Tuesday, August 25, 2015

2015 CSA Week 16

Greetings all,

I'm feeling very sad this season is coming to a close for the summer bounty from Sustainable Harvest Farm. I feel the healthiest I've ever been from eating all of the wonderful organic goodies the Waterstrat family work hard to provide for us. A big thanks to all who contributed!

Don't forget there are a couple other memberships available.
You can sign up here for the following:

  • 5 Month Fall-Winter Veggie Share
  • 6 Month Winter Meat Share
In shares this week...

Item How to store it How long will it last?
Tomatoes room temperature ~1 week
Green Beans unwashed in fridge 3-4 days
Kale or Chard washed & thoroughly dried or unwashed, in fridge, sealed in container or plastic bag 1-2 weeks
Sweet Corn shucked or with husks on in the coldest part of your fridge (usually the bottom vegetable crisper) Enjoy as soon as possible!
Watermelon fridge Enjoy right away! Melons are very ripe
Peppers unwashed in fridge 2-3 weeks
Large bunch of fresh basil fridge or room temperature Enjoy as soon as possible!

From Amanda...

We have been saving a little extra of our very best for a CSA grand finale during week 16 as an expression of our gratitude to you for supporting our family farm this summer. Since the middle of May, you have faithfully made the extra effort to pick up your shares and incorporate farm-fresh, unprocessed food into your weekly meals. In our modern world of conveniences, it's no small task to be committed to fresh, local food. You are the real heroes of local agriculture because without a market for our products neither the CSA program or the farm, as we know it, could exist. Please soak up the delicious, final summer harvest. Some excellent recipes are provided below to help you make the most of your final share.




Tomato Bread Pudding
recipe from Edible Ohio Valley, adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis

Butter, for preparing pan
8 oz. challah or brioche, cut into cubes
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large or 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz. cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Salt & pepper
1 packed cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 ½ cups (6oz.) shredded Parmesan
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9x13-inch glass baking dish, add the bread crumbs, set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until slightly soft, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil. Pour the tomato mixture and Parmesan over the bread cubes and combine well.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, 1 tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. pepper until smooth. Pour the custard over the bread mixture and gently toss to coat. Bake in the center of the oven until puffed and golden and the center is firm, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

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Tomato Basil Sorbet
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
6 T minced fresh basil leaves
1 lb tomatoes peeled, cored, cut
½ lemon

In a small pot, bring water to a boil. When boiling, add sugar and let boil for 2 minutes until sugar dissolves. Cool the sugar syrup for a few minutes, then add the minced basil and allow it to steep for 30 minutes. Strain the basil from sugar syrup and set aside. Juice the tomatoes and lemon in a juicer. Combine tomato juice and sugar syrup and set in refrigerator to cool for a few hours or overnight. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions or in an airtight container until firm, at least 3 hours. Serve softly frozen and garnish with fresh basil.

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Garlicky Green Beans food on the food The author of this recipe reports: The kids used to hate green beans prepared this way, but now they love them. We love the basic recipe, but there are lots of variations, too. You can add 1 T of chopped scallions and/or minced fresh ginger. You can add a splash of toasted sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Or you can heat things up with a half teaspoon of sriracha or some sliced fresh chilies. It's all good.
1 lb green beans, trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 T vegetable oil
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp hoisin sauce (or honey)
1 T rice wine or white wine (or water)
1 T finely chopped garlic
Pinch of kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat, and sauté the green beans, tossing occasionally, for about 7 minutes or until they blister and brown in places but are still crisp-tender, not mushy. Remove the green beans to a plate. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and rice wine. Set aside. Add the garlic to the hot pan and stir-fry for about 20 seconds until fragrant but not browning. Add the beans and sauce, and stir until heated through and the sauce reduces to a thick glaze, 1 to 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

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Sweet and Sour Greens from Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert’s Simply In Season, serves 4
1 bunch fresh greens (kale!)
1 medium onion
¼ C dried cranberries or raisins
2 cloves garlic
3 T white or cider vinegar
1 ½ T sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse and pat dry kale. Remove stems and discard. Stack leaves, roll up, and slice in 1 inch strips. Saute onion about 2 minutes in deep frypan in 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add rest of ingredients to pan, cover and cook for 7-8 minutes. Place chopped leaves on top of the mixture, cover and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir and serve.

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These all sound delicious!

It's been a pleasure to publish the weekly blog throughout the 2015 season. I'm looking forward to next year! Hopefully, some of you have been able to can or freeze some of the summer's veggies to have during the cold of winter.

Wishing everyone health and happiness,
Nancy

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