08/04/2009
CSA Newsletter
August 4, 2009
The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses. ~Hanna Rion
We had a great open house this past Saturday; it was wonderful to see our community out here. Thanks to Andrew Parker, Craig Henry, Lorin Tedeschi, Doug Fryer (and family), and Ashley Patterson for coming out on their days off to help show the community around.
There were some good questions asked, I thought I might share one of them with you because the answer really delves into why we grow food the way we do out here at Copper Moose.
People often ask about the different ways out there to grow tomatoes. The most frequent asked about are hydroponics, upside down tomato pots or having different levels of shallow soil within the greenhouse and growing the tomatoes, or other vegetables, at varying heights within the building. There are a lot of innovative ways to grow food, and more are being developed all the time. I think those methods have a place, without a doubt. If you are growing in a city with little available soil, perhaps one of those alternative methods is perfect. Or if we ruin all of the soil on this planet it will come in handy to have already developed different ways to grow our food without soil. But for Copper Moose Farm, at this time, it’s a different story. We are blessed with great soil and plenty of it at this point. Keeping the soil healthy and full of life is one of my main focuses. I believe there are many, many interactions going on in the soil between the plants, microorganisms, nutrients, and energies. These interactions, whether we can currently define/explain them or not, enhance our food both nutritionally and energetically.
There are many of these interactions that can be explained by Agricultural Science; plants excreting excess sugars from their roots, which feeds microbes, which causes microbes to cluster around the roots, which in turn gives the plants nutrients in a form they can most easily use (once the microbes have processed them). Many in Agricultural science will also tell you that they believe there are other interactions going on in the soil that they don’t yet understand or even know about.
I believe these interactions are an integral part to growing the most complete food. I believe most plants have developed over thousands of years to grow in soil, soil that is connected to the earth. I like to try to support nature’s systems as much as I can. As I said before, here at Copper Moose we have plenty of soil connected directly to the earth (with all of its energies). I focus on keeping this soil healthy, which in turn grows healthy plants, which in turn keeps us healthy! So what do I think of growing tomatoes hydroponically? For the foreseeable future, I only want to eat tomatoes (and most other veggies) that are grown in good earth.
Just a reminder that pick-up is WEDNESDAY from 8-6.
The Harvest
3/4# Salad mix
4 oz arugula
1 bunch beets
1 bunch turnips
1 bunch Purplette onions
1 bunch herbs
Not everyone will get all of the following:
Summer squash
Bell Pepper
Hot Pepper
U-Pick – if you didn’t harvest last week, then you are on to harvest this week.
Eggplant
Cabbage
Tomatoes – check the board
Purplette Onions – These little bulb onions are just delightful. They are great in soups, salads, roasted whole and served over some huge slab of meat, chopped, diced, grilled – you name it.
Summer Squash – It’s the beginning of the squash season! Let’s hope it lasts longer than it did last year. We got our first frost on August 14th last summer, and that really put a damper on our squash harvest for the season. The varieties you will see this summer are: Patty Pan, Flying Saucer, Zephyr, Cash Flow, Golden Scallopini, and Yellow Crookneck. These squash will all store best in a plastic baggie (or crisper drawer) in your fridge. They can be eaten a variety of ways: fresh, sautéed, grated, roasted, steamed, in soups or stir fries.
Cabbage – It is also the beginning of the cabbage season. The variety this week is Farao. Cabbage will store in your fridge for quite a few weeks if you can’t get to it right away. You may have to peel off the outer leaves, but the main head should still be fine. But why not eat it while it’s fresh and alive! Cabbage is great in salads, coleslaws, soups, stir fries…etc.
Nutritional Tip (from Becca this week)
Beets: Beets are vibrant root vegetables with edible greens. They come in red, rainbow, white, and golden-yellow. Their cultivation dates back to prehistoric times in North Africa where just the greens were eaten. The roots weren’t considered food until the ancient Romans became the first to eat the roots. They were catapulted into popularity when the British restricted sugar trade and Napoleon ordered beets be used to produce sugar.
Beets have the highest sugar content of any other vegetable, but are very low in calories. There rich color pigments are from the compound betacyanin, which also has been proven to have cancer fighting properties. This phytonutrient also helps to protect against hear disease and soothes inflammation in the body. The greens are full of the antioxidants beta-carotene and lutein, which help to boost immune function and rid the body of toxins. Beets are a fantastic add to your salads with a bit of goat cheese and orange zest.
The News
We have re-done the recipe section of our website. I am very excited about this because with the new format you all are going to be able to add recipes and photos of your beautiful creations! It is also going to make it easier to find recipes based on certain vegetables. It will still be found under the “Recipe” page of our website
It should be up and running by tomorrow. It is very user friendly, so please put your recipes up there – we will all benefit from them. I will slowly be working on getting all the recipes from the past onto this new format. Chris Petty, who does all the big work on our website, has done an awesome job on this!
The Recipes
Both of these come from The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Molly Katzen.
Russian Beet Salad
8 healthy beets (2.5” diameter) 1 medium cucumber – peeled, seeded, and minced
¼ cup cider vinegar 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 medium clove garlic, minced 2 Tbsp minced fresh dill (or 2 tsp dry)
1 to 2 tsp honey 1 cup firm yogurt (optional)
½ cup minced red onion freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions. Minced (whites and greens)
Trim the beets of their stems and greens, and place the beets in a medium-large saucepan. Cover them with water and bring to a boil. Cook for about 25 minutes or until tender enough for a fork to slide in easily.
Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, garlic, honey, and salt in a medium-large bowl.
Rinse the cooked beets under cold running water as you rub off their skins. Chop into ½” bits, and add them, still warm, to the vinegar mixture. Stir and let stand about 30 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, seasoning to taste with black pepper. Mix well, cover tightly, and chill until very cold.
Swiss Green Beans
2 large cloves garlic, minced 1/3lb swiss cheese, in thin strips
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil ½ cup chopped ripe olives
1 tsp dried tarragon 1 small green bell pepper, sliced
1 Tbsp minced fresh dill 1 small red bell pepper, sliced
½ tsp salt (more to taste) 3 to 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (more to taste)
2 tsp Dijon Mustard 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
½ cup minced fresh parsley ½ cup chopped toasted almonds
Steam the green beans until just tender. Remove from heat, and immediately rinse under cold running water. Drain well.
Combine everything else except the lemon juice, vinegar, and almonds in a large bowl.
Add the drained beans to the bowl. Toss until everything is well distributed. Cover tightly and let marinate, at room temperature or refrigerate, for at least 2 to 3 hours. (Longer is fine)
Stir in the lemon juice and vinegar within about 10 minutes of serving. Serve cold or at room temperature, topped with almonds.
We look forward to seeing you tomorrow between 8-6.
Daisy
August 4, 2009
The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses. ~Hanna Rion
We had a great open house this past Saturday; it was wonderful to see our community out here. Thanks to Andrew Parker, Craig Henry, Lorin Tedeschi, Doug Fryer (and family), and Ashley Patterson for coming out on their days off to help show the community around.
There were some good questions asked, I thought I might share one of them with you because the answer really delves into why we grow food the way we do out here at Copper Moose.
People often ask about the different ways out there to grow tomatoes. The most frequent asked about are hydroponics, upside down tomato pots or having different levels of shallow soil within the greenhouse and growing the tomatoes, or other vegetables, at varying heights within the building. There are a lot of innovative ways to grow food, and more are being developed all the time. I think those methods have a place, without a doubt. If you are growing in a city with little available soil, perhaps one of those alternative methods is perfect. Or if we ruin all of the soil on this planet it will come in handy to have already developed different ways to grow our food without soil. But for Copper Moose Farm, at this time, it’s a different story. We are blessed with great soil and plenty of it at this point. Keeping the soil healthy and full of life is one of my main focuses. I believe there are many, many interactions going on in the soil between the plants, microorganisms, nutrients, and energies. These interactions, whether we can currently define/explain them or not, enhance our food both nutritionally and energetically.
There are many of these interactions that can be explained by Agricultural Science; plants excreting excess sugars from their roots, which feeds microbes, which causes microbes to cluster around the roots, which in turn gives the plants nutrients in a form they can most easily use (once the microbes have processed them). Many in Agricultural science will also tell you that they believe there are other interactions going on in the soil that they don’t yet understand or even know about.
I believe these interactions are an integral part to growing the most complete food. I believe most plants have developed over thousands of years to grow in soil, soil that is connected to the earth. I like to try to support nature’s systems as much as I can. As I said before, here at Copper Moose we have plenty of soil connected directly to the earth (with all of its energies). I focus on keeping this soil healthy, which in turn grows healthy plants, which in turn keeps us healthy! So what do I think of growing tomatoes hydroponically? For the foreseeable future, I only want to eat tomatoes (and most other veggies) that are grown in good earth.
Just a reminder that pick-up is WEDNESDAY from 8-6.
The Harvest
3/4# Salad mix
4 oz arugula
1 bunch beets
1 bunch turnips
1 bunch Purplette onions
1 bunch herbs
Not everyone will get all of the following:
Summer squash
Bell Pepper
Hot Pepper
U-Pick – if you didn’t harvest last week, then you are on to harvest this week.
Eggplant
Cabbage
Tomatoes – check the board
Purplette Onions – These little bulb onions are just delightful. They are great in soups, salads, roasted whole and served over some huge slab of meat, chopped, diced, grilled – you name it.
Summer Squash – It’s the beginning of the squash season! Let’s hope it lasts longer than it did last year. We got our first frost on August 14th last summer, and that really put a damper on our squash harvest for the season. The varieties you will see this summer are: Patty Pan, Flying Saucer, Zephyr, Cash Flow, Golden Scallopini, and Yellow Crookneck. These squash will all store best in a plastic baggie (or crisper drawer) in your fridge. They can be eaten a variety of ways: fresh, sautéed, grated, roasted, steamed, in soups or stir fries.
Cabbage – It is also the beginning of the cabbage season. The variety this week is Farao. Cabbage will store in your fridge for quite a few weeks if you can’t get to it right away. You may have to peel off the outer leaves, but the main head should still be fine. But why not eat it while it’s fresh and alive! Cabbage is great in salads, coleslaws, soups, stir fries…etc.
Nutritional Tip (from Becca this week)
Beets: Beets are vibrant root vegetables with edible greens. They come in red, rainbow, white, and golden-yellow. Their cultivation dates back to prehistoric times in North Africa where just the greens were eaten. The roots weren’t considered food until the ancient Romans became the first to eat the roots. They were catapulted into popularity when the British restricted sugar trade and Napoleon ordered beets be used to produce sugar.
Beets have the highest sugar content of any other vegetable, but are very low in calories. There rich color pigments are from the compound betacyanin, which also has been proven to have cancer fighting properties. This phytonutrient also helps to protect against hear disease and soothes inflammation in the body. The greens are full of the antioxidants beta-carotene and lutein, which help to boost immune function and rid the body of toxins. Beets are a fantastic add to your salads with a bit of goat cheese and orange zest.
The News
We have re-done the recipe section of our website. I am very excited about this because with the new format you all are going to be able to add recipes and photos of your beautiful creations! It is also going to make it easier to find recipes based on certain vegetables. It will still be found under the “Recipe” page of our website
It should be up and running by tomorrow. It is very user friendly, so please put your recipes up there – we will all benefit from them. I will slowly be working on getting all the recipes from the past onto this new format. Chris Petty, who does all the big work on our website, has done an awesome job on this!
The Recipes
Both of these come from The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Molly Katzen.
Russian Beet Salad
8 healthy beets (2.5” diameter) 1 medium cucumber – peeled, seeded, and minced
¼ cup cider vinegar 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 medium clove garlic, minced 2 Tbsp minced fresh dill (or 2 tsp dry)
1 to 2 tsp honey 1 cup firm yogurt (optional)
½ cup minced red onion freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions. Minced (whites and greens)
Trim the beets of their stems and greens, and place the beets in a medium-large saucepan. Cover them with water and bring to a boil. Cook for about 25 minutes or until tender enough for a fork to slide in easily.
Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, garlic, honey, and salt in a medium-large bowl.
Rinse the cooked beets under cold running water as you rub off their skins. Chop into ½” bits, and add them, still warm, to the vinegar mixture. Stir and let stand about 30 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, seasoning to taste with black pepper. Mix well, cover tightly, and chill until very cold.
Swiss Green Beans
2 large cloves garlic, minced 1/3lb swiss cheese, in thin strips
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil ½ cup chopped ripe olives
1 tsp dried tarragon 1 small green bell pepper, sliced
1 Tbsp minced fresh dill 1 small red bell pepper, sliced
½ tsp salt (more to taste) 3 to 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (more to taste)
2 tsp Dijon Mustard 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
½ cup minced fresh parsley ½ cup chopped toasted almonds
Steam the green beans until just tender. Remove from heat, and immediately rinse under cold running water. Drain well.
Combine everything else except the lemon juice, vinegar, and almonds in a large bowl.
Add the drained beans to the bowl. Toss until everything is well distributed. Cover tightly and let marinate, at room temperature or refrigerate, for at least 2 to 3 hours. (Longer is fine)
Stir in the lemon juice and vinegar within about 10 minutes of serving. Serve cold or at room temperature, topped with almonds.
We look forward to seeing you tomorrow between 8-6.
Daisy
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