prepare like stuffed peppers.
If you decide to stuff the pattypans, cut off the lids; hollow out the inside with a spoon; heat some butter and oil in a skillet until foamy, add onion and cook gently until translucent; add meat and spices; cook for 3 minutes longer; blend in some bread crumbs; stuff the pattypans and place them in a baking dish into which you’ve poured 1/2” of water.
Bake for 20 minutes at 350° F, covered with aluminum foil. They can be served on their own, or with a tomato or white sauce, depending on the ingredients of the stuffing.
At the end of the cooking time, you can remove the lids and gratiné the pattypans by laying a piece of brie cheese over the stuffing.
Stuffing for a one-dish mealSquash flesh, mushrooms, chicken breast and shallots, diced and sautéed; add cream, mint, parsley, salt and pepper and bake for at least 30 minutes in a 350° F oven.
OR
Stuff with a knob of butter or a mixture of ground beef, tomatoes, sautéed onions, garlic and ginger.
Chocolate Beet Cake (From Quail Hill Farm Cookbook – adapted from www.cakerecipe.com)
Grease one 9”X 13” pan. Preheat oven to 360. Sprinkle 2 tsp lemon juice over 1 cup of beets, which have been boiled, peeled and grated. Set aside. Combine 2.5 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 cups sugar, ½ cup unsweetened cocoa, 1.25 cup melted butter, 4 eggs beaten, 2 tbsp honey, .5 cup milk and 2 tsp vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Stir in beets. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Pour into greased pan. Bake at 350 about 40 minutes. Cool and frost.
Frosting – combine 3 tbsp cream and 2 oz cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla and a pinch of salt. Add 1# confectioners’ sugar, beat until fluffy. Spread on cake and add nuts if desired.
Arugula Dip (One of our CSA members found this one)
Arugula Dip
In Blender combine:
3 garlic cloves
¼ cup Olive Oil
2 handfuls of arugula
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp organic cream cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
I cut up other veggies and use this as a dip—delicis!
Thanks Betsy!
That’s all for this week, hope you are having a nice one.
Daisy
August 19th, 2008
…using organic techniques does not mean simply substituting organic inputs for a conventional one. The most basic organic technique is to observe your farm: what are the complex interrelationships among crops, soils, and wildlife. As organic farmers we take this circle wider – we observe the relationships between our farms and the surrounding community, between our region and the rest of the earth….Organic agriculture is not just a method of production – it is an attitude and an approach towards the world. Organic farming has developed in the country without the benefit of university support, government subsidies, or corporate influence…
Elizabeth Henderson touching on the direction organic has gone since government involvement starting in 1990.
What a week it’s been! Cold nighttime temps, the Slow Food fundraiser, the ducks started laying eggs, the dahlia’s started blooming and the tomatoes are petering out!
It feels like the harvest is a little slim this week…we are kind of in a lull right now, pre potatoes and storage onions, no cabbage or leeks this week (we’ll start with those again next week), and the greenhouse crops are slowing down. We are in the transition into fall-ish crops (hard to believe). That means that the spinach will show up again in a few weeks, and hopefully some pac choi again also, and then the already mentioned leeks, cabbage, potatoes, and garlic. The tomatoes, cucs, peppers, and eggplant will start dwindling down to nothing, but we’ll keep on keepin’ on with carrots, beets, and greens.
The Harvest
1# salad greens
1 bunch carrots
1 bunch herbs
¼# arugula
Hot peppers
Squash
Not everyone will get the following:
¼# basil (still working on getting everyone ¼# for pesto making)
eggplant
cucumber
heirloom tomatoes
1 bunch beets
Sweet peppers
U-pick
Beans or cherry tomatoes – ask us where and how. I
If you harvested last week, please let others harvest this week.
Mustard Greens – There will be ½# bags of mustard greens in the cooler in a bin as well – take a bag if you would like one.
Patty Pan Squash – We are growing 2 varieties of Patty Pan this year: Golden Scaloppini and Flying Saucer. The Golden Scaloppini is a golden color, while the Flying Saucer is golden yellow with a dark green kiss around the stem and the blossom end. I haven’t tasted the Scaloppini yet this year, but the Flying Saucer is very sweet, crunchy and juicy – I like it! I even really like it raw, which is unusual for squash and me.
The Patty Pan squash originates in North and Central America, as will all squash, and is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family along with cucumbers. The French name patisson comes from the Provencal word for a cake made in a scalloped mould. The French have also nicknamed it Israel artichoke and Priest’s bonnet.
Patty Pans are 90% water, and yet still a good source of vitamin A, magnesium, copper and iron.
Patty Pan squash should be kept in a cool place with no plastic wrapper, and eaten as soon as possible.
I can’t help mentioning the spelling – some spell it Pattypan, and some Patty Pan…….
Tomatoes – The tomatoes peaked about 3 weeks ago. At our peak we were getting around 44# twice a week. Then we started dropping to 20 something #’s twice a week, then it went straight from a 22# harvest last Wednesday to a 10# harvest on Saturday…….we’ll see what we get this Wednesday. Anyway, that is the story with most heirloom tomatoes – they have a defined peak, and then they drop off. We will continue to send out tomatoes for a few more weeks, but not nearly at the rate we were. The Green Zebras still have quite a bit of fruit on the vine.
The News
Two varieties of garlic (Metechi Red Strip and Georgian Crystal) are out of the ground and hanging to cure in and around the flower shed – be sure to check it out. It is a beautiful sign of late summer harvest for me. I love jobs like harvesting garlic, jobs that happen every year about the same time. They make me remember each year that has passed and what I was doing and feeling at this time each year. Last year’s harvest – reveling in the first garlic harvest at Copper Moose Farm. Three harvests ago – just breaking ground on our home. Six harvests ago – marveling at my first garlic harvest ever - at Ranui Gardens.
I’m starting to seriously think about the CSA potluck on September 6th. Mark it on your calendars. Next week I am going to put a sign-up sheet on the cooler door so people can mark down A: if they are coming, and B: what they would like to bring. I would like to harvest anything I can for you for your potluck item. We (the farmies) will be in charge of the pulled pork and beverages.
Becca’s Nutritional Tip
Lycopene is a phytonutrient found in tomatoes, watermelon, and red peppers. Current studies show that lycopene has strong anticancer properties. It is also great for the skin, helping to protect against the sun’s harmful rays. Lycopene becomes more bioavailable when cooked and eaten with a bit of fat or oil. So make sure to sprinkle olive oil over a tomato salad or smother your cheese pizza with fresh tomato sauce and olive oil.
The Recipe
This one is from the Internet – forgive the awkward copying.
StuffedPattyPan Prepare like stuffed peppers.
If you decide to stuff the pattypans, cut off the lids; hollow out the inside with a spoon; heat some butter and oil in a skillet until foamy, add onion and cook gently until translucent; add meat and spices; cook for 3 minutes longer; blend in some bread crumbs; stuff the pattypans and place them in a baking dish into which you’ve poured 1/2” of water.
Bake for 20 minutes at 350° F, covered with aluminum foil. They can be served on their own, or with a tomato or white sauce, depending on the ingredients of the stuffing.
At the end of the cooking time, you can remove the lids and gratiné the pattypans by laying a piece of brie cheese over the stuffing.
Stuffing for a one-dish mealSquash flesh, mushrooms, chicken breast and shallots, diced and sautéed; add cream, mint, parsley, salt and pepper and bake for at least 30 minutes in a 350° F oven.
OR
Stuff with a knob of butter or a mixture of ground beef, tomatoes, sautéed onions, garlic and ginger.
Chocolate Beet Cake (From Quail Hill Farm Cookbook – adapted from www.cakerecipe.com)
Grease one 9”X 13” pan. Preheat oven to 360. Sprinkle 2 tsp lemon juice over 1 cup of beets, which have been boiled, peeled and grated. Set aside. Combine 2.5 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 cups sugar, ½ cup unsweetened cocoa, 1.25 cup melted butter, 4 eggs beaten, 2 tbsp honey, .5 cup milk and 2 tsp vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Stir in beets. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Pour into greased pan. Bake at 350 about 40 minutes. Cool and frost.
Frosting – combine 3 tbsp cream and 2 oz cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla and a pinch of salt. Add 1# confectioners’ sugar, beat until fluffy. Spread on cake and add nuts if desired.
Arugula Dip (One of our CSA members found this one)
Arugula Dip
In Blender combine:
3 garlic cloves
¼ cup Olive Oil
2 handfuls of arugula
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp organic cream cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
I cut up other veggies and use this as a dip—delicis!
Thanks Betsy!
That’s all for this week, hope you are having a nice one.
Daisy
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