- Fresh Ginger
- Fresh Turmeric
- Papaya
- Jalapenos
- Mixed Greens
- Baby Kale
- Arugula
- Chervil
- Delicata Squash
- Cherry Tomatoes
2017 CSA Winter January 14: Yes! there are some jalapenos in your share this week! A nice southwestern soup can be enhanced by these…just add one to a pureed squash base, adding a bit of cream, cumin, sage, garlic or onion, the jalapeno can be roasted or diced raw and then simmered until soft. We like to stuff the jalapenos with cheese and roast, leaving some unstuffed for future dishes. The soup can be topped with cheese and garnished with halves of the cherry tomatoes. Dip in with a nicely toasted bread or some tortilla chips. Speaking of tortilla chips, the jalapeno would also go well with the papaya for a salsa…To make quick work of the kale, Mike likes to roast up veggies into stew and add in the kale leaves at the end, so that they are just wilted when they reach his bowl. For an incredible fresh tea experience, grate the fresh ginger and turmeric into a pot of water (1½ in. of each, per serving) and boil. Add a dash of black pepper to enhance absorption. Strain into cups, using lemon and honey to taste. Powerful! Enjoy!
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- Baby Arugula Box
- Watercress Box
- Eggplant Mix
- Pepper Medley
- Tomatoes
- New Potatoes
- Gourmet Cucumber
- Bay Laurel
- Rose Geranium
- Lemon Verbena
- Thai Basil
- Tarragon
- Zucchini/Squash
- Squash Blossoms
This week revives a favorite combo for our new members, rose geranium & lemon verbena, plus fulfills the request for bay leaves for ant control..what? Learned something new! I had heard of keeping bay leaves with grain harvest to repel bugs and was popularly utilized in my childhood in flour or rice storage. But for ants? That was a first. As to the lemon verbena/rose geranium combo, here is an online link that include a quick cake recipe: https://specials.planetearthdiversified.com/rosey-outlook-coffee-cake/ which was featured in an article in the Cville along side several locally loved chef presentations. Roses are long considered beneficial with pages written as to their virtues, but production for use can be prohibitive, especially when dealing with aroma. Rose geranium provides a vivid mirror of that fragrance and is being researched modernly for many health purposes. Tea can easily be made by bringing a couple of quarts of water to a boil and pouring that over a sprig each of the verbena and geranium. When geranium leaf color is almost light brown, sweeten if you like and make an iced tea. Often times the herbs are included in the drink jug and further flavor refills of water on the road. These herbs can also be used in simple chilled applications like an infused yogurt dressing or a marinade salad. Try rosey yogurt on an apple or mixed fruit salad within 30 minutes of combining the two. Stewing the leaves with fruit over heat with your favorite sweetener can accent pancakes or be used later for a chutney. The verbena combined with a light vinegar and cucumber slices brightens and cools; these also do well combined to soak overnight in water, creating a delightful tonic. All of the herbs in this week’s CSA share can be dried or frozen for future use. Daniel, the Jam Man at Saturday’s market, uses mint or Thai basil in making his jams. Check out his seasonal inspiration for stocking the pantry or dreaming up your own concoctions with harvest and canning time upon us.
raspberries (half pints, hand picked daily) we make frozen drinks and crème pops from this fruit, too
limited citrus: currently, Calmondin oranges, kaffir limes and bitter orange (great for zest, calmondins are fantastic scissor cut into drinks [i cut them into “flowering wedges” and leave whole under ice], used as a salad dressing, marmalade, glaze etc. The skins are much thinner and more edible than the other 2.
flats of tomatoes (the hand pollinated classics that got me addicted to farming and heirlooms from the field that are coming soon)
cases of peppers (we get all seed verified, specializing in Hatch, NM and Pepper Institute varieties…please note that we have taken the “Safe Seed Pledge”)
arugula (8×8 box of baby green)
watercress (8×8 box of clean top growth)
tatsoi (8×8 box of baby green; all are ready to use from the box)
lemon verbena (garnish, syrups, muddled drinks, stewed with fruits, chicken, fish, tea)
rose geranium (ditto above, all applies…contains more of the chemistry of the scent for rose than a rose! )
tis the season to dress in mint!
english, thin skinned cucumbers
squash, & squash blossoms
potatoes, check for availability… lots of Adirondack reds i can remember off the top of my head…
mixed heirloom eggplant varieties, including the Louisiana green, Japanese Bride, etc.
superb jalapeño jelly; we do have by the case… red fire jelly is the hottest variety (caution!)
pesto varieties… basil, sorrel, watercress, arugula, etc. also made to order for vegan requests, etc.
flat leaf parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, spearmint, peppermint, dill, basil, thai basil, (see also microgreens for many herbs are available as such also), red shiso, lemon verbena, rose geranium, pineapple sage, nasturtium in leaf and flower, mixed edible flower chef boxes, black leaf amaranth (wine colored), baby beet leaf, mixed color Chard, fig leaves, wild grape leaves, wildcrafted garlic mustard, now is the season for wildcrafting goldenrod, anise hyssop, Echinacea, ginger root (not harvest time yet)
its summer: did i mention basil, mint, & dill? cilantro: hard to grow in this heat, but we’ve got some!
greens, lettuces, etc: like kale, kohlrabi, colored chard, etc.
im sure there is more but i have to run out on delivery…. catch Mike at the Forest Lakes farmers market
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These veggies became a steamed meal for us that evening as well as a refrigerator marinade or “pickle” garnish for my spring rolls. The cruciferous vegetables were lightly steamed until colors brightened and rolled in butter. These tasted so good that we ate the entire lot that we steamed and kept adding more…mostly broccoli became my dinner that night.
I had cold infused some rose petals in a vinegar base that Mike made with allspice, giving it a nice color, and this became the marinade for small slices of all the veggies you see in the photos. The cabbage became pink; the purple cauliflower and chartreuse romanesco all bounced off of each other nicely. I cut the stalks of the Bright Lights chard like diced celery and the slices of the multi-colored carrot rounds were about the same size. All together it made a nice chilled salad that was ready to adorn any plate.
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We brought fresh water to a boil over these potatoes for just a few minutes, until tender by a fork, and found that the Norlands needed just a minute or so more cooking time than the Adirondacks. Also, we found a slightly creamier consistency to the Norlands, and i’m guessing, due to starch size and arrangement in the potato. It felt on the tongue that the flesh had less “graininess” and a finer molecule build. The cooked buds were gently rolled in soft butter and then devoured immediately 
Nasturtium flowers, blossoming pineapple sage & thai basil, flowering thyme, rose geranium, shingiku flowers, blossoming stems of kaffir lime, rose buds, chive blossoms…just what was perfect to pick at that moment.
The mixed edible flower boxes are filled with the most choice selections of the day. If you would like a particular mix or focus, just give us a call: 877-ARUGULA, ext 1.
*UPDATE: check out this recent article by C-ville Weekly on Edible Flowers! Click on image below to open article…
Roses in the Flower House
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“Rosey Outlook” Coffee Cake Recipe: 9×9” pan oven: 350F bake: 30 min/toothpick test
1 1/3 cups flour 2/3 cup sugar (brown sugar, honey, etc, to taste) 2 teaspoons baking powder 2/3 cup milk* 1/4 cup butter, soft* 2 eggs* 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup shredded rose petals, rose geranium blossoms & leaves, pineapple sage blossoms, and slivers of lemon verbena Save a pinch of shredded leaves, flowers, and 5-12 small geranium leaves for lining pan and pressing into top of batter. Separate leaves, etc and process/scissor cut to add to dry matter and top the cake with…grease baking pan; (glass is my top choice), press into pan some petals, leaves and ribbons of your floral materials…in medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder. Add flower/leaves and use hand mixer on low speed to combine with flour, etc. ( If using a wet sweetener like honey, add to wet section of recipe.) In another bowl, combine milk, butter, egg, vanilla, *making sure to use at room temperature as butter will “coagulate” with cold milk, etc. Beat wet mixture on medium until well blended. Pour wet mix into dry mix and beat with mixer on medium for 1 minute or until well blended. Pour mixed batter in greased pan, on top of your selected leaves and flowers. Finish batter with remaining leaves and flowers, using a toothpick if necessary to pin down the garnishing touches to the batter (if left standing or curled above, will get crispy and loose more color). Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Invert out of pan after cooling 10-15 minutes; bottom of pan will still be warm.. Cool completely before cutting; can be served as finger tea cakes, cut into squares and fitted on to rose geranium leaves as doilies. Scattered rose petals add a nice touch and help signal floral nature of cake. The post Rosey Outlook Coffee Cake first appeared on Specials From Planet Earth Diversified.]]>- sandwich spread (try with grilled cheese and tomatoes)
Pesto Crustini on Nasturtiums
- add to sauces and soups
- blend with yogurt for salad dressing
- stuff salmon or other fish
- add dollop to rice for infusion
- top crustinis or crackers for party snacks
- spread on pizza base, or blend with tomato sauce
- garnish a steak salad
- create your own dip with sour cream or cream cheese
Recipe: Chicken Salad Sandwich
- 2 cups of chicken
3 tbs of cream cheese
2 tbs of sour cream and 1 1/2 tbs of pesto
blend by hand until creamy
add favorite sandwich garnishes…such as micro celery greens and tomatoes
For a “Spring Chicken Salad Sandwich” consider a few of our favorite garnishes of micro mustard, violets, rose petals, wild crafted garlic mustard, shiso and other greens.
Pesto, essentially “paste”, is also made from our raspberry crops and is used as a different sort of pesto. Makes great thumbprint cookies, spreads, cake layers, hot tea, etc.
Joshua Wilton explores the raspberry...yum!
(Be sure to check out what Joshua Wilton does with raspberries…this is one of my favorites.)
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Rose Geranium medallions from Planet Earth Diversified
Find fresh harvested Chef boxes & zip bags this Saturday: Anderson’s and Greenwood Market has zip bags too…Zinc has both leaves and hydrosol.
Also known as essential waters, our hydrosols are steam distilled from what we grow here at the farm. Begun as an opportunity to utilize and preserve through the seasons, it also allowed us to upgrade our sustainability goal. Hydrosols that have not crossed an ocean save a bit on energy, and gives us another way to capture the fragrances, nuances of a particular season, a little like wine to me. Especially nice is that it gives another way to extend the season, so to speak, and showcase another facet of use. I am really excited to see what Zinc creates with their hydrosols and have long enjoyed the botanical blends of Dawn Story (New Moon Naturals) in a myriad of products using plant essential waters.
Rose Geranium is one of my all time favorites and regularly showed up as an infused fruit topping or syrup used with yogurt dressing when I was making breakfast as the Innkeeper*. Homemade cakes would be dressed with fruit stewed in rose geranium and a yogurt cup could be found dressed with our geranium from a simple syrup. I also liked opening a bottle of sparkling water and stuffing the leaves inside to infuse a bit as i made other things, then combining with fresh squeezed citrus and a dollop of syrup, might be garnished for special occasions. Works well with the Brut, too. Fun, overnight infusion into chocolate ganache brownies works well in the fridge overnight with the pieces plated atop a leaf which make very nice serving doily. As the plates “settle” the next day for service, and the cold falls out, the aroma becomes captivating.
*Managed 1804 Inn at Barboursville Vineyards for several years during inception period. Be sure to visit Palladio restaurant for Chef’s creations as we enjoy in exploring rose geranium together and are always delighted with what comes forth. Rose Geranium gelato is still a big hit here at the farm.
courtesy of Barboursville Vineyards and Palladio Restaurant
One customer shared her revamping a pineapple up-side-down cake recipe by layering the start with rose geranium leaves. Yum!
Since we will be in attendance at the VABF conference, I am offering special Sunday delivery of the rose geranium choices; Chef boxes are hand selected leaves in bright aroma, and hydrosol comes in 300ml or in 4ml spray* (not available singly; must be included in delivery of something else). Some rose geranium will be available for you to pick up at Anderson’s in conjuntion with their extravaganza this weekend. You will find samples of our pestos and recipes along with other local purveyors; we wish we were not already booked but are glad for the opportunity to stay in touch. Call 434-985-3570, ext 1 and leave a message if you would like some rose geranium or hydrosol or both, or maybe you want the whole kit! A box of fresh herb, a refill storage size bottle and your own spritzer to hang out on the line…just give me a call.
Edible flowers on doilies of rose geranium & nasturtium leaves
– syrup
-stewed fruit
-spritzed
-layered
-infused
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