Spoutwood Farm CSA Harvest Guide: Week 6: July 19, 2007
To return to the 2007 Harvest Guide page, click here
Greetings, Spoutwood Farm friends! Welcome to the sixth week of our CSA Harvest season. "High Summer" continues with us, bringing all the heat, humidity, and hazy skies we know so well. Alas, our gardens are suffering from lack of precipitation. Thankfully we are able to irrigate from our creek, but if you know any tricks to bring rain, this might be a good time to use 'em…
As always, we continue to face the challenge of both bugs and weeds. To combat the former, we've been using Surround, a clay-based spray which "camouflages" plants from bugs. Some plants. Some bugs. Sometimes. We'll shake and wash, of course, but please check your kale carefully for harlequin bugs! They're attractive, but they love to nibble kohl crops, and you wouldn't want to bite into one. To combat weeds, hand weeding and mulching is the natural solution. We're deeply grateful for those wonderful shareholders who've come out help us with these necessary tasks. If you'd like to join our "Weed Warriors," please contact us at our e-mail address, spoutwood_csa@yahoo.com . We check this address regularly, so don't hesitate to be in touch.
Please feel free to also drop us a line if you discover a new recipe, have any cooking tips, or would like to share your favorite way to eat the veggies from our harvest - email us and we'll share with everyone else! You might also want to post these to our interactive web presence at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spoutwoodcsa. There you can post messages that all members can read, add photos of your favorite Spoutwood memories, and otherwise contribute to our CSA community here at Spoutwood Farm. You'll find an invitation to join the Spoutwood CSA e-group at Yahoo in your e-mail, and we hope you respond favorably. If you do NOT find this invitation in your in-box in the next 24-48 hours, please let us know!
Beans – Our Spoutwood "bean-anza" continues! Enjoy these delectable beans steamed, stir-fried, in soups or other dishes, or preserve some for the off-season.
Lettuce – "Lettuce" entertain you! Select your choice of red or green leafy lettuces. So much better than "iceberg," and so much fresher than store-bought "mesclun mixes"! Delicious in salads, sandwiches, or use your imagination.
Squash – What would summer be without summer squash? Select from zucchini, yellow crookneck, and two types of patty-pan. Make a quick squash "ratatouille" by sautéing onion and garlic in a little olive oil until almost soft, then adding cut-up summer squash (of any kind, or mix of kinds). Cover and steam/sauté them until softening, then add cut-up mushrooms (if desired) and coarsely-chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned). Season with Italian seasoning, if desired, and salt & pepper, continue cooking to desired softness. Delicious!
Kale – An abundance of this nutrient-dense green this week! Use with sautees, stir-fries and soups. (Remember all greens "cook down," so don't be afraid to use a little more than a recipe calls for).
Corn – One of two vegetables we're providing our shareholders courtesy of Benjamin L. Stotzfuss, an Amish farmer who lives and farms organically near Lancaster. Nothing, except maybe tomatoes, says summer quite like sweet corn! Roast with rosemary-infused olive oil, or go the traditional route: steamed and slathered with butter and salt. Enjoy!
Cucumbers – Our own aren't quite ready yet, so these too are courtesy of Benjamin. Slice fresh onto salads, use in sandwiches, or slice thinly and marinate with thin-sliced onions in olive oil and your choice of vinegars, perhaps with just a pinch of sugar.
Basil – A delicious and fragrant herb – add to pasta sauces, make a fresh tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad (toss in olive oil), or pesto (Combine basil, garlic, onion, olive oil - parmesan cheese optional - to use on breads, salads, or pasta. Please note: Basil should be placed in a vase with water, as you would cut flowers. Most refrigerators are too cold and tend to blacken the leaves.
Love basil? Help us prune our basil plants and help yourselves to the prunings!
Call 717-235-6610 to come out and harvest/prune the basil tops. Yum…
Parsley – More than just a garnish! Use in salads, soup stocks, or in place of part of the basil when making pesto.
Oregano – Use some in the summer squash "ratatouille" described above, sprinkle on pizza or spaghetti, or use in any other Italian or Mediterranean recipe.
Bread – For those with bread shares, our wonderful Atwater bread this week is Kalamata Olive.
Flowers –This week's bouquet will include Queen Anne's Lace, Zinnias, Meadow Rue, Dill Flowers (save for seed!), Globe Amaranth, Tansy, and Cockscomb (Celosia).
Italian Bean and Tuna Salad
Makes 6 main dish servings
1 can (17 ounces) cooked Baby Lima beans, rinsed, drained
1 can (16 ounces) Dark Red Kidney beans, rinsed, drained
1 can (15 ounces) Great Northern or Navy beans, rinsed, drained
8 cherry tomatoes, cut into fourths
1/2 small cucumber, cut lengthwise into halves, seeded, sliced
1/3 cup chopped green or red pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
Basil Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
2 tuna steaks (about 16 ounces), broiled or grilled, or 1 can (12-1/4 ounces) white tuna in water, drained, flaked into 1-inch pieces
Lettuce leaves
Basil or parsley sprigs
Combine beans, tomatoes, cucumber, pepper and onion in large bowl; add Basil Vinaigrette and toss. Refrigerate mixture at least 4 hours for flavors to blend, stirring mixture occasionally. Add tuna to mixture 1 to 2 hours before serving time.
Carrot Cucumber Salad
1 cucumber
2 cups grated carrots
½ cup non-fat plain yogurt
1 teaspoon dill weed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions: Peel cucumber, leaving stripes of peel on it if more crunchiness is desired. Slice lengthwise in fourths. Gently scrape seeds out. Thinly slice each cucumber fourth.
Mix yogurt, dill weed, and lemon juice.
Add cucumber and carrots. Gently toss to coat vegetables.
Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Cucumber and Shiitake
Ingredients
1 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded
8 scallions
3 tablespoons peanut oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon chili oil
7 ounces soba noodles 1
large cucumber--peeled, halved, seeded and cut into thick matchsticks
2 teaspoons black sesame seeds (optional)
Directions: Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. In a large bowl, toss the mushrooms and scallions with the peanut oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the mushrooms over moderate heat, turning once, until cooked through and tender, about 4 minutes; transfer to a plate. Grill the scallions, turning once, until softened and blackened in spots, about 2 minutes; add to the mushrooms. Let the mushrooms and scallions cool, then thinly slice them. In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce with the ginger, garlic, sesame oil, rice vinegar and chili oil. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the soba noodles until al dente, about 4 minutes; drain. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl. Add the mushrooms, scallions, cucumber and dressing and toss well. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve.
Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
3 large cucumbers, peeled, thinly sliced
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
dash ground cayenne pepper
dash dried parsley flakes
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
dash dried leaf basil
Toss ingredients and refrigerate until chilled before serving.
Pasta Salad
3 cups tri-color or whole wheat spiral pasta
1 cup chopped fresh broccoli florets
3/4 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1/2 cup chopped seeded tomato
1/2 cup of ranch salad dressing (or home made dressing)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Cook pasta. Mix tomato, broccoli and cucumber with cooled pasta. Drizzle on dressing. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Farm
Happenings
Check it out! Heather found these sites to be helpful when preparing this week’s harvest guide:
www.seasonalchef.com – This site focuses on local, seasonal produce, has interesting recipes, and also gives tips on preserving!
www.whfoods.org – This site is great if you’re interested in the nutritional benefits of food. Very informative!!
This week it is my pleasure to introduce a fabulous review on the cucumber that I found at http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/cucum123.html . History and lore alike are presented by Mrs. M. Grieve. Please visit this site.
Nutrition:
52 Calories Fiber
Vitamin A Vitamin C
Potassium Folate
Check it out! Heather found these sites to be helpful when preparing this week’s harvest guide:
www.seasonalchef.com – This site focuses on local, seasonal produce, has interesting recipes, and also gives tips on preserving!
www.whfoods.org – This site is great if you’re interested in the nutritional benefits of food. Very informative!!
This week it is my pleasure to introduce a fabulous review on the cucumber that I found at http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/cucum123.html . History and lore alike are presented by Mrs. M. Grieve. Please visit this site.
Nutrition:
52 Calories Fiber
Vitamin A Vitamin C
Potassium Folate
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and we will hammer things out.
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