Spoutwood Farm CSA Harvest Guide: Week 5- July 7, 2005
To view the second harvest for this week, click here
To return to the 2005 Harvest Guide page, click here
MILD CRISIS DOWN ON THE FARM!! The Farm has its most significant shortfall of members in 6 years. In order to meet budget and pay our farmers appropriately, we need 20 more paying members. Certainly charitable donations would also offset the deficit and would not be turned down (Spoutwood is a non-profit, donations are tax-deductible). Tell your friends and family! Remember you can receive a $32 rebate with a successful referral. Have interested people contact Liz (717-235-9272) or Rob (717-235-6610). Large shares are regularly $550 and medium shares are regularly $340. Prorated prices for each week missed are as follows, $20/large and $10/medium.
WORK HOURS: Please contact Liz ASAP (by phone or e-mail) to confirm a day and time you are planning to work on your share hours. THIS IS IMPORTANT! We need to know in advance that we have help on the schedule.
MEETINGS/Workdays: July 9, 9am-5pm -- Straw Bale Greenhouse Mud Party (more info here)
Peas – These represent one of our best crops of sugar snap peas. Eat whole, cut up and put in salads, stir-fry, etc.
Green Beans – The first of the beans are coming in.
Broccoli – These side shoots have been forced by the recent rain. Cook the whole shoot, tender stems and all.
Beets –Mostly the beautiful “Golden Beet” this week, but also a few bright red “Chioggia” thrown in. Because they are such pretty colors, we like to slice very thinly to adorn salads. Beet greens are a delight in salads or cooked like spinach. We love to steam them lightly and put butter or olive oil and seasonings on. Yum!
Cauliflower – One variety this week is our best attempt to grow purple cauliflower. Tastes just like regular cauli, but the color for dipping, salads and mild cooking is fabulous. The other variety, “Snow Crown,” can get purplish in the sun. Also they have not adapted well to the recent deluge after a serious waterless spell, so there is some areas of rot around the base of the florets. And to add insult to injury there may be a few cabbage worms. What you can do is soak the cauliflower in salty water. This loosens the worms for easier rinsing off, but it also spreads the rot. Suggestion: eat asap!
Cabbage – Two kinds of cabbage to choose from: regular green cabbage and the frilly-leafed savoy cabbage.
Kale—Curly Green or Red Russian are a nutritious, steamed or stir-fried treat. The Russians are getting depleted by a barrage of insects which they usually do into mid summer. You might see more blemishes than normal.
Herbs – Basil and Dill.
Flowers – African marigolds, fiery red bee balm, cosmos, zinnia, ornamental salvia and snowball hydrangea.
Recipe of the Week: Beet "Vichyssoise"
4 Leeks; Sliced
3 Beets (3 Cups); Peeled And Cubed
2 Potatoes; Peeled And Cubed
2 Cloves Garlic; Minced
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
2 c Milk
1 c Low-fat plain yogurt
1 Green Onion; Thinly Sliced
In large saucepan, combine 4 cups water, leeks, beets, potatoes, garlic, salt and pepper; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 50 to 60 minutes or until beets are tender.
Transfer to blender in batches and puree until smooth. Stir in milk. (Soup can be cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day.) Return to pot; gently heat through. Ladle into warmed bowls; swirl in dollop of yogurt and garnish with onion. Makes 8 servings.
Just Vegetable Recipes is located at www.justvegetablerecipes.com
**Beets**
Beets are a familiar staple at Spoutwood and can be harvested from late June through the end of fall. We harvest the entire plant since every part of a beet is edible.
Beets are the modest jewels of the earth:
Modest because their culinary diversity and the wealth of health benefits they host are often overlooked.
Jewels both for their majestic color and power of consumable energy over which beets reign.
Beets are believed to have originated in the Mediterranean regions of Europe and North Africa. They were originally cultivated not as a food source but exclusively for medicinal purposes. They did, and still do, purify the blood and liver. The hypotyl (the globular enlarged part over the root) enlarges in direct correlation to cool evenings when plant respiration slows and carbohydrates accumulate. Ideally, a beet is best harvested when evening temperatures range between 60-65 degrees F.
The greens contain protein and calcium. For optimal benefit and to release the calcium:
Chop the greens coarsely into a pan with about ½ inch of water, a little lemon juice and
seasoning to taste over a high heat.
The hypotyl (the globular enlarged part over the root) is a fabulous carbohydrate and one of the best natural sources of energy. This part of the beet is loaded with potassium, iron, fiber, phosphorus and magnesium to name a few nutrients. It also has the highest sugar content of any vegetable known-Now that’s “Sweet”.
How can one prepare the hypotyl, the part one typically refers to as “the beet”? Let us list SOME ways:
Boil or bake the beet unpeeled with roots in tact and about 1 inch of the stems left in tact until
the meat is soft. Cool cut off root and stem, then rub off skin. You may season and eat this
way or use in recipe as desired. (The attraction of this method is that the beet color does not stain everything).
Dice beets then sauté with oil, water and vinegar or lemon juice. Add more water if needed until vegetable is soft. Add seasonings and herbs of choice and DO experiment with flavors.
Shred raw beets on salads and enjoy the rosy color.
Beets can be canned, frozen, pickled and dried. Beets can be steamed, roasted and sautéed.
Boil peeled beets to make a terrific natural dye for fabric and eggs. For dessert fans, try this beet juice as a substitute for Red Velvet Cake.
· STRAW BALE GREENHOUSE Mud Party: We need your help July 9, 9am-5pm for our Mud Party to finish the Straw Bale Greenhouse. There will also be two more mud workshops to finish Frodo’s Eye, July 23 and Aug 20. If you can make any of these call Liz or Rob. It’s a great way to learn about this new building technique using a renewable resource. Thanks!
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