6/02/2009
CSA Newsletter
June 2nd, 2009
A truly fertile soil is inwardly alive.
Rudolf Steiner
The Harvest
¾# salad mix
2 oz arugula
Basil (for those of you who did not get it last week)
1 bunch radish (not everyone will get this week)
1 bunch herbs (mint, thyme, or tarragon)
Edible Flowers
Let me introduce you to a little “friend” of mine. Some of you may remember this character from last year…..the Flea Beetle . Yup, this little guy is the one doing all the damage you see to your salad mix (the tiny holes). They like the spicier greens (mustard greens, Mizuna, arugula, Tatsoi). We cover all of those greens here at the farm with a light row cover to keep it hidden from them….but sometimes they still get in. I am going to call this ‘the spring of the flea beetle’; their damage is very wide spread right now…..we’re doing our best. I think I have mentioned before that farming is teaching me to share…..even when I don’t want to; this week it’s with the flea beetles.
Edible Flowers – I only send out a couple bags of these a week….so we’ll slowly get through the list…The best way to store these little beauties is floating in some water in a little bowl, either in your fridge or on the counter. Edible Flowers are great to use on salads, floating on the top of a chilled soup, as a gorgeous garnish for desserts…..and anything else that sounds good to you. Right now the flowers that we have are Pansies, Chamomile, and Nasturtiums. The Nasturtiums have a spicy flavor, the Chamomile tastes like….chamomile, and the Pansies are very subtle.
Last year Alayne put some Chamomile flowers into a scone batter and WOW, was it fabulous….subtle but wonderful.
Nasturtium
Pansy
Chamomile
Nutritional Tip (and other random factoids):
The radish was first domesticated in Europe in the Pre-Roman times. Radishes are actually packed with lots of good stuff – believe it or not! They are rich in ascorbic acid, folic acid, and potassium and are a good source of Vitamin B6, riboflavin, magnesium, copper, and calcium. So eat em’ up!
The News
The CSA Potluck Party is going to be Sunday August 30th from 5-8. Don’t miss it. It’s a great time here at the farm with all your fellow CSA members! We will provide the main dish and beverages, and you all bring one of your favorite vegetable dishes or desserts. We try to accommodate everyone with as many of the ingredients for their dish as we can. We’ll talk more about that later. But put it in your calendar now!
Compost – we are going to set up a compost bucket for you on Wednesdays. The only items I can accept are things that came from Copper Moose Farm. So…if you don’t eat your radish greens, put them in a container and bring them back the next week. Some of your greens are going bad, bring them back here….you peel your carrots, I’ll take that! You get the picture. I can not accept cooked food – even if it is from the farm. So, to re-cap, I can only accept compost items that came from Copper Moose Farm.
Thanks to all of you that made it to the CSA Prep Class – it was a great exchange of ideas! Some of you expressed interest in the juicers Dave was talking about – here is Dave Spealler’s contact information if anyone is interested in getting a good quality juicer: dave@cgiwest.com, 435-655-0058.
Along with the juicer talk came a great “keep you young” juice recipe from Debbie Sebek. Here it is:
Fresh Juice Drinks by Dr. Bernardo
Make Drink 1 – 3X’s / day
“Secret to Youth & Good Health” Juice
(Juice together items below)
Item Amount Details
1. Ginger Root ¼” Slice of
2. Daikon Radish ¼” Slice of Makes Alkaline
3. Asparagus 5 whole spears
4. Broccoli 1 Cup of
5. Beet ¼ - ½ of a
6. Granny Smith Apple - 1 whole
7. Pineapple ½” Slice of Fresh Take off skin
8. Carrot 1 whole
9. Cucumber 1/3 of a Cleansing
10. Cilantro Handful of Pulls metals out
IMPORTANT: MUST drink with a Straw w/in 20 min. of making
NOTE: Use organic ingredients whenever possible
The Recipe
These come from one of my favorite farm cookbooks, they’re from Smith and Hawken - “The Gardeners’ Community Cookbook” by Victoria Wise.
Radish and Chive Canapés
8 oz quality cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp butter, softened
½ to ¾ cup finely chopped radishes
½ cup chopped fresh chives
Salt
Pumpernickel triangles and/or small cocktail rye bread rounds
Thinly sliced radish rounds, watercress tips, and/or whole chives for garnish
In a medium bowl, beat together the cheese and butter until fluffy. Lightly squeeze the chopped radishes to press out extra moisture and add to the bowl. Add the chopeed chives and mix well. Season with salt to taste, cover, and refrigerate until firm but still spreadable, at least 1 hour to overnight.
When ready to serve, mound the cheese mixture on a serving platter. If using, arrange a ring of radish rounds, watercress tips, and whole chives around the cheese. Surround with a border of overlapping pumpernickel and rye bread slices around the edge of the platter and serve.
Note: If you don’t have enough chives to make half a cup, top the measure with minced green onion.
Herb-Marinated Feta Cheese
2/3 cup olive oil
1 heaping tsp green or red peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, slivered
2 tbsp shredded fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
3 bay leaves, preferably fresh
1/2 # feta cheese, cut into ¾ inch cubes
Place the oil, peppercorns, garlic, basil, thyme, oregano, and bay in a quart jar. Cap and shake well. Add the feta, taking care not to crumble it, cap again, and gently turn to mix. Let stand at room temp for several hours, turning the jar several times. Use right away or store, covered, in the fridge. Bring to room temp before serving. Keeps indefinitely.
I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow - Daisy
June 2nd, 2009
A truly fertile soil is inwardly alive.
Rudolf Steiner
The Harvest
¾# salad mix
2 oz arugula
Basil (for those of you who did not get it last week)
1 bunch radish (not everyone will get this week)
1 bunch herbs (mint, thyme, or tarragon)
Edible Flowers
Let me introduce you to a little “friend” of mine. Some of you may remember this character from last year…..the Flea Beetle . Yup, this little guy is the one doing all the damage you see to your salad mix (the tiny holes). They like the spicier greens (mustard greens, Mizuna, arugula, Tatsoi). We cover all of those greens here at the farm with a light row cover to keep it hidden from them….but sometimes they still get in. I am going to call this ‘the spring of the flea beetle’; their damage is very wide spread right now…..we’re doing our best. I think I have mentioned before that farming is teaching me to share…..even when I don’t want to; this week it’s with the flea beetles.
Edible Flowers – I only send out a couple bags of these a week….so we’ll slowly get through the list…The best way to store these little beauties is floating in some water in a little bowl, either in your fridge or on the counter. Edible Flowers are great to use on salads, floating on the top of a chilled soup, as a gorgeous garnish for desserts…..and anything else that sounds good to you. Right now the flowers that we have are Pansies, Chamomile, and Nasturtiums. The Nasturtiums have a spicy flavor, the Chamomile tastes like….chamomile, and the Pansies are very subtle.
Last year Alayne put some Chamomile flowers into a scone batter and WOW, was it fabulous….subtle but wonderful.
Nasturtium
Pansy
Chamomile
Nutritional Tip (and other random factoids):
The radish was first domesticated in Europe in the Pre-Roman times. Radishes are actually packed with lots of good stuff – believe it or not! They are rich in ascorbic acid, folic acid, and potassium and are a good source of Vitamin B6, riboflavin, magnesium, copper, and calcium. So eat em’ up!
The News
The CSA Potluck Party is going to be Sunday August 30th from 5-8. Don’t miss it. It’s a great time here at the farm with all your fellow CSA members! We will provide the main dish and beverages, and you all bring one of your favorite vegetable dishes or desserts. We try to accommodate everyone with as many of the ingredients for their dish as we can. We’ll talk more about that later. But put it in your calendar now!
Compost – we are going to set up a compost bucket for you on Wednesdays. The only items I can accept are things that came from Copper Moose Farm. So…if you don’t eat your radish greens, put them in a container and bring them back the next week. Some of your greens are going bad, bring them back here….you peel your carrots, I’ll take that! You get the picture. I can not accept cooked food – even if it is from the farm. So, to re-cap, I can only accept compost items that came from Copper Moose Farm.
Thanks to all of you that made it to the CSA Prep Class – it was a great exchange of ideas! Some of you expressed interest in the juicers Dave was talking about – here is Dave Spealler’s contact information if anyone is interested in getting a good quality juicer: dave@cgiwest.com, 435-655-0058.
Along with the juicer talk came a great “keep you young” juice recipe from Debbie Sebek. Here it is:
Fresh Juice Drinks by Dr. Bernardo
Make Drink 1 – 3X’s / day
“Secret to Youth & Good Health” Juice
(Juice together items below)
Item Amount Details
1. Ginger Root ¼” Slice of
2. Daikon Radish ¼” Slice of Makes Alkaline
3. Asparagus 5 whole spears
4. Broccoli 1 Cup of
5. Beet ¼ - ½ of a
6. Granny Smith Apple - 1 whole
7. Pineapple ½” Slice of Fresh Take off skin
8. Carrot 1 whole
9. Cucumber 1/3 of a Cleansing
10. Cilantro Handful of Pulls metals out
IMPORTANT: MUST drink with a Straw w/in 20 min. of making
NOTE: Use organic ingredients whenever possible
The Recipe
These come from one of my favorite farm cookbooks, they’re from Smith and Hawken - “The Gardeners’ Community Cookbook” by Victoria Wise.
Radish and Chive Canapés
8 oz quality cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp butter, softened
½ to ¾ cup finely chopped radishes
½ cup chopped fresh chives
Salt
Pumpernickel triangles and/or small cocktail rye bread rounds
Thinly sliced radish rounds, watercress tips, and/or whole chives for garnish
In a medium bowl, beat together the cheese and butter until fluffy. Lightly squeeze the chopped radishes to press out extra moisture and add to the bowl. Add the chopeed chives and mix well. Season with salt to taste, cover, and refrigerate until firm but still spreadable, at least 1 hour to overnight.
When ready to serve, mound the cheese mixture on a serving platter. If using, arrange a ring of radish rounds, watercress tips, and whole chives around the cheese. Surround with a border of overlapping pumpernickel and rye bread slices around the edge of the platter and serve.
Note: If you don’t have enough chives to make half a cup, top the measure with minced green onion.
Herb-Marinated Feta Cheese
2/3 cup olive oil
1 heaping tsp green or red peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, slivered
2 tbsp shredded fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
3 bay leaves, preferably fresh
1/2 # feta cheese, cut into ¾ inch cubes
Place the oil, peppercorns, garlic, basil, thyme, oregano, and bay in a quart jar. Cap and shake well. Add the feta, taking care not to crumble it, cap again, and gently turn to mix. Let stand at room temp for several hours, turning the jar several times. Use right away or store, covered, in the fridge. Bring to room temp before serving. Keeps indefinitely.
I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow - Daisy
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