2016 CSA Week 10

Happy Independence Day, fellow CSA members!

I hope you all enjoyed a safe and happy holiday weekend.

We had a wonderful time at the Ice Cream Social on Saturday evening. There was delicious strawberry, blueberry, vanilla and chocolate. And a great homemade slip'n'slide. You can see pictures -- and even a video -- on the facebook page. If you've never made it out to the farm, I encourage you to visit some time (schedule it first, farm work is demanding!). It's just gorgeous and the Waterstrats are so hospitable.

I was having too much fun to get an "In the Kitchen" post out. I used the ingredients pretty simply and traditionally last week, though. Nothing fancy or new. I love these summer meals with fresh veggies and sides. I pulled a couple SHF beef steaks from the freezer one night (the last from my winter meat share) and had them with several of the veggies from this week. So good!

I thought it looked pretty... but be happy
you didn't taste it!

I did try my hand at homemade ice cream... But it never made it to the farm. I used this recipe for making ice cream without an ice cream maker. I decided to make a lemon-basil ice cream, but I added in too much basil for the amount of ice cream and it was a total flop. My mom said it tasted like a creamy vegetable and I wouldn't have even given it any broccoli stalks myself. (Johnie didn't either.) I also made a batch of blackberry ice cream, but again added too many blackberries. It did taste good at least, but lost the ice cream consistency.

Turning to this week, we've got another great share to mark the mid-way point of the season. (Can you even believe it?!?) There are a couple new things I'm pretty excited about!

Produce	Storage	Longevity
summer squash and zucchini	unwashed, in fridge	1-2 weeks
green beans*	unwashed, in fridge	3-4 days
tomatoes	room temperature	about a week
broccoli*	unwashed, in fridge	1 week
garlic scape pesto	shelf stable	months
cabbage	unwashed, in fridge	2 months
cucumber	washed or unwashed in fridge	1-2 weeks
basil	store in an unclosed container in fridge or snip off bottom of stems and immerse in water	1-2 weeks

Garlic Scape Pesto is a BRAND NEW item for the shares!!! I've never had it before. Ford says it's pretty strong, but goes well in pasta or on bread. I'm excited to experiment with it!

And, our first head of cabbage of the season!!! Actually, I have referred to cabbage as sauerkraut plants for many years now (because how else would you even use it?). There are many different sauerkraut recipes and methods out there, but I'd like to share with you how my grandfather always made it. Very simply, just shred the cabbage, pack it tightly in a clean mason jar, then pour in water and vinegar. Add in salt and a little bit of sugar and sit it in a cool dark place to "work." My grandfather also offered this bit of superstitious advice: Don't ever brag about your sauerkraut because then it will turn from snowy white to brown. I won't go that far, but I have found a little humility goes a long way in the kitchen. A note if you've never fermented like this before: The juices bubble out from the lids, so make sure the jars are sitting in a box or an area that can get a little messy. Pop always sat his in a box under a chair on the back corner of the porch. I usually sit mine in a box in the corner of the basement.

You can actually ferment many veggies this same way. My very first CSA was all fermented vegetables from a small local farm in Frankfort, KY aptly named Sour Power. I have always loved kraut but fell in love with all things fermented through that experience. I still miss the taste of some of their products. To my knowledge, the owner moved to the west coast (I think) several years ago. Before he left he recommended that I check out the book Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz. It has a lot of helpful information and recipes if you'd like precise measurements or ideas for interesting spices to add.

Fermented foods actually have quite a few health benefits and though they've been around for a long, long time they're a new "trendy food." I'll leave you with a recent NPR piece and then get off my soap box. :)

I'll also be on the lookout for non-sauerkraut cabbage recipes this week.

As always, I love to hear from you! amyrosekarr@gmail.com