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greenhouse plastic change

2016 CSA Summer September 17

2016 CSA Summer September 17

  • Bell Peppers
  • Eggplant
  • Okra (thickener for stew)
  • Baby Kale 10×10
  • Yukon Gold Potatoes
  • Fresh dug Baby Ginger
  • Tomatoes (pick from set)
  • Gourmet Cucumber
  • Patty Pan
  • Baby Arugula 8×8

For those who have not seen it, to the right is a top view inside the greens and herb growing house. You can see within the sections as Michael balances on top. Most of the herbs as well as your baby greens, such as the micro lettuce mix and baby arugula, are grown in this house. They are protected and produce very tender and tasty greens. The greenhouses are going all year long while we rotate with the seasons what is in the field. This week with the addition of the arugula, i wanted to include the suggestion of a quiche. The arugula in this form, put into a pie crust with cheese, makes a great dish. You can add other fillings such as onion, bacon/ham, etc. Personally i am always cooking on the fly, maybe there are broken eggs to deal with or the sort, so i don’t have a hard recipe. Reading up on other posted recipes, it seems i use too many eggs and not enough milk, whereas most recipes call for 3 eggs to 1 ½ cups of milk as the base mix for a 9 inch crust, giving a custard like finish upon baking. As you can see below, the egg and arugula bake was done without a pie crust and cooked in a square dish. Cooking for me is improvisation and in this case, became a casserole.            Don’t forget that this is the second to last week of this season’s CSA program and now is the time to sign up for next season’s bounty. Fill out the back and return to us or go online to sign up today. PS: Pumpkins soon!

To your health & pleasure, always, love, leslie.

 

Fresh Baby Ginger

2016 CSA Summer September 10 Ginger

2016 CSA    Summer  September 10th Ginger

  • First Harvest Baby Ginger
  • Bell Peppers
  • Eggplant
  • Okra
  • Yellow Squash
  • Gold Bar Zucchini
  • Tomatoes
  • Gourmet Cucumber
  • Patty Pan Squash
  • Sorrel bunch
  • Beet tops bunch
  • Dill
  • Baby Salad Mix

Woot! It’s the first harvest of the season for our baby ginger! You will find that this ginger is unlike any kind you have bought at a store. It is very aromatic, tender, almost buttery, without the stringyness or toughness that is found in commercial ginger. Keep your ginger wrapped in the refrigerator until ready to use. Yes, we leave the stalks and the leaves on because the whole plant can be utilized in the kitchen. One chef that uses it skewers it into his roast so that as it is cut, little round medalions are embedded throughout. The leaves can be laid out in aluminum foil, glass baking dish or the like and used as a wrap to infuse your meat or veggies. Ginger is a phenomenal digestive aid, anti-microbial, and great tonic for the body. Try cutting some, including rounds of the inner stalk, into stir-fry for a punch of flavor and to enhance wellbeing. We like to brew it into tea and we also grind it with honey, making it easy to add a dollop to hot water for that cup. To your health and your pleasure!

2016csa_summer_sept_10-red-sorrel

2016csa_summer_sept_10-baby-salad-mix clusters

Ginger Harvest

2016 Ginger Harvest

2016 Ginger Harvest

Burgundy Okra

2016 CSA Summer September 3rd Okra

2016 CSA Summer September 3rd Okra

  • Bell Peppers
  • Eggplant
  • Okra
  • Green Beans
  • Flowering Mint
  • Flowering Thai Basil
  • Yellow Squash
  • Gold Bar Zucchini
  • Tomatoes
  • Gourmet Cucumber
  • Patty Pan Squash
  • Sorrel bunch
  • Beet tops bunch

We are Hiring Farm Manager and Labor –

Michael wanted to highlight some flowering herbs this week as they are often overlooked in the garden by folks but the chefs love them! Both the thai basil and the mint flowers go great with deserts, infusions, muddled drinks and as a syrup. Try just breaking them up over vanilla ice cream for a really easy after dinner treat. The thai basil flowers will pop off of the stem if you lightly pinch at the bottom and run your fingers upward. For people that make their own cough or throat syrup, the flowers are a handy flavoring, adding sweetness. I like to make a simple syrup with sugar and water, infusing the flowers, and using this in mixed drinks, lemonade, teas, sorbets and over deserts or in yogurt. It makes an impression at the bar when pouring for friends.  To make a simple syrup combine equal parts water and sugar then dissolve with heat on the stove. Turn the heat off and add your flowery parts (and leaf is ok, too) and let the liquid cool for an hour. Strain into a container to enjoy the rich flavor as a condiment.

Don’t forget to pick up tomatoes from us as part of your CSA share this week. We like to keep them at a different temperature so they are flavorful when they get to you. To your health and your pleasure!

Burgundy Okra

Burgundy Okra

Thai Basil Flowers

Thai Basil Flowers