I hope you all are enjoying this absolutely fabulous summer! I can't believe this weather (and couldn't drag myself inside long enough yesterday to tell you about this week's share). I hope you all are getting to enjoy it too!
I am happy to tell you that the wait is over and we will have some Sustainable Harvest Farm tomatoes in our shares this week!!! (FINALLY!) Here's what else...
Produce
|
Storage
|
Longevity
|
summer
squash and zucchini
|
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
|
cucumber
|
washed or
unwashed, in fridge
|
1-2 weeks
|
early tomatoes
|
room
temperature
|
about a
week
|
cabbage*
|
unwashed,
in fridge
|
Up to a
month or longer
|
broccoli*
|
unwashed,
in fridge
|
1 week
|
beets
|
Remove
tops, in fridge
|
1 month +
|
*Shares will have either cabbage or broccoli.
 |
| The basil has been such a nice addition to my share. I kept it on my counter all week, enjoying the fragrance and adding it to drinks, salads and meals. I think it brought my lasagna this weekend up a notch! |
In addition to tomatoes, the other new item in our shares this week is beets. Raise your hand if you love beets! (My hands are not raised.) When I was growing up beets were those gross things my grandparents ate. I have a distinct memory from college when my roommate and I decided to do some crazy diet that involved eating beets for dinner one night. With scrunched noses we put our can of beets in the cupboard and discussed how disgusting that evening would be. When the night came with beets on the menu we ran into each other at dinner... At the same Mexican restaurant, out with separate friends and with our own excuses for why we couldn't eat the beets. Despite their bad rap, they are very good for you. I found this (somewhat annoying click gallery) list of health benefits of beets. Those of us who are interested in anti-inflammatory foods should consider beets.
About six years ago I joined my first CSA in Frankfort, called Sour Power, focused completely on fermented foods. That's when I grew to appreciate pickled beets. They were shredded (not in thick slices like my grandparents made) and mixed with cabbage and actually quite enjoyable (if you like that kind of thing). Sour Power closed up shop and moved out of state several years ago, but I have tried my hand at fermenting mixed cabbage and beets with the SHF CSA with some success. Here's some of my notes from last year on that.
As much as I love fermented foods, my heart doesn't skip a beat when I think about pickled beets. What does get me excited, though, is a beet recipe I first enjoyed about four years ago in cake. Beet cake. Stick with me. Friend and fellow CSA member, Jennifer Melton introduced me to this wonderful treat that mixes chocolate with a full CUP AND A HALF of beets. And it is so good at least one of my other friends rank it as their favorite dessert. I have spent the last several years just enjoying the ones Jennifer bakes, but recently secured the recipe to share with all of you. This will be the most delicious, guilt-free chocolate cake you will ever eat. If you have ever longed for chocolate cake to be classified as a vegetable, your dreams have come true. This does it.
Beet Cake
From Territorial Seed Garden Cookbook, Homegrown Recipes for Every Season, 1991, Sasquatch Books
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cup grated cooked fresh beets (or substitute canned beets)
4 tablespoons cocoa
2 teaspoons vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, soda, salt, sugar and cocoa together and set aside. Beat together eggs and oil. Add vanilla and beat well. Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Then stir in beets. Pour into a lightly greased cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Jennifer uses this icing recipe:
Kathleen's Chocolate Icing
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Combine the chocolate and butter in a small heavy saucepan, and melt over very low heat.
Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the milk and vanilla, and transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl.
Add the sugar gradually, beating with an electric mixer. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth; it will be runny.
Refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour, beating every 15 minutes. (The icing will stiffen.)
About 2 1/2 cups
The annual farm tours are always such wonderful events. I heard this weekend were some of the best yet. If you haven't made your way to the farm yet, I encourage you to make plans to do so.
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