Spoutwood Farm CSA Harvest Guide: Week 16: September 25, 2008
To return to the 2008 Harvest Guide page, click here
Welcome to the sixteenth week of the 2008 Community Supported Agriculture season, here at Spoutwood Farm! If there was any doubt we are into the Autumnal season of the year, today’s cool temperatures would remove it quickly. As I (Tom) type this, at the wrought-iron outdoor table at Spoutwood, I’m wearing my L.L. Bean red-and-black checked wool shirt-jac, and glad for its warmth. But that’s as it ought to be: the Wheel of the Year continues to turn, as we move from the Autumnal Equinox, when day and night are equal length, to the Dark Half of the year which will reach its peak in the Winter Solstice. But that’s a long way off, and we still have six more weeks of Harvest yet to go!
Autumn is the theme for Harvest today, as well: although a few tomatoes and peppers struggle on, much of our produce today is cool-season: Chinese cabbage and bok choi, arugula and kohlrabi, potatoes and onions. It’s a good season for soups and stews, and today’s veggies lend themselves well to such use, with maybe an arugula salad on the side. Weather reports are for a major coastal storm to move in tonight, and indeed the first cloud-bands and rising winds already give evidence of its approach. A good night to curl up with a warm bowl of soup and a thick slice of Atwater’s bread!
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! That address is: csa@spoutwood.com. As the old commercial used to say, “please make a note of it.” Thanks!
A special note from Tom Harbold;
I, Tom, am very glad to report that my heart attack – while more severe than originally thought – does not appear to have left any significant or lasting damage behind it. The blockage was limited to one artery, and was repaired with two stents. Of course, I’ll be seeing a cardio¬lo¬gist soon, and am on a suite of medications I’d have been happy to avoid, but overall I am very blessed, and very pleased to be on this side of it. I am more grateful than I can say for all the caring and support I’ve gotten from my Spoutwood “extended family,” you all are wonderful! While I still have some recovery to do, things are definitely looking up, and I am very grateful.
Tomatoes: Tomatoes are visibly dwindling now, indeed this is probably the last week for the regular tomatoes. You’ll find some tomato “firsts” and “seconds” in your share this week. They are all still delicious, just cut out any bad parts and use as usual! If they’re not quite ripe, set them on your window¬sill for a while, and they’ll redden up nicely (except for Valencias and Green Zebras!). Some share¬holders will also receive Sungolds (those sweet orange cherry tomatoes) this week.
Radish: Rich in ascorbic acid, folic acid, and potassium. They are a good source of vitamin B6, riboflavin, magnesium, copper, and calcium. The bulbs are a colorful addition to salads. The greens can also be added as a peppery accent to salads, or they can be sautéed with other greens or veggies.
Peppers, Green: Our peppers are trying to turn red and orange although they are still mostly green. You may find partially red or orange peppers in your share. These are also delicious drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then grilled until soft.
Peppers, Hot Paper Lantern: According to the seed company Johnny’s, these peppers are very hot: one should be sufficient to add that spicy touch to your meals. They can be added to stir-fries and sauces. Put them in when you are sautéeing onions and other spices. Another fun thing to do with them is scrape out the seeds and roast them in the oven with some olive oil. It yields a smoky, spicy sauce that can be added to foods for an extra spice. Be careful when cutting them up; they can make your fingers burn. Have too many to use now? Pop them in the freezer (in freezer bags), and use them in the winter to add a pleasing heat to soups and stews.
Chinese Cabbage: The triumphant return of the giant cabbage! An excellent base for stir-fries and soups, tender leaves can be torn up and added to salads. Use lightly blanched leaves to create delicious vegetarian or meat-based roll-ups. Can also be lacto-fermented with shredded daikon radish, carrots, and hot peppers for the fiery Korean condiment kimchee. Don’t be intimidated by the size, Chinese cabbage has a high water content and cooks down quite a bit. See Vegetable of the Week for more information.
Bok choi: Another Asian green, bok chop (a.k.a. pak choi) is a close relative of Chinese cabbage and can be used in many of the same ways. Bok choi, however, was bred to emphasize the stalks, whereas Chinese cabbage emphasizes the leaves. Delicious in soups and stir-fries, with sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and a touch of honey. Mmmmmmm!
Onions, Red and Yellow: Cooking and slicing onions. I don’t have to tell you how to use these! Good in almost any savory dish, cooked or raw.
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.
Arugula: Often considered a “gourmet” green, arugula’s slightly bitter, nutty, and peppery, somewhat mustard-like flavor is a favorite of many people. May be used raw, in salads, or cooked.
Kohlrabi: Dubbed “the Sputnik plant” by one of our previous apprentices for the antenna-like look of its leaves springing from the rounded body of the vegetable, kohlrabi is another wonderful veggie in the cruciferous (cabbage) family. Kohlrabi may be added raw to salads (or become the basis of a slaw), steamed, stir-fried, or added to soups. It can also be boiled and mashed with potatoes, or even fried. Versatile and delicious, if a bit odd to the eye!
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. 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.
Thai Basil: The unusual flavor and aroma of Thai basil finds a natural home in the cuisine of that country, or just enjoy it at a bouquet.
Flowers: Included in this weeks’ flower bouquet are: zinnias, tansy, African basil, globe amaranth, plume celosia, New England asters, seed-heads of Jerusalem artichokes, and some goldenrod.
Bread: For those who purchased bread shares, today’s selection from Atwaters is a hearty and rustic Peasant Wheat… perfect to accompany the aforementioned soups!
Spicy Stir-fry Chinese Cabbage
• 1 pound Chinese Cabbage (or ½ whole Chinese cabbage)
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 onion
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil, for stir-frying
• 2 - 3 teaspoons chile paste, according to taste (or 1 teaspoon of chili powder)
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine, dry sherry, or white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 - 2 teaspoons soy sauce, optional
Preparation:
1. Rinse the cabbage and pat dry. Remove the leaves and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces. Finely chop the garlic. Finely chop the onion.
2. Heat the wok or frying pan and add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the chile paste (or powder). Stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add onion and stir-fry for 5-8 minutes, then add the garlic. Stir-fry for a few seconds until fragrant, and then add the cabbage.
3. Stir-fry the cabbage for 1 minute, splashing with the rice wine or dry sherry and stirring in the salt.
4. Add the water. Turn down the heat, cover, and simmer the cabbage for 3 minutes.
5. Turn the heat back to medium-high. Stir in the honey. Stir in the soy sauce if desired.
6. Cook briefly to mix everything together. Serve hot.
Kimchi
… a traditional Korean fermented dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings
Servings: Makes 1 1/2 Quarts
Author Notes: The favorite kimchee vegetable is Chinese (or Napa) cabbage. The Koreans ferment it in enormous quantities. They then pack the kimchee into huge earthenware jars, bury the jars in the ground up to the neck, and cover the lids with straw until the kimchee is needed. Kimchee almost always includes hot pepper, usually dried and either ground or crushed into flakes. Because the ground dried hot pepper sold in Korean markets is generally fairly mild, Koreans can use generous quantities. Some of the Mexican (and New Mexican) ground peppers now sold in supermarkets are comparable. If you can't find ground pepper with a moderate heat level, you might combine sweet paprika and cayenne to suit your taste.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon pickling salt 6 cups water
2 pounds Chinese (Napa) cabbage, cut into 2-inch squares
6 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths, then slivered
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons Korean ground dried hot pepper (or other mildly hot ground red pepper)
1 teaspoon sugar Instructions: Makes about 1 1/2 Quarts
1. Dissolve the 3 tablespoons salt in the water. Put the cabbage into a large bowl, a crock, or a nonreactive pot, and pour the brine over it. Weight the cabbage down with a plate. Let the cabbage stand for 12 hours.
2. Drain the cabbage, reserving the brine. Mix the cabbage with the remaining ingredients, including the 1 teaspoon salt. Pack the mixture into a 2-quart jar. Pour enough of the reserved brine over the cabbage to cover it. Push a freezer bag into the mouth of the jar, and pour the remaining brine into the bag. Seal the bag. Let the kimchi ferment in a cool place, at a temperature no higher than 68° F, for 3 to 6 days,until the kimchi is as sour as you like.
3. Remove the brine bag, and cap the jar tightly. Store the kimchi in the refrigerator, where it will keep for months.
“Sundried” Tomatoes
From CSA member Elana Richman
We realize the last tomato harvest is a bad time for this recipe, but print this and keep it with other recipes for next year!
Any tomatoes you have, cut in half
Sea salt
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F., or the lowest setting possible.
Trim and discard the stem ends of the tomatoes. Halve each tomato lengthwise. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, side by side and crosswise on cake racks set on the oven racks. Do not allow the tomatoes to touch one another. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
Place in the oven and bake until the tomatoes are shriveled and feel dry, anywhere from 6 to 12 hours. Check the tomatoes from time to time: They should remain rather flexible, not at all brittle. Once dried, remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow them to thoroughly cool on cake racks. (Smaller tomatoes will dry more quickly than larger ones. Remove each tomato from the oven as it is dried.)
Transfer the tomatoes to zipper-lock bags. The tomatoes will last indefinitely. Or freeze and they will last even more indefinitely.
CSA Potluck & Core Group Meeting:
Saturday, September 27th – 4:00 Core Group, 5:00 Potluck
Help put the “community” in “community supported argriculture”… and help use up some of these copious vegetables at the same time. Bring yourself and your favorite dish to Spoutwood for our third CSA Potluck and Core Group Meeting this year. Not too late to participate! Bring a dish and come out, whether you’re interested in the core group or not. There may even be some live music.
Less than 2 weeks to our 4th 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 return the paper bags the potatoes come in as well as any 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.
This week our Vegetable of the Week is courtesy of our wonderful apprentice Dana Hunting, with a sun-dried tomato contribution from shareholder Elana Richman.
This fast growing member of the cabbage family, part of the Brassica species, has the remarkable ability to become very large, very quickly. We love to stir fry this green with some onion and garlic and then flavor with Asian spices and eat over a bed of brown rice, yum!
History: Chinese cabbage has been cultivated for over six thousand years in China. Brassica rapa seeds have been found in jars in the excavated New Stone Age settlement of Banpo. They were a common part of the diet in southern China by the 5th century.
They were introduced to Korea, where it became the staple vegetable for making kimchi. In the early 20th century, it was taken to Japan by returning soldiers who had fought in China during the Russo-Japanese War. At present, the Chinese cabbage is quite commonly found in markets throughout the world.
Nutrition: A good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Thiamin, Niacin and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium and Manganese.
Preparation and Storage:
• Store in a refrigerator drawer for 1-2 weeks if needed. Wash before cutting.
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