Thursday, August 4, 2011

CSA 2011 - Week 6

Hello! Week six, and suddenly, it's August and we've hit the half-way point in the CSA! Whew! Where does the time go? In your share this week:

summer squash/zukes
slicer and pickling cukes
bunch chard
bunch carrots
2 lbs potatoes - Yukon Golds
broccoli side shoots
sugar snap peas
snow peas
bunch mustard greens
shallots
garlic heads
bag o' basil
Thursday only: green and purple filet beans a.k.a. haricot verts a.k.a skinny-whinny green beans.

flowers: sunflowers, celosia, zinnia
herbs: dill, coriander, lemon basil, thai basil, sage

Mustard greens are sweet and have a tiny bit of tangy heat-- they're great fresh additions to salad or tossed with swiss chard for a cool side. You can also cook them quickly on low heat to get a bit more flavor-- toss some garlic, sesame oil and sesame seeds, and done! Mustard is in the brassica family (cole crops), so we're thinking broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, turnips in terms of the flavor profile.

Your filet beans (which is a fancy way of saying young, super tender green beans) are JUST starting up. I tried for a Tuesday harvest, and they only yielded one serving... which I know that in two weeks, when I'm up to my armpits in picking the some 100 bedfeet of beans spaced at 3", will be a sweet reminder of the importance of timing. They are just coming on-- so Tuesday shares, I'll get you caught up, fear ye not.

Looking ahead, we will start having more green beans, cabbage as the broccoli tapers off, and peppers are about a week-to-two off; tomatoes are still about two weeks off. We will have some green onions next week, as well. The fall crop of broccoli, kale and romanesca cauliflower is looking good, and will get us into September, as well as some later onions and green onions. Later lettuce, bulbing fennel, chard, and beets are all being transplanted today. Herb-wise, expect some parsley, cilantro, and more thyme to start appearing.

You may have noticed that there are some larger pickling cukes and zukes in your shares. What on earth am I supposed to do with THOSE, you may be asking yourselves... And here are some ideas:

+ Scrub and then diagonally slice big cukes to infuse in a jar of cold water in the refridge-- and voila! Cucumber water! Add some lemon basil, and a sprig of mint, and you're set.

+ Big cukes are great for icebox pickles when you peel them, then slice longitudinally (in half, long-wise), scrape out the seeds with a spoon, and let soak in brine in the fridge. No cooking required, they're cheap, and they'll hold for a week in the fridge. You can keep the same brine and just add more cukes as they come in, too.

To make the brine, mix together: 1 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup veg oil, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp white sugar, and 1 thinly-sliced shallot. It's that simple--no shopping required.

You can also add seasonings to flavor as appropriate:

-- I like the classic: 1 tsp celery seed with 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seed
-- Or, take them down the spice route and swap soy sauce for salt, add another tsp sugar, and add 1 tsp curry powder
-- Or make it Japanese Sunomono and swap in rice wine vinegar and soy

+ One more recipe: Green Peak Farm Fresh Veggie Ragout
Okay. So this is not technically a Ragout, as there is no meat, nor heat (typically they're hearty, seasoned meat stews.) I just don't know what else to call it. And, when you look up the etymology of Ragout, like you may do when you're a nerd farmer inside for an early lunch, you will find that the word is "A derivative of the French verb ragoƻter , meaning 'to stimulate the appetite'"(Read More http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry/?id=4171#ixzz1U4ie2qkX This is definitely an appetite stimulant, and can dress up its paler pantry cousins.

Also, this is an almost entirely farm- recipe, save the sundried tomatoes. And oil. And pepper... you know what I mean.

1/5 lb (about 8-9 slices) sundried tomatoes, sliced thin
1 large zucchini, grated
3 green onions or 2 shallots, sliced thin
3 large cukes, unpeeled and halved with seeds scooped out then grated

brine:
1/2 cup good olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons dry/cooking red wine
no salt, as the sundried tomatoes are often salty enough
lots of freshly chopped thyme, dill, lemon basil, basil (to taste)
10-12 turns of black peppercorns
(I'd bet that a light squeeze of anchovy paste would be a delicious addition, if that's the sort of thing you happen to keep in your kitchen...)

In a large bowl, combine grated/sliced veggies with brine and stir well to combine and thoroughly soak veggies. Be amazed as you watch what was once a monster zucchini shrink down to turn into a manageable, delectable garnish.

I'm serving this tonight with pan-fried polenta... and plan on using it tomorrow as a base for a cold bean salad. I'll let you know how it all turns out!

1 comment:

  1. The Thursday share was fabulous! We made a salad of the chard, mustard greens, peas, cukes, and some yellow squash. So, are you on board this coming Friday, August 12, for my birds?

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