CSA Week 12
What’s in the bag? Well, it is so hard to figure right now…we are in between corn crops, the tomatoes are suddenly tightening up, there’s a lot of melons today, but who knows what next week will bring, and and and. I hesitate to write what I think will be in the bag, BUT, I am going to include info about tomatillos, assuming they will make themselves known soon 😉 My plan for the coming week is the fixin’s for salsa verde: tomatillos, serrano hot peppers, onion, garlic…sorry, the cilantro did not make it.
Because tomatillos come naturally wrapped, we cannot always tell if there is a crack. We’ve had some pretty aggressive rainfalls, so there are likely some. No worries, have that be your first task this week and remove the husk, clean up and make some salsa 🙂 Though tomatillos are in the nightshade family, they are not the same species as tomatoes. Some of you may have see their baby sister in pint boxes on our market tables – Still Life Farm’s husk cherries 🙂 Also a nice source of vitamins C, A, K, niacin, potassium, manganese, and magnesium.
Recipes
Salsa Verde
Thankfully, this one is snap to make, providing you have a blender or food processor. I have made green salsa completely raw, and it is perfectly fresh tasting and yummy. However, a little somethin somethin is added to the flavor profile if you roast all the veggies briefly before blending OR, my go to method, dump the blended salsa into an oiled frying pan and cook for a few minutes. Not planning on eating it right away? This freezes beautifully!
Below is a basic guideline of what I do…I like lime juice and salt 🙂 Glenn is not a fan of cilantro, so I go very sparingly and usually use the cilantro paste I keep on hand in the fridge.
- Tomatillos, peeled and rinsed
- small onion, peeled
- 3 cloves (or equivalent) garlic
- 1-3 serrano or jalapeno, deseeded it you are worried about heat.
- 2 tsp lime juice – to your taste preference
- salt to taste
- cilantro to taste
Toss everything in the blender or food processor and let her rip until everything looks nicely blended and no big chunks. Heat a generous splash of oil in frypan, when heated, carefully pour in salsa, watching out for spattering since this will be watery. Fry for a few minutes, cool and enjoy…it thickens up a little more when cool.
Mustard Green Soup
I made a YUMMY soup the other day with an assortment of mustards I picked for dinner. It was simple and straightforward, and also a great way to use up some of the greens that are not always so pretty. I used half of a very hot Korean pepper instead of the crushed red pepper flakes and the peppercorns. It was a nice heat, and I would totally sub a whole jalapeno or serrano – but you do you and you can always add more heat but it super hard to take it away, LOL! I also cooked rice in the broth, along with chopped mustard stems, then added the greens. I had rice noodles but went with the rice, for ease of eating. Oh, and I definitely had more greens than suggested, but who is measuring anything anyway 😉
Link here https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/spicy-pork-mustard-green-soup
Farm Dirt
Our Franklinia tree has been blooming for a few weeks and I see a few leaves coloring up. Last week a group of yellow-rumped warblers were busy finding tasty treats in it. Botanists John and son William Bartram discovered the tree along the banks of a river in Georgia in 1765. They named the tree after good friend Benjamin Franklin. Interestingly, William returned to collect seed several years later…good thing! The tree was extinct 50 years later and all the trees we enjoy today are decedents from those seed William collected.
Unlike last year, we are picking some pretty apples now, I think you may have gotten Molly Delicious last week and this week might be Redcorts or one of the early Macs.
Tomatoes have slowed up – and with me still no salsa made! This week FOR SURE! I did get some beans frozen last week, so it’s a start. Glenn did scout the Fall crop of tomatoes and if we can keep the disease at bay, will be back into lots of maters soon. We were looking forward to the Fall crop of cucumbers but the mildew snuck in and wiped out the vines in a couple of days. Sad face. I did not get any pickles made 🙁 BUT, the alliums are harvested and looks like you will be getting leeks, potatoes and winter squash SOON! Happy face! I a actually going to do some scouting after I post this letter, it is a beautiful day on the farm and a lovely day to see what else is coming.
Eat well,
Geneviève Stillman
