2018 CSA Newsletter: July 25, Week 8
Farm News
Iris turned 3 this week! Leona says that she is officially a kid and not a baby or a toddler anymore. I have to say that I agree. She is such a little person now!
We had an amazing time at our first farm to table dinner on Saturday night. The food was outstanding, the barn looked incredible, the music was awesome, and everyone really seemed to be enjoying themselves. For those of you who could make it, thanks for coming to share in a meal with us. Tell your friends and come again! For those who couldn’t make it, there are two dinners left to sign up for so there is still time. Don’t miss out, the tickets are starting to go!
The farm was in high speed all week, between preparing and cleaning up for the dinner and doing all of the other tasks that late July asks of us, we have been running like crazy. The harvests are getting heavy and we are getting “farm fit”, as we like to tell ourselves. Now that the CSA boxes have been packed and most of the dishes have been done all that is left is finishing off that Redeye keg and singing happy birthday a few more times to our little big kid.
July 25th, Week 8
Clockwise from top: Rainbow carrots, oregano, colorful beans, cabbage, zucchini, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, onions, broccoli. Please enjoy.
Announcements:
U-pick beans are available!
Email to set up a time to pick.
In your box this week…
Broccoli
Rainbow Carrots
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Zucchinis
Colorful Snap Beans
Peppers
Fresh Sweet Onions
Cabbage
Fresh Oregano
Eggplant (small shares)
Blueberries (small shares)
Coffee- (optional)
Weekly Serving Suggestions:
Potatoes- Last week of New Potatoes for a while now. These beauties have been a staple around our house for the last couple of weeks. We love and enjoy them. Now we’re eating leftover potato salad from our Farm Dinner last weekend. These store best in the fridge and are great for roasting, frying, grilling and boiling. Not so much for baked potatoes or mashed potatoes. Enjoy them while they’re here!
Fresh Oregano– Is delicious and versatile. Fresh oregano has a much sweeter, stronger flavor than dried. But you can use a lot more of it without it tasting bitter. Oregano holds up well to heat, but fresh oregano can be added at the end, too for a powerful flavor burst. Works great for potato salad, soups, sauces, egg dishes, pairs well with chicken and pork, and is pretty easy to meld into almost any flavor profile.
Colorful Snap Bean Medley– These beans are so pretty! Tender enough to eat fresh with a dip or plain. But also hearty enough for a quick sautee or grilling. The color and flavor will be best without too much heat, try really hot for just a couple of minutes, but still a little crisp on the inside.
Fresh Sweet Onions– perfect for raw eating in salads, sandwiches, or wraps. Store these in the crisper drawer or a plastic bag in the fridge (think scallions). Use them like scallions too–chopped into salads or soups, egg dishes, slaws or egg/potato dishes. Chop up the white parts and the tender greens. Split the stalk down the middle with a knife then chop across the grain for half-rounds. If you don’t care for raw onions, you can always give them a quick sautee first to take out the bite and bring out the sweet. Or, cut into wedges (like an apple) then peel the layers apart for great dipping scoops.
Rainbow Carrots- Beautiful, crunchy, sweet and delicious. Perfect for shredding or shaving into salads! We think you’ll like our carrots good enough to eat plain. But they also work well shredded into salads and slaws or sliced into stir-fry. Grilled carrots are also delicious. Just scrub and dry, then coat in oil and salt, olive oil works well, slit larger ones down the middle. Then place them on the grill over medium-high heat until just lightly charred, then flip them over and repeat. Carrots should have grill lines and light charring, but still have just a little snap (tender-crisp) in the middle. Carrots store very well in a bag in the fridge or crisper drawer. Carrot tops are edible, but these aren’t the best, so I’d just remove and discard before bagging the carrots.
Eggplant (smalls only)- The best way to use eggplant is to roast or grill it until crispy and charred, then cook more slowly until tender inside. Eggplant also likes oil, so don’t be afraid to cook it with plenty of olive oil, butter, bacon, etc. Roasted eggplant can be pureed into Baba Ghanouj. Stores well in the crisper drawer.
Cabbage- So many fun new ideas for cabbage on the internet these days, roasting and grilling. But the simplest, for this time of year is still a fresh slaw! Simple and light, easy to make ahead, and won’t heat up the kitchen! Stores great in the crisper drawer.
Broccoli- Fresh and lovely, chop the florets and shred the stalk for slaws, or chop into long “trees” for dipping. Also, great served with a light steaming in salted water and served with a squeeze of lemon or a sprinkling of shredded cheese. Stores best in a bag in the crisper drawer. Cut stalks into spears for dipping.
Peppers- Sweet peppers are such a lovely treat. They store great in the fridge, but they’re so easy to use, we rarely ever have to keep them long. Great for fresh eating with dips or shaved into salads. Grilled peppers are one of my very favorite foods. Could be done as a shish kebab, or just grilled whole. Also, they can grilled in a pan or fine grate chopped with onions, and new potatoes, zucchinis, beans and even eggplants! The purple peppers are thin walled and best eaten fresh. The green peppers are thicker walled and will hold up to more cooking!
Slicing tomatoes– Use on sandwiches, salads or wraps. These big slicers are good for enjoying a nice thick slice alongside a meal. Serve plain, with salt, brown sugar, or pesto on top. Also, chopped tomatoes go great on top of roasted potatoes with oregano! Store on the countertop out of direct light.
Zucchini- So ready to cook, just chop and throw into almost anything. Eggs, stirfry, pasta sauce, soups, etc. Or slice and marinade for salads. Try shredding and salting, then allowing the liquid to drain off for 10-15 mins before mixing with egg and frying to make zucchini fritters (add garlic, oregano, and curry powder). Serve with yogurt!
Stores well in the crisper drawer.
Coffee Organic Colombia Coffee- My personal favorite!
Recipe of the week…
Grilled Veggie Fajitas
These are a great way to make a healthy meal on the grill without heating up the house. Serve with grilled new potatoes! No grill? No problem, these can be made just the same in a pan under the broiler… Grilled chicken, pork, or beef could easily be added too!
- Juice from 2 limes (or 1 oz lime juice)
- 2-4 Tbsp oil
- 2 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder (or paprika)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped (or parsley)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 8-12 flour tortillas, fajita style
- 2 medium onions, cut in wedges
- 2 bell peppers, cut into strips (I use one purple and one green)
- 1-2 zucchini squash, halved and cut into strips like peppers
- 4 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1 jalapeño, cut into thin strips (optional)
- 1 tomato, cut into wedges
For marinade, combine and stir: juice of lime, oil, spices, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste in a measuring cup.
Combine all veggies and garlic (except the tomato) in a bowl, add marinade, and mix well. You can use your hands for this. You don’t need to let the marinade sit with the veggies, but you can if you want.
Grill veggies in large skillet on medium-high heat and cook until desired tenderness. Add tomatoes at the last minute so that they are lightly cooked.
Grill tortillas and place grilled vegetables in them. Serve with a side of beans topped with fresh diced jalapeño if not using on the inside.
*Serve with hot sauce, salsa and/or sour cream
*Adapted from plantbasedonabudget.com
-Enjoy!
Best guess for next week: (Salsa week!)
- Tomatoes
- Tomatillos
- Onions
- Cilantro
- Jalapenos
- Garlic
- Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Carrots
- Broccoli/Cauliflower