10/06/2009
CSA Newsletter
October 6, 2009
A garden is the place millions of people go to touch the earth, to smell the flowers – to use some of that fabled human brainpower in the cause of better participating with natural processes in the place they call home. If serves as an art project, an organic produce market, a spiritual practice, a pharmacy. It offers ongoing lessons in ecology, biology, chemistry, geology, meteorology. Gardening imparts an organic perspective on the passage of time.
Jim Nollman Why We Garden (p.2)
This will be the last week of the 2009 CSA.
The Harvest
¾# salad mix
½# spinach
Onions (Rossa Di Milano, Redwing, Mustang (white), Lisbon White)
Wild Rocambole Garlic
Your cotton bags
Not everyone will get all of the following: (making it all even…..)
2 oz basil
4 oz arugula
Radish bunch
Salad Mix – It got cold! The salad is a little hammered from the cold temps. What does that mean? It means it is not going to store as long as it normally would.
Onions – the onions come to you not fully cured…..which shouldn’t affect much. I am not sure they will store until April at this point, but it’s not like you’re getting a 10# bag, so I imagine eating them up in the next few weeks won’t be a problem. Enjoy!
Your cotton bags – You guys bought them, so here they are. Hopefully you will find them useful this winter while shopping at the grocery store, might as well continue to reduce your plastic bag usage. If you loose some over the winter, you will have to buy new ones for next year’s CSA (I will facilitate that).
Nutrition Tip (from Becca this week)
Garlic: Ancient Egyptians were the first known culture to cultivate garlic and since its first days of cultivation it has been used for medicinal purposes. Only recently, has research begun to support all of the amazing health claims of this allium. The sulfur containing compounds – allicin, alliin, and dithiins – which are responsible for garlic’s odor, have anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral qualities. Garlic is also an excellent source of manganese, B6, C, and selenium – nutrients that support cardiovascular health. Use garlic to spice any dish or roast on its own and serve with your favorite bread and cheese.
The News
Well, the big news is that it’s the end of the 2009 season for us. It flew by! As it always does I guess…and, as usual, it was a pleasure to see you all each week. It’s always weird saying goodbye to many of you until next season but hopefully we’ll see lots of you out on the slopes!
What will be going on here this winter? Eggs - We will have eggs available for sale this winter. The set up will be the same as last winter: we will be selling eggs on Wednesdays. There will be a little fridge set up at the back of the main greenhouse, right next to the red sliding doors. The money jar will be on top of the little fridge – make change for yourself as always.
Salad Greens – I hope to have a couple harvests of salad greens this winter. I will send out an email when I have greens available for sale. They will be on a Wednesdays as well.
There are still a couple sides of beef available, let me know if you are interested.
We will be doing sign up in the spring again. I will send out an email around mid February inviting you all to join the CSA for 2010. I will hold your spot for 2 weeks – if I have not heard from you after 2 weeks I will open your spot up to the waitlist. If you know you are going to be out of town during that time, you may want to shoot me an email at the beginning of Feb letting me know you are interested in 2010. I also tend to call anyone I haven’t heard from, just to make sure you did get the email.
I want to send out a big thank you to Craig, Lorin, and our volunteers (Inge, Rob, Alisha, Brad, Rebecca and Becca) for a fabulous season. You all had to pull more weight this year because of me…..and I really appreciate it. This year would not have gone as smoothly as it did without you all! It was a PLEASURE to work with you, and I’m looking forward to doing it again next year.
Craig – you keep this place from falling to pieces. I don’t know how you do all that you do! I am so grateful for all of your talents. Thanks for your help all the time.
Lorin – you completely stepped up to the plate this year…..and it was a bigger plate than normal! You carried heavy things that my pregnant body couldn’t carry, you remembered things that my pregnant brain forgot, and you held down the fort while I enjoyed my newborn. Thank you for your hard work, attention to detail, and your care for all the living things around here.
John and Kristi – thank you for making this all possible. This is a dream job for me and working for you is fabulous! It’s a pleasure and I am grateful for the opportunity. I look forward to the challenges and success ahead!
And to you, our CSA – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – you make this community the fabulous community that it is! Thank you for being a part of it! I love to hear what you are doing with your vegetables, I love to see your kids each week, and I love to catch up with you each week. We all will miss seeing you around here this winter, and look forward to next spring!
The Recipe
What else could it be?? FRENCH ONION SOUP!
Ingredients
5 sweet onions (like Vidalias) or a combination of sweet and red onions (about 4 pounds)
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white wine
10 ounces canned beef consume
10 ounces chicken broth
10 ounces apple cider (unfiltered is best)
Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley tied together with kitchen string
1 loaf country style bread
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Splash of Cognac (optional)
1 cup Fontina or Gruyere cheese , grated
Directions
Trim the ends off each onion then halve lengthwise. Remove peel and finely slice into half moon shapes. Set electric skillet to 300 degrees and add butter. Once butter has melted add a layer of onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat layering onions and salt until all onions are in the skillet. Do not try stirring until onions have sweated down for 15 to 20 minutes. After that, stir occasionally until onions are dark mahogany and reduced to approximately 2 cups. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not worry about burning.
Add enough wine to cover the onions and turn heat to high, reducing the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consume, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.
Place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler.
Cut country bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven safe soup crocks. Place the slices on a baking sheet and place under broiler for 1 minute.
Season soup mixture with salt, pepper and cognac. Remove bouquet garni and ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.
That’s all for this week, and for the year! Keep in touch – I’ll be around. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow between 8-6.
Daisy
October 6, 2009
A garden is the place millions of people go to touch the earth, to smell the flowers – to use some of that fabled human brainpower in the cause of better participating with natural processes in the place they call home. If serves as an art project, an organic produce market, a spiritual practice, a pharmacy. It offers ongoing lessons in ecology, biology, chemistry, geology, meteorology. Gardening imparts an organic perspective on the passage of time.
Jim Nollman Why We Garden (p.2)
This will be the last week of the 2009 CSA.
The Harvest
¾# salad mix
½# spinach
Onions (Rossa Di Milano, Redwing, Mustang (white), Lisbon White)
Wild Rocambole Garlic
Your cotton bags
Not everyone will get all of the following: (making it all even…..)
2 oz basil
4 oz arugula
Radish bunch
Salad Mix – It got cold! The salad is a little hammered from the cold temps. What does that mean? It means it is not going to store as long as it normally would.
Onions – the onions come to you not fully cured…..which shouldn’t affect much. I am not sure they will store until April at this point, but it’s not like you’re getting a 10# bag, so I imagine eating them up in the next few weeks won’t be a problem. Enjoy!
Your cotton bags – You guys bought them, so here they are. Hopefully you will find them useful this winter while shopping at the grocery store, might as well continue to reduce your plastic bag usage. If you loose some over the winter, you will have to buy new ones for next year’s CSA (I will facilitate that).
Nutrition Tip (from Becca this week)
Garlic: Ancient Egyptians were the first known culture to cultivate garlic and since its first days of cultivation it has been used for medicinal purposes. Only recently, has research begun to support all of the amazing health claims of this allium. The sulfur containing compounds – allicin, alliin, and dithiins – which are responsible for garlic’s odor, have anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral qualities. Garlic is also an excellent source of manganese, B6, C, and selenium – nutrients that support cardiovascular health. Use garlic to spice any dish or roast on its own and serve with your favorite bread and cheese.
The News
Well, the big news is that it’s the end of the 2009 season for us. It flew by! As it always does I guess…and, as usual, it was a pleasure to see you all each week. It’s always weird saying goodbye to many of you until next season but hopefully we’ll see lots of you out on the slopes!
What will be going on here this winter? Eggs - We will have eggs available for sale this winter. The set up will be the same as last winter: we will be selling eggs on Wednesdays. There will be a little fridge set up at the back of the main greenhouse, right next to the red sliding doors. The money jar will be on top of the little fridge – make change for yourself as always.
Salad Greens – I hope to have a couple harvests of salad greens this winter. I will send out an email when I have greens available for sale. They will be on a Wednesdays as well.
There are still a couple sides of beef available, let me know if you are interested.
We will be doing sign up in the spring again. I will send out an email around mid February inviting you all to join the CSA for 2010. I will hold your spot for 2 weeks – if I have not heard from you after 2 weeks I will open your spot up to the waitlist. If you know you are going to be out of town during that time, you may want to shoot me an email at the beginning of Feb letting me know you are interested in 2010. I also tend to call anyone I haven’t heard from, just to make sure you did get the email.
I want to send out a big thank you to Craig, Lorin, and our volunteers (Inge, Rob, Alisha, Brad, Rebecca and Becca) for a fabulous season. You all had to pull more weight this year because of me…..and I really appreciate it. This year would not have gone as smoothly as it did without you all! It was a PLEASURE to work with you, and I’m looking forward to doing it again next year.
Craig – you keep this place from falling to pieces. I don’t know how you do all that you do! I am so grateful for all of your talents. Thanks for your help all the time.
Lorin – you completely stepped up to the plate this year…..and it was a bigger plate than normal! You carried heavy things that my pregnant body couldn’t carry, you remembered things that my pregnant brain forgot, and you held down the fort while I enjoyed my newborn. Thank you for your hard work, attention to detail, and your care for all the living things around here.
John and Kristi – thank you for making this all possible. This is a dream job for me and working for you is fabulous! It’s a pleasure and I am grateful for the opportunity. I look forward to the challenges and success ahead!
And to you, our CSA – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – you make this community the fabulous community that it is! Thank you for being a part of it! I love to hear what you are doing with your vegetables, I love to see your kids each week, and I love to catch up with you each week. We all will miss seeing you around here this winter, and look forward to next spring!
The Recipe
What else could it be?? FRENCH ONION SOUP!
Ingredients
5 sweet onions (like Vidalias) or a combination of sweet and red onions (about 4 pounds)
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white wine
10 ounces canned beef consume
10 ounces chicken broth
10 ounces apple cider (unfiltered is best)
Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley tied together with kitchen string
1 loaf country style bread
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Splash of Cognac (optional)
1 cup Fontina or Gruyere cheese , grated
Directions
Trim the ends off each onion then halve lengthwise. Remove peel and finely slice into half moon shapes. Set electric skillet to 300 degrees and add butter. Once butter has melted add a layer of onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat layering onions and salt until all onions are in the skillet. Do not try stirring until onions have sweated down for 15 to 20 minutes. After that, stir occasionally until onions are dark mahogany and reduced to approximately 2 cups. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not worry about burning.
Add enough wine to cover the onions and turn heat to high, reducing the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consume, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.
Place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler.
Cut country bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven safe soup crocks. Place the slices on a baking sheet and place under broiler for 1 minute.
Season soup mixture with salt, pepper and cognac. Remove bouquet garni and ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.
That’s all for this week, and for the year! Keep in touch – I’ll be around. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow between 8-6.
Daisy
<< Home