Week 17 Newsletter 2015

Hello Everyone,

This past week we started harvesting apples and continue to see
the damage that was created by the storm back in August. Luckily,
we have crop insurance and our crop was declared 100% damaged
on the majority of our apples. It looks like a wonderful set of fruit until you get a closer look at the pecks, bumps below the skin of the apples. It is a great year for applesauce and ciders!

My mother was very fond of poems by Robert Lois Stephenson and I am including Autumn Fires to kick off our magical  season.

Apple harvest 2015

  Autumn Fires

In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!

What to expect to find in your bin:


Apples

Red Cabbage

Fernleaf dill 

Tomatoes

Lettuce

Eggplant

Leeks

Peppers

Garlic

Red Kuri Squash/ Butternut Squash

Sage



Here are a couple of recipes that include items you will find in your bin this week.

Butternut Squash Soup With Sage and Parmesan

 ( you can easily substitute red kuri squash for butternut squash in this recipe)

MOIRA HODGSON  Time 45 minutes  Yield 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Spanish onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 leeks, white part only, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 ½ quarts vegetable or chicken stock
¼ pound Parmesan piece or rinds
2 butternut squashes, peeled and cubed
3 leaves fresh sage, chopped
1 bay leaf

PREPARATION

Melt the butter in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, leeks and garlic and cook them until they are soft.
Add the vegetable or chicken stock, Parmesan pieces or rinds and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Add the butternut squash, sage, bay leaf, salt, pepper. Cook until the squash is tender (about 10 to 15 minutes).
Remove the bay leaf and the cheese and puree one quarter of the soup in a food processor and return it to the stock pot (the cheese -- not the rind -- can be crumbled or grated as a garnish for the soup). Heat through and correct seasoning. Garnish the soup with scallions and serve. Pass the freshly grated Parmesan separately.

Cabbage and Red Pepper Gratin

  MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN  Time1 hour 20 minutes  Yield Serves four to six


Paprika contributes a spicy edge to this sweet, comforting gratin.


INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut in small dice
6 to 7 cups shredded cabbage about 1 1/2 pounds
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon sweet or smoky paprika
3 eggs
½ cup milk
2 ounces Gruyère, grated 1/2 cup

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 2-quart gratin dish. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about five minutes. Add the red pepper. Cook, stirring, until the pepper is tender and the onion is beginning to color, about five minutes. Stir in the cabbage, dill and paprika. Add salt to taste, and cook, stirring, until the cabbage begins to wilt, about five minutes. Cover the pan, turn the heat to low and continue to cook for another five to 10 minutes until the cabbage is tender. Remove from the heat.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl, and whisk in about 1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Whisk in the milk, and stir in the cabbage mixture and the cheese. Scrape into the baking dish.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool for 10 minutes or longer before serving.
Tip
Advance preparation: You can make this through Step 1 hours or even a day before assembling and baking. The baked gratin will keep for a few days in the refrigerator, and it can be reheated in a medium oven.

Week 16 Newsletter 2015

Garlic chive flowers

 Hello Everyone,

This week I am sharing some photos that I have received from CSA members. It is inspirational to see tomatoes and pesto carefully prepared and tucked away for a later use.

Did you know.....

Tomatoes contain substances we receive as the flavor, umami, or savory, more thought of with meat and meat broths than with vegetables. Umami is one of the five basic tastes in addition to sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Umami flavor rounds out and enhances other flavors, especially salt. Other potent source of umami flavor include fish, cheese, mushrooms and fermented products such as miso, soy sauce and tamari  sauce. Umami flavor often involves glutamate, a salt form of the the amino acid glutamic acid.
Tomatoes are high in glutamate. There are other compounds including various nucleotide that also give an
umami flavor. The richest umami flavor occurs with
combination of multiple umami receptor triggering
substances.

Maybe this is why some of our favorite recipes
combine tomatoes with meat or cheese or both.
When meats are cured they enhance the umami flavor. A bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich is an example of an ultimate umami experience.

What to expect to find in your bin:

Asian Pears

Melon

Tomatoes

Fingerling Potatoes

Cucumbers or Zucchini

Onions

Lettuce

Kale

Carrots

Garlic

Here are a couple of recipes that include items you will have in your bin this week.

Ribollita

MARK BITTMAN  Time  50 minutes  Yield 4 servings

Even vegetable stews can have more vegetables. This recipe adds a pound of kale -- that's right, a full pound -- to softened onions, carrots and celery, combined with beans and tomatoes. It's simply a matter of bringing the other vegetables together in a simmer, then adding the kale and topping with the toast. The whole dish bakes in the oven for a few minutes to brown the toast with a little Parmesan.

INGREDIENTS

5 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
 Salt and ground black pepper
2 cups cooked or canned cannellini beans
1 15-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
4 cups vegetable stock or water
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 fresh thyme sprig
1 pound chopped kale or escarole
4 large, thick slices whole-grain bread, toasted
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

PREPARATION

Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When it’s hot, add onion, carrot, celery and garlic; sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, 5 to 10 minutes.
Heat the oven to 500 degrees. Drain the beans; if they’re canned, rinse them as well. Add them to the pot along with tomatoes and their juices and stock, rosemary and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so the soup bubbles steadily; cover and cook, stirring once or twice to break up the tomatoes, until the flavors meld, 15 to 20 minutes.
Fish out and discard rosemary and thyme stems, if you like, and stir in kale. Taste and adjust seasoning. Lay bread slices on top of the stew so they cover the top and overlap as little as possible. Scatter red onion slices over the top, drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with Parmesan.
Put the pot in the oven and bake until the bread, onions and cheese are browned and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. (If your pot fits under the broiler, you can also brown the top there.) Divide the soup and bread among 4 bowls and serve.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN  Time 30 minutes  Yield About 2 1/2 cups

This is a quick, simple marinara sauce that will only be good if your tomatoes are ripe. If you have a food mill, you don’t have to peel and seed the tomatoes; you can just quarter them and put the sauce through the mill.

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced or thinly sliced (to taste)
3 pounds ripe tomatoes, quartered if you have a food mill, peeled, seeded, and diced if you don’t
⅛ teaspoon sugar
2 sprigs of fresh basil, or 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
 Salt
1 tablespoon slivered fresh basil
 Freshly ground pepper

PREPARATION

In a wide, nonstick frying pan, or in a 3-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, basil or thyme sprig, and salt (begin with 1/2 teaspoon and add more later), and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring often, until thick. Pulpy tomatoes like romas will usually take 20 to 30 minutes. However, if the tomatoes are very juicy, it will take longer for them to cook down. The longer you cook the sauce, the sweeter it will be. You can speed up the process by turning up the heat, but stir often so the sauce doesn’t scorch. Towards the end of cooking, stir in the slivered fresh basil and some freshly ground pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings.
If using quartered tomatoes, put through the medium blade of a food mill. If you used peeled seeded tomatoes but want a sauce with a smooth, even texture, remove the basil sprigs and discard. Pulse the sauce in a food processor fitted with the steel blade.

Week 15 Newsletter 2015

Hello Everyone,

Brightly colored nasturtiums

We are on the home stretch of this year's CSA. It is hard to believe that there are only 4 weeks left of this season. The main garden is taking on a fall look and I did notice an orange pumpkin in the back corner. The small white cucumbers turned the switch and the vines are now brown and withered up this week. Luckily, the hoophouse has cucumber vines
that are protected and are continuing to flower and produce cucumbers.

The edamame (green soybeans) were harvested this week. They grow on a stalk and seemed to produce well this year.

If you are planning to can/freeze or roast tomatoes, make tomato sauce or salsa......be sure to let me know. The Beyond the Bin will include 1/2 bushels of tomatoes and some of the other needed ingredients.


What to expect to find in your bin this week:

Hoophouse Cucumbers

Mixed Greens

Melon

Beets

Eggplant

Onions

Cucumbers

Edamame

Tomatoes

Sweet Peppers

Fingerling Potatoes









I am a big fan simple of simple flavorful meals. One of my favorites is garden fresh tomatoes on a tuna sandwich. Here are a couple of recipes for you to try out this week.


Classic Tuna Salad Sandwich

THE NEW YORK TIMES  Time 5 minutes  Yield 4 to 6 servings

Here is Craig Claiborne's version of the classic lunchbox staple. Celery, red onion and red bell pepper add crunch; capers and lemon juice lend a little tang.

INGREDIENTS

2 (6-ounce) cans solid, waterpacked tuna
½ cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade
½ cup finely diced celery
3 tablespoons finely diced red onion
3 tablespoons finely minced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons drained capers
2 teaspoons lemon juice
 Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
 Sliced sandwich bread of choice

PREPARATION


In a medium bowl, combine the tuna, mayonnaise, celery, onion, bell pepper, capers and lemon juice. Mix with a fork until thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve on the sandwich bread of your choice.

Edamame in the Shell

 MARK BITTMAN  Time 5 minutes  Yield 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

 Salt
1 pound fresh or frozen edamame in their pods
 Black pepper to taste

PREPARATION

To boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Add the edamame, return to a boil and cook until bright green, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain. To microwave: Put the edamame in a microwave-safe dish with ¼ cup water and a pinch of salt, cover partly and microwave on high until bright green, 1 to 5 minutes, depending on your microwave power.

Sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and a little or a lot of black pepper. Toss and serve hot, warm or chilled with an empty bowl on the side for the pods.

Week 14 Newsletter 2015

The heat keeps ripening the tomatoes

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are enjoying the bounty of fruit, vegetables,
flowers and herbs this season. This is my favorite time of year to assemble the bins. There are so many choices and I love being able to fill the bins with a rainbow of color.


This past week I found a frog enjoying the moisture, left late in the day under a large melon leaf.  I believe it was a tree frog and has the ability to change color with the background colors. Yes, the chameleon effect!

Hats off to everyone who is going back to school this week.



What to expect to find in your bin this week:

I had a visitor in the garden this week.

Melon

Asian Pears

Green Cabbage

Fennel Bulb

Tomatoes

Leeks

Fennel Bulb

Cucumbers

Mixed Greens

Spaghetti Squash

Jalapeno Peppers



Here are a couple of recipes that include items from your bin:

Fennel and Cucumber Salad

PIERRE FRANEY  Time15 minutes  Yield 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 small head fennel (about 1/2 pound)
2 medium-size cucumbers
1 teaspoon sugar
 Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

PREPARATION

Trim the fennel, leaving only the white bulb at the bottom. Cut the bulb in half and cut into thin slices.
Split the cucumbers in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Slice them crosswise.
Place the slices of fennel and cucumber in a mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss to blend. Check the seasoning and serve.


BAKED SPAGHETTI SQUASH

1 med. spaghetti squash
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 cup brown sugar divided
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cut squash in half lengthwise. Place in baking dish with about 1 inch of water, cut side up. Dab butter on edges and in squash. Sprinkle brown sugar on and in squash.

Bake uncovered for 50 minutes or until fork inserts easily.