2015 CSA Week 3

Hello all,
I hope everyone enjoyed the Memorial Day weekend and all the fresh goodies from the farm!

Don't forget about the upcoming Farm Tour on June 13!

In shares this week...

Item	How to store it	How long will it last?
kale	washed & thoroughly dried or unwashed, in fridge, sealed in container or plastic bag	1-2 weeks
salad greens	washed & thoroughly dried or unwashed, in fridge, sealed in container or plastic bag	1-2 weeks
strawberries	unwashed in fridge	2-5 days
salsa	store in fridge after opening	1-2 weeks

From Amanda...

I think this week screams "Green Smoothie!"  ...so here's a recipe I found and liked that uses the kale and strawberries as well as coconut oil.

Strawberry Kale Green Smoothie

Author: Skinny Mom's Kitchen

Ingredients
2 cups frozen strawberries
2 cups fresh kale
½ cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 banana, optional for sweetness
1 – 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup, optional for sweetness
water to reach consistency like.


Instructions
Place all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. If needed add water till you get the consistency you want.

Make Ahead Instructions

You can make a smoothie freezer kit by putting the strawberries, kale, and yogurt into a freezer bag. Take out the night before and let thaw slightly in the refrigerator. Put in blender with rest of the ingredients and blend till smooth.

Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 smoothie (makes about 3 cups) Calories: 441 Fat: 32 Carbohydrates: 41 Fiber: 10 Protein: 6

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Ford's Famous Kale Chips (photo below)

Utilize everything in your share in one fun dish! You'll want to save the strawberries though for the dessert recipe found below that Amanda said is AMAZING! :-)

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Strawberry Cream Cheese Cobbler

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Strawberry-Cream-Cheese-Cobbler/

Submitted By: Nauntie; Photo By: Ruizaid; Prep Time: 15 Minutes; Cook Time: 30 Minutes;  Ready In: 45 Minutes; Servings: 12;

"Fresh strawberries and cream cheese are a naturally delicious combination in this cobbler-like dessert."

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh strawberry halves
1 (4 ounce) package cream cheese, cut
into small pieces

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Pour melted butter into the bottom of a 9x13-inch glass baking dish.
3. Mix milk, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl; pour over the butter in the baking dish. Arrange strawberry halves in a layer into the baking dish. Dot the strawberries with the cream cheese pieces.
4. Bake in preheated oven until top is golden brown and edges are bubbling, 30 to 45 minutes.

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If you have any recipes and photos you'd like to share from the week's bounty, feel free to send them to me and I'll include them in the blog! nanjp10@gmail.com

Happy Summer!
~Nancy

2015 CSA Week 2

Hello all,

I think this is one of my favorite times of year when we can enjoy fresh greens from the garden. My body seems to crave the rich nutrients after a long cold winter of deprivation.

And, strawberries! Words can't describe the most wonderful sweetness and flavor that bursts from this heart shaped fruit from Sustainable Harvest Farm! I'm sure Finley has been busy as a little bee picking these just for us! Thanks, Fin!

In shares this week...

Item	How to store it	How long will it last?
kale (Thursday pu)	washed & thoroughly dried or unwashed, in fridge, sealed in container or plastic bag	1-2 weeks
spring mixed salad greens (Saturday pu)	washed & thoroughly dried or unwashed, in fridge, sealed in container or plastic bag	1-2 weeks
sweet potatoes (Th + Sa pu)	unwashed in fridge	1-2 weeks
strawberries (Th + Sa pu)	unwashed in fridge	2-5 days
cornmeal (Th + Sa pu)	store in fridge, sealed in container or plastic bag	weeks

From Amanda...

This week your share contains the perfect combination for a stellar salad!  Everyone will be receiving some type of spring green (kale or spring mix) along with sweet potatoes, strawberries and cornmeal. 

If you’ve never tried a fresh spring salad topped with roasted sweet potato fries and/or fresh strawberries with balsamic vinaigrette and feta cheese, this is the time to try both!  Here’s a great version of a spring strawberry salad from www.pickycook.com. 

If you’d like a hearty side to go along with your salad, you can use the cornmeal to whip up your very own polenta like this recipe from the same website: Soft Polenta with Grilled Vegetables.

A similar salad recipe with crisp fries can be found on our blog from this 2013 post: Tatsoi, Sweet Potato, Feta and Walnut Salad.  This one used a green called Tatsoi but you can use any spring green as a base for this hearty salad!

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Fellow CSA member, Amy Rose Karr, wanted to share how she and her husband also enjoy the strawberries. From Amy...

"My husband and I receive a weekly CSA share and I noticed you asked for recipe ideas for how we use our shares. Well, I thought I would pass along this one (which isn't really much of a recipe). The strawberries are really hard to not just gobble up all by themselves, but one thing my husband and I enjoy doing with them is making strawberry basil water. Simply cut up a few strawberries, drop them in a pitcher with some basil leaves and fill the pitcher with water. I try to press the leaves against the side of the pitcher with the back of a spoon to help muddle the leaves or release the basil flavor a little. Refrigerate for a few hours and it's ready to go. It's refreshing and delicious. You can also refill the pitcher one or two times, depending on how fast you drink the water and how strong you want the strawberry basil flavor. Anyway, not sure if that is something you can share on the blog or not. People probably don't need very many ideas on how to eat more strawberries. Haha."
Thanks Amy! I'm definitely going to make this!

Feel free to share more ideas and photos!

Enjoy the Memorial Day weekend!
~Nancy

2015 CSA Week 1

Greetings fellow CSA members, and welcome back for another wonderful season of fresh organic produce from our friends at Sustainable Harvest Farm! If you are a new member, you are in for a real treat!

My name is Nancy Phelps. Amanda and Ford Waterstrat have asked me to continue posting the weekly blog this season, and I am honored and happy to do so! If anyone has anything else to add or want to share photos and your own recipes, please send me the information and I will gladly include it! My email address is nanjp10@gmail.com.

Amanda has asked that I share the date for this year's Annual Farm Tour, that will be Saturday, June 13. You won't want to miss this opportunity to meet the family (or, see how those boys have grown since last year!) and see how your food is lovingly produced. More information will be provided closer to the date.

The Farm Tour is Saturday June 13. Check out the farm and get to know your farmers! ...and, maybe even a few pigs.

Planting: Many of the crops you'll be enjoying this month were planted in March with the help of our family.

Now, for this first week's share, Ford has asked me to let you know there is an abundance of strawberries, so there will be extras in our shares!

This week...

Item	How to store it	How long will it last?
Strawberries	Unwashed in fridge	2-5 days
Salad Greens or Kale	washed & thoroughly dried or unwashed, in fridge, sealed in container or plastic bag	1-2 weeks
Corn Meal	store in fridge, sealed in container or plastic bag	weeks

Strawberries
These won't last at my house long enough to add to a recipe, as I plan to enjoy them rinsed and eaten in their sweet natural state, but Ford asked to include one of his favorite recipes that includes corn meal found in your share as well...

Berry Cornmeal Muffins
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/berry-cornmeal-muffins/

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes    Ready In: 40 Minutes
Servings: 12

"Very refreshing, fruity and delicious! These muffins will bring a smile to anyone's day! Share them with someone you love. You may substitute raspberries or blueberries for the strawberries if you wish and feel free to use either naturally flavored strawberry, banana, or vanilla yogurt."

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt    2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
1 (8 ounce) container naturally flavored
strawberry yogurt
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten

DIRECTIONS:
1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups or use paper liners.
2.    In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl gently toss strawberries in 1/2 cup of flour mixture.
3.    Whisk yogurt, melted butter, and egg together. Stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Fold in strawberries. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
4.    Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Kale and Salad Greens
Use in salads with your favorite toppings and dressing.
We all know how nutritious these greens are. Here is some information on Massaged Kale Salad.
http://nutritionstripped.com/massaged-kale-salad/

Massaging basically is a process of breaking down the kale to make it more easy to digest.

INSTRUCTIONS:
De-stem the kale leaves from the stem by simply placing your index finger and middle finger (in the shape of a claw), and "claw" down the center of the leaf to de-stem while simultaneously pulling the leaf away from you with your other hand.
In a large bowl, combine the de-stemmed kale leaves with the remaining ingredients.
Lightly pour an additional 1 tsp. of olive oil onto your hands to coat.
Using a massaging action (similar to kneading bread dough), start to tear the leaves apart and massage.
Continue massaging for about 2-5 minutes or until the leaves are softened, the leaves will also turn a more vibrant green.
Use this as a salad base or add toppings of your choice for a complete meal in a bowl.

Cornmeal
In addition to the awesome strawberry muffin recipe found above, Ford has another to share. These sound so yummy!

CORNMEAL SANDIES
1 cup butter, softened 2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla  ¼ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt  ½ cup yellow cornmeal
1 ½ cups flour  3 teaspoons shredded orange peel
2 teaspoons shredded lemon peel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter for about 30 seconds and then beat in the sugar, eggs, and fruit peels.  Beat in the vanilla.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal and salt.  Slowly mix with the butter mixture until a cohesive ball of dough forms.  Using a one ounce scoop, or tablespoon, roll the dough into ¾ inch balls.  Place 1 inch apart on a greased baking sheet.  Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand.   Bake 10 – 12 minutes.  Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet.  Cool on rack. 
Makes 3 dozen cookies.