2013 CSA Week 10

From our farm to your table this week…

Item	How to Store it	How long will it last?
Cucumbers	unwashed in fridge	1-2 weeks
Green Beans or Kale	green beans: unwashed in fridge kale: washed or unwashed in fridge	green beans: 3-4 days kale: 1-2 weeks
Peppers	unwashed, in fridge	2-3 weeks
Potatoes – non-organic	unwashed in a cool, dry, dark place (preferably in a paper bag or ventilated container)	up to several months
Sweet corn - non-organic	shucked (my preference) or with husks on in the coldest part of your fridge (usually the bottom vegetable crisper)	Enjoy as soon as possible – fresh corn is much sweeter when fresh than when stored
Tomatoes	at room temp	~1 week
Yellow Squash	unwashed in fridge	1-2 weeks
Zucchini	unwashed in fridge	1-2 weeks

 

More information…

Cucumbers
A very subtle change in your approach to slicing cucumbers and a simple recipe with fresh herbs can turn a cucumber salad into an elegant side dish like Cucumber Ribbon Salad with Lemon Herb Vinaigrette.  This recipe calls for thin skinned cucumber like the English cucumber.  Although our small round pickling cucumbers have thicker skin and heartier seeds, you can still use them for ribbon salads like the one above but you may have to discard a portion of the innermost section of the cucumber if the seeds are large.  This would make a great accompaniment to any warm Asian meal.

Green Beans

Last week I had a break through development with our Fresh Pick green beans.  As I explained in a previous post, these beans really aren’t the best variety for pressure canning.   I must admit, however, that I’m a big fan of home-canned green beans like the ones my grandmother made faithfully, quart after quart, every summer of my youth.  I still haven’t mastered – okay, really even tried -  using a pressure canner except in the safety of a class conducted by our local extension office but I REALLY wanted to make a pot of green beans with a rich flavor like canned beans.  (I have this ridiculous fear that the canner will explode and injure my son, Ford or me.  I had the same fear operating a high speed centrifuge in graduate school, but don’t tell anybody. )

Anyway, last week I discovered that a 1.5 to 2 hour cook on the stovetop in a heavy pot with onions, salt, and beef broth produces a delicous batch of country-style green beans.  Even unexpected, faithfully honest dinner guests were pleased with the result so I consider it a success.  Here’s how it worked:

1. Sauteed onions in olive oil until transulcent and slightly browned.

2. Added washed, snapped beans.

3. Poured beef broth in until beans were covered.

4. Added salt (not shown).

5. Boiled vigorously for about 1 hour then simmered for another 40-60 minutes.

6. Delicoius summer harvest meal!

 

Kale
Kale is a great plant to have in your home garden.  With just 4 or 5 plants, you can harvest a few leaves from each plant throughout the summer.  The frequent harvest supplies you with plenty of healthy greens and it stimulates the plant to keep producing leaves.  My latest ambition is to create some good homeade green smoothies with our fresh kale.  We’ll see how it goes!

Peppers

Green peppers are a great snack on their own but they are also a wonderful addition to main dishes or highlight in sauces like this Spicy Chutney with Tomato, Peppers and Eggplant.  We had hoped to be providing eggplant for you around this time of year but almost the entire crop of eggplant drown in the heavy rains that came a few weeks ago.  Maybe next year!

Potatoes
More new potatoes!  However you prepare them, just enjoy the smooth, tender texture.  They’ll be excellent all winter but they won’t have quite the same creamy consistency and tender skin that they have now. 

Sweet Corn
Yes friends, the late summer harvest finally arrived!  Few flavors are more delicious than fresh, sweet corn boiled for just 5 minutes and eaten of the cobb or sliced off into a pan.  Oh my, what a treat!  Enjoy boiled or grilled corn on the cobb, fried corn, or whatever makes you happy!  A little pat of butter, salt, and your favorite summer herbs can make it extra special.

Tomatoes
Ford tells me there will be a bit more variety in the tomato portion of your share this week.  The standard tomatoes you’ve gotten so far as well as some new pink heirloom varieites will be slightly less ripe this week as we transition from greenhouse/high tunnel tomatoes to field tomatoes.  You might want to leave them in the windowsill for a day or so before enjoying them raw.  You will notice a distinct flavor in the heirloom variety that is very popular but you’ll also find that they sometimes take on lovely, unusual shapes that set them apart from standard grocery store varieties.  You’ll see more heirloom varieties come along as the season progresses.

Yellow Squash & Zucchini

I stumbled upon one of my very favorite recipes for summer squash two years ago in an excellent seasonal cookbook called Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.  She describes the dish called Zucchini Cheese Squares as “softer than a bread and denser than a soufflé.  She’s absolutely correct.   It’s a delicious dish that is ALWAYS well received at social gatherings.  ...oh yeah, and even little kids really like it!!

Zucchini Cheese Squares
from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman

- 3 cups grated zucchini
- 2 tsp salt
-1½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cups grated Cheddar (I prefer sharp or extra sharp.)
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
-1 tsp freshly ground black pepper or lemon pepper
-1/2 cup canola oil
- 3 large eggs

Combine the zucchini and salt in a colander and toss to mix. Set aside to drain for 30 minutes. Squeeze out excess water.

Preheat oven to 350^oF.   Grease a 7- by 11- inch baking dish with butter.
Stir together the flour & baking powder in a medium bowl.  Add the onion, zucchini, cheese, thyme, and pepper.  Mix well with a fork, breaking up any clumps of zucchini.
Whisk together the oil and eggs and pour into the zucchini mixture, and thoroughly combine.
Spread evenly in the baking dish.
Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature.

As always, please feel free to contact me for clarification, further information, or to share your own adventures in cooking local, USDA-certified organic produce.  amanda.waterstrat@gmail.com