2016 CSA Week 1

Good evening fellow CSA members!

I am so excited to begin this season with all of you. We can rest assured that our crops have been rigorously tested and thoroughly approved this week...



Finley enjoying a fresh strawberry snack.



Silas (and his papaw) in the strawberry patch. Look at those cheeks!
Could even one more fit in his mouth???

Do you think maybe Josiah got caught sneaking a strawberry?

 
I knew -- barring catastrophe -- there'd be strawberries this week. I thought there'd be cornmeal. But I got a surprise in learning we'd have asparagus!

Ford hoped to include asparagus in our first CSA shares last year but the crop matured much earlier than anticipated, and alas... It didn't happen. I'm glad to know we'll have some this week!

Here's the low down on your share:

Produce	Storage	Longevity
strawberries	unwashed, in fridge	2-5 days
cornmeal	sealed in bag or container, in fridge	weeks
asparagus	unwashed, in fridge	2-3 days, or as soon as possible

A note about the cornmeal: Most likely this will not be the only week we have cornmeal in our shares. This week we'll see Hickory King, an old-time white variety of cornmeal. It makes delicious muffins, cornbread, cheese grits, etc. Next time it may be yellow Hickory King. It's the same variety, just a different strain. If you're interested to know more about that, just ask Ford. No matter it's color, I usually just save the cornmeal for cornbread, or to batter future veggies before frying them.

Here are some tried and true recipes from previous seasons:
 
Strawberry Cornmeal Muffins
 
Strawberry Cream Cheese Cobbler
 
Strawberry Basil Water
 
Cornmeal Sandies
 
As for the asparagus, you can steam it or grill it or slather it in butter (my personal favorite). I haven't decided what I am going to do with mine yet. But as soon as I learned we'd be getting it, I decided asparagus would be my first challenge. Johnie doesn't like it, so I'm going to be on the lookout for a recipe he might enjoy (bacon-wrapped might be the winner). I hope to share the results with you later this week.
 
In the meantime, here is a link with five easy ways to prepare asparagus.
 
And, if you're feeling adventurous, choose one of these 22 (fancy) asparagus recipes.
 
As always, Ford, Amanda and I would love to hear from you. We're here to help you make the most of your share.

Have a great week!

2016 CSA Welcome



Ford showing guests the strawberry patch during a farm event while
Farmer Finley picks berries to share

 

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Hello fellow CSA members! I hope you are as excited as I am about getting some of those delicious strawberries next week. Whether you are a first-time or returning member, you are in for a treat this summer!

For those who have been with Sustainable Harvest before, the blog will continue to work as it always has. On Monday evening, before the first shares go out, there’ll be a post about what is contained in that week’s share, storage tips and information. We have several seasons worth of recipes accumulated and will be sure to include links. You’ll also receive at least one email each week from Ford and Amanda, as well as information about upcoming farm events. You can like the Sustainable Harvest Farm Facebook page for various farm updates and super cute pictures of the Waterstrat boys.

There will also be some new additions to the blog this year. First of all, me. My name is Amy.

While this is my first season contributing to the farm blog, it is my third as a CSA member. After a few moves between Kansas and Kentucky, my husband, Johnie, and I were thrilled to settle in London in 2014. Last year we welcomed a sweeter surprise than we could have imagined with the birth of our son, Matthias, in November. I am still adjusting to the many blessings and burdens of motherhood. A self-proclaimed foodie, I grew up in Beattyville, KY in a family that loved and celebrated food and grew a small garden each summer with enough bounty to fill our table and share with neighbors.

I love all food – cooking and eating (not so much cleaning up afterward). But I have a special appreciation for fresh, local produce because of the work and the care that goes into growing it, the reassurance of knowing where it came from and the beauty of safer, gentler farming. And it just tastes better.

I chose to become a member of the Sustainable Harvest Farm CSA because I knew Ford and Amanda since before they were farmers. Amanda since we were children, and Ford… Well, I don’t remember the first time I met him but I heard about him when Amanda’s aunt told me she had started dating a cyclist she met at college. And then shrugged her shoulders. Though schedules and miles have separated us during certain seasons of our lives, I have been blessed to watch their sweet family and farm grow over the years. A CSA share is a great way to get to know your farmers and I know none finer than Ford and Amanda. Except for maybe their oldest son, five year old Finley and his twin brothers – Silas and Josiah.

I may have first become a member because I was excited to share this endeavor with my friends, but I am STILL a member with multiple shares throughout the year because the food is absolutely delicious. It’ll be easy to spot my favorites as the season progresses.

And though I appreciate fresh, local, organic produce I don’t always know what to do with it. More kale leaves than I care to mention have withered away in my crisper along with my best intentions to try some new salad or smoothie or juice. After a colossal fennel failure in 2011, I’ve been afraid to try my hand at any other fennel recipe since. And I married a very picky eater who doesn’t share my same adventurous palate and gusto for trying new dishes, flops or not.

I had to also sneak in a picture of
my boy. This is at an SHF event.
Matthias plays in the dirt for the first
of what I'm sure will be countless times.

Maybe you’re like me and have obstacles to overcome in time and knowledge and other hungry mouths to feed. If so, you may like another change we’re hoping to make with the blog. We hope to add a second post most weeks (look for it around Friday) in which I personally try to tackle new ways to use our shares in my own kitchen with respect to busy schedules, unfamiliarity with some of the items and those who would – let’s be honest -- prefer to be eating chicken nuggets. I’m sure there will be some disappointing experiments, but I am looking forward to some successes, added confidence in the kitchen and discovering some new favorite ways with vegetables.

And, I’m here for you. If you have questions or concerns, I’d be happy to help you in whatever way I can to make the most of your share! If there’s something you’d like to see on the blog this season, let me know.

Some of you may already be well-versed in all things organic and exotic (to us here in Appalachia). If so, help a girl out, please! I sincerely welcome all tips, tricks and recipes. You can email me any time at amyrosekarr@gmail.com.

A CSA share is an adventure. And we’re all in this together.

Here’s to a great 2016 season!

Butternut Squash and Kale Crock Pot Risotto

Crock Pot Butternut Squash and Kale Risotto

2 generous cups of Arborio rice
1/3 c + 2 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 c + 2 Tbsp white wine
6 cloves garlic, minded
1 onion, very finely diced
1.5 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2-3 cups kale leaves, finely choped
6-8 cups cubed butternut squash
48-64 oz chicken broth (depending on the consistency you like, I like very smooth creamy risotto so I usually end up adding all 64 oz)
1 cup Parmesan cheese
*optional - 1-2 lbs crumbled, cooked sausage (preferably from Sustainable Harvest Farm)

Combine everything EXCEPT the cheese and optional sausage and turn the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Twenty minutes before serving, stir in the cheese and sausage, if using.

If you've made risotto using the traditional method of adding broth, 1 cup at a time while you stand over a hot stove, I think you'll be amazed by how easily this recipe produces the same, creamy dish with much less hands-on time.  Enjoy!

2015 CSA Week 16

Greetings all,

I'm feeling very sad this season is coming to a close for the summer bounty from Sustainable Harvest Farm. I feel the healthiest I've ever been from eating all of the wonderful organic goodies the Waterstrat family work hard to provide for us. A big thanks to all who contributed!

Don't forget there are a couple other memberships available.
You can sign up here for the following:

• 5 Month Fall-Winter Veggie Share
• 6 Month Winter Meat Share

In shares this week...

Item	How to store it	How long will it last?
Tomatoes	room temperature	~1 week
Green Beans	unwashed in fridge	3-4 days
Kale or Chard	washed & thoroughly dried or unwashed, in fridge, sealed in container or plastic bag	1-2 weeks
Sweet Corn	shucked or with husks on in the coldest part of your fridge (usually the bottom vegetable crisper)	Enjoy as soon as possible!
Watermelon	fridge	Enjoy right away! Melons are very ripe
Peppers	unwashed in fridge	2-3 weeks
Large bunch of fresh basil	fridge or room temperature	Enjoy as soon as possible!

From Amanda...

We have been saving a little extra of our very best for a CSA grand finale during week 16 as an expression of our gratitude to you for supporting our family farm this summer. Since the middle of May, you have faithfully made the extra effort to pick up your shares and incorporate farm-fresh, unprocessed food into your weekly meals. In our modern world of conveniences, it's no small task to be committed to fresh, local food. You are the real heroes of local agriculture because without a market for our products neither the CSA program or the farm, as we know it, could exist. Please soak up the delicious, final summer harvest. Some excellent recipes are provided below to help you make the most of your final share.

Tomato Bread Pudding
recipe from Edible Ohio Valley, adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis

Butter, for preparing pan
8 oz. challah or brioche, cut into cubes
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large or 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz. cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Salt & pepper
1 packed cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 ½ cups (6oz.) shredded Parmesan
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9x13-inch glass baking dish, add the bread crumbs, set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until slightly soft, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil. Pour the tomato mixture and Parmesan over the bread cubes and combine well.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, 1 tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. pepper until smooth. Pour the custard over the bread mixture and gently toss to coat. Bake in the center of the oven until puffed and golden and the center is firm, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

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Tomato Basil Sorbet
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
6 T minced fresh basil leaves
1 lb tomatoes peeled, cored, cut
½ lemon

In a small pot, bring water to a boil. When boiling, add sugar and let boil for 2 minutes until sugar dissolves. Cool the sugar syrup for a few minutes, then add the minced basil and allow it to steep for 30 minutes. Strain the basil from sugar syrup and set aside. Juice the tomatoes and lemon in a juicer. Combine tomato juice and sugar syrup and set in refrigerator to cool for a few hours or overnight. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions or in an airtight container until firm, at least 3 hours. Serve softly frozen and garnish with fresh basil.

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Garlicky Green Beans food on the food The author of this recipe reports: The kids used to hate green beans prepared this way, but now they love them. We love the basic recipe, but there are lots of variations, too. You can add 1 T of chopped scallions and/or minced fresh ginger. You can add a splash of toasted sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Or you can heat things up with a half teaspoon of sriracha or some sliced fresh chilies. It's all good.
1 lb green beans, trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 T vegetable oil
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp hoisin sauce (or honey)
1 T rice wine or white wine (or water)
1 T finely chopped garlic
Pinch of kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat, and sauté the green beans, tossing occasionally, for about 7 minutes or until they blister and brown in places but are still crisp-tender, not mushy. Remove the green beans to a plate. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and rice wine. Set aside. Add the garlic to the hot pan and stir-fry for about 20 seconds until fragrant but not browning. Add the beans and sauce, and stir until heated through and the sauce reduces to a thick glaze, 1 to 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

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Sweet and Sour Greens from Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert’s Simply In Season, serves 4
1 bunch fresh greens (kale!)
1 medium onion
¼ C dried cranberries or raisins
2 cloves garlic
3 T white or cider vinegar
1 ½ T sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse and pat dry kale. Remove stems and discard. Stack leaves, roll up, and slice in 1 inch strips. Saute onion about 2 minutes in deep frypan in 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add rest of ingredients to pan, cover and cook for 7-8 minutes. Place chopped leaves on top of the mixture, cover and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir and serve.

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These all sound delicious!

It's been a pleasure to publish the weekly blog throughout the 2015 season. I'm looking forward to next year! Hopefully, some of you have been able to can or freeze some of the summer's veggies to have during the cold of winter.

Wishing everyone health and happiness,

Nancy

2015 CSA Week 15

Greetings,

Although I had a wonderful vacation last week, I missed out on two weeks of shares and am really feeling the need for nourishment with SHF organic veggies!

In shares this week...

Item	How to store it	How long will it last?
Tomatoes	room temperature	~1 week
Spaghetti Squash (or Kale)	room temperature	2-4 weeks
Kale (or Spaghetti Squash)	washed & thoroughly dried or unwashed, in fridge, sealed in container or plastic bag	1-2 weeks
Butternut Squash	room temperature	weeks
Melons	fridge or room temperature	Enjoy as soon as possible!

From Amanda...

Depending on the rain and the looks of our kale crop you may receive another spaghetti squash this week or a bunch of kale. The fall greens are beginning to come and and we're pleased to see the return of leafy greens. We hope to provide you with a hint of fall flavor here in the last two weeks of the regular harvest season.

Additionally, we are offering the second of our fall/winter squashes - butternut. This is my absolute favorite fall veggie. It will probably be familiar to many of you, but if you haven't tried it I think you'll fall in love. It has a rich, creamy texture that is as smooth and buttery as the name implies.
Many of our favorite fall/winter dishes include baked, pureed or cubed butternut squash. Since the weather is still warm, you may like it best baked and topped with a hint of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon served as a side dish. You can slice the baked halves into thin wedges for single servings.

The basic recipe is below:
Basic Baked Butternut Squash
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Slice squash length wise, remove seeds, and place, cut-side-down, into a 9x13" baking dish.
Add a bit of water around the squash in the pan (~1/4 to 1/2").
Bake for 60-75 minutes. (Check after 1 hour.)
The flesh should be very tender when pierced with a fork.
Carefully invert the squash and add butter, cinnamon and brown sugar or maple syrup to taste. Slice each half again into 3-4 strips and serve.

If you hold onto this veggie for a few weeks (it will store well for months in a cool, dark location) you can use it to make an amazing souffle or risotto!

Butternut Souffle

Butternut Risotto

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As for me, I'm still enjoying fresh tomatoes which are at their peak of ripeness! A tomato and mayo sandwich tastes so good! Add fresh avocado and/or cheese with leafy greens and it is most definitely an incredible summer dinner, especially now that kids and teachers are back in school.

Enjoy!

Nancy

2015 CSA Week 14

Hello fellow members,

We just have a couple weeks remaining of the season's CSA shares! I hope you are taking advantage of the available grass fed beef and pork that are offered from Sustainable Harvest Farm, too. It's all great stuff!

In shares this week...

Item	How to store it	How long will it last?
Peppers	washed or unwashed in fridge	1-2 weeks
Tomatoes	room temperature	~1 week
Sweet Corn	shucked (my preference) or with husks on in the coldest part of your fridge (usually the bottom vegetable crisper)	Enjoy as soon as possible!
Spaghetti Squash	room temperature	2-4 weeks
Green Beans	unwashed in fridge	3-4 days
Basil	store in an unclosed container in fridge, or snip off bottom of stalks and immerse in water	1-2 weeks

From Amanda...

Amid some of the very best of summer veggies is one new item that whispers, "fall is on the way." Spaghetti squash, the first winter squash of the season, offers a great opportunity for seasonal eaters to transition from summer veggies to hearty fall meals. Here are the basic cooking instructions.
You can bake up a spaghetti squash, fork out the flesh into tender strings that resemble spaghetti noodles and serve it with marinara and cheese and pretend it's a low calorie noodle. That works. ...but there are also some really yummy, slightly more creative approaches. Here's a great recipe with helpful photos from Steamy Kitchen for Baked Spaghetti Squash with Garlic and Butter.

Let us know what you think! How do you do spaghetti squash?

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Sweet Corn

Here's one of the Waterstrat's family favorites that was published in the September 14, 2012 blog:

...We call it “fried corn” on Pistol Creek, but don’t worry, there’s no batter or deep fryer involved. It is best eaten with a big bowl of fresh tomatoes, a few slices of fresh onion, and cornbread. YUM!

“Fried” Corn according to the instructions of my mom (Margie Baker) as passed from her mom (Daisy Johnson)

6 ears of fresh sweet corn, washed, silks removed, patted dry

Option 1 - Leftover batter from a batch of cornbread OR

Option 2 - 2 tsp cornmeal 2 tsp flour

water

milk

1 Tbsp butter
Prepare your corn and set aside.

Option 1 – Stir up a batch of your favorite cornbread, pop it in the oven but DON’T wash the bowl you used to stir up the batter! Instead, cut the kernels of corn into that bowl.

Here’s an important step: once you slice the kernels off all the way down the cob, go back and scrape the cob with your knife to remove the milky residue at the base of the corn kernels. This is a little messy, so you should probably put the bowl you’re cutting the corn into down in your sink because the corn juice goes all over the place. Trust me; this makes all the difference in the world.
Option 2 – Stir together cornmeal, flour and enough water and milk (about half & half) to make a thin batter. Add the corn as described above.

Heat 1 Tbsp butter in a large skillet until melted, then add the corn mixture and cook for 10-15 minutes. Mom says to stir it very often or it will stick! Try not to eat the whole bowl all by yourself if possible.

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Enjoy!
~ Nancy

2015 CSA Week 13

Greetings,

It seems too early to be sending kids off to school, and for Amanda and Ford back to respective universities, but, so it is! There's still summer left and plenty of fresh eating to come!

In shares this week...

Item	How to store it	How long will it last?
Peppers	washed or unwashed in fridge	1-2 weeks
Early Tomatoes	room temperature	~1 week
Cucumbers	washed or unwashed in fridge	1-2 weeks
Summer Squash and Zucchini	unwashed in fridge	1-2 weeks
Melons	fridge or room temperature	Enjoy as soon as possible!
Green Beans	unwashed in fridge	3-4 days
Basil	store in an unclosed container in fridge, or snip off bottom of stalks and immerse in water	1-2 weeks

From Amanda...

This week I'll share some links to nice recipes for the items in your share but rather than focusing on cooking the veggies, a task most of you have mastered far better than me, I'd like to express my thanks to you for supporting small scale, diverse agriculture through your CSA membership in Sustainable Harvest Farm.

Fresh Green Bean recipes from Real Simple

Cheesy Zucchini Enchiladas

Melon and Cucumber Salad

The harvest season is really at it's peak now with such a wide variety of produce coming in daily. We harvested over 8,000 lbs of melon in the last week and have lots more to harvest this week. It's exciting to see so much goodness come from God's blessing on tiny seeds.

Despite our best efforts, however, while one crop grows beautifully and produces a bountiful harvest, other crops wither, rot, or fall victim to pests. This year our white potato crop was a huge disappointment. While digging around in the dirt with my favorite guys was the highlight of my day, from a business standpoint, it was a little disappointing.

That's why we're so thankful that you support our small, scale, diverse farming practices. Because you purchase a membership in our harvest rather than push us to produce enormous quantities of a single crop, we can much more easily sustain the loss of one or two crops in any given season and keep on doing what we love in a way that is kind to the earth. Thank you so much.

Thank YOU, Amanda, Ford, and boys!
~ Nancy