Wednesday, October 29, 2008

CSA Harvest #25

Hi Everyone!! I hope this new blog format works out for all of you. I was feeling uninspired after 24 weeks of using the email. Whew! We have been hitting it hard since we looked at the weather forecast for the next week and it just showed rain, rain, rain- oh yeah, I was forgetting I lived in Oregon!
We have completed our garlic beds, mulched them heavily in newspaper (to keep weeds down) and then on top of the newspaper straw so they will keep warm thru the upcoming winter. Straw also helps to conserve soil moisture and block the weeds from growing as well.
Tuesday we had the wonderful help from our youthful and energetic volunteers the Burkhert kids. They helped us to pull out frost damaged plants and add to our ever growing compost mountain, pull up weed mat, roll weed mat and help to clear beds to plant cover crop. Michael is our oldest volunteer at 16 with a keen interest in photography. Hopefully each week that he comes out we will get new photos to add to our new blog!
Thank you to all of you who responded to my email from yesterday. We would like to know if you will join us again next year as we will need to know how much recruiting to do. If you have friends, family or co-workers whom you think may be interested please pass along our blog address or my email so they can contact us. I have found that word of mouth is the best form of advertising!
I must admit there are days farming (for me) when the weather is uncooperative, my back or knees hurt, I worry if my debit card will clear when I go to purchase something and I wonder why I chose farming to make a tough living. But then there are those days that are perfect, the sun is warm on my back, the geese come flying thru the canyon, and very thankful CSA members greet us with smiles every Thursday and I remember why all the discomfort is worth it! So thank you again for all your words of encouragement and friendship- it has been great getting to know each of you!

Peace
Suzie, Asinete, M.A. , Robin, Violet and the Burkhert Kids!!

This Week's Harvest Will Include:

Tomatillos

Braeburn Apples

Butternut Winter Squash

Golden Acorn Winter Squash

Turnips (they have done great!)

Cilantro

Potatoes


Garlic

Green Tomatoes (we included some more recipes!)

Baby Greens

Daikon Radish (long white taproot)

The Daikon Radish is delicious sliced into your salad and use just as you would any other type of radish.


Braised Daikon


1 1/2 pounds fresh daikon peeled and diced

2 TBSPS light cooking oil

1 tsp sugar

1 1/2 TBSPS soy sauce

Put daikon in saucepan, cover with water, and boil for 5 minutes. Drain well. Heat skillet, add oil, and stir-fry daikon 2 minutes. Add sugar and soy sauce, stir-fry another minute. Add 1/4 cup water, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until daikon is tender but not mushy, about 30 minutes. Serve hot. 4 servings

Curried Green Tomatoes (recipe courtesy of CSA member Renee- thank you!!)

one onion
garlic (how much depends on how much you love garlic)
olive oil (enough to saute the onion and garlic)
green tomatoes
curry (couple tablespoons)
salt/pep to taste
parsley (if you want)
turkey sausage (if you want)
can of garbanzo beans (if you want)

saute garlic, onion, curry in olive oil. cut up the green tomatoes and add all of them. cook for a while. if you want, add the garbanzos or turkey sausage. serve over brown rice or quinoa. yum,

Roasted Butternut Squash, Rosemary and Garlic Lasagna from myrecipes.com (sounds labor intensive but well worth it!)
This dish is easy to divide into make-ahead steps. Roast squash and prepare white sauce the night before, then layer lasagna up to six hours before the party. Just before guests arrive, top with cream and the last layering of Parmesan cheese, then bake.
Yield
8 servings
Ingredients
8 1/4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 3 pounds)
Cooking spray
4 cups fat-free milk, divided
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (8-ounce) package precooked lasagna noodles
3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided
1/2 cup whipping cream
Preparation
Preheat oven to 450°.
Arrange butternut squash in a single layer in a large roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Coat squash with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 25 minutes or until squash is just tender, stirring once. Set aside.
Lower oven temperature to 350°.
Combine 3 1/2 cups milk and rosemary in a 1-quart glass measuring cup, and microwave at high 5 minutes or until mixture begins to boil. Let stand 10 minutes. Strain milk through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard rosemary.
Lightly spoon all-purpose flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and remaining 1/2 cup milk, stirring flour mixture with a whisk until well blended to form a slurry.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute or until tender, stirring constantly. Stir in steeped milk, and increase heat to medium-high. Gradually add slurry to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 15 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Combine milk mixture and squash, tossing gently.
Spread about 1 1/2 cups squash mixture into the bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over squash mixture; top with 2 cups squash mixture and 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat layers once with 3 noodles, 2 cups of squash, and 1/4 cup of cheese. Top with 3 noodles.
Beat whipping cream and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt with mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Spread the whipping cream mixture over noodles; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Cover with foil coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until golden. Let stand 10 minutes.

Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash and Shallots from myrecipes.com

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup pasta, 3/4 cup squash mixture, and 1 tablespoon cheese)
Ingredients
3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8 shallots, peeled and halved lengthwise (about 1/2 pound)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
4 ounces uncooked pappardelle (wide ribbon pasta) or fettuccine
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Preparation
Preheat oven to 475°.
Combine the squash, sugar, 2 1/2 teaspoons oil, salt, pepper, and shallots in a jelly roll pan; toss well. Bake at 475° for 20 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in sage.
While the squash mixture bakes, cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Place cooked pasta in a bowl. Add 2 teaspoons oil; toss well. Serve the squash mixture over pasta. Sprinkle with cheese.
Nutritional Information
Calories:
248 (29% from fat)
Fat:
7.9g (sat 2g,mono 4.5g,poly 0.8g)
Protein:
7.1g
Carbohydrate:
39.4g
Fiber:
5.2g
Cholesterol:
5mg
Iron:
1.4mg
Sodium:
713mg
Calcium:
137mg
Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2001


Tomatillos (in case you forgot!)

Storage tips: Store at room temp, with husk on, for up to 2 weeks (do not store in plastic bag)

Salsa Verde (Green Tomatillo Salsa) adapted from Rick Bayless's "Mexico- One Plate at a Time"
8 ounces (5-6 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
Fresh, hot green chilies to taste (rooughly 2 serrano peppers or 1 jalapeno) stemmed
5-6 sprigs cilantro (thick stems removed) roughly chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
salt

Roast the tomatillos and chiles on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler until darkly roasted, even blackened in spots for about 5 minutes. Flip them over and roast the other side- 4 to 5 minutes more will give you splotchy- black and blistered tomatillos and chiles that are soft and cooked thru. Cool and then transfer everything to a blender including all the delicious juice that has run out onto the baking sheet. Add the cilantro and 1/4 cup water, blend to a coarse puree and scrape into a serving dish. Rinse the onion under cold water, then shake to remove the excess moisture. Stir into the salsa and season with salt (1/4 tsp). Enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips!

No comments: