Spoutwood Farm CSA Harvest Guide: Week 21-Oct 31, 2005
To view the first harvest for this week, click here
To return to the 2005 Harvest Guide page, click here
1 More Week to Go! We finally had our latest first frost in memory last night but it wasn’t too bad and we covered things as well as preharvested!
Thank you, weather!
CSA Surveys
We are sending out surveys with your shares. Please pick them up!! This is an evaluation of the season and we’d like to hear your thoughts. So please take the time to fill this out and return them to us ASAP or at the latest by November 1st. (Nate and Liz would like to read them before they leave. ) I will e-mail them out as well if you’d like to print it off and send it in that way.
Complete your Share Hours or Pay up
Your time to complete your share hours is drawing very near. There are many of you who have not completed the required hours for you membership. If you’re unsure of how many hours you need to fulfill please talk to Liz. Help on Harvest days have been better, but we will continue needing your help on those days. Harvest days are Mondays and Thursdays 8 a.m. to noon or 1 p.m. Please contact Liz with your availability and she’ll put you on the schedule. WARNING: If you do not fulfill your share hours by November 7th (the last Harvest Day), you will need to pay $6 for every hour not worked. Bills will be mailed out in the near future!
Green and Colored Bell and hot habaneros and Anaheim chilis– Bells were harvested early last week before freezes and frosts and are great fresh, in salads, stuffed, or stir fries.
Cabbage, Broccoli or Cauliflower–We’re getting several kinds of cabbage: crinkly savoy, red and green.
Kale – Love the deep blue-green color of the kale.
Sweet Potatoes – Bake, stir fry or steam those babies. If you are really into it, try deep frying sweet potato sticks like French fries.
Mustard Greens (Red & Green) – Use those bitey mustard greens in salads and sandwiches.
Bok Choi -- Made for stir fries, but we like ‘em in salads for the green of the leaves and the crunch of the stems. Another good one for tuna fish or cheese sandwiches.
Chinese Cabbage or Yukina Savoy – Both are great stir-fried. Possibly salads, definitely soups.
Green Onions – Our end of the season green onion crop is coming in.
Herbs – Basil, cilantro and Parsley.
Flowers – This week’s bouquet features a lot of evergreens and foliage: asparagus plumage and berries, bush honeysuckle leaves, winged euonymous ( see the funny wings on the stems), yew, juniper, fertile fern “feather,” and goldenrod “fluff.”
Recipe of the Week : Tamari Veggies Note: Veggies and quantity may vary depending on what’s available in your house and how many you’re feeding. Use as a guide and choose some or all of the following veggies:
2-3 potatoes depending on size and amount, cut into chucks
2-4 Sweet potatoes depending on size and amount, cut into chucks
1 Winter Squash-(Butternut/cup, Acorn, Red Kuri, Delicada,) whatever is available
2 carrots, sliced
1 large onion, cut in chucks
1 zucchini, sliced and chunks
2 bell peppers (any color), cut in chunks
Sauce: Mix together and taste. Add anything more to your desire.
2-3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1-2 Tbsp. Ginger, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup Tamari soy sauce
1/3 cup Rice Vinegar (note: apple cider vinegar or white vinegar may be used instead)
1-3 Tbsp. Sesame Oil
1-3 Tbsp. Honey
1-3 Tbsp. Sesame Seeds (if desired)
½ tsp. Ground Anise Seed (if desired)
Preheat oven to 350-400 degrees. Lightly oil 9 x 13 baking pan. Pour all chopped veggies into pan.
Pour sauce over veggies. Stir in pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake between 350-400 for 45-65 minutes. Stir occasionally, every 20 minutes. Enjoy. Great the next day too!
Recipe of the Week: SWEET POTATO SOUP
2 1/2 lbs. (1 kg + 226 gr) yellow sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large onion, cut into large chunks
4 C. (1 liter) water
1 to 3 C. (237 to 717 ml) water or more as desired
1/2 t. salt or to taste
2 dashes ground cinnamon or to taste
2 dashes ground nutmeg or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 C. (59 ml) black raisins
1/4 C. (59 ml) toasted chopped pecans
Combine sweet potatoes, onion and the 4 C. (1 liter) water in a large stock pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn heat down and simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork. Cool for a few minutes. Pour cooked potatoes, onions, and the liquid into a food processor in batches and puree. Return to stock pot. Add additional water, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and black pepper. Heat to serving temperature. Pour soup into serving bowls and garnish with raisins and chopped pecans. Makes 6 servings.
Celebration Party and Farewell last night was fun, giving Liz and Nate a premature sendoff and ending with ghastly ghost stories around a bonfire. About 30 people showed up!!
After the season ends, the first week of November, any member is welcome to come to the farm and harvest whatever is still available. Call ahead to see what’s here. Depending on the weather we’ll probably have greens and bok choi, kale, green onions, cabbage, etc. We have extra peppers and basil now, until we get frost.
Sweet Potato
from vegparadise.com
Most Americans will tell you the sweet potato is that long yellow potato with the points at each end. When asked about the difference between a yam and a sweet potato, they will usually answer, "The yam is that orange or deep red potato we bake or roast for Thanksgiving." Unfortunately, they have eaten both kinds of sweet potatoes while swallowing the myth. There are no yams on the American dinner table, they’re really just a variety of sweet potato.
Sweet potatoes in their many varieties are a highly nutritious food, easy to prepare, heavenly tasting, and extremely versatile on any menu. Yet, they are undervalued, ignored, and under appreciated. Some people enjoy the wonderful flavor and health benefits of sweet potatoes year round, but for many families sweet potatoes appear on the table at Thanksgiving and only then. We know of some folks who have never even eaten a sweet potato.
Sweet potatoes were actually born in Mexico, Central, and South America, as well as the West Indies. Their botanical name, Ipomoca batata, was derived from the American Indians of Louisiana who were growing them in native gardens as early as 1540. The Indians referred to sweet pots as batatas.
In his first voyage to the West Indies Columbus discovered many new foods, which he brought back to Spain. Sweet potatoes were among his ship's treasures. The Spanish relished them and began cultivating them immediately. Soon they were profitably exporting them to England where they were included in spice pies to be devoured at the court of Henry VIII.
The French, not to be outdone, planted them at the request of Louis XV. They were favored in France only until his death and then lost popularity for thirty years until the Empress Josephine, who was from Martinique, craved them. It was then that sweet potatoes again became trendy in Paris restaurants for a time, but once more fell into obscurity. It was the Portuguese who carried sweet potatoes to Asia and Africa where they have become an important staple of the diet even today.
There are two major varieties of sweet potatoes, the yellow, drier, more mealy kind with lighter beige colored skins, and the orange, more moist, sweeter ones with reddish skins that are usually called "yams." True yams, however, are nothing like the sweet potato, but are a tuber native to Africa, very starchy, not very sweet, and grow as large as 100 pounds.
It was the Southerners, mainly from North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana, who adopted the name yams for the darker-skinned orange variety and made them an important part of their cuisine. "Yams" were so important in the South that during the American Revolution and the Civil War, they were said to have sustained the fighting soldiers.
The sweet potato deserves to be on the highest perch because it is a nutritional powerhouse with 4 ounces of cooked pulp supplying 2 grams of protein, 3.4 grams of fiber, 24.6 mg of vitamin C, 28 mg of calcium, 22.6 mcg of folic acid, 20 mg of magnesium, 348 mg of potassium, and a whopping 21822 I.U. of vitamin A. That's mighty impressive for only a half cup serving. The skins, which are completely edible, add even more fiber.
To Bake: Simply scrub the skins clean, place the sweet potatoes on a baking pan, and put them in a 425 oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Large ones may take a bit longer. Test for doneness by squeezing the skins. They should give easily and feel soft. Sweet potatoes are so delicious just as they are, they really don't need any extra toppings. The edible skins can be a little dry and tough after baking. If you want them to be softer, bake the sweet potatoes in aluminum foil with the shiny side of the foil inside. Another way to bake sweet potatoes is to peel them and slice them about 1/4" thick. Brush them with a little canola oil and put them on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake at 400 for about 30 to 35 minutes. Test for doneness with a fork. They should pierce easily.
To Steam: You can choose to peel them or not. Slice the sweet potatoes about 1/2" thick and put them into a steamer basket (either metal or bamboo) over a pot of water. Cover, and turn heat to high, bringing the water below to a boil. Keep the water boiling for about 7 to 10 minutes and fork test for doneness. They should pierce easily, and the skins will be very tender. You can also cube the sweet potatoes before steaming for use in a casserole.
To Sauté: Peel the sweet potatoes, and shred them on the coarse grater or in the food processor. Sauté them in a combination of canola oil and little water over high heat, tossing frequently until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Raw: Sweet potatoes can be shredded and added to salads.
for an additional boost of beta-carotene. They can also be juiced or added to raw soups. Bright yellow or orange shredded sweet potatoes make the perfect garnish to a raw soup or salad topping.
Since sweet potatoes are the featured food, we've chosen a soup recipe from Zel's cookbook, Vegetarians in Paradise to share
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