2014 CSA Week 2

Aurora Scott greets Somerset CSA members with goodies and a smile!

Greetings fellow CSA members!

I know I'm excited for week 2 and the precious goodies awaiting us for pick up!
I'm still enjoying the beautiful strawberries from last week! So good!
Here are the items Ford and Amanda have for us this week with storage information, and ideas for recipes. Enjoy!
Nancy

In your share this week…

Item	How to store it	How long will it last?
Baby Tatsoi (Asian green)	washed & thoroughly dried or unwashed, in fridge, sealed in container or plastic bag	3-5 days
White cornmeal	Airtight container (such as a zipper seal bag) in the freezer	months
Strawberries	Unwashed in fridge	~2-5 days  (Surely you’ll eat them sooner!)
Mixed herbs: Oregano and Sage	Unwashed in fridge, in sealed bag or container	~1-2 weeks

Tatsoi has small, spoon-shaped, tender leaves that grow in a rosette atop thin, pale green stems. It’s dark, oval leaves and pale green stems are tender and edible and are excellent chopped and served raw in a salad or lightly sauteed.

Cornmeal can be used to coat your fresh fish before pan frying. I want to experiment dipping cauliflower florets and other veggies in this wonderful full texture meal and bake on a lightly sprayed cookie sheet for a healthy snack. I'll let you know how it comes out.

Strawberries - rinse and eat! Love them in organic vanilla yoghurt! Aren't they just beautiful! This photo was taken after I rinsed them. I feel so special eating them, as if Finley picked them just for me!

Herbs add so much flavor in any dish, and I love having them fresh again after using dried herbs all winter. Here's one I found that uses both the fresh oregano and sage. Sounds yummy! Who doesn't love meatloaf! If you don’t think you’ll have time to use the herbs while they are fresh, you can dry it for short term storage just by hanging it upside down in your kitchen.

Meatloaf with fresh sage and oregano

Recipe found at http://cah4el.wordpress.com/2010/09/22/meatloaf-with-fresh-sage-and-oregano/

2 lb. ground beef* (See note below about naturally raised ground beef available from Ford)
1/2 cup cooked brown rice (or white)
3/4 cup finely chopped onion (less if you like)
1/4 c chopped garlic (or as many cloves as you like)
15 -25 fresh sage leaves or more, chopped
30-60 fresh oregano leaves or more, chopped
1/4 cup hot sauce or tomato ketchup
2 eggs (cage free, if you ask the chickens)
Salt and Pepper

Feel free to substitute to personal taste and preference. Add the onions, garlic, chopped herbs, and 1/2 cup of cooked rice, to the ground beef and mix. (No instructions here. You know how it’s done. Ha! Messy!) Then add the two eggs and almost 1/4 cup of hot sauce or tomato ketchup. Also, salt and pepper to taste. Mix again.

After mixing, put the meat into a loaf pan. Bake in an oven at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check after an hour for doneness.

*Note: Ford will have ground beef for sale at the Laurel county farmers market on Saturdays and folks can also buy it at the farm or join their meat CSA if you'd like pastured beef/pork.  The meats are grown all naturally and grass fed. Sounds like a no brainer!