2013 CSA Week 1

From our farm to your table this week…

Item	How to Store it	How long will it last?
beans, dried	cool, dry, dark place	months
sage	unwashed, in fridge, in sealed container or plastic bag	~1-2 weeks
strawberries	unwashed, in fridge, in sealed container or plastic bag,	~2-5 days
sweet potatoes	cool, dry, dark place	~2-4 more weeks, they’ve been in storage all winter
tatsoi	washed & thoroughly dried (my preference) or unwashed, in fridge, sealed in container or plastic bag	~2 weeks
tomatoes	at room temp	~1 week

More information…
Dried Beans

This year we’re very excited to offer you our first crop of organic, dried beans. (Some folks call them hull beans, some folks call them Southern peas.)  Mississippi Silver hull beans (also known as cowpeas or crowder peas), are a nutty, flavorful bean that originated in Africa and gained popularity in the South.  They look like a slightly larger, darker version of black-eyed peas.  As with most dried beans or peas, they require a good “lookover,” a soak, and a boil followed by a long, steady simmer on the stove until the beans are tender.  Step-by-step instructions are provided below in green highlighting.

Options: If you’re in the mood for a hearty bean stew, add lots of garlic, onion, diced tomatoes and your favorite seasonings and serve with warm cornbread as we did in the photo below.  If you’d prefer to eat them in a cold salad for a big Memorial Day gathering, try this fresh recipe for Texas Cavier from Tasty Kitchen. Just substitute your cooked Mississippi Silver beans for the black-eyed peas.

 

Mississippi Silver Beans – Basic Instructions

“Lookover”
Spread your beans out on a smooth flat surface like your dining table or a large countertop and carefully sort them, discarding any small bits of hull, peas with holes, or debris. 

Wash & Soak
Rinse the beans thoroughly in a large bowl then cover in water and soak overnight or 6-8hours. 

Cook

Add beans to a large dutch oven or sturdy pot and pour enough water to cover the beans by about 2 inches.  Probably about 3-4 cups water per cup of beans.  Bring the beans to a rolling bowl then turn down the heat to simmer and continue to simmer and stir for 1.5-2 hours.  Check the beans periodicallyand add water if necessary. You may also add seasonings such as herbs, salt, pepper, onions, garlic or meat like ham or bacon for seasoning at this point.

Sage

This herb is popular in fall harvest meals and Thanksgiving stuffings but it also makes a WONDERFUL addition to savory soups, stews, and meat.  If you like making sweet potato soufflé, or very soft, creamy baked sweet potatoes, try adding a bit of finely minced sage leaves on top with a sprinkle of brown sugar and a bit of butter.  Delicious!!

 Strawberries Rinse, eat, and enjoy!

 Sweet potatoes These were harvested right around the time that the 2012 CSA season came to a close.  We’ve been enjoying them all winter.  Bake, them, throw them on the grill, or, if you prefer a lighter option, you can use them as a crunchy salad topping!  Just cut them into long thin strips, lightly coat them in olive oil, toss with salt and pepper, and roast for 20-30 minutes at 425-450oF, turning once after 10-15 minutes.  They are great along with toasted walnuts & feta or crumbled goat cheese on top of a fresh bed of greens.  In the photo at right, we paired this salad with a butternut squash soufflé.  It was delicious!

Tatsoi AND Bok choy
Both tatsoi and bok choy are Asian greens and although their leaves bear some similarities, they vary significantly in size and intensity of flavor. 

Tatsoi has small, spoon-shaped, tender leaves that grow in a rosette atop thin, pale green stems.  Both stems and leaves are delicious raw in salads or lightly steamed or sautéed.   I like to think of it as spinach with a spicy kick! Bok choy has much longer, wider, dark green leaves on sturdy, white, crisp stalks. Both stems and leaves are edible, but the leaves have a strong flavor which means bok choy is best steamed, boiled, or finely chopped in a slaw like the Bok Choy Apple Salad recipe below.

Bok Choy Apple Salad     1 large head bok choy

     2 large or 4 small apples (sweet & crunchyarebest)

     1/2 cup sliced almonds

     ½ cup raisins

     1/4 cup olive oil

     1/4 cup cider vinegar

     2 tablespoons soy sauce

     1-2 Tablespoons sugar

            

     Rinse bok choy and separate stems.  Clean thoroughly – dirt likes to hide out down at the bottom of those long white stems! 
Layer the leaves in stems in one tall stack then chop off the stems and dice them into ¼ thick pieces.  Roll the leaves up tightly into a log shape and slice into fine ribbons.

     Toss chopped bok choy with remaining dry ingredients except sugar.

 

     Combine remaining ingredients and whisk vigorously.  Pour over salad, stir and enjoy!

 

This will last 3-5 days in the fridge. 

 

Tomatoes

Long, long ago (in February of this year) Ford started some tomato plants in the greenhouse and just in the last two weeks, we’ve begun harvesting bright, beautiful, red tomatoes.  If you’re a tomato purist, perhaps you withheld entirely from the winter tomatoes in the supermarket because you knew they only bear the resemblance of a tomato but lack the flavor and texture that characterize the beautiful fruit.  The tomatoes we’ll harvest from the field later in the summer will have even more flavor, but for now, enjoy the best tomato you’ve had in several months!

 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