Weekly CSA Newsletter: July 30-August 5, 2006(Week #8)

In This Issue:

1. This week's share may include: ...
2. Pick-Your-Own Crops and Information
3. Note on the Flower Garden
4. Notes from the Field - Turning the Corner
5. Recipes
   • Green Minestrone
   • Greens and Bulghur Gratin
   • Lentil Salad with Tomatoes and Chevre
   • Spaghetti with Zucchini and Lemon
   • Tex-Mex Summer Squash Casserole
   • Beet Rosti with Rosemary
6. Upcoming Events: Third Sunday Gathering August 20th at 4 PM
7. Interesting link
8. CFO Contact Information

1. This week's share may include

• Kale
• Cucumbers
• Summer Squash
• Peppers
• Eggplant
• Tomatoes
• Beets
• Carrots
• Fresh Onions or Scallions

2. Pick-Your-Own Crops

• Beans
• Herbs
• Flowers
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Hot Peppers

All shareholders are invited to pick your own from 9 AM to 7:30 PM on Sundays and from 3 PM to 7:30 PM on Thursdays. Please visit the PYO station near the red shed for locations of crops and all PYO tools and materials.

3. Flower Garden

The flower garden is open for the season! Please harvest flowers carefully to be respectful of the plants and the other shareholders. What you see is what there is -- the flowers are gorgeous, but there are not enough for a huge bouquet each week for each shareholder.

Be creative with your flower picking -- consider harvesting a bouquet for special occasions, or picking one or two favorite blossoms for a simple and striking arrangement. In general, harvest flower stalks as high on the plant as possible to preserve the rest of the plant, but low enough to encourage the plant to branch and create more blossoms. Please use scissors to harvest -- don't break stems and don't pull plants up by the roots.

If you have questions about flower varieties, quantities or harvest techniques, talk to our flower expert, Jen Smith.

4. Notes from the Field

Turning the Corner

The garlic is out of the field, laid out comfortably in the hoophouse to dry, and a new crop of fall cabbage has been planted in its place. We were bent over for an entire steamy Sunday, pulling the seemingly endless rows of aromatic garlic from the ground. Towards the end of the day, Jen looked up, nursing the blister that the stalks had made on her finger, listening to the buzz of the cicadas in the big oak trees at the back of the farm, and said (not what I expected): "I love harvesting garlic."

"You do?" I asked.

"Yes," she said, "it always feels like the turning point of the season. You've won or lost the battles with bugs and weeds, most of the crops are in the ground, and you're on the way to real full-on harvest season."

She's right, of course. The garlic that is curing in the hoophouse is the first big crop to come in out of the fields, to be followed in time by tomatoes, melons, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash and pumpkins, and all the other late-summer and autumn crops that look so promising in the field right now. We have almost finished our final big planting push of the season, thanks to an amazing crew of friends and shareholders who showed up on Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon to help plant broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and collards. Now, we just have to put in cucumbers, summer squash, beets and another round of Swiss chard and fennel. We need to finish stringing up our main crop tomatoes before we start to harvest them in a week or two. We need to weed some tiny carrots, some peppers and some melons in a big way. We need to get into the greenhouse and put in some lettuce and spinach for a fall harvest. We need to turn in our first cucumber and carrot plantings to make some room for a couple of new crops. But once those things are done, our energy will shift into harvest mode, enjoying the fruits of our labor and maybe having enough left at the end of the day to head home and cook some of that food. Harvest mode isn't exactly resting on your laurels, but maybe it's as close as we get before the frost.

Hope you're enjoying the harvest. Walk by the hoophouse and smell the garlic. You'll see it in the share in a couple of weeks. You can see the spot in the field where it used to be, now filled with young cabbage plants that will be harvested in late September and early October. In the morning, the little plants look spangled with dew, and it makes you think of frosty mornings when we arrive just at sunrise with hot coffee. You can see the seeds of the next season in the very height of the current one, and it makes you appreciate the summer all the more. Get ready to turn the corner!

Amanda Cather, for the farm staff

5. Recipes

Green Minestrone

Katherine Glenn

Makes four servings

This is recipe modified from _Rachel Ray's Thirty Minute Meals 2_. My non-vegetarian partner confessed later that he didn't think he would like it. I think leafy greens in general can be off-putting to some, but in the end he raved over it. It is very good, surprisingly flavorful even without the basil or Parmesan. Like most things, it goes well with a crusty bread.

• 2 Tbls extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 3 large cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• salt and pepper
• 1 fifteen-ounce can white cannellini beans, rinsed
• 1 fifteen-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup tiny pasta, like ditalini
• ˝ green beans, broken into one-inch pieces
• 10 ounces kale
• Parmesan cheese
• 16 basil leaves

Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat. Heat oil, and add onions, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and zucchini, and season with salt and pepper. Sautee for five minutes, stirring frequently. Add white beans, garbanzo beans, and vegetable broth, cover, and bring to a boil. Add pasta and green beans and cook about 6 minutes. Stir in kale, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Serve topped with parmesan cheese and basil.

GREENS AND BULGUR GRATIN

Jodi Henderson

• 1/2 cup coarse bulgur
• 2 pounds assorted greens (kale, collards, escarole, swiss chard, mustard)
• 6 large garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup parmesan (about 1 ounce)
• 6 ounces part-skim mozzarella, grated
• 1/2 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

In a heatproof bowl, pour enough boiling water over bulgur to cover by 1 inch. Cover bowl with a plate to trap steam & let stand for 20 minutes.

Drain bulgur in a large sieve, pressing out excess liquid, and transfer to a bowl.

Tear greens into bite-size pieces (keep different varieties separate!); Wash thoroughly.

Put coarser greens (kale or collard) in a large pot & steam in water clinging to leaves, covered, over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 4 minutes.

Add delicate greens (escarole, swiss chard, mustard) to coarser greens & steam, covered, stirring occasionally, until just wilted, 3 - 4 minutes more. Drain greens in a colander, pressing out excess liquid.

In a large heavy skillet, cook garlic in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until softened but not golden; stir in greens & bulgur and season generously with salt & pepper. Stir in parmesan & remove from heat.

Lightly oil 1 1/2 quart gratin dish. Spread half the greens in dish & sprinkle with mozzarella. Spread remaining greens mixture over mozzarella & smooth top. (Gratin may be prepared up to this point 8 hours ahead & chilled, covered.)

Make topping: in a small bowl with a fork, stir together bread crumbs & oil until crumbs are evenly moistened. Sprinkle over greens; bake in 400 degree oven 30 minutes.

Serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side dish. Source unknown!

LENTIL SALAD WITH TOMATOES AND CHEVRE

Jodi Henderson

• 1 cup French green lentils (you can use the regular brown ones, too, but these hold their shape better)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/3 cups diced, seeded, peeled cucumber
• 2/3 cup diced, seeded tomatoes
• 1/3 cup chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 large garlic clove, minced (optional)
• 6 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, chilled

Cook lentils in medium pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 25 minutes. Drain well. Combined vinegar, shallot, and mustard in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season with salt & pepper. Add lentils. Let stand until cool.

Add cucumber, tomatoes, onion, dill, parsley, and garlic to lentils.

Cover & chill 1 hour.

Before serving, crumble goat cheese over salad & mix gently to combine.

From Gourmet magazine.

SPAGHETTI WITH ZUCCHINI AND LEMON

Jodi Henderson

• 1 pound spaghetti or linguini
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 - 8 small zucchini, sliced (about 4 cups)
• dash of salt & ground black pepper
• juice of 1 lemon
• 6 large fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
• 1 - 2 cups grated Pecorino cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions; while that's going on, heat the olive in a large, heavy skillet. Add the garlic & zucchini, and sautee on medium-high until zucchini begins to brown. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Add the lemon juice & basil. Stir & remove from heat.

Drain pasta & toss the hot pasta in a large serving bowl with 1 cup of the cheese. Top with the zucchini.

Serves 4.

From Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home.

Tex-Mex Summer Squash Casserole

Anne LaFleur, from Eating Well magazine, Summer 2004

This has to bake for quite a while, but it's easy and I like it because it's a very different way to use summer squash; not just the same old Italian spices and Parmesan.

• 2 1/4 pounds summer squash, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups)
• 2/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 4.5-oz can chopped green chilies
• 1 4.5-oz can chopped jalapenos (about 1/2 cup), drained
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 1/4 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese (about 7 oz), divided
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup mild salsa
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Combine squash, onion, chiles, jalapenos, salt and 3/4 cup cheese in a large bowl. Sprinkle with flour; toss to coat. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan and cover with foil.
3. Bake the casserole until it is bubbling and the squash is tender, 35-45 minutes. Spoon salsa onto the casserole and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Bake, uncovered, until golden and heated through, 20-30 minutes. When ready to serve, sprinkle with scallions and red onion.

6 servings

Beet Roesti with Rosemary

Anne LaFleur: "This is the recipe that made me a convert to beets. Quick, easy, and HEAVENLY." from Mark Bittman's _How to Cook Everything

• 1 to 1.5 pounds beets
• 1 tsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 Tbs butter

1. Trim the beets and peel them as you would potatoes; grate them in a food processor or by hand. Begin preheating a medium to large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
2. Toss the grated beets in a bowl with the rosemary and salt, then add about half the flour; toss well, add the rest of the flour, then toss again.
3. Place the butter in the skillet and heat until it begins to turn nut-brown. Scrape the beet mixture into the skillet, shape it into a nice circle, and press it down with a spatula. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the bottom of the beet cake is nicely crisp, 6-8 minutes. Slide the cake out onto a plate, top with another plate, invert the two plates, and slide the cake back into the pan. Continue to cook, adjusting the heat if necessary, until the second side is browned. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

4 servings

7. Upcoming events

Sunday, August 20th, 4:00 pm Third Sunday Gathering

Third Sunday Gatherings The third Sunday of every month we host an informal gathering of members, shareholders and supporters. This is a chance to connect with other farm-friendly folks. The gatherings are scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM. Meet near the distribution shelter. Third Sunday Gatherings begin in May and are held through the third Sunday in October. The Third Sunday of November is CFO's Annual Meeting and Potluck.

Interesting Link

Hi,
You might want to profile this new magazine in one of the newsletters. I heard about it on WBUR and have just subscribed. http://www.ediblecommunities.com/members/boston/

Sara Iverson

9. Contact Information

• Farm Staff: csainfo@communityfarms.org
• Meg Coward: megcoward@communityfarms.org
• Volunteer Coordinators: volunteer@communityfarms.org
• Newsletter Submissions: soosting@yahoo.org
• CFO Board of Directors: board@communityfarms.org

Community Farms Outreach is a nonprofit organization dedicated to farmland preservation, hunger relief, and education.