CSA Week 11, 2016
OK – Officially caught UP!!!
You MAY have these things: eggplant, corn, new crop of summer squash of some variety or color, tomatoes, peppers, chard or beets or kale…cucumbers are back! I think there is a little gap in the lettuce. Some folks did not get any toward the end of last week, but I am told it will be back soon! I am pushing hard for carrots for those who have not seen any, as well as kohlrabi and or Chinese Cabbage.
The tomatoes are beautiful right now, so enjoy! It’s tomato time. CSA members get the great price of $25/box of gorgeous tomatoes (about 22#). We may have some on hand at your pickup, or email me to get extra sent to you.
I am plugging for carrots and I think there will be potatoes soon, but I won’t lie, I have no idea what might show up at this point. 🙂
Hey, you might already be sick of eggplant after 2 weeks, BUT, did I mention our simple mayo/parm recipe freezes beautifully? Yes, bake as instructed, you can cozy them up on the pan after baking if you want to fit an additional pan’s worth on, freeze, then pop the frozen eggplant rounds off the pan, into a bag or container and put back in freezer. Simply reheat what you need on a pan, about 10 minutes at 350 OR, use them to assemble eggplant parma!
Also, don’t forget to put by your leftovers for the winter when you will miss the bounty. For kale and chard, blanch (drop into boiling water) for 2 minutes, take the heat out by removing greens into cold water and then drain. Stores beautifully in freezer bag and since it is essentially cooked, will not take up much room. You can use the frozen greens in frittata, smoothies, soup….
Member Laura sent this to me years ago. I make a much different slaw, but the idea is that shredded veggies are good co-mingling in yummy dressing.
Kohlrabi Slaw
was lucky enough to have kohlrabi, carrots, *and* radishes, and I made this Asian-flavored slaw out of them, which was very refreshing and which I thought you might like to hear the recipe for:
1 kohlrabi
1bunch carrots
1 bunch radishes
1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
1/4 cup Thai/Vietnamese fish sauce (1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar (ditto)
juice of one small lime
3/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional if not using jalapeno)
8-10 leaves fresh mint, if available, or Thai basil, if available, sliced in ribbons
Peel kohlrabi and julienne (cut into thin matchsticks), along with the carrots, radishes, and jalapeno, if using. (It helps to have mechanical help for the julienning, such as a wicked mandolin.) The kohlrabi should slightly dominate the radishes and carrots. Mix together the fish sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, sugar, and red pepper flakes if using, pour over the vegetables, and toss till vegetables are thoroughly coated. Marinate and chill for at least 1/2 hour or until dinner is ready, garnish with mint or Thai basil.
If you don’t like fish sauce (if you like pad Thai and other Thai food, then you probably do) you might substitute soy sauce. In that case I’d omit the lime juice, sugar, peppers, and mint/basil, and instead add to the soy sauce and vinegar a couple of tablespoons of water and a tsp. or so grated fresh ginger, and sprinkle on a few drops of Chinese toasted sesame oil before serving.
MORE KOHLRABI RECIPES SOMEWHERE
*disclaimer – just found out as I am posting this, after all the letters are printed, that the woodchucks helped themselves to your kohlrabi…there should be more, but it sounds like it won’t be this week.
Here’s one from Jessica (Yes, you could use fresh diced tomatoes):
Summer Squash Sauce
You can use it as a summer sauce on top of spaghetti or serve it as a side with fish, pork or chicken.
Ingredients: 1 zucchini, 2 squash, 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 can of diced tomatoes with basil, olive oil, sea salt, pepper, fresh basil
Slice the zucchini, squash, garlic and onion. In a sauté pan heat about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini, squash, garlic and onion to the pan, sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the can of diced tomatoes, sea salt, and pepper to taste and let simmer until vegetables soften. Top with fresh chopped basil and serve.
Summer Squash and Tomato Casserole (from My Grandma Anna)
- 2lbs tomatoes sliced 1lb zucchini or summer sliced thinly
- 2c muenster cheese s&p to taste
In 2 qt casserole, later tomato, squash and cheese, sprinkle each layer with s&p, finish casserole with tomatoes and cheese, dot surface with butter. Cover casserole with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 10 minutes until veggies are tender.
Farm Dirt
It amazes me that the weather turns just in time for school. It was 58 here this am. I have heard otherwise from a few of you, but I am very sad to see school start. This summer has flown by; perhaps because we have put in so much extra work and time to ensure and harvest the bounty and had so little fun. I had big plans to visit a few colleges with Reid, take a few days at the beach and visit my Father, go to Six Flags, have a picnic at Bear’s Den, hang out at OSV, paint the stairs, scrape Reid’s ceiling…none of which happened. I’d like to say there’d be another chance for that, but all of us know there’s no going back in time with our kids.
Lamentation over for a moment.
Four days ago I saw 2 Nighthawks! I will be trying to steal a little time every evening this week to watch for them. Right around August 28th, the Nighthawks can often be seen in significant numbers migrating to southern South America; that is one of the longest migration routes!!! They are incredibly beautiful (subtle) and agile birds which feed on insects in flight and nest on the ground.
We watched a hen turkey and three poults pick their way across the field and disappear into the carrot fronds. I think they had a good year this year, as I have seen several hens and large numbers of poults elsewhere on the farm. Two winters ago decimated their numbers and that was after a tough summer of eggs being smashed by hail.
We started digging potatoes again and they don’t look too bad. I have not seen the large size typical by now, but there is still some time to grow AND they are so yummy!!!
Eat well, Geneviève Stillman
