Spoutwood Farm CSA Harvest Guide: Week 10: August 14, 2008

Farm Happenings

Just two months to our Fourth Annual Mother Earth Harvest Fair, October 5th!

It’s not too soon to start making plans for Spoutwood’s 4th annual Mother Earth Harvest Fair, to be held here on the Farm on Sunday, October 5th, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Combining the charm of an old-fashioned country fair, time¬less traditional arts and crafts, and cutting-edge ad¬vances in green building and renewable energy, the MEHF is a celebration and showcase of healthy, sustainable, and balanced living in the Chesapeake bioregion.

•    Green Building, Alternative Energy, the Sustainable Household, Food and Farming, Nature and the Environment, Health and Healing, BALLEs, Sustainable Communities, Wisdom Traditions, and much more.
•    Farmers Market with produce and products from local farms.
•    A Children’s Village with crafts and fun for our younger guests.
•    Farm animals and wildlife
•    Food and drink vendors galore
•    Music, storytelling, and dramatic presentations, including special appearances by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter

Adrienne Young and her band, Little Sadie
http://www.adrienneyoung.com

Information: greenman@spoutwood.com 717-235-6610 http://www.motherearthharvestfair.com

Volunteers are still welcomed and encouraged!

BAGS: Requested, Recycling of Same (including paper bags)

As most of you will know, there are various share items which must be bagged even within your usual share bag. And frankly, we’re low on appropriate bags. Thus, we’re asking our shareholders to please bring in plastic bags that you might have at home. We are looking for both standard grocery-sized bags, and smaller plastic bags such as those used for produce in supermarkets, to keep news¬papers dry, etc. If at all possible, please help us by bringing them in pre-sorted as to size.

Also, please be aware (if you aren’t already) that your plastic share bags can be re-used the following week! Better yet, invest in a cloth “market bag” that can be used over and over again. We are in the process of investigating Spoutwood-themed practical items to offer for sale, including Market Bags -- stay tuned to this space! In the meantime, if you bring back your plastic ones, you’ll help us and Mother Earth alike. Many thanks, from us and the Home Planet.

Need your rubber bands? Fine… but if you don’t, we would be pleased if you could bring those (or any excess beyond your needs) back with you when you come. We’d be happy to reuse them to bundle your produce in the weeks to come.

If your small paper bags (used for potatoes, etc.) are in reasonably good shape, we’d be grateful if you’d bring those back, too, so we can reuse them. Help us save money and resources! Thanks.

Vegetable of the Week

Tomatoes

Tomatoes, or Lycopersicon, classified nutritionally as a vegetable but are actually a berry. They are part of the nightshade family related to eggplant and potato. They originated in central and south America, and there is some evidence that the Aztecs grew a yellow ancestor of the tomato they called xitomat, meaning ‘plump thing with a navel’. However, it wasn’t introduced to the tables of the England until the 1700s. Since the leaves and greens of nightshade plants are poison, an influential herbal book of in 1597, John Gerard’s Herbal declared tomatoes to be unfit for human consumption. In fact, the name Lycopersicon means ‘wolf peach’. However, by the end of the 18th century it was widely used in soups and broths at least.
Cooked Tomato is an excellent source of lycopene. This antioxidant has been shown to help lower the risk of prostate cancer, strengthen the eyes and inhibit heart disease. Tomatoes are also high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium and Potassium.

http://www.tomatofest.com/tomato_health_facts.html
http://www.wikipedia.com
http://www.tomatoesareevil.com





	Spoutwood Farm CSA Harvest Guide: Week 10: August 14, 2008 To return to the 2008 Harvest Guide page, click here Farm News Today's Harvest Vegetable of the Week Recipes of the Week Farm Happenings Farm News Welcome to the tenth week of the 2008 Community Supported Agriculture season, here at Spoutwood Farm! Hard to believe we’re almost at the halfway point of our Harvest season. We are proud to present another bumper harvest of “vegetables so fresh, they almost dance” from our well-tended gardens. As always, we are grateful for the excellent work of our apprentices, Dana Hunting, Derek McGeehan, and Zach Trimble, as well as the working and regular shareholders who have helped them. On that subject, we have noticed that there are still a number of shareholders, both working and “regular,” who have not yet fulfilled their hours “in the field”: 10 hours/season for medium shares, 15 hours/season for large shares for “regular” (paying) shareholders; 70 hours/season for medium, 100 hours/large for working share¬holders. Please be aware that we do bill for un-worked hours at the end of the season, at the rate of $5/hour. If you have not yet begun to work your hours – working share¬holders in particular – please contact Dana at (717) 235-9272, or at our CSA e-mail address, spoutwood_csa@yahoo.com. She will be glad to help work you into the schedule. In addition to our usual crop of delicious, nutritious vegetables (this week once again – and probably for the last time this season – including sweet corn from our organic Amish friend, Benjamin Stoltzfus), this is the second week of the month, and therefore add-on share day for those who purchased add-ons. We hope you enjoy your meat and value-added, dairy, or egg shares from Nate and Breakaway Farms, and/or your cheese share from Robert and Eldore at Farmstead Fresh! And of course our weekly bread share from Atwaters Bakery in Baltimore continues, for those who purchased it. Please feel free to 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! Again, that address is: spoutwood_csa@yahoo.com. As the old commercial used to say, “please make a note of it.” Thanks! Today's Harvest Sweet Corn: Our second and, sadly, probably last share of sweet corn from our organic Amish friend, Benjamin Stoltzfus. Nothing say “Summer” quite like corn on the cob! Although it’s equally good off it, in corn pudding, to moisten cornbread, or in succotash, casseroles, or marinated vegetable mixes. Even salsa! Try a squeeze of lime instead of (or in addition to) salt and butter (thanks to our friend Thomas Anonymous for this tip). Tomatoes: Another fine tomato harvest this week. Rich with flavor and health benefits, tomatoes are one of the true joys of summer. Dana asks me to remind our shareholders that if your tomatoes are slightly under-ripe, just letting them sit on the counter or windowsill for a few days will take care of the situation. But watch them, because some (like the large Brandywines) can ripen unevenly. Don’t let them rot! Also please note, Green Zebras (striped) and orange Valencias will not turn red, not matter how ripe you let ’em get… Quick meal or side, courtesy of Thomas Anonymous: cooked rice of any variety, butter, and chopped fresh tomatoes. While rice is still warm, add butter, tomatoes, and enjoy! Eggplant: Still another classic summer vegetable, similarly associated with summer cooking. Rata¬touille (no, not the movie…), eggplant parmesan, and baba ganoush are among the many possible uses for this popular veggie. Select from Italian-style (“bell”), Oriental (long and thin), and “Beatrice” – an Italian type also, with a pink-violet complection. Swiss Chard: This delicious, attractive, and nutritious large-leafed plant is our main leafy green (or as they used to call them, “pot-herb”) for the week. May have white (Fordhook Giant) or colored (Bright¬lights) stems. More delicate (and faster-cooking) than kale, use as you would spinach or another green. May be blanched or sautéed lightly and layered with parmesan, romano, or asiago cheese and baked en casserole for a lovely gratin. Also delicious in quiche. Collards (or Collard Greens): A classical Southern treat crosses the border this week to tantalize your taste buds with the flavor of Old Dixie. Cook up a mess o’ greens and enjoy with cornbread for a “South of the Mason-Dixon Line” treat. Green Onions: The last of our robust green onions. Enjoy them raw with (or without) a little salt, or slice them up and add them to salads, soups, omelets, quiche, or anything you like. Potatoes: Not technically a root vegetable, potatoes are actually tubers. Call ’em roots or call ’em tubers, however, I call ’em delicious! A mix of several varieties of these delicious below-ground dwellers. Delicious roasted, boiled, steamed, fried, hashed, mashed, in salads, soups, and casseroles, and just about any other way you can imagine! Store in a dark place, and cook before eating. Peppers, Green: One of the classic Summer vegetables, green peppers find their way into all sorts of salads, stir fries, soups, casseroles, and many other dishes, or may just be eaten out of hand. Also great for stuffing with a vegetarian or meat-based filling! Peppers, Anaheim: A mild chili pepper, although some are “warmer” than others. Roast, stuff with cheese, use in salads and mild salsa. Delicious! Cucumbers: Another classic summer vegetable, cucumbers are lovely in salads, fresh or marinated; and of course pickled. Mix with yogurt and mint (one of this week’s herbs) for a classic Indian raita. Select from green or “blonde” cucumbers, depending on availability. Summer Squash: A variety of varieties for your munching pleasure: Zephyr, yellow and green zucchi¬ni, and yellow crook-neck. Enjoy lightly steamed, broiled or grilled, etc. With tomatoes, eggplant, squash, and green peppers all available this week, this might be a good time for ratatouille… Basil: A delicious and fragrant herb – add to pasta sauces, make a fresh tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad (toss in olive oil), or blend your own pesto. Or chop basil roughly with garlic, and add to diced tomatoes and olive oil for a lovely bruschetta. 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. Or, grind/chop and freeze for use later. Apple Mint: Use as you would any mint: excellent in tea, or with couscous in tabouli salad. A few sprigs in a water glass freshen the palate, making the water seem even more thirst-quenching. Mint sauce (English) or jelly (American – actually mint-flavored apple jelly) goes excellently with lamb! Flowers: Today our flowers include “a bunch of different things” (according to one member of the flower crew), chosen for both color and scent. A mix of wild and cultivated varieties, including African blue basil, Joe Pye, black-eyed Susans, tansy, zinnias and African marigolds, and globe amaranth. Bread: For those who purchased bread shares, today’s selection from Atwaters is a classic French baguette. Tres delicieux, oui oui! (please forgive my rusty 7th grade Français…) Recipes of the Week Whole Baked Tomatoes Ingredients: • 6 fresh whole tomatoes • 6 teaspoons vinegar • 6 whole cloves • 6 teaspoons brown sugar Preparation: Preheat oven to 350°. Leave skins on tomatoes; core. Put 1 teaspoon vinegar, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and one clove in each cored tomato. Place tomatoes in a baking dish and bake for 35 to 45 minutes at 350°. Tomatoes should be slightly browned. Serves 6. Stuffed Tomatoes With Spinach Tomatoes are stuffed with a mixture of spinach and bacon, along with sour cream and seasonings. A stuffed tomato recipe, topped with cheese and baked. Ingredients: • 2 tablespoons bacon drippings or butter • 1/3 cup chopped onion • 8 ounces fresh chopped spinach • 1/2 cup sour cream • 3 slices bacon, fried and crumbled • a few dashes Tabasco sauce or other hot pepper sauce • 4 medium firm ripe tomatoes • salt, to taste • 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese Preparation: In a heavy skillet, cook onion in baking drippings or butter until tender. Stir in spinach; cover and continue to cook for about 4 minutes, until tender. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Cut off tops of tomatoes; scoop out centers, leaving shell intact. Sprinkle tomato shells lightly with salt and fill with spinach mixture. Place tomatoes in a lightly greased baking dish; bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Top each tomato with Mozzarella cheese and continue baking just until cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings. Fresh Tomato Soup Tomato soup with fresh tomatoes, rice, and onions. Feel free to replace 1 to 2 cups of the chicken broth with tomato juice or V-8 Vegetable Juice for even more flavor. Ingredients: • 1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced • 1/2 cup finely chopped celery • 1 medium carrot, sliced • 3 tablespoons butter • 8 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chop • 8 cups chicken broth • 3 tablespoons uncooked long-grain rice or rice blend • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1/8 teaspoon or dried leaf thyme, or to taste • freshly ground black pepper, to taste • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley Preparation: In a saucepan, sauté onion, celery and carrots in butter until softened but not browned. Add tomatoes and a small amount of chicken broth. Simmer for 15 minutes. In a Dutch oven or stock pot, combine sautéed vegetables, remaining chicken broth and rice. Season with salt, thyme and pepper. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes. Serve garnished with parsley. If desired, blend a few cups of soup and add back to the mixture for a thicker soup. Serves 8 to 10. http://southernfood.about.com/od/tomatoes/r/bl90731b.htm Basic Guacamole Dip INGREDIENTS (Nutrition) • 4 ripe avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed • 2 tomatoes, diced • 2 tablespoons minced onion • 1 tablespoon lemon juice DIRECTIONS 1. Thoroughly mix together the avocado, tomato, onion, and lemon juice in a bowl. Serve immediately. Store unused portions in refrigerator. Tomato Salsa INGREDIENTS (Nutrition) • 5 pounds Roma tomatoes • 3 green bell peppers, diced • 8 stalks celery, chopped • 8 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced • 2 tablespoons white sugar • 4 cloves garlic, minced • 4 (4 ounce) cans diced green chiles • 3 tablespoons salt • 2 tablespoons dried oregano • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper • 3 onions, chopped • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro DIRECTIONS 1. In a six-quart pot of boiling water, blanch tomatoes, drain and cool under cold water. Peel and coarsely chop. Return chopped tomatoes to pot, bring to boil and reduce heat. Skim juice from top of tomatoes and reserve, if you'd like, for another use. Do not overcook and allow tomatoes to remain chunky. 2. In two quarts of boiling salted water, add chopped bell peppers, celery, jalapenos, garlic, green chilies and cook until all ingredients are tender. Drain and add vegetables to tomatoes. 3. Add salt, oregano, black pepper and cilantro. Simmer gently for 15 minutes. 4. Hot pack the salsa in clean pint jars. Follow manufactures suggestions on preparing the lids and jars for proper sealing. Fried Green Tomatoes INGREDIENTS (Nutrition) • 1 cup all-purpose flour • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon pepper • 5 green tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick • 1 cup crushed saltine crackers • 2 eggs, beaten • 1/2 cup butter DIRECTIONS 1. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, salt and pepper. Place the crushed saltine crackers in another bowl, and the beaten eggs in a third bowl. 2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip each tomato slice in the egg to coat, then in the flour mixture. Dip the floured tomato slice back into the egg, and then into the cracker crumbs. Place the coated tomato slices in the hot skillet, and fry until golden brown on each side, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Add more butter to the pan, if necessary. Serve hot! http://allrecipes.com Farm Happenings Just two months to our Fourth Annual Mother Earth Harvest Fair, October 5th! It’s not too soon to start making plans for Spoutwood’s 4th annual Mother Earth Harvest Fair, to be held here on the Farm on Sunday, October 5th, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Combining the charm of an old-fashioned country fair, time¬less traditional arts and crafts, and cutting-edge ad¬vances in green building and renewable energy, the MEHF is a celebration and showcase of healthy, sustainable, and balanced living in the Chesapeake bioregion. • Green Building, Alternative Energy, the Sustainable Household, Food and Farming, Nature and the Environment, Health and Healing, BALLEs, Sustainable Communities, Wisdom Traditions, and much more. • Farmers Market with produce and products from local farms. • A Children’s Village with crafts and fun for our younger guests. • Farm animals and wildlife • Food and drink vendors galore • Music, storytelling, and dramatic presentations, including special appearances by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Adrienne Young and her band, Little Sadie http://www.adrienneyoung.com Information: greenman@spoutwood.com 717-235-6610 http://www.motherearthharvestfair.com Volunteers are still welcomed and encouraged! BAGS: Requested, Recycling of Same (including paper bags) As most of you will know, there are various share items which must be bagged even within your usual share bag. And frankly, we’re low on appropriate bags. Thus, we’re asking our shareholders to please bring in plastic bags that you might have at home. We are looking for both standard grocery-sized bags, and smaller plastic bags such as those used for produce in supermarkets, to keep news¬papers dry, etc. If at all possible, please help us by bringing them in pre-sorted as to size. Also, please be aware (if you aren’t already) that your plastic share bags can be re-used the following week! Better yet, invest in a cloth “market bag” that can be used over and over again. We are in the process of investigating Spoutwood-themed practical items to offer for sale, including Market Bags -- stay tuned to this space! In the meantime, if you bring back your plastic ones, you’ll help us and Mother Earth alike. Many thanks, from us and the Home Planet. Need your rubber bands? Fine… but if you don’t, we would be pleased if you could bring those (or any excess beyond your needs) back with you when you come. We’d be happy to reuse them to bundle your produce in the weeks to come. If your small paper bags (used for potatoes, etc.) are in reasonably good shape, we’d be grateful if you’d bring those back, too, so we can reuse them. Help us save money and resources! Thanks. Vegetable of the Week Tomatoes Tomatoes, or Lycopersicon, classified nutritionally as a vegetable but are actually a berry. They are part of the nightshade family related to eggplant and potato. They originated in central and south America, and there is some evidence that the Aztecs grew a yellow ancestor of the tomato they called xitomat, meaning ‘plump thing with a navel’. However, it wasn’t introduced to the tables of the England until the 1700s. Since the leaves and greens of nightshade plants are poison, an influential herbal book of in 1597, John Gerard’s Herbal declared tomatoes to be unfit for human consumption. In fact, the name Lycopersicon means ‘wolf peach’. However, by the end of the 18th century it was widely used in soups and broths at least. Cooked Tomato is an excellent source of lycopene. This antioxidant has been shown to help lower the risk of prostate cancer, strengthen the eyes and inhibit heart disease. Tomatoes are also high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium and Potassium. http://www.tomatofest.com/tomato_health_facts.html http://www.wikipedia.com http://www.tomatoesareevil.com

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