We made it!! You managed to eat your way through 26 weeks of Big Lick Farm produce! Pat yourselves on the back (and the tummy!)
We still have quite a few more things out in the field so if you are still excited to face more fresh produce each week you can respond to our weekly emails after Thanksgiving week is over. We will be sending out an availability list every Monday and you can email us back and let us know what you'd like from the list. We would like to have $10 minimum orders to make it worthwhile. We will have things like carrots, beets, red and green cabbage, kale, chard, cauliflower, butternut squash, delicata squash, and eggs. We will put together orders and wait for your pick up at Bi-Mart in Roseburg, pick up at farm or in Myrtle Creek for those of you in the south county. Winter is always a challenging time financially for a farmer so we are going to see if this idea helps us out at all.. and helps you and your family to keep eating in season and locally!
As Thanksgiving approaches we want to let you know how thankful we are here at Big Lick for all the support we've had these last two years. From our awesome volunteer trio, to other farmers in the area who have taken us under their wing (Scott and Cindy Phillips and Norm and Cinda Lehne) and to each of you for your support! We do look forward to 2010 with renewed energy and dreams on how we can make our CSA program even more successful. One large step we will be taking this coming spring will be to put in over 2,000 strawberry plants. We know they'll be a favorite CSA item and also we can hopefully do well on them at farmers market.
We hope you will all stay with us in 2010 as we continue to grow!
We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
Suzie, Asinete, MA, Violet, and Robin~
The Last Week's Harvest Includes:
Lehne Leeks
Nantes Carrots
Bulls Blood Beets
Kale OR Rainbow Chard
Butternut Squash
Delicata Squash
Shallots
Cabbage (may include Chinese, red or green)
Lehne Italian Parsley
Sage and Thyme for your Thanksgiving seasoning!
Some Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas for your goodies:
Italian Chard Stuffing from Sunset Magazine (tried and true! Friends and family loved it!)
Time: 1 1/2 hours. If we could have only one other dish besides turkey for Thanksgiving, this would be it: Hunks of juicy sausage, good bread, and lots of chard—a stuffing that works as a side dish too. Former Sunset food editor Jerry Anne Di Vecchio got it from her mother-in-law, and it's just as appealing now as it was 42 years ago.
Yield: Serves 16 (makes 12 cups)
Ingredients
* 3/4 loaf (3/4 lb.) French bread
* 1 1/2 cups nonfat milk
* 2 pounds Italian sausages
* 1 cup chopped parsley
* 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
* 1 1/2 pounds green Swiss chard, stem ends trimmed, coarsely chopped
* 1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
* 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
* 1/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
* 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
* Salt
Preparation
1. Cut bread into 1/2-in. slices. Place slices in a large bowl and add milk. Mix gently with a spoon to saturate with milk and let stand about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, place a 6- to 8-qt. pot over high heat. Squeeze sausages from casings into pot. Discard casings. Cook meat, stirring often to crumble, until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes; discard fat. Add parsley, garlic, onion, and celery. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Add chard and 1/2 cup water and cook, stirring often, until wilted, about 5 minutes.
3. With your hands, squeeze bread slices to break them into tiny pieces. Add cooked meat mixture, parmesan, basil, sage, and rosemary. Season with salt to taste.
4. Preheat oven to 325° or 350° (use temperature turkey requires; see Note below). Spoon stuffing into a shallow 3-qt. (9- by 13-in.) casserole. For moist stuffing, cover with foil; for crusty stuffing, do not cover. Bake until hot (at least 150° in center) or lightly browned, at least 30 minutes.
Make ahead: Up to 1 day ahead, make stuffing, put in casserole, cover, and chill. Allow about 1 hour to bake.
Note: For turkeys 10-13 lbs., oven/bbq temperature should be 350°; for turkeys 14 lbs. and over, oven/bbq temperature should be 325°.
Note: Nutritional analysis is per 3/4-cup serving.
Nutritional Information
Calories:
318 (59% from fat)
Protein:
15g
Fat:
21g (sat 8.3)
Carbohydrate:
16g
Fiber:
1.6g
Sodium:
815mg
Cholesterol:
51mg
Butternut Ravioli with Sage-Brown Butter Sauce (next on the must try list!)
Prep Time:
20 Min
Cook Time:
1 Hr
Ready In:
1 Hr 20 Min
Makes 8 Servings
Ingredients
* 1 large butternut squash - halved lengthwise, peeled and seeded
* 2 teaspoons butter
* salt and ground black pepper to taste
* 1/2 teaspoon allspice
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
* 50 wonton wrappers
* 1 teaspoon egg white, lightly beaten
* Sauce
* 1/4 cup unsalted butter
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves
* salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place the squash cut side up on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon butter in the hollow of each half. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the squash with a sheet of aluminum foil tucking in the edges.
3. Bake squash in preheated oven until tender and easily pierced with a fork, 45 to 65 minutes.
4. Scoop the cooked squash into a bowl, and mash until smooth. Mix in the allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and Parmesan cheese until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Fill a deep pot with lightly salted water and bring to a boil.
6. To make the ravioli, place a wonton wrapper on a clean, flat surface. Brush edges with the egg white. Place about 1 tablespoon of the squash mixture in the middle of the wonton. Cover with a second wonton wrapper. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers and squash mixture until all have been used.
7. Drop the ravioli into the boiling water, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Remove, drain, and keep warm until sauce is prepared.
8. To make the sauce, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the sage. Continue to cook and stir until the sage is crispy but not browned. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place 6 to 8 raviolis on serving plates, and drizzle with sauce.
Gingered Butternut Squash Pie~ from Martha Stewart
Ingredients
Serves 10
* FOR THE CRUST
* 24 ginger snaps (6 ounces)
* 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
* 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
* FOR THE FILLING
* 1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
* 3 large eggs
* 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
* 1/2 cup half-and-half
* 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* FOR THE GARNISH
* Crystallized ginger, cut into matchsticks
Directions
1. For the crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, combine gingersnaps and sugar; process until finely ground. Add oil and pulse until crumbs are moistened. Transfer mixture to a 9-inch pie plate and press into bottom and up sides. Bake until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
2. For the filling, set a steamer basket in a large saucepan, and fill with 1 inch of water; bring to a boil. Place squash in pan, cover, and steam until tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool.
3. Place squash in food processor and process until very smooth, about 1 minute. Add eggs, brown sugar, half-and-half, fresh ginger, salt, and nutmeg; process until smooth. Place cooled crust on a rimmed baking sheet and pour filling into crust. Bake until set, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool 1 hour at room temperature, then refrigerate to cool completely, at least 1 hour. Garnish with crystallized ginger.
From Body+Soul, November 2008
For all you fellow pesto lovers try whipping up a batch of pesto with your Italian Parsley bunch:
Parsley Pesto:
Most people imagine Basil when they hear the word pesto. But you can make pesto with other herbs as well. Parsley has a bit more kick, offsetting heavy flavors with a bit more excitement than the subtle sweetness of basil
1 cup De-stemmed Italian Parsley
2 tbsps. Lemon Juice
0.25 cups Pine Nuts, toasted
1 Garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. Olive Oil
0.25 tsp. Sea Salt
1) Heat pine nuts in a dry pan on medium heat until browned, being careful not to burn. Cool on a plate.
2) Remove parsley leaves from stems.
3) Once pine nuts have cooled, combine all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth.
4) Serve.
Honey Glazed Baby Carrots
2-3 cups small baby carrots (pre-peeled)
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
fresh minced parsley and/or chives
In a medium skillet, melt butter. Add brown sugar, honey, nutmeg and cinnamon; mix together. Add Carrots. Cover; cook on medium low to medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When finished cooking, the carrots should be firm, not mushy.
Remove from skillet and sprinkle with fresh parsley and/or chives. Serve.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
CSA Harvest # 25~ 1 more to go!!
Hey there fellow veggie lovers! Can it really be almost the end of our second CSA season?? Please note that the last CSA delivery for this season will be this coming Monday at the same time as always. We ask that you please bring bags with you as we do not want to have to track down the baskets if you take them home again. To make it much simpler on ourselves.. if you are planning on joining us again next year we would like to just hang onto the $10 basket deposit you gave us. If you feel like you will not be joining us again please contact us via email and let us know so we can send deposit back in your basket on Monday.
This week we are fortunate to have some beautiful shallots and parsnips grown by friend, CSA farmer and writer Zoe Bradbury. Zoe wrote the article a few weeks back on the status of migrant farm workers in Oregon. Zoe, her mom and sister run a beautiful farm over on the south coast out of Langlois. Asinete and I went over there Monday to see their operation and find out a few tricks of the trade. As we joyously pulled parsnips out of the cold mud and lifted rocks out of the field it dawned on me how much more enjoyable it is to work on someone else's farm for awhile! We left the coast with the wind at our backs and a truckload full of beautiful golden shallots and white javelin parsnips. Worry not as these beauties have been grown with pure love and no chemicals. Zoe (like us) grows organically but does not feel the need to become certified as she only sells locally. We hope you enjoy some of the bounty of Valley Flora Farm this week!
As for our own fields we had planted enough cauliflower for everyone a few months ago and most of it is still not ready. There may be just enough for those of you who are getting a full share. Also as Asinete and I dug the carrots today that were coated in a thick layer of mud we could not see that many of them have the mark of the dreaded wire worm. The wire worm is a segmented critter that lives in the soil an particularly loves to tunnel into roots and tubers (remember the little holes on some of your taters?) The carrots are as sweet and crunchy as ever, they just may not be quite as pretty. Also we will be sure you all get a large "going away" bunch in your last CSA share Monday.
If you are like us (procrastinators) and you still have not planned out your Thanksgiving meal please remember that we have a local, heritage, pasture raised turkey farmer in our midst. His name is Karey Olson and with his wife they run B&K Natural Poultry out of Sutherlin. I just talked with him today and they still have turkeys available. They are very reasonably priced for heritage birds ($3.50/lb) and you know they had a great life eating bugs and fresh grass. They will be delivering dressed birds this Tuesday for pick up at Kruse Market off Garden Valley. Call them to reserve a bird and keep your food dollars local~ (541) 459-0830.
Turkey season reminds me of my second year running a CSA farm in rural Monterey County. I decided to supplement my farming income by raising 30 heritage turkeys (bourbon reds, Narraganset, royal palm) I lived in school housing (as a teacher) and decided my back yard would be the perfect turkey pen. Everything went well the first 5 months and then as November neared the rain started falling early in California and my fancy turkeys did not have shelter. Turkeys are notorious for drowning in the rain as they look up in the sky to see where the water is coming from. I was not going to let my turkeys drown! So I did what any caring turkey mother would do..I let them into my garage. I'll never forget the look on the school principle's face when he was checking the school houses one day. He thankfully did not look in the garage.. but when he closed the front door thirty turkeys in the garage gobbled goodbye to him at once. He knew me well enough to not ask any questions! The beautiful turkeys did make it to the tables of many of our CSA members with one reprieve.. Miss Thang.. a little white midget turkey that was pretty much the boss of all the others and decided I was her mate. She was adopted by a vegetarian family and had a wonderful life. And I have been wise enough to never try raising turkeys again! So thank you B&K Natural Poultry for filling that niche in Douglas County.
We hope you will be able to eat your way through this week's basket to make room for Monday's bounty!
Thank you!
Suzie, Asinete, M.A, Violet & Robin
This Week's Harvest Includes:
Valley Flora Shallots
Valley Flora Parsnips
Baby Joi Choi
Carrots
Daikon Radish
Butternut Squash
Red or Green Cabbage (these will store well. We have so many in the field!)
Rosemary (for recipe below)
Storage Onion
Parsnips!
The parsnip looks like a white, overgrown carrot. It is sweet with a texture like a sweet potato and can be eaten raw or cooked. They are wonderful in soups and stews as well as roasted or mashed like potatoes. Parsnips are loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber.
Recipe Ideas for your Parsnips:
Sauteed Parsnips with Carrots, Honey and Rosemary~ from Epicurious
yield: Makes 8 servings
To add richness, sauté three ounces sliced pancetta until crisp; crumble over before serving.
Ingredients
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 pound carrots (about 4 large), peeled, cut into 3x1/4x1/4-inch sticks
* 1 pound large parsnips, peeled, halved lengthwise, cored, cut into 3x1/4x1/4-inch sticks
* Coarse kosher salt
* 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
* 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
Preparation
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots and parsnips. Sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Sauté until vegetables are beginning to brown at edges, about 12 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
Add butter, rosemary, and honey to vegetables. Toss over medium heat until heated through and vegetables are glazed, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if desired.
FROM OUR TEST KITCHEN: Carrots can take a bit longer to cook than parsnips, so if the carrots are large and mature, sauté them for a minute or two to soften slightly before adding the parsnips.
Pureed Roasted Parsnips
The easiest way to prepare parsnips is to slice them, steam them, and dress with butter and salt. However, to get the fullest, richest flavor from the parsnips, they should be roasted. The browning caramelizes the natural sugars in the parsnips. In this recipe we first roast the parsnips with some butter, then purée them with added water. It's quite simple, but if you've never had parsnips this way, you're in for a treat.
Ingredients
2 lbs parsnips, peeled, stringy cores removed, chopped (about 1 1/2 pounds after removing cores)
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 cup water
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Peel parsnips, make a cut off the top of the fat end of each parsnip. This will show you extent of the inner core. Often this core is stringy and woody, especially at the larger end of the parsnip. When you are prepping the parsnips, cut around this core.
2 Place chopped parsnips in a medium sized bowl, add the melted butter and stir to coat. Lay out the parsnips on a roasting pan in a single layer. Roast in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, at 400°F, until lightly golden, turning the parsnips once half-way through the cooking.
3 Put cooked parsnips into a blender or food processor. Add 1 1/2 cups water, and pulse until puréed to the desired consistency. Add more water if necessary. Add nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4.
Shallots
Shallots are in the onion family just like garlic although they have a taste all their own that is highly prized by chefs. Shallots probably originated in Asia, traveling from there to India and the eastern Mediterranean. The name “shallot” comes from Ashkelon, presently a city in Israel, where people in classical Greek times believed shallots originated.
Purple Jasmine Coconut Rice Recipe
You may be able to find purple jasmine rice at your favorite store (or just use white jasmine rice)
2 cups purple jasmine rice (or substitute white jasmine rice)
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (don't use lite)
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
1/4 cup unsalted butter
A handful of cashews, chopped and toasted
Start by rinsing the rice. You can do this by putting the rice in the thick-bottomed pan it is going to cook in. Fill the pot halfway with water, swish the rice around (the water will get cloudy), and pour out the cloudy water. Repeat 3 times. The water might still be a bit cloudy, and that is o.k.
To the rinsed (and drained) rice add the coconut milk, water, and salt. Stir to combine. Place the pot over medium high heat and bring the liquid to a boil (uncovered). Stir often to prevent the rice from scorching down at the bottom of the pot. Once the liquid comes to a boil reduce the heat to a low, low simmer, cover the pot tightly with a lid. Cook for about 15- 20 more minutes (resisting the urge to peek). Remove from heat (still covered!), and let the rice steam for another 10-15.
While the rice is cooking cook up the shallots in a small frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. Too hot and you'll burn the butter instead of browning it. Add the butter to the pan, then stir in the shallots and a couple pinches of salt. Stir every few minutes letting the shallots brown increasingly until they are dark in color. Transfer to a paper towel until ready to use.
Transfer the rice to desired serving vessel and sprinkle with cashews and the crispy shallots.
Serves 4 to 6.
Cabbage Ideas
An easy cabbage recipe, with seasonings and a little vinegar, cooked in the skillet.
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
* 1 medium head cabbage, coarsely shredded
* 1/4 cup chopped onion
* 3 tablespoons vinegar
* 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Preparation:
Directions for Skillet Cabbage
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter; add seasoned salt, cabbage, and onion. Cook, covered, over medium heat for 15 minutes. Stir frequently. Blend vinegar and sugar; add to cabbage mixture. Stir gently to blend; cook cabbage 5 minutes longer.
Easy cabbage recipe serves 6.
Extras: "with the onions i put in long strips of parsnips, garlic, fresh herbs, graded carrot, white wine, 2 teaspoon of horse radish and a squeeze of dijon mustard.
Spicy South Indian Cabbage
Serves: 4
Cooking time (approx.): 8 minutes
Style: Indian Vegetarian
2 tablespoon(s) oil
½ teaspoon(s) mustard seeds
½ teaspoon(s) split black gram
4 green chillies chopped
6 curry leaves
2 medium onion(s) chopped finely
1 medium cabbage shredded
1 teaspoon(s) cumin powder
½ teaspoon(s) black pepper powder
1 garlic clove grated
4 tablespoons grated coconut
a pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste
1 teaspoon(s) lime juice
1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan. Drop in the mustard seeds and let them crackle. Add the split black gram and fry till it is light brown. Add the green chillies, curry leaves and the chopped onions. Fry on medium heat for about 3 minute(s) or till the onions are pale.
2. Add the cabbage and the rest of the ingredients except the salt and lime juice. Stir-fry on high heat till the cabbage is well coated with the oil and looks glossy. Mix in the salt, cover and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes or till the cabbage is yet crunchy but cooked.
3. Mix in the lime juice. Keep covered for 2 minutes
TIP:
* Cabbage must not be over cooked and tastes the best when crunchy and firm. Overcooking of vegetables leads to loss of important nutrients.
Serve hot with: Coconut Rice (Nariyal Chawal), white rice or Indian bread (Roti, Chapati, Pooris).
This week we are fortunate to have some beautiful shallots and parsnips grown by friend, CSA farmer and writer Zoe Bradbury. Zoe wrote the article a few weeks back on the status of migrant farm workers in Oregon. Zoe, her mom and sister run a beautiful farm over on the south coast out of Langlois. Asinete and I went over there Monday to see their operation and find out a few tricks of the trade. As we joyously pulled parsnips out of the cold mud and lifted rocks out of the field it dawned on me how much more enjoyable it is to work on someone else's farm for awhile! We left the coast with the wind at our backs and a truckload full of beautiful golden shallots and white javelin parsnips. Worry not as these beauties have been grown with pure love and no chemicals. Zoe (like us) grows organically but does not feel the need to become certified as she only sells locally. We hope you enjoy some of the bounty of Valley Flora Farm this week!
As for our own fields we had planted enough cauliflower for everyone a few months ago and most of it is still not ready. There may be just enough for those of you who are getting a full share. Also as Asinete and I dug the carrots today that were coated in a thick layer of mud we could not see that many of them have the mark of the dreaded wire worm. The wire worm is a segmented critter that lives in the soil an particularly loves to tunnel into roots and tubers (remember the little holes on some of your taters?) The carrots are as sweet and crunchy as ever, they just may not be quite as pretty. Also we will be sure you all get a large "going away" bunch in your last CSA share Monday.
If you are like us (procrastinators) and you still have not planned out your Thanksgiving meal please remember that we have a local, heritage, pasture raised turkey farmer in our midst. His name is Karey Olson and with his wife they run B&K Natural Poultry out of Sutherlin. I just talked with him today and they still have turkeys available. They are very reasonably priced for heritage birds ($3.50/lb) and you know they had a great life eating bugs and fresh grass. They will be delivering dressed birds this Tuesday for pick up at Kruse Market off Garden Valley. Call them to reserve a bird and keep your food dollars local~ (541) 459-0830.
Turkey season reminds me of my second year running a CSA farm in rural Monterey County. I decided to supplement my farming income by raising 30 heritage turkeys (bourbon reds, Narraganset, royal palm) I lived in school housing (as a teacher) and decided my back yard would be the perfect turkey pen. Everything went well the first 5 months and then as November neared the rain started falling early in California and my fancy turkeys did not have shelter. Turkeys are notorious for drowning in the rain as they look up in the sky to see where the water is coming from. I was not going to let my turkeys drown! So I did what any caring turkey mother would do..I let them into my garage. I'll never forget the look on the school principle's face when he was checking the school houses one day. He thankfully did not look in the garage.. but when he closed the front door thirty turkeys in the garage gobbled goodbye to him at once. He knew me well enough to not ask any questions! The beautiful turkeys did make it to the tables of many of our CSA members with one reprieve.. Miss Thang.. a little white midget turkey that was pretty much the boss of all the others and decided I was her mate. She was adopted by a vegetarian family and had a wonderful life. And I have been wise enough to never try raising turkeys again! So thank you B&K Natural Poultry for filling that niche in Douglas County.
We hope you will be able to eat your way through this week's basket to make room for Monday's bounty!
Thank you!
Suzie, Asinete, M.A, Violet & Robin
This Week's Harvest Includes:
Valley Flora Shallots
Valley Flora Parsnips
Baby Joi Choi
Carrots
Daikon Radish
Butternut Squash
Red or Green Cabbage (these will store well. We have so many in the field!)
Rosemary (for recipe below)
Storage Onion
Parsnips!
The parsnip looks like a white, overgrown carrot. It is sweet with a texture like a sweet potato and can be eaten raw or cooked. They are wonderful in soups and stews as well as roasted or mashed like potatoes. Parsnips are loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber.
Recipe Ideas for your Parsnips:
Sauteed Parsnips with Carrots, Honey and Rosemary~ from Epicurious
yield: Makes 8 servings
To add richness, sauté three ounces sliced pancetta until crisp; crumble over before serving.
Ingredients
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 pound carrots (about 4 large), peeled, cut into 3x1/4x1/4-inch sticks
* 1 pound large parsnips, peeled, halved lengthwise, cored, cut into 3x1/4x1/4-inch sticks
* Coarse kosher salt
* 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
* 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
Preparation
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots and parsnips. Sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Sauté until vegetables are beginning to brown at edges, about 12 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
Add butter, rosemary, and honey to vegetables. Toss over medium heat until heated through and vegetables are glazed, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if desired.
FROM OUR TEST KITCHEN: Carrots can take a bit longer to cook than parsnips, so if the carrots are large and mature, sauté them for a minute or two to soften slightly before adding the parsnips.
Pureed Roasted Parsnips
The easiest way to prepare parsnips is to slice them, steam them, and dress with butter and salt. However, to get the fullest, richest flavor from the parsnips, they should be roasted. The browning caramelizes the natural sugars in the parsnips. In this recipe we first roast the parsnips with some butter, then purée them with added water. It's quite simple, but if you've never had parsnips this way, you're in for a treat.
Ingredients
2 lbs parsnips, peeled, stringy cores removed, chopped (about 1 1/2 pounds after removing cores)
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 cup water
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Peel parsnips, make a cut off the top of the fat end of each parsnip. This will show you extent of the inner core. Often this core is stringy and woody, especially at the larger end of the parsnip. When you are prepping the parsnips, cut around this core.
2 Place chopped parsnips in a medium sized bowl, add the melted butter and stir to coat. Lay out the parsnips on a roasting pan in a single layer. Roast in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, at 400°F, until lightly golden, turning the parsnips once half-way through the cooking.
3 Put cooked parsnips into a blender or food processor. Add 1 1/2 cups water, and pulse until puréed to the desired consistency. Add more water if necessary. Add nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4.
Shallots
Shallots are in the onion family just like garlic although they have a taste all their own that is highly prized by chefs. Shallots probably originated in Asia, traveling from there to India and the eastern Mediterranean. The name “shallot” comes from Ashkelon, presently a city in Israel, where people in classical Greek times believed shallots originated.
Purple Jasmine Coconut Rice Recipe
You may be able to find purple jasmine rice at your favorite store (or just use white jasmine rice)
2 cups purple jasmine rice (or substitute white jasmine rice)
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (don't use lite)
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
1/4 cup unsalted butter
A handful of cashews, chopped and toasted
Start by rinsing the rice. You can do this by putting the rice in the thick-bottomed pan it is going to cook in. Fill the pot halfway with water, swish the rice around (the water will get cloudy), and pour out the cloudy water. Repeat 3 times. The water might still be a bit cloudy, and that is o.k.
To the rinsed (and drained) rice add the coconut milk, water, and salt. Stir to combine. Place the pot over medium high heat and bring the liquid to a boil (uncovered). Stir often to prevent the rice from scorching down at the bottom of the pot. Once the liquid comes to a boil reduce the heat to a low, low simmer, cover the pot tightly with a lid. Cook for about 15- 20 more minutes (resisting the urge to peek). Remove from heat (still covered!), and let the rice steam for another 10-15.
While the rice is cooking cook up the shallots in a small frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. Too hot and you'll burn the butter instead of browning it. Add the butter to the pan, then stir in the shallots and a couple pinches of salt. Stir every few minutes letting the shallots brown increasingly until they are dark in color. Transfer to a paper towel until ready to use.
Transfer the rice to desired serving vessel and sprinkle with cashews and the crispy shallots.
Serves 4 to 6.
Cabbage Ideas
An easy cabbage recipe, with seasonings and a little vinegar, cooked in the skillet.
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
* 1 medium head cabbage, coarsely shredded
* 1/4 cup chopped onion
* 3 tablespoons vinegar
* 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Preparation:
Directions for Skillet Cabbage
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter; add seasoned salt, cabbage, and onion. Cook, covered, over medium heat for 15 minutes. Stir frequently. Blend vinegar and sugar; add to cabbage mixture. Stir gently to blend; cook cabbage 5 minutes longer.
Easy cabbage recipe serves 6.
Extras: "with the onions i put in long strips of parsnips, garlic, fresh herbs, graded carrot, white wine, 2 teaspoon of horse radish and a squeeze of dijon mustard.
Spicy South Indian Cabbage
Serves: 4
Cooking time (approx.): 8 minutes
Style: Indian Vegetarian
2 tablespoon(s) oil
½ teaspoon(s) mustard seeds
½ teaspoon(s) split black gram
4 green chillies chopped
6 curry leaves
2 medium onion(s) chopped finely
1 medium cabbage shredded
1 teaspoon(s) cumin powder
½ teaspoon(s) black pepper powder
1 garlic clove grated
4 tablespoons grated coconut
a pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste
1 teaspoon(s) lime juice
1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan. Drop in the mustard seeds and let them crackle. Add the split black gram and fry till it is light brown. Add the green chillies, curry leaves and the chopped onions. Fry on medium heat for about 3 minute(s) or till the onions are pale.
2. Add the cabbage and the rest of the ingredients except the salt and lime juice. Stir-fry on high heat till the cabbage is well coated with the oil and looks glossy. Mix in the salt, cover and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes or till the cabbage is yet crunchy but cooked.
3. Mix in the lime juice. Keep covered for 2 minutes
TIP:
* Cabbage must not be over cooked and tastes the best when crunchy and firm. Overcooking of vegetables leads to loss of important nutrients.
Serve hot with: Coconut Rice (Nariyal Chawal), white rice or Indian bread (Roti, Chapati, Pooris).
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
CSA Harvest # 24~ 2 more to go!!
Hooray for 2 more weeks of farm fresh produce! I have a suspicion many of you are as excited as we will be to see a lull in the produce. For those of you who cannot get enough we will still have things available after the CSA is completed. What we hope to do is send out an email to those of you interested each Monday to let you know what we have avail for that week. You can call us or email and we can drop off your requested items at a central pick up spot each week (like Bi-Mart's parking lot). This will help you continue eating locally and organically and it will help us in our darkest hours of need as winter faces us with no other income on the horizon until spring. If this is something you may be interested in please give us a call (863-2646) or email us. Also if you have friends who were green with envy all season that you were getting such great produce for such a great price we can now offer them produce as well.. feel free to pass on our number and email!
And now on to some important news:
Because our final CSA delivery would fall on Thanksgiving day we are hoping to deliver baskets for the final time on Monday the 23rd (Monday before Thanksgiving). If any of you will be going out of town the other option is we could do two deliveries in one next week. We look forward to hearing back from you to see which you would prefer. We will try to find a plan that accommodates everyone. Also for the last delivery we will expect all baskets back and we can check your baskets off and refund you the basket deposit (if you gave us one). We think the best thing to do would be if everyone brought bags or boxes to transfer your produce into, this way we get all the baskets back at once and we're not trying to track down missing ones. For those of you who pick up at the farm or in Myrtle Creek we will mail your deposits back since unfortunately we hardly ever get a face to face encounter with you.
Some of the surveys are in (27 out of 54). We are hoping we will get more this week but so far we have found out a few interesting things: 1) many of you have an extreme dislike of kale! 2) beets were a common item on the "overabundance" list (sorry we have more this week!) 3)quite a few of you wrote that you did not care for the tomatillos (more of those this week too.. last of 'em though!) The disdain for the tomatillos leaves me only to believe that these people do not read the blog and don't know what to do with them.. because how could you make salsa verde and not love it?? Of course a few tomatillo die hard fans like myself said they really loved them.. so this week's harvest is for you! For the rest of you not completely sold on the tomatillos please try the easy, tasty, melt in your mouth salsa recipe below and then tell me if you still don't like them! Universal favorites were heirloom tomatoes, corn, fresh herbs, garlic, carrots, onions, lettuce, potatoes and melons. Thank you for taking the time to fill these out and we will read them again over the winter as it gets time to order seeds for 2010 and we can include items you like that we did not have avail this year. For those of you who have yet to fill out the survey~ we need you!
This week we would like to give a big shout out thank you to fellow CSA farmers Norm and Cinda Lehne. Norm and Cinda have been farming out in Garden Valley since before I was even born. They cultivate 30 acres and run a u-pick operation, CSA and they attend Farmers Markets as well. Norm and Cinda were wise to end their CSA earlier than us and emailed to offer to share some of the bounty still left in their fields. This week we have some fragrant, tasty leeks started from Territorial Seeds out of Cottage Grove. While Norm and Cinda do not grow organically they are committed to not growing any GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) crops. If you are a strict organics only eater hopefully you can find a willing neighbor to enjoy it!
Thank you Norm and Cinda for sharing the bounty of your fields and for your friendship!
For those of you who were unable to attend last Friday's movie night of the film Food, Inc.. wow!! The movie was awesome (albeit a bit horrific to watch at moments) but seeing the horrific parts really pumped me up again about the importance of eating locally and for us to raise as much of our own meat as we can.. we are looking at raising pasture poultry next season. Would any of you be interested in buying locally produced chickens from us? Let us know!
This Week's Harvest Includes:
Lehne Leeks
Garlic
Delicata Winter Squash
Red or Green Cabbage
Tomatillos (try recipe below!)
Beets (try recipe below~ ("all we are saying is give beets a chance"!)
Lettuce Mix
Hot peppers (see recipes below)
Daikon Radish
Tomatoes (these were picked green and ripened off the vine so not as good as warm weather ones but a local tomato nonetheless)
Recipe Ideas for Your Bounty:
Leeks~ Leeks are in the onion family and are related to onions and garlic. They were extremely muddy when harvested and we did the best we could to get them clean enough for your basket however before you cook them here are some ways to get them cleaner. Slice the leeks down the center and rinse under cold running water to remove all dirt and sand, being careful to get in between the leaves. Drain on dish towel and proceed with recipe.
To clean leeks for cooking whole, slice lengthwise about two inches up from each end, leaving a center portion intact to hold the leek together. Rinse under running cold water while separating leaves.
You may also slice them into 2-inch lengths and soak in a bowl of cold water. Swish them in the water to remove dirt, drain, refill bowl, and swish again until no more dirt is released. Drain and dry.
Fresh leek storage: They can spread their special fresh oniony smell around, so keep in plastic bag in the fridge. Don't trim or wash before storing, it makes them break down faster. BUT if space is at a premium, you can chop off the dark green stem part before storing them. you can store them in plastic in the fridge for 5 days or more.
Leeks are rich in allicin, an organosulfur compound that has been shown to inhibit the growth of certain cancer cells, including breast, endometrial, and colon cancer cells. Leeks also contain calcium, iron, vitamin C, and fiber.
Lemony Risotto
from Almost Vegetarian by Diana Shaw
serves 4-6
1 lemon (or 2 small)
3 cups broth: vegetable or chicken
1 large leek, white & green part, cleaned and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 T butter, unsalted
2 shallots, minced
1 T chopped parsley
1 cup arborio rice
2 T white wine
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
Halve and juice the lemon and remove the zest with a vegetable peeler. Leave half the zest in strips and mince the rest. Set aside the juice and the minced zest.
Place the strips of zest in a saucepan with the broth, leek, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, then cover and simmer gently over low heat for 30 minutes.
Stain the broth through a sieve, discard the leek and bay leaf, and pour it back into the saucepan. Cover and bring it back to a gentle simmer over low heat.
Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan melt the butter. Saute the shallots, parsley, and minced lemon zest over med-low heat until the shallots are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the rice and stir until it’s just about evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add the white wine and lemon juice, turn up the heat, and stir until it’s just about evaporated, about 2 minutes. Lower the heat.
Using a ladle, add about 1 C hot broth. Stir constantly over med heat until the broth has been absorbed. Add another ladleful of broth and keep stirring until it’s been absorbed.
Continue the process, adding broth a half cupful at a time and stirring in this way, until the kernels are plump and no longer chalk white in the center. This should take 25 to 30 minutes altogether. The rice is almost done when the kernels are still separate but starting to bind and there are pools of broth on the surface. It’s done when the liquid has been absorbed, and the kernels are bound in what looks like very ricey, yet somewhat creamy, rice pudding.
When the risotto is nearly done, stir in 2 T more broth, along with the Parmesan cheese, and stir well until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 3-4 minutes.
Calories per serving: 179; protein: 6 grams; fat: 3.4 grams. I don’t know the fiber.
Risotto with Beet Greens and Leeks
Recipe from Cooking Light March 2001
6 servings
5 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced leek (about 2 large)
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
3 cups coarsely chopped beet greens
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 lemon wedges
Bring broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leek, saute 4 minute or until tender. Add rice; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine cook 1 minute or until the liquid is nearly absorbed stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; stir in greens. Add broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of the broth is absorbed before adding the next portion (about 25 minutes). Stir in cheese and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.
For all you tomatillo haters these recipes are for you!
Rick Bayless's Salsa Verde Recipe~ easy to make and delish! I prefer the deeper flavor of the roasted tomatillos..
Ingredients
* 8 ounces (5 to 6 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
* Fresh hot green chiles, to taste (roughly 2 serranos or 1 jalapeno), stemmed
* 5 or 6 sprigs fresh cilantro (thick stems removed), roughly chopped
* Scant 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
* Salt
Directions
Whether you choose the verdant, slushy, herby freshness of the all-raw tomatillo salsa or the oil-colored, voluptuous, sweet-sour richness of the roasted version, tomatillos are about brightening tang. The buzz of the fresh hot green chile adds thrill, all of which adds up to a condiment most of us simply don't want to live without.
For the All-Raw version: Roughly chop the tomatillos and the chiles. In a blender or food processor, combine the tomatillos, chiles, cilantro and 1/4 cup water. Process to a coarse puree, then scrape into a serving dish. Rinse the onion under cold water, then shake to remove excess moisture. Stir into the salsa and season with salt, usually a generous 1/4 teaspoon.
For the Roasted version:
Preheat a broiler.
Roast the tomatillos and chiles on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler until darkly roasted, even blackened in spots, 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. In a blender or food processor, combine the tomatillos and chiles, including all the delicious juice that has run 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, usually a generous 1/4 teaspoon.
Crunchy Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa
Salsa Verde Crujiente con Aguacate
Makes about 2 1/2 cups
Recipe from Season 7 of Mexico - One Plate at a Time
Ingredients
8 ounces (about 4 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1/2 cup (loosely packed) coarsely chopped cilantro
Hot green chiles to taste (roughly 2 small serranos or 1 small jalapeño), stemmed and roughly chopped
1 ripe avocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin
1 small white onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
Salt
Directions
Roughly chop half of the tomatillos and scoop them into a food processor with the cilantro and green chiles. Measure in 1/4 cup water and process to a slushy, coarse puree. Roughly chop half the avocado, add it to the processor and pulse until it is incorporated into the salsa. Scrape into a serving dish. Scoop the onion into a small strainer and rinse under cold water. Add to the salsa. Finely chop the remaining tomatillos and add them, too. Finally, chop the remaining avocado into 1/4-inch pieces and stir them into the salsa. Taste and season with salt, usually about 3/4 teaspoon.
Alternative Method: Put all the tomatillos (quartered), cilantro and chiles through a meat grinder to chop them (no water necessary), then stir in finely chopped avocado and rinsed onion.
Beet Recipes Even Beet Haters Might Love!
Beet Salad With Goat Cheese
Ingredients
* 4 medium beets - scrubbed, trimmed and cut in half
* 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
* 3 tablespoons maple syrup
* 1 (10 ounce) package mixed baby salad greens
* 1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
* 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 ounces goat cheese
Directions
1. Place beets into a saucepan, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender. Drain and cool, then cut in to cubes.
2. While the beets are cooking, place the walnuts in a skillet over medium-low heat. Heat until warm and starting to toast, then stir in the maple syrup. Cook and stir until evenly coated, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice concentrate, balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make the dressing.
4. Place a large helping of baby greens onto each of four salad plates, divide candied walnuts equally and sprinkle over the greens. Place equal amounts of beets over the greens, and top with dabs of goat cheese. Drizzle each plate with some of the dressing.
Other Ideas for beets:
The Italian way. Trim off the tops must 1/4 inch or so above the root. Rinse. Wrap all the beets together in a double-thickness of aluminum foil, crimping the edges together to seal tightly. Roast in a 400ºF oven until tender, 1-2 hours. Remove from the oven. When cool enough to handle, peel the beets (the skin will pull away) and slice into thin rounds or half rounds. Just before serving, dress with good-quality red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. Serve warm or room temperature. I especially like it after lamb dishes.
Beets roasted as above can also be used in fancier salads. Try combining them with orange sections and watercress or lamb's lettuce -- or with walnuts and goat cheese -- in a sherry vinegar dressing.
BTW, if the beet tops are in good shape, you can also use them for a salad. Separate the leaves from the stems. Drop the stems in boiling salted water, boil 5-7 minutes, then drop in the leaves. Cook until tender, 2-4 minutes. Drain well. Dress with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Or add to the beet salad described above.
And now on to some important news:
Because our final CSA delivery would fall on Thanksgiving day we are hoping to deliver baskets for the final time on Monday the 23rd (Monday before Thanksgiving). If any of you will be going out of town the other option is we could do two deliveries in one next week. We look forward to hearing back from you to see which you would prefer. We will try to find a plan that accommodates everyone. Also for the last delivery we will expect all baskets back and we can check your baskets off and refund you the basket deposit (if you gave us one). We think the best thing to do would be if everyone brought bags or boxes to transfer your produce into, this way we get all the baskets back at once and we're not trying to track down missing ones. For those of you who pick up at the farm or in Myrtle Creek we will mail your deposits back since unfortunately we hardly ever get a face to face encounter with you.
Some of the surveys are in (27 out of 54). We are hoping we will get more this week but so far we have found out a few interesting things: 1) many of you have an extreme dislike of kale! 2) beets were a common item on the "overabundance" list (sorry we have more this week!) 3)quite a few of you wrote that you did not care for the tomatillos (more of those this week too.. last of 'em though!) The disdain for the tomatillos leaves me only to believe that these people do not read the blog and don't know what to do with them.. because how could you make salsa verde and not love it?? Of course a few tomatillo die hard fans like myself said they really loved them.. so this week's harvest is for you! For the rest of you not completely sold on the tomatillos please try the easy, tasty, melt in your mouth salsa recipe below and then tell me if you still don't like them! Universal favorites were heirloom tomatoes, corn, fresh herbs, garlic, carrots, onions, lettuce, potatoes and melons. Thank you for taking the time to fill these out and we will read them again over the winter as it gets time to order seeds for 2010 and we can include items you like that we did not have avail this year. For those of you who have yet to fill out the survey~ we need you!
This week we would like to give a big shout out thank you to fellow CSA farmers Norm and Cinda Lehne. Norm and Cinda have been farming out in Garden Valley since before I was even born. They cultivate 30 acres and run a u-pick operation, CSA and they attend Farmers Markets as well. Norm and Cinda were wise to end their CSA earlier than us and emailed to offer to share some of the bounty still left in their fields. This week we have some fragrant, tasty leeks started from Territorial Seeds out of Cottage Grove. While Norm and Cinda do not grow organically they are committed to not growing any GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) crops. If you are a strict organics only eater hopefully you can find a willing neighbor to enjoy it!
Thank you Norm and Cinda for sharing the bounty of your fields and for your friendship!
For those of you who were unable to attend last Friday's movie night of the film Food, Inc.. wow!! The movie was awesome (albeit a bit horrific to watch at moments) but seeing the horrific parts really pumped me up again about the importance of eating locally and for us to raise as much of our own meat as we can.. we are looking at raising pasture poultry next season. Would any of you be interested in buying locally produced chickens from us? Let us know!
This Week's Harvest Includes:
Lehne Leeks
Garlic
Delicata Winter Squash
Red or Green Cabbage
Tomatillos (try recipe below!)
Beets (try recipe below~ ("all we are saying is give beets a chance"!)
Lettuce Mix
Hot peppers (see recipes below)
Daikon Radish
Tomatoes (these were picked green and ripened off the vine so not as good as warm weather ones but a local tomato nonetheless)
Recipe Ideas for Your Bounty:
Leeks~ Leeks are in the onion family and are related to onions and garlic. They were extremely muddy when harvested and we did the best we could to get them clean enough for your basket however before you cook them here are some ways to get them cleaner. Slice the leeks down the center and rinse under cold running water to remove all dirt and sand, being careful to get in between the leaves. Drain on dish towel and proceed with recipe.
To clean leeks for cooking whole, slice lengthwise about two inches up from each end, leaving a center portion intact to hold the leek together. Rinse under running cold water while separating leaves.
You may also slice them into 2-inch lengths and soak in a bowl of cold water. Swish them in the water to remove dirt, drain, refill bowl, and swish again until no more dirt is released. Drain and dry.
Fresh leek storage: They can spread their special fresh oniony smell around, so keep in plastic bag in the fridge. Don't trim or wash before storing, it makes them break down faster. BUT if space is at a premium, you can chop off the dark green stem part before storing them. you can store them in plastic in the fridge for 5 days or more.
Leeks are rich in allicin, an organosulfur compound that has been shown to inhibit the growth of certain cancer cells, including breast, endometrial, and colon cancer cells. Leeks also contain calcium, iron, vitamin C, and fiber.
Lemony Risotto
from Almost Vegetarian by Diana Shaw
serves 4-6
1 lemon (or 2 small)
3 cups broth: vegetable or chicken
1 large leek, white & green part, cleaned and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 T butter, unsalted
2 shallots, minced
1 T chopped parsley
1 cup arborio rice
2 T white wine
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
Halve and juice the lemon and remove the zest with a vegetable peeler. Leave half the zest in strips and mince the rest. Set aside the juice and the minced zest.
Place the strips of zest in a saucepan with the broth, leek, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, then cover and simmer gently over low heat for 30 minutes.
Stain the broth through a sieve, discard the leek and bay leaf, and pour it back into the saucepan. Cover and bring it back to a gentle simmer over low heat.
Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan melt the butter. Saute the shallots, parsley, and minced lemon zest over med-low heat until the shallots are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the rice and stir until it’s just about evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add the white wine and lemon juice, turn up the heat, and stir until it’s just about evaporated, about 2 minutes. Lower the heat.
Using a ladle, add about 1 C hot broth. Stir constantly over med heat until the broth has been absorbed. Add another ladleful of broth and keep stirring until it’s been absorbed.
Continue the process, adding broth a half cupful at a time and stirring in this way, until the kernels are plump and no longer chalk white in the center. This should take 25 to 30 minutes altogether. The rice is almost done when the kernels are still separate but starting to bind and there are pools of broth on the surface. It’s done when the liquid has been absorbed, and the kernels are bound in what looks like very ricey, yet somewhat creamy, rice pudding.
When the risotto is nearly done, stir in 2 T more broth, along with the Parmesan cheese, and stir well until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 3-4 minutes.
Calories per serving: 179; protein: 6 grams; fat: 3.4 grams. I don’t know the fiber.
Risotto with Beet Greens and Leeks
Recipe from Cooking Light March 2001
6 servings
5 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced leek (about 2 large)
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
3 cups coarsely chopped beet greens
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 lemon wedges
Bring broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leek, saute 4 minute or until tender. Add rice; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine cook 1 minute or until the liquid is nearly absorbed stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; stir in greens. Add broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of the broth is absorbed before adding the next portion (about 25 minutes). Stir in cheese and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.
For all you tomatillo haters these recipes are for you!
Rick Bayless's Salsa Verde Recipe~ easy to make and delish! I prefer the deeper flavor of the roasted tomatillos..
Ingredients
* 8 ounces (5 to 6 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
* Fresh hot green chiles, to taste (roughly 2 serranos or 1 jalapeno), stemmed
* 5 or 6 sprigs fresh cilantro (thick stems removed), roughly chopped
* Scant 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
* Salt
Directions
Whether you choose the verdant, slushy, herby freshness of the all-raw tomatillo salsa or the oil-colored, voluptuous, sweet-sour richness of the roasted version, tomatillos are about brightening tang. The buzz of the fresh hot green chile adds thrill, all of which adds up to a condiment most of us simply don't want to live without.
For the All-Raw version: Roughly chop the tomatillos and the chiles. In a blender or food processor, combine the tomatillos, chiles, cilantro and 1/4 cup water. Process to a coarse puree, then scrape into a serving dish. Rinse the onion under cold water, then shake to remove excess moisture. Stir into the salsa and season with salt, usually a generous 1/4 teaspoon.
For the Roasted version:
Preheat a broiler.
Roast the tomatillos and chiles on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler until darkly roasted, even blackened in spots, 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. In a blender or food processor, combine the tomatillos and chiles, including all the delicious juice that has run 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, usually a generous 1/4 teaspoon.
Crunchy Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa
Salsa Verde Crujiente con Aguacate
Makes about 2 1/2 cups
Recipe from Season 7 of Mexico - One Plate at a Time
Ingredients
8 ounces (about 4 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1/2 cup (loosely packed) coarsely chopped cilantro
Hot green chiles to taste (roughly 2 small serranos or 1 small jalapeño), stemmed and roughly chopped
1 ripe avocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin
1 small white onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
Salt
Directions
Roughly chop half of the tomatillos and scoop them into a food processor with the cilantro and green chiles. Measure in 1/4 cup water and process to a slushy, coarse puree. Roughly chop half the avocado, add it to the processor and pulse until it is incorporated into the salsa. Scrape into a serving dish. Scoop the onion into a small strainer and rinse under cold water. Add to the salsa. Finely chop the remaining tomatillos and add them, too. Finally, chop the remaining avocado into 1/4-inch pieces and stir them into the salsa. Taste and season with salt, usually about 3/4 teaspoon.
Alternative Method: Put all the tomatillos (quartered), cilantro and chiles through a meat grinder to chop them (no water necessary), then stir in finely chopped avocado and rinsed onion.
Beet Recipes Even Beet Haters Might Love!
Beet Salad With Goat Cheese
Ingredients
* 4 medium beets - scrubbed, trimmed and cut in half
* 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
* 3 tablespoons maple syrup
* 1 (10 ounce) package mixed baby salad greens
* 1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
* 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 ounces goat cheese
Directions
1. Place beets into a saucepan, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender. Drain and cool, then cut in to cubes.
2. While the beets are cooking, place the walnuts in a skillet over medium-low heat. Heat until warm and starting to toast, then stir in the maple syrup. Cook and stir until evenly coated, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice concentrate, balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make the dressing.
4. Place a large helping of baby greens onto each of four salad plates, divide candied walnuts equally and sprinkle over the greens. Place equal amounts of beets over the greens, and top with dabs of goat cheese. Drizzle each plate with some of the dressing.
Other Ideas for beets:
The Italian way. Trim off the tops must 1/4 inch or so above the root. Rinse. Wrap all the beets together in a double-thickness of aluminum foil, crimping the edges together to seal tightly. Roast in a 400ºF oven until tender, 1-2 hours. Remove from the oven. When cool enough to handle, peel the beets (the skin will pull away) and slice into thin rounds or half rounds. Just before serving, dress with good-quality red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. Serve warm or room temperature. I especially like it after lamb dishes.
Beets roasted as above can also be used in fancier salads. Try combining them with orange sections and watercress or lamb's lettuce -- or with walnuts and goat cheese -- in a sherry vinegar dressing.
BTW, if the beet tops are in good shape, you can also use them for a salad. Separate the leaves from the stems. Drop the stems in boiling salted water, boil 5-7 minutes, then drop in the leaves. Cook until tender, 2-4 minutes. Drain well. Dress with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Or add to the beet salad described above.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
CSA Harvest # 23~ 3 more to go!!
Good day farm friends! As I am a procrastinator by nature somehow every Wednesday evening finds me huddled over the keyboard trying to compose an interesting antidote of farm life. Sometimes I fail to come up with ways to describe how wonderful it is to be making a living farming, by making a living from small, tiny seeds planted in the ground that a few months later turn into hefty cabbages, delicate lettuce leaves of varying colors. I try to be humble and realize that the end product is not created only by myself and Asinete but something bigger... (wow what was in that M&M I just ate!!) ha! No all joking aside.. we feel (I feel) very blessed to be able to do something which I love to make a living. As so many of our acquaintances have lost their jobs or had hours cut at work.. we have been able to eek out a fairly comfortable existence here thanks in a large part to each of you.. so thank you!
As the ending of the season is rapidly approaching we are finally able to look back at the CSA year and figure out how we could have done things a bit more efficiently. When the season is upon us we just go through the motions and try to keep up.. with no time really for reflection.. the surveys that I have emailed each of you really help us to find out what we could improve upon, and things that you have enjoyed as a CSA member so please find some time to fill it out.. it's only 10 questions and it will really help us to help you next year!
On the previous blog I posted a great article written by fellow CSA farmer Zoe Bradbury of Valley Flora Farm outside of Bandon. Our paths crossed briefly at an organic educational farm in Salinas, Ca. The article she wrote about below really hit home for me. When I was the farm manager of a small school in Monterey County 99% of the students were the children of Mexican field laborers. One day we organized an event in honor of labor rights activist Cesar Chavez to take the kids out to the fields where the laborers were working, sing them a song, pass out sweet bread and the kids had prepared hand made thank you cards to give the workers. The day that we loaded up on the bus, complete with guitar and pan dulce and our vocal cords primed to the tune of Mexican folk song "De Colores". The workers in the field were not expecting the long yellow bus to pull through the muddy field to where they were working. As we filed out of the bus they looked a bit bewildered. The kids belted out De Colores and passed out the bread.. then the most heartlfelt part where each student picked out a laborer to give a thank you card to. One moment I will never forget is when we all came back to the school and one of the older boys from 8th grade came up to me and started to choke up as he spoke. In the field he had picked an older man (in his 60's) to tell thank you and give his card. Vicente told me how the old man had clutched the card to his muddy raincoat and stepped behind a tractor to cry.. I can only believe that that man had never been thanked for any of his long, cold, muddy, uncomfortable days growing food that we all eat. When I step into Fred Meyer and see the long rows of beautiful polished fruits and vegetables I think of that man and I say thank you again to him and all the other campesinos~ gracias para la cosecha...
Today's Harvest Will Include:
Red Cabbage
Onion
Butternut Squash
Scarlett Nantes Carrots
Salad Mix (lettuce, spinach, arugula, baby chard, mizuna)
Tomatoes
Cilantro or Dill
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Hooray for Red Cabbage!! Red cabbage is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It's also a good source of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Calcium, Iron and Magnesium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Potassium and Manganese.
Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon
INGREDIENTS
* 1 medium head red cabbage
* 6 thick slices applewood-smoked bacon, or other smoked bacon, cut into lardons (about 1/4-by-1/4-by-3/4-inch pieces)
* 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
* 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
* 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Slice cabbage in half lengthwise. Use a sharp knife to cut a V-shaped notch around the white core and discard it. Slice both pieces in half again so you have 4 quarters, then thinly slice each piece crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick strips. Set aside.
2. Place bacon in a large Dutch oven or other large pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is browned and most of the fat has cooked off.
3. Add onion and stir to coat in bacon fat. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook until onion softens and edges begin to brown, about 4 to 5 minutes.
4. Add cabbage, stir to coat it in bacon fat and cook until cabbage begins to wilt, about 4 minutes. Stir in brown sugar and mustard.
5. Deglaze the pan by adding cider vinegar and scraping the pan with a spatula to incorporate the browned bits into the sauce. Add chicken broth and season with a few pinches of salt and more freshly ground pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover the pan tightly. Simmer cabbage, stirring occasionally, until it is soft and soupy and bacon is tender, about 45 minutes. If cabbage begins to look dry, add more chicken broth or water.
Red Cabbage Saute~ courtesy of Rachel Ray
Ingredients
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 small onion, sliced
* 1/2 red cabbage, shredded
* 1/3 cup white or apple cider vinegar, eyeball it
* 2 rounded tablespoons sugar
* 1 teaspoon mustard seed
* Salt and pepper
Directions
Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and onion and saute 2 minutes. Add cabbage and turn in pan, sauteing it until it wilts, 3 to 5 minutes. Add vinegar to the pan and turn the cabbage in it. Sprinkle sugar over the cabbage and turn again. Season with mustard seed, salt and pepper and reduce heat a bit. Let cabbage continue to cook 10 minutes or until ready to serve, stirring occasionally.
As the ending of the season is rapidly approaching we are finally able to look back at the CSA year and figure out how we could have done things a bit more efficiently. When the season is upon us we just go through the motions and try to keep up.. with no time really for reflection.. the surveys that I have emailed each of you really help us to find out what we could improve upon, and things that you have enjoyed as a CSA member so please find some time to fill it out.. it's only 10 questions and it will really help us to help you next year!
On the previous blog I posted a great article written by fellow CSA farmer Zoe Bradbury of Valley Flora Farm outside of Bandon. Our paths crossed briefly at an organic educational farm in Salinas, Ca. The article she wrote about below really hit home for me. When I was the farm manager of a small school in Monterey County 99% of the students were the children of Mexican field laborers. One day we organized an event in honor of labor rights activist Cesar Chavez to take the kids out to the fields where the laborers were working, sing them a song, pass out sweet bread and the kids had prepared hand made thank you cards to give the workers. The day that we loaded up on the bus, complete with guitar and pan dulce and our vocal cords primed to the tune of Mexican folk song "De Colores". The workers in the field were not expecting the long yellow bus to pull through the muddy field to where they were working. As we filed out of the bus they looked a bit bewildered. The kids belted out De Colores and passed out the bread.. then the most heartlfelt part where each student picked out a laborer to give a thank you card to. One moment I will never forget is when we all came back to the school and one of the older boys from 8th grade came up to me and started to choke up as he spoke. In the field he had picked an older man (in his 60's) to tell thank you and give his card. Vicente told me how the old man had clutched the card to his muddy raincoat and stepped behind a tractor to cry.. I can only believe that that man had never been thanked for any of his long, cold, muddy, uncomfortable days growing food that we all eat. When I step into Fred Meyer and see the long rows of beautiful polished fruits and vegetables I think of that man and I say thank you again to him and all the other campesinos~ gracias para la cosecha...
Today's Harvest Will Include:
Red Cabbage
Onion
Butternut Squash
Scarlett Nantes Carrots
Salad Mix (lettuce, spinach, arugula, baby chard, mizuna)
Tomatoes
Cilantro or Dill
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Hooray for Red Cabbage!! Red cabbage is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It's also a good source of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Calcium, Iron and Magnesium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Potassium and Manganese.
Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon
INGREDIENTS
* 1 medium head red cabbage
* 6 thick slices applewood-smoked bacon, or other smoked bacon, cut into lardons (about 1/4-by-1/4-by-3/4-inch pieces)
* 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
* 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
* 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Slice cabbage in half lengthwise. Use a sharp knife to cut a V-shaped notch around the white core and discard it. Slice both pieces in half again so you have 4 quarters, then thinly slice each piece crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick strips. Set aside.
2. Place bacon in a large Dutch oven or other large pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is browned and most of the fat has cooked off.
3. Add onion and stir to coat in bacon fat. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook until onion softens and edges begin to brown, about 4 to 5 minutes.
4. Add cabbage, stir to coat it in bacon fat and cook until cabbage begins to wilt, about 4 minutes. Stir in brown sugar and mustard.
5. Deglaze the pan by adding cider vinegar and scraping the pan with a spatula to incorporate the browned bits into the sauce. Add chicken broth and season with a few pinches of salt and more freshly ground pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover the pan tightly. Simmer cabbage, stirring occasionally, until it is soft and soupy and bacon is tender, about 45 minutes. If cabbage begins to look dry, add more chicken broth or water.
Red Cabbage Saute~ courtesy of Rachel Ray
Ingredients
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 small onion, sliced
* 1/2 red cabbage, shredded
* 1/3 cup white or apple cider vinegar, eyeball it
* 2 rounded tablespoons sugar
* 1 teaspoon mustard seed
* Salt and pepper
Directions
Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and onion and saute 2 minutes. Add cabbage and turn in pan, sauteing it until it wilts, 3 to 5 minutes. Add vinegar to the pan and turn the cabbage in it. Sprinkle sugar over the cabbage and turn again. Season with mustard seed, salt and pepper and reduce heat a bit. Let cabbage continue to cook 10 minutes or until ready to serve, stirring occasionally.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Para los Campesinos
This is a great article I came across while browsing the net.. written by fellow CSA farmer Zoe Bradbury. One of the reasons I got into farming was from my experience working side by side with Mexican farmers in California. The passion they have for their work and the tireless way they toil to put food on our tables for no recognition and no word of thanks will always be an inspiration to me.
Hand Picked - Row by row, day after day: The story of the American farmworker
HAND PICKED
ROW BY ROW, DAY AFTER DAY
Zoë Bradbury
For Summer 2008
“Strawberries are too delicate to be picked by machine. The perfectly ripe ones even bruise at too heavy a human touch. It hit her then that every strawberry she had ever eaten — every piece of fruit — had been picked by calloused human hands. Every piece of toast with jelly represented someone's knees, someone's aching back and hips, someone with a bandanna on her wrist to wipe away the sweat. Why had no one told her this before?” — Alison Luterman, “What They Came For”
At the end of Oregon’s winter, the orchards and vineyards need tending: pruning, spraying, thinning. The months advance and heat waves start to belly-dance above the soil. Row crops are planted: Onions and watermelons take root near Hermiston; beans, peas, squash, lettuce, potatoes — an almost endless list of crops — are planted in the Willamette Valley. Irrigation pipes are moved in the mint fields of eastern Oregon. Weeds fall flat behind the sharpened edge of a hoe. Berries are picked, one by one, and packed into plastic clamshells.
Oregon’s agricultural diversity is profound. It is a state that produces some 220 crops and livestock commodities — a greater variety than any state except Florida and California — totaling more than four billion dollars in agricultural production each year. Oregon agriculture is labor intensive, every berry and every pome fruit must be picked by human hands, which explains why Oregon’s agricultural payroll expenses are the fifth highest in the country, despite the fact that the state ranks twenty-sixth in total agricultural production.
Ours are farms that rely on opposable thumbs and an eye for ripeness, on manual dexterity and skilled use of tools. In short, on something so advanced, so complex, and so capable of movement and learning that no amount of engineering has managed to fully replicate it with a machine: the human being.
The Farmworker Experience
There are approximately four million migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the U.S. today, with Oregon agriculture reliant on up to 90,000 each year, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Roughly half of Oregon’s farmworkers are settled in state and half migrate to Oregon for all or part of the growing season. For the migrant population, including 14,558 migrant children and youth, the year might take them from winter reforestation work in the coast range, to spring pruning in the vineyards, to the autumn apple harvest in Hood River, to a Christmas tree farm in the Willamette Valley.
According to the National Agricultural Workers Survey, more than 90 percent of all farm workers are Hispanic, primarily from Mexico. Most are young men under the age of 35. An estimated 70 percent are undocumented to live and work in Oregon.
It’s impossible to generalize the farmworker experience, but interviews conducted by the League of Women Voters for the Farmworkers in Oregon report (2000) reveal a common storyline. From Mexico, a young man borrows money to pay a “coyote” to help him cross the border illegally. He may get caught once, twice, even five times before making it into the country.
Three thousand miles distant from his home and family, his first season will likely be punctuated by a string of migrations, labor camps, and labor contractors. Like every single farmworker in the United States — documented or not — he will not enjoy 15-minute paid breaks, receive overtime for a 12-hour workday, or get benefits.
In a year, he will earn less than $7,500 in Oregon’s fields. He’ll pay his share of taxes, including Social Security and Medicare — none of which he’ll ever see again when, or if, he turns 65. The average life expectancy for a migrant farmworker is 49 years, compared to 73 for the general U.S. population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Each day, as he moves irrigation pipe or travels back and forth to work, he’ll live with the worry of la migra (the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or INS) and the risk of deportation. What money is extra, he’ll wire home to his family, who may have to wait two, three, or four years to see him again, since the border crossing has become difficult and expensive.
America has prided itself on a history of basic worker protections and rights, including minimum wage, overtime, Social Security, unemployment insurance, child labor protections, and the right to organize into a union. These labor reforms, put in place by the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NRLA), apply to everyone except farmworkers.
Such a pointed exclusion of farmworkers from basic labor protections has been blamed on various influences, including powerful agriculture lobbies that insisted the industry needed to be insulated from harvest strikes and high labor costs in order to ensure food security for the nation. The other theory is that the NRLA’s omission was an entrenched expression of racism against African-Americans working on farms in the South.
Despite the historic campaigns of farmworker rights advocates like César Chávez and ongoing efforts to improve farmworker protections over the decades, the disparity in labor law has never been fully reconciled in the U.S., creating an ugly double standard.
Among the inequities in Oregon: There is no clause that requires employers to pay overtime to farmworkers, even though a typical workday is 10 to 12 hours long; farmworkers are exempted from Oregon laws requiring minimum meal and rest periods; and farmworkers are not automatically granted the universal right to organize, strike, and collectively bargain with employers. On top of all that, unemployment insurance laws are written such that fewer than one-third of all farmworkers receive unemployment benefits, despite the fact that the average farmworker is employed for only 24 weeks of the year.
Oregon law does mandate certain protections for farmworkers — things like workers’ compensation, minimum wage, and workplace safety — but poor enforcement and uneven power dynamics meddle with their efficacy.
In the U.S., inadequate enforcement of safety laws contributes to the 300,000 acute pesticide poisonings that occur among farmworkers each year. Documented incidents show that farmworkers — particularly recent immigrants and those who aren’t proficient English speakers — are vulnerable to underpayment, especially when being paid piece-rate (by the pound or other unit). On-the-job injuries often go unreported, and workers’ compensation benefits go unclaimed, for fear of being fired — or worse — reported to the INS.
All together, it adds up to a set of working conditions that makes farmwork one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S. and farmworkers the most indigent population in the country, according to a General Accounting Office (GAO) survey.
This is an uncomfortable story. But not a new one.
The History of the American Farmworker
“The American agriculture industry has always relied on marginalized workers,” says Daniel Rothenberg, who has written extensively on farmworker issues. First it was African-American slaves in the South, then indentured Chinese in the West. Around the time of World War II, Mexican workers became a major part of U.S. agricultural history after the passage of the Labor Importation Program. Commonly known as the “bracero program,” it brought 4.8 million Mexican workers to the United States, establishing a pattern of Mexico-to-U.S. migration that persists today across the 1,969 mile-long border, one of the world’s longest land borders separating a rich country from a poor one.
Under the bracero program, at least 15,000 Mexican workers were brought to Oregon to work on farms before the program was terminated in 1964 under public pressure by unions, churches, and community groups that exposed stories of worker exploitation and mistreatment. Since then, lawmakers have taken various stabs at immigration reform, none of which have met farmers’ needs for an adequate legal workforce or quelled the tide of immigrants crossing the border undocumented.
The reality behind the production of our food cracks against the conscience. It makes most people yearn for a broom and a rug. It pits farmworker activists against farmers like bears against bulls and annoys the hurried consumer, who resents the fact that he is an unwitting accomplice: Let’s just eat the damn cheeseburger and get on with the day.
The problem with the debate around farmworkers is that it’s instantaneously polarizing and automatically demonizing, like a Vaudeville play in which farmers are cast as the villain and the farmworkers are tied to the tracks. It is, in reality, a whole lot more nuanced than that.
Farm Labor in Oregon
In Oregon, the majority of farms are family-owned operations, some of whom have been in agriculture for three generations or more. They face a collision of issues, including $4 per gallon diesel and rising prices for feed and fertilizer. Land prices are going up as development pressure increases. Market volatility and global competition leave the bottom line awash in uncertainty. Add to that Oregon’s high minimum wage. At $7.95 an hour, compared to $5.85 nationally, Oregon’s farm labor costs top the charts.
Yet farmers are also beginning to grapple with labor shortages each season as the immigration controversy boils over and demographics in Mexico shift. Clark Seavert, director of Oregon State University’s North Willamette Research Station, predicts that labor shortages will become the norm in the future. “As Mexico’s economy thrives, they’ll have more demand for their own labor in restaurants, in construction, in other sectors of their economy, just like in the U.S.,” he says.
At the same time, families in Mexico are having fewer children and the 2005 World Migrant report predicts that half as many 15-year-olds will enter the U.S. workforce in the next ten years. The combination suggests that Oregon farmers could become increasingly short-handed in the next decade.
There’s another chorus, though — comprised of unions in particular — arguing that there is no labor shortage, only a shortage of good wages and fair working conditions on farms. A 1997 GAO study supported this argument, but for one major oversight: The GAO failed to distinguish between legal and undocumented workers. As it stands today, if only legal workers were available, the entire country would be facing a severe labor shortage.
While farmers stress about whether they’ll have enough workers to pick their crops this season, they are simultaneously dealing with increasing pressure from the INS in the form of “no match” letters. For those farmers with workers on payroll, their mailboxes have started to see a rash of mail from the INS indicating that workers’ names and Social Security numbers don’t jive. If farmers ignore the letters, they’ll be subject to sanctions and fines. The alternative — “clarifying” each employee’s information with the INS — could leave them in a tight spot: Either fire every employee whose documentation turns out inadequate — up to seven of every ten farmworkers on the books — or face fines.
“It’s an impossible situation,” Senator Gordon Smith has said, “to have farmers as felons and farm workers as fugitives.” And yet that is where much of Oregon, and U.S. agriculture, has found itself precariously cornered today, hemmed in by a long history of failed agricultural and immigration policies.
One Oregon Farmer's Story
Finding a way through all of this to a fair, affordable, legal food system has a lot of folks stumped.
Jim Bronec, a third-generation conventional grass-seed farmer turned organic squash grower, has spent the past decade trying to tackle the challenge on his farm. Bronec’s operation, Praying Mantis Farm, rolls across 50 acres near Canby. He grows cover-crop seed and pumpkins, but almost half of his ground is planted with a variety of giant butternut squash that gets turned into soup and baby food by local processors. For labor, he maintains a contract with Oregon’s only farmworker union, PCUN (Piñeros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste). His is one of only four contracts PCUN has in the state, three of which are with organic growers.
Nine years ago, when Bronec started growing organically, he hired through a labor contractor who would deliver a crew to hoe weeds in the summer and harvest squash in the fall. As time went on, though, he became uneasy about the situation. “The problem was, I was paying $10 to $11 an hour for those workers, but I knew the contractor was only paying them minimum wage, covering the insurance, and pocketing the rest,” he explains. “I wanted to know that the money I was paying was going to the people who were actually doing the work on my farm.”
Convinced that there was a better way to afford hired help on his farm, Bronec was motivated to seek out a contract with PCUN. Now his workers, all unionized, are ensured a fair grievance process and a seniority structure that creates opportunity for job advancement. Bronec pays take-home wages that are at least one dollar above minimum wage and takes care of the payroll withholdings. Although it’s not in his contract, he also provides his workers a paid lunch break and time and a half for overtime.
Bronec says it pencils out for the farm, even selling squash at ten cents per pound to the processing market.
That said, there are still things he is uneasy about — for instance, the fact that his farm only provides short windows of seasonal work. As a result, he’s unable to provide year-round employment and health insurance. He can imagine creative solutions, though — like a fund that he and other farmers could pay into to cover worker health care in proportion to the number of labor hours they hire each season, or establishing a “crew-share” system among a group of farmers who together could create year-round employment for workers.
But he’s discovered that these kinds of ideas don’t always fly with other farmers when he brings union labor into the conversation. “The thing is, a lot of farmers see the unions as the enemy,” he explains. “Maybe it’s an ingrained thing — don’t give an inch or you’ll have to give a mile.”
Cheap Labor = Cheap Food
Bronec’s observation about the stereotypical antagonism between farmers and farmworker unions is something that Ramón Ramirez, the head of PCUN, believes is tied directly to the economics of farming. “Growers and farmworkers need to work together. The bottom line is that a lot of farmers can’t make it — the way they’re compensated is totally out of whack. We need to see more money going to growers and trickling down to workers,” he insists. “At the end of the day, there has to be recognition that we’re not paying enough for food.”
The idea that food should be more expensive flies in the face of decades of U.S. farm policy engineered to make America’s food the cheapest in the world, relative to income. Americans spend a smaller percentage of our paycheck on food than any other nation on earth, ever, even with the recent jump in prices for staples like bread, milk, and eggs. In 1900, it was 60% of our income; today that number is closer to 8%, at the same time that the English spend 14%, the Japanese 20%, the Indians and Chinese 50%, and an even greater fraction in developing nations. And of every dollar that is spent on food in Oregon, only about 20 cents makes it back into the farmer’s pocket to then trickle down to farmworkers, berry by berry, row by row. Cheap food rests on the back of cheap labor.
Market forces and the power of concerned consumers are one fulcrum being leveraged these days to address farmworker injustices. The Agricultural Justice Project formed in 1999 by groups disappointed by the omission of labor standards from the U.S. Organic Program, has created social justice standards for agriculture. The new certification system is being piloted by farms in the Midwest, and will soon expand to other regions in the country as part of a larger effort to enact domestic fair trade standards in the U.S. Similarly, here at home PCUN is working to help market union label products from the farms it contracts with in Oregon.
Not that paying a dollar more for a pound of broccoli will solve the immigration crisis, an issue that even presidential candidates are stumbling over on the campaign trail this year. Higher prices also won’t resolve the tension inherent in trying to achieve a food system that is both fair and affordable. If food costs more, what do you do about the 28 million near-poverty Americans who are reliant on food stamps, the highest number since the aid program began in the 1960s? And in the bitterest of ironies, how do you ensure that farmworkers themselves can afford food, given that illegal immigrants, the poorest in America, can’t access the food stamp progam?
The complexity of it all is no doubt part of the reason that we haven’t yet met the challenge of building a food system that is fair, affordable, and legal. It might also be because our concept of affordable doesn’t extend far beyond our individual pocketbooks. For instance, can Oregon afford to provide social services to the thousands of farmworkers and farmworker families who are living below the poverty line, 10% of whom are homeless and 55% of whom have no health insurance? Can it afford not to? Can farmers afford to be short-handed at critical points in the season? Can we afford to have our food supply precariously balanced on the backs of workers whose tenure in the U.S. is unpredictable? Can consumers and policymakers afford to remain morally, economically, and politically complicit in a racist system that externalizes the social cost of food?
This past spring, Governor Ted Kulongoski issued a proclamation declaring the first week of April to be “Farmworker Awareness Week” in acknowledgment of the contribution farmworkers make to Oregon’s agricultural economy. Whether or not his proclamation manifests into political will is yet to be seen, but one thing is certain: It’s going to take the governor — and the president, and the farmers, and the unions, and the nonprofits, and the people pushing carts through grocery stores — to find our way through this to fair food.
Zoë Bradbury is a Kellogg Food & Society Policy Fellow. She lives, writes, and farms on Oregon’s southern coast.
Hand Picked - Row by row, day after day: The story of the American farmworker
HAND PICKED
ROW BY ROW, DAY AFTER DAY
Zoë Bradbury
For Summer 2008
“Strawberries are too delicate to be picked by machine. The perfectly ripe ones even bruise at too heavy a human touch. It hit her then that every strawberry she had ever eaten — every piece of fruit — had been picked by calloused human hands. Every piece of toast with jelly represented someone's knees, someone's aching back and hips, someone with a bandanna on her wrist to wipe away the sweat. Why had no one told her this before?” — Alison Luterman, “What They Came For”
At the end of Oregon’s winter, the orchards and vineyards need tending: pruning, spraying, thinning. The months advance and heat waves start to belly-dance above the soil. Row crops are planted: Onions and watermelons take root near Hermiston; beans, peas, squash, lettuce, potatoes — an almost endless list of crops — are planted in the Willamette Valley. Irrigation pipes are moved in the mint fields of eastern Oregon. Weeds fall flat behind the sharpened edge of a hoe. Berries are picked, one by one, and packed into plastic clamshells.
Oregon’s agricultural diversity is profound. It is a state that produces some 220 crops and livestock commodities — a greater variety than any state except Florida and California — totaling more than four billion dollars in agricultural production each year. Oregon agriculture is labor intensive, every berry and every pome fruit must be picked by human hands, which explains why Oregon’s agricultural payroll expenses are the fifth highest in the country, despite the fact that the state ranks twenty-sixth in total agricultural production.
Ours are farms that rely on opposable thumbs and an eye for ripeness, on manual dexterity and skilled use of tools. In short, on something so advanced, so complex, and so capable of movement and learning that no amount of engineering has managed to fully replicate it with a machine: the human being.
The Farmworker Experience
There are approximately four million migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the U.S. today, with Oregon agriculture reliant on up to 90,000 each year, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Roughly half of Oregon’s farmworkers are settled in state and half migrate to Oregon for all or part of the growing season. For the migrant population, including 14,558 migrant children and youth, the year might take them from winter reforestation work in the coast range, to spring pruning in the vineyards, to the autumn apple harvest in Hood River, to a Christmas tree farm in the Willamette Valley.
According to the National Agricultural Workers Survey, more than 90 percent of all farm workers are Hispanic, primarily from Mexico. Most are young men under the age of 35. An estimated 70 percent are undocumented to live and work in Oregon.
It’s impossible to generalize the farmworker experience, but interviews conducted by the League of Women Voters for the Farmworkers in Oregon report (2000) reveal a common storyline. From Mexico, a young man borrows money to pay a “coyote” to help him cross the border illegally. He may get caught once, twice, even five times before making it into the country.
Three thousand miles distant from his home and family, his first season will likely be punctuated by a string of migrations, labor camps, and labor contractors. Like every single farmworker in the United States — documented or not — he will not enjoy 15-minute paid breaks, receive overtime for a 12-hour workday, or get benefits.
In a year, he will earn less than $7,500 in Oregon’s fields. He’ll pay his share of taxes, including Social Security and Medicare — none of which he’ll ever see again when, or if, he turns 65. The average life expectancy for a migrant farmworker is 49 years, compared to 73 for the general U.S. population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Each day, as he moves irrigation pipe or travels back and forth to work, he’ll live with the worry of la migra (the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or INS) and the risk of deportation. What money is extra, he’ll wire home to his family, who may have to wait two, three, or four years to see him again, since the border crossing has become difficult and expensive.
America has prided itself on a history of basic worker protections and rights, including minimum wage, overtime, Social Security, unemployment insurance, child labor protections, and the right to organize into a union. These labor reforms, put in place by the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NRLA), apply to everyone except farmworkers.
Such a pointed exclusion of farmworkers from basic labor protections has been blamed on various influences, including powerful agriculture lobbies that insisted the industry needed to be insulated from harvest strikes and high labor costs in order to ensure food security for the nation. The other theory is that the NRLA’s omission was an entrenched expression of racism against African-Americans working on farms in the South.
Despite the historic campaigns of farmworker rights advocates like César Chávez and ongoing efforts to improve farmworker protections over the decades, the disparity in labor law has never been fully reconciled in the U.S., creating an ugly double standard.
Among the inequities in Oregon: There is no clause that requires employers to pay overtime to farmworkers, even though a typical workday is 10 to 12 hours long; farmworkers are exempted from Oregon laws requiring minimum meal and rest periods; and farmworkers are not automatically granted the universal right to organize, strike, and collectively bargain with employers. On top of all that, unemployment insurance laws are written such that fewer than one-third of all farmworkers receive unemployment benefits, despite the fact that the average farmworker is employed for only 24 weeks of the year.
Oregon law does mandate certain protections for farmworkers — things like workers’ compensation, minimum wage, and workplace safety — but poor enforcement and uneven power dynamics meddle with their efficacy.
In the U.S., inadequate enforcement of safety laws contributes to the 300,000 acute pesticide poisonings that occur among farmworkers each year. Documented incidents show that farmworkers — particularly recent immigrants and those who aren’t proficient English speakers — are vulnerable to underpayment, especially when being paid piece-rate (by the pound or other unit). On-the-job injuries often go unreported, and workers’ compensation benefits go unclaimed, for fear of being fired — or worse — reported to the INS.
All together, it adds up to a set of working conditions that makes farmwork one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S. and farmworkers the most indigent population in the country, according to a General Accounting Office (GAO) survey.
This is an uncomfortable story. But not a new one.
The History of the American Farmworker
“The American agriculture industry has always relied on marginalized workers,” says Daniel Rothenberg, who has written extensively on farmworker issues. First it was African-American slaves in the South, then indentured Chinese in the West. Around the time of World War II, Mexican workers became a major part of U.S. agricultural history after the passage of the Labor Importation Program. Commonly known as the “bracero program,” it brought 4.8 million Mexican workers to the United States, establishing a pattern of Mexico-to-U.S. migration that persists today across the 1,969 mile-long border, one of the world’s longest land borders separating a rich country from a poor one.
Under the bracero program, at least 15,000 Mexican workers were brought to Oregon to work on farms before the program was terminated in 1964 under public pressure by unions, churches, and community groups that exposed stories of worker exploitation and mistreatment. Since then, lawmakers have taken various stabs at immigration reform, none of which have met farmers’ needs for an adequate legal workforce or quelled the tide of immigrants crossing the border undocumented.
The reality behind the production of our food cracks against the conscience. It makes most people yearn for a broom and a rug. It pits farmworker activists against farmers like bears against bulls and annoys the hurried consumer, who resents the fact that he is an unwitting accomplice: Let’s just eat the damn cheeseburger and get on with the day.
The problem with the debate around farmworkers is that it’s instantaneously polarizing and automatically demonizing, like a Vaudeville play in which farmers are cast as the villain and the farmworkers are tied to the tracks. It is, in reality, a whole lot more nuanced than that.
Farm Labor in Oregon
In Oregon, the majority of farms are family-owned operations, some of whom have been in agriculture for three generations or more. They face a collision of issues, including $4 per gallon diesel and rising prices for feed and fertilizer. Land prices are going up as development pressure increases. Market volatility and global competition leave the bottom line awash in uncertainty. Add to that Oregon’s high minimum wage. At $7.95 an hour, compared to $5.85 nationally, Oregon’s farm labor costs top the charts.
Yet farmers are also beginning to grapple with labor shortages each season as the immigration controversy boils over and demographics in Mexico shift. Clark Seavert, director of Oregon State University’s North Willamette Research Station, predicts that labor shortages will become the norm in the future. “As Mexico’s economy thrives, they’ll have more demand for their own labor in restaurants, in construction, in other sectors of their economy, just like in the U.S.,” he says.
At the same time, families in Mexico are having fewer children and the 2005 World Migrant report predicts that half as many 15-year-olds will enter the U.S. workforce in the next ten years. The combination suggests that Oregon farmers could become increasingly short-handed in the next decade.
There’s another chorus, though — comprised of unions in particular — arguing that there is no labor shortage, only a shortage of good wages and fair working conditions on farms. A 1997 GAO study supported this argument, but for one major oversight: The GAO failed to distinguish between legal and undocumented workers. As it stands today, if only legal workers were available, the entire country would be facing a severe labor shortage.
While farmers stress about whether they’ll have enough workers to pick their crops this season, they are simultaneously dealing with increasing pressure from the INS in the form of “no match” letters. For those farmers with workers on payroll, their mailboxes have started to see a rash of mail from the INS indicating that workers’ names and Social Security numbers don’t jive. If farmers ignore the letters, they’ll be subject to sanctions and fines. The alternative — “clarifying” each employee’s information with the INS — could leave them in a tight spot: Either fire every employee whose documentation turns out inadequate — up to seven of every ten farmworkers on the books — or face fines.
“It’s an impossible situation,” Senator Gordon Smith has said, “to have farmers as felons and farm workers as fugitives.” And yet that is where much of Oregon, and U.S. agriculture, has found itself precariously cornered today, hemmed in by a long history of failed agricultural and immigration policies.
One Oregon Farmer's Story
Finding a way through all of this to a fair, affordable, legal food system has a lot of folks stumped.
Jim Bronec, a third-generation conventional grass-seed farmer turned organic squash grower, has spent the past decade trying to tackle the challenge on his farm. Bronec’s operation, Praying Mantis Farm, rolls across 50 acres near Canby. He grows cover-crop seed and pumpkins, but almost half of his ground is planted with a variety of giant butternut squash that gets turned into soup and baby food by local processors. For labor, he maintains a contract with Oregon’s only farmworker union, PCUN (Piñeros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste). His is one of only four contracts PCUN has in the state, three of which are with organic growers.
Nine years ago, when Bronec started growing organically, he hired through a labor contractor who would deliver a crew to hoe weeds in the summer and harvest squash in the fall. As time went on, though, he became uneasy about the situation. “The problem was, I was paying $10 to $11 an hour for those workers, but I knew the contractor was only paying them minimum wage, covering the insurance, and pocketing the rest,” he explains. “I wanted to know that the money I was paying was going to the people who were actually doing the work on my farm.”
Convinced that there was a better way to afford hired help on his farm, Bronec was motivated to seek out a contract with PCUN. Now his workers, all unionized, are ensured a fair grievance process and a seniority structure that creates opportunity for job advancement. Bronec pays take-home wages that are at least one dollar above minimum wage and takes care of the payroll withholdings. Although it’s not in his contract, he also provides his workers a paid lunch break and time and a half for overtime.
Bronec says it pencils out for the farm, even selling squash at ten cents per pound to the processing market.
That said, there are still things he is uneasy about — for instance, the fact that his farm only provides short windows of seasonal work. As a result, he’s unable to provide year-round employment and health insurance. He can imagine creative solutions, though — like a fund that he and other farmers could pay into to cover worker health care in proportion to the number of labor hours they hire each season, or establishing a “crew-share” system among a group of farmers who together could create year-round employment for workers.
But he’s discovered that these kinds of ideas don’t always fly with other farmers when he brings union labor into the conversation. “The thing is, a lot of farmers see the unions as the enemy,” he explains. “Maybe it’s an ingrained thing — don’t give an inch or you’ll have to give a mile.”
Cheap Labor = Cheap Food
Bronec’s observation about the stereotypical antagonism between farmers and farmworker unions is something that Ramón Ramirez, the head of PCUN, believes is tied directly to the economics of farming. “Growers and farmworkers need to work together. The bottom line is that a lot of farmers can’t make it — the way they’re compensated is totally out of whack. We need to see more money going to growers and trickling down to workers,” he insists. “At the end of the day, there has to be recognition that we’re not paying enough for food.”
The idea that food should be more expensive flies in the face of decades of U.S. farm policy engineered to make America’s food the cheapest in the world, relative to income. Americans spend a smaller percentage of our paycheck on food than any other nation on earth, ever, even with the recent jump in prices for staples like bread, milk, and eggs. In 1900, it was 60% of our income; today that number is closer to 8%, at the same time that the English spend 14%, the Japanese 20%, the Indians and Chinese 50%, and an even greater fraction in developing nations. And of every dollar that is spent on food in Oregon, only about 20 cents makes it back into the farmer’s pocket to then trickle down to farmworkers, berry by berry, row by row. Cheap food rests on the back of cheap labor.
Market forces and the power of concerned consumers are one fulcrum being leveraged these days to address farmworker injustices. The Agricultural Justice Project formed in 1999 by groups disappointed by the omission of labor standards from the U.S. Organic Program, has created social justice standards for agriculture. The new certification system is being piloted by farms in the Midwest, and will soon expand to other regions in the country as part of a larger effort to enact domestic fair trade standards in the U.S. Similarly, here at home PCUN is working to help market union label products from the farms it contracts with in Oregon.
Not that paying a dollar more for a pound of broccoli will solve the immigration crisis, an issue that even presidential candidates are stumbling over on the campaign trail this year. Higher prices also won’t resolve the tension inherent in trying to achieve a food system that is both fair and affordable. If food costs more, what do you do about the 28 million near-poverty Americans who are reliant on food stamps, the highest number since the aid program began in the 1960s? And in the bitterest of ironies, how do you ensure that farmworkers themselves can afford food, given that illegal immigrants, the poorest in America, can’t access the food stamp progam?
The complexity of it all is no doubt part of the reason that we haven’t yet met the challenge of building a food system that is fair, affordable, and legal. It might also be because our concept of affordable doesn’t extend far beyond our individual pocketbooks. For instance, can Oregon afford to provide social services to the thousands of farmworkers and farmworker families who are living below the poverty line, 10% of whom are homeless and 55% of whom have no health insurance? Can it afford not to? Can farmers afford to be short-handed at critical points in the season? Can we afford to have our food supply precariously balanced on the backs of workers whose tenure in the U.S. is unpredictable? Can consumers and policymakers afford to remain morally, economically, and politically complicit in a racist system that externalizes the social cost of food?
This past spring, Governor Ted Kulongoski issued a proclamation declaring the first week of April to be “Farmworker Awareness Week” in acknowledgment of the contribution farmworkers make to Oregon’s agricultural economy. Whether or not his proclamation manifests into political will is yet to be seen, but one thing is certain: It’s going to take the governor — and the president, and the farmers, and the unions, and the nonprofits, and the people pushing carts through grocery stores — to find our way through this to fair food.
Zoë Bradbury is a Kellogg Food & Society Policy Fellow. She lives, writes, and farms on Oregon’s southern coast.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
CSA Harvest # 22
Happy Halloween everyone! Since we did not provide you with pumpkins we thought we would share our jack o' lantern with you! The trick to making it look artistic is in the carving kits from the store (and having a dad with a dremel tool to carve it out!) The only time I've grown pumpkins was when I was operating a school farm in Monterey County, Ca. The kids loved it but the pumpkins took up a fair share of the garden and besides squash like butternut and delicata taste so much better! If we had an endless land supply pumpkins would definitely be on the list.. but alas we are a bit land short. We hope you were able to find your perfect pumpkin at one of the other local farms.
Instead of pumpkins this week we are giving you one of my (other) favorite winter squashes called the red kuri. This is a Japanese variety and they are sweet and delicious! They make a wonderful pie and soup. I have included quite a few recipe ideas below. Also this week more butternut!
In farm news the garlic and cover crop seed that we planted two weeks ago are sprouting with gusto after the rains we've been having. It is great to have the rain but we still have more cover crop seed to plant so we are looking forward to a few more days of sunshine before the clouds encase us for good.
At this time of year you would think that there is not a lot going on at the farm but there is! There are all of the fruit trees that will need to be sprayed with a winter dormant oil to protect them over the long winter from disease and assorted pests. Our 42 peach trees will be coddled as much as necessary so that we can have the only organic peach orchard in Douglas County! Also we have nearly 30 apple trees planted at our folks place up Big Lick Lane in Myrtle Creek. As much as we wanted to have everything together in one place we did not want to sacrifice this wonderful, loamy, flat river bottom land for apple trees. They seem to be thriving on the hillsides at 1,200 feet.
We also still have more garlic to plant, weed mat to pull up, crop residues to clean up with our tractor... and 300 pounds more of cover crop seed to go in... oh yeah and 1/4 of our roof on our house needs to be torn off and redone.. come on sunny weather!
I promise I will be working on those email surveys for each of you so don't give up and start thinking about what you've enjoyed this year and things that you maybe could have lived without..
Don't forget about the free showing of the movie Food, Inc showing Friday Nov 6th at 6pm at the Douglas County Museum (next to fairgrounds) there will be a panel of speakers and free locally grown popcorn too! You can find out more about it by checking out Think Local Umpqua's blog at http://thinklocalumpqua.blogpot.com
Also we would like to offer holiday gift cards for friends and family that can be redeemed at the Umpqua Valley Farmers Market next season or if you'd like a gift card redeemable for a CSA share you could give the gift of wonderful, healthy produce and at the same time support your friendly, local farmer! Email us for more details on this! portersuzanne@yahoo.com
Here's to four more CSA deliveries!
Suzie & Asinete with the help of our volunteers extraordinaire~ M.A, Violet & Robin
“Recall that whatever lofty things you might accomplish today, you will do them only because you first ate something that grew out of dirt.” Barbara Kingsolver
Harvest This Week Includes:
Red Kuri Winter Squash
Butternut Squash
Garlic
Red Zeppelin Onion
Bull's Blood Beets
Rainbow Chard
Potatoes (we're not sure yet which variety to put.. surprise!)
Dill (good with those taters!)
Radishes (Easter Egg or Daikon)
Tomatoes (Black Krim and Sweet Cluster)
Recipe Ideas
Red Kuri Squash Gratin (Gratin de potimarron)~recipe and article courtesy of the Boston Globe.
Serves 4
Like many varieties of winter squash, red kuri squash (also known as Japanese squash, orange hokkaido, or uchiki kuri squash) offers a promise of nourishing dinners. With its bright orange skin, and small teardrop shape, you'll easily recognize kuri; inside, the firm flesh has a creamy chestnut-like flavor. Baked, braised, steamed, or pureed, this squash tastes wonderful; serve it as a side dish or use it as a base for soups. For this simple gratin, you don't need to peel the squash. Roast, steam, or boil it with potatoes, then puree them, and stir in grated zucchini. Add ricotta, parsley, and a flavorful cheese (blue works well), or a milder one (Fontina, which melts nicely). After half an hour, you have a delicious side dish that will make you rejoice over fall's harvest.
Butter (for the dish)
1 small red kuri squash (a generous 1 pound), seeded and sliced
2 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 small zucchini, grated
2/3 cup ricotta
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for the top
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated Fontina or crumbled blue cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon butter, cut up (for the top)
1. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. In a large saucepan fitted with a steamer insert, combine the squash and potatoes. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, and steam over high heat for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender when pierced with a skewer.
3. Using a food mill or ricer set over a bowl, work the vegetables to form a puree. Or mash them with a potato masher until they are coarsely pureed. Add the zucchini, ricotta, nutmeg, parsley, 1/4 cup of the Fontina or blue cheese, and plenty of salt and pepper.
4. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish. Smooth the top. Add the remaining 1/4 cup cheese, butter, and a sprinkle of nutmeg.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden. Let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving. Béatrice Peltre
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
Red Kuri Squash Risotto~ I actually made this one and it was delicioso!
1 red kuri squash (or butternut)
1/4c olive oil
2c Arborio rice
4c hot chicken or veggie stock
1/2 c grated parmesan
1 onion
1/2 c white wine
1/2 stick unsalted butter
Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper on the squash and roast it in the oven at 380F for about 1hr. Meanwhile, cook the onions and rice in a pot for a few minutes until the rice is toasty and opaque. Add wine and stock slowly as the rice absorbs it, for about 15 minutes until al dente. Stir in butter and cheese and squash last. Add salt, pepper, and parsley to taste.
Oven Roasted Potatoes With Fresh Dill
Ingredients
12 small roasting potatoes
4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. coarse salt
2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. fresh black pepper
Freshly chopped dill to taste
Directions
Wash and dry potatoes thoroughly. Place in a large rectangular baking dish. Add olive oil, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, salt & pepper and dill. Toss until potatoes are completely coated with olive oil.
Bake in oven at 35o° for 1 hour or until potatoes have formed a crispy golden crust.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
CSA Harvest # 21
Garlic time at Big Lick Farm! I love this photo! You may recognize my hands in the photo, calloused and dirty just the way a farmer's hands should be... this picture was taken last summer by our good friend and fellow CSA farmer Sandee Mcgee of Oh My Gato Farm in Winston. Roseburg is a pretty special area to have the choice between three different CSA farms (us, Oh My Gato and the Lehne Farm off Garden Valley). Despite the fact that we all run similar business we have become good friends along the way. Secrets, potatoes, and garlic seed are passed back and forth between us and we always love to check in on each other and see how the others CSA is progressing.. also it helps to keep us on our toes so we can do the best job we can.. because if we don't there will be other CSA farms to join. Even though each of our farms run a CSA we all offer something a bit different. It's funny that for years there were no CSA's in our area and now starting at the same time there are 3!
This fall marks our second year farming in Oregon... hard to believe it's only been two! When your farming months can seems like decades and years centuries! It has been challenging to adjust to the long, wet Oregon winters (me coming from Southern California and Asinete coming from the equator) but now we could not imagine a better place to be.
This time of year allows us time to reflect on how the season has gone.. we do feel the CSA has been much better this year. We will be sending out an email survey in the next week through email so please keep an eye out for it. We would really love to hear from each of you on what you liked and what you did not like during the CSA deliveries and how we can make our business even better. Of course we would rather have constructive comments than lose CSA members so we value your comments and your time to fill out the survey. Again please keep your eye out for it hopefully before next Thursday.
We are breathing a sigh of relief as half of the farm has successfully been seeded with the fava bean cover crop. Still 300 pounds of fava bean seed to go!
Harvest This Week Includes:
Concord Grapes
Carrots
Peppers (sweet and spicy)
Tomaotes (green ones will ripen if left at room temp for a week or more)
Tomatillos (hopefully you all know how to make salsa verde now!)
Daikon OR Easter Egg Radishes
Delicata Winter Squash
Rainbow Chard OR Lacinato Kale
Onions
Delicata Winter Squash This oblong festive colored squash is one of my favorites. They are easy to work with and one squash is a perfect meal for two! The delicata will not keep as long as your butternut so use it first. And remember to store at room temp, not in your 'fridge please! Delicata Squash is also called Peanut squash and Bohemian squash. This is one of the tastier winter squashes, with creamy pulp that tastes a bit like corn and sweet potatoes. Size may range from 5 to 10 inches in length. The squash can be baked or steamed. The thin skin is also edible.
The delicata squash is an heirloom variety. It was originally introduced by the Peter Henderson Company of New York City in 1894, and was popular through the 1920s. Then it fell into obscurity for about seventy-five years, possibly because of its thinner, more tender skin, which isn't suited to transportation over thousands of miles and storage over months. But this one was brought to you straight outta Myrtle Creek!
Baked Delicata Squash
Ingredients:
1 delicata squash
1-2 Tbsp. butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cut off the ends of squash, cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds. Leaving the skins on, cut the squash into 1/2-inch wide lengths. Place these on a baking sheet, dot with butter, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast at 375 degree F. oven until soft. This is the basic recipe. You can add herbs, spices or honey to it if you wish.
Delicata Squash Puree
Ingredients:
One 2-lb. Delicata squash
1 lb. potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 cup heavy cream or half and half
2 tbsp. butter or olive oil
1/4 c. finely chopped fresh chives
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Split the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Peel the outer skin and cut the squash into 3-inch pieces. Place squash and potatoes in a large saucepan and fill with water and 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil and cook until both the squash and potatoes are fork-tender (30-40 minutes). Drain liquid (reserving about 1 cup) and add in cream and butter. Using a potato masher , mix well. Add chives and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add cooking liquid if you want it a bit thinner consistency.
Roasted Delicata With Fresh Thyme
Halve the squash lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cut each piece in half again. Drizzle the squash with olive oil. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt and sugar. Top with cracked pepper and fresh thyme sprigs. Bake at 425º for 30 minutes. These will hold well in a warm oven if they finish before you are ready to serve them. If they look dry, you can “refresh” them with a little drizzle of olive oil.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
CSA Harvest # 20
Whew! What a deluge! Our plants have been re hydrated on the farm and new seedlings that we planted weeks ago are popping up with renewed vigor. Last night as the rain hammered away on the roof I realized that our water pumps were still down there at the rivers edge and debated about going out at 4 am to check on them. Luckily when we went out to check them later we discovered the pumps were still high and dry although their time of use seems to be over for the season.
We were not quite ready for the downpour as we scurried around the farm on Sunday to get about a hundred things done before the storm.
First we had a wonderful time planting garlic with CSA members, friends and family (my mom who came with oatmeal cookies!) Thank you to CSA members Russ and Zory and their two young friends.. also thank you to our regular volunteer crew M.A, Robin and Violet who showed up to lend a hand in garlic planting. We planted and mulched 7 rows with three more to go!
When we ran out of garlic seed to plant we moved onto the butternut squash scattered in the field. We snipped them, piled them and then put them into wheelbarrows to the truck.. where they were then loaded into the truck, driven to the barn and then unloaded again.. all that for your butternut squash this week!~ They have passed through our hands several times and been sweetened along the way!
We had big plans for Monday as well until the sore throat I'd been fighting on Sunday turned into the full fledged flu by Monday morning.. bad timing to be laid out with the upcoming storm! So we did not quite get to our 100th thing on the list but we are crossing our fingers that the ground will dry out enough for us to till in all of the remaining crop residues and then get our cover crop seed in and then we will welcome the rain with open arms!
Exciting news in the Umpqua!! There will be a local showing (with local popcorn!) of the movie Food,Inc playing Friday November 6th at 6pm at the Douglas County Museum. This event is being hosted by our good friends at Think Local Umpqua.. please mark your calendars!! This is a great movie for all of you who are obviously concerned about where your food comes from!! We'll see you at the movies!!!
Harvest This Week Includes:
Garlic
Norkotah Russet Potatoes
Red and Green Tomatoes (green tomato recipes below!)
Concord Grapes
Butternut Winter Squash
Daikon Radish (the long white root)
Beets
Napa Cabbage OR Kohlrabi
Yellow Onion
Sage (to help with butternut lasagna recipe below!!)
Butternut Squash Time!!
Your butternut squash will keep best at room temp and will keep for over a month. It only gets sweeter as it ages so do not feel compelled to cook it at once. When your ready here are some ideas:
Spiced Butternut Squash Soup
* 3 pounds butternut squash, halved and seeded
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 medium onion, sliced
* 1 leek, sliced
* 2 cloves garlic, sliced
* 2 (49.5 fluid ounce) cans chicken broth
* 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/2 cup sherry wine
* 1 cup half-and-half cream
* 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Pour a thin layer of water in a baking dish, or a cookie sheet with sides. Place the squash halves cut side down on the dish. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce the flesh. Cool slightly, then remove the peel. Set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek and garlic, and saute for a few minutes, until tender. Pour the chicken broth into the pot. Add the potatoes, and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until soft. Add the squash, and mash with the potatoes until chunks are small. Use an immersible hand blender to puree the soup, or transfer to a blender or food processor in batches, and puree until smooth. Return to the pot.
3. Season the soup with cayenne pepper, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, salt and pepper, then stir in the sherry and half-and-half cream. Heat through, but do not boil. Ladle into bowls, and top with a dollop of sour cream.
How to Bake Your Winter Squash
Cut smaller squash (like acorn squash) in half; scoop out the seeds. Place 2 teaspoons honey, brown sugar, or maple syrup and 1 tablespoon butter into their centers. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for about 30 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork.
Roasting Method
Cut in half and seed squash. Place the squash halves, cut-side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Rub the flesh with softened butter or oil, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with brown sugar, maple syrup or orange juice. Flip the squash over and roast them for 40 to 45 minutes in a preheated 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) oven. Roast the squash until the skin is blistered, browned and the flesh tender. Insert a fork or knife under the skin to test that the flesh is tender. When the squash has cooled the skin should peel off easily.
Roasting squash helps to maintain squash's delicate flavor. Once roasted and cooled, there are a plethora of cooking options available. One option is to mash the squash and use it in any recipe calling for squash purée. Roasted squash freezes extremely well and reheats easily. Don't be afraid to roast several squash at once and freeze it for use during the holidays
Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna- thanks Martha Stewart for the heads up on this one! Butternut lasagna is fantastic!! Dino's Italian Restaurant made a batch of it last year for one of the Think Local Benefit Dinners.. believe me I'm going to dust off the old apron and give this one a whirl!!
Ingredients
Serves 8
* 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
* 1 pound whole-milk ricotta cheese
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 2 large egg yolks
* 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)
* Freshly grated nutmeg
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1/3 cup loosely packed fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
* 1 1/4 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
* Fresh Lasagna Noodles, (you will need only 1/2 of the batch), cut into 4-by-13-inch strips and cooked, or store-bought dried noodles, cooked
* 4 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/4 cups)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash, oil, and 1 teaspoon salt on a baking sheet. Season with pepper. Bake until light gold and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, cream, yolks, mozzarella, and a pinch of nutmeg in a medium bowl. Season with salt.
3. Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. As soon as it starts to sizzle, add sage, and cook until light gold and slightly crisp at edges, 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Place squash in a medium bowl, and mash 1/2 of it with the back of a wooden spoon, leaving the other 1/2 in whole pieces. Gently stir in sage-butter mixture and stock. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Spread 3/4 cup of ricotta mixture in a 9-cup baking dish. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 of the butternut squash mixture over noodles. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1 cup of ricotta mixture over noodles. Repeat layering once more (noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta). Sprinkle Parmesan over ricotta mixture.
6. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until cheese is golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
From Martha Stewart Living, October 2008
Concord Grapes:Concord grapes are a grape variety developed in the Eastern United States during the 19th century. The grapes have a number of uses, and often appear in jams, jellies, grape juice, and sweets. Concord grapes are extremely high in antioxidants and I love to just pop them in my mouth like table grapes. They are crisp, refreshing and even taste purple... pop one in your mouth and you'll see what I mean! They are seedy. Seeds can be squeezed out or spit at your spouse, kids if they're acting unruly.
Daikon Radish The Daikon radish comes to us from Japan where it is used raw to complement the taste of oily or raw foods and, more importantly, to aid in their digestion. Laboratory analysis has shown that the juice of raw daikon is abundant in digestive enzymes similar to those found in the human digestive tract. These enzymes - diastase, amylase, and esterase - help transform complex carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into their readily assimilable components. Traditional Japanese restaurants serve grated daikon (daikon oroshi) in tempura dip to help digest oils, or shredded daikon with raw fish to help digest the protein. Grated daikon is a wonderful aid to people with a weak digestive system. It is important, however, to use grated daikon immediately. In just thirty minutes nearly 50 percent of its enzymes are lost. Daikon is also
To Prepare for Eating:
Scrub or peel removing only a thin layer of the outside. It can be grated, or cut into cubes, sticks, or thin slices. It can be eaten raw or cooked. Cooked daikon is used like a turnip in soups and stews. Raw daikon can be used to add some crunch and spice to salads and relishes.
Beijing Radish Salad
1 medium daikon radish
2 tablespoons rice or balsamic vinegar (or a combination)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Wash and julienne radishes. They can be peeled or not as you like or you can grate them. Mix together the rest of the ingredients and dress the radishes with the dressing.
DAIKON RADISH REMOULADE
1 lb.
3 tbsp.
4 tbsp.
1 tsp.
1/4 cup
daikon radish
dijon style mustard
olive oil
wine vinegar
minced fresh parsley leaves
Cut the daikon into 2-inch-long fine julienne strips or grate it coarse. Rinse a large bowl with hot water, dry it, and in it whisk the mustard with 3 tablespoons hot water. Add the oil in a slow stream, whisking until the dressing is emulsified, and whisk in the vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Add the daikon strips and the parsley and toss the mixture well. Serves 6.
Gourmet, April 1991
Napa Cabbage~ Another treat from the Asian world! Napa cabbage is also know as Chinese Cabbage.
How it Stacks Up Nutrient Wise:
1 cup raw shredded contains:
calories: 20
Vitamin C: 46% RDA
Vitamin A: 26% RDA
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 1 g
Sesame Noodles with Napa Cabbage
Vegetarian Times Issue: February 1, 2007 p.65 — Member Rating: 1111
This easy dish is equally good hot or cold, and leftovers make a great take-along lunch.
Ingredient List
Serves 4
* 3 Tbs. reduced-fat peanut butter
* 2 Tbs. roasted sesame oil
* 2 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
* 2 Tbs. sherry or mirin (rice wine)
* 1 Tbs. rice vinegar
* 1 Tbs. sugar
* 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes or 1/2 tsp. chile sauce
* 10 oz. long noodles, such as udon or spaghetti
* 1/2 lb. napa cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)
* 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Directions
1. Whisk together peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, sherry, vinegar, sugar and red pepper flakes in saucepan.
2. Cook noodles according to package directions.
3. Meanwhile, place cabbage in colander over sink. Warm sauce over medium-low heat.
4. Drain noodles over cabbage in colander to wilt cabbage. Transfer noodles and cabbage to serving bowl, add sauce, and toss until combined.
5. Sprinkle with cilantro, and serve.
Nutritional Information
Per SERVING: Calories: 408, Protein: 15g, Total fat: 13g, Saturated fat: 2g, Carbs: 59g, Cholesterol: mg, Sodium: 553mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugars: 7g
Green Tomato Time:
Classic Fried Green Tomatoes
* 4 to 6 green tomatoes
* salt and pepper
* cornmeal
* bacon grease or vegetable oil
Preparation:
Slice the tomatoes into 1/4 - 1/2-inch slices. Salt and pepper them to taste. Dip in meal and fry in hot grease or oil about 3 minutes or until golden on bottom. Gently turn and fry the other side. Serve as a side dish - delicious with breakfast!
Baked Green Tomatoes:
* 4 large firm green tomatoes
* salt and pepper
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 3/4 cup coarse buttery cracker crumbs
* 4 tablespoons butter
Preparation:
Cut green tomatoes in 1/2 inch slices; arrange green tomato slices in a greased baking dish. Season sliced green tomatoes with salt and pepper and spread each with about 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar. Cover sliced green tomatoes with crumbs and dot with butter. Bake at 350° until green tomatoes are tender but still firm, or about 25 to 35 minutes.
Recipe for baked green tomatoes serves 6.
We were not quite ready for the downpour as we scurried around the farm on Sunday to get about a hundred things done before the storm.
First we had a wonderful time planting garlic with CSA members, friends and family (my mom who came with oatmeal cookies!) Thank you to CSA members Russ and Zory and their two young friends.. also thank you to our regular volunteer crew M.A, Robin and Violet who showed up to lend a hand in garlic planting. We planted and mulched 7 rows with three more to go!
When we ran out of garlic seed to plant we moved onto the butternut squash scattered in the field. We snipped them, piled them and then put them into wheelbarrows to the truck.. where they were then loaded into the truck, driven to the barn and then unloaded again.. all that for your butternut squash this week!~ They have passed through our hands several times and been sweetened along the way!
We had big plans for Monday as well until the sore throat I'd been fighting on Sunday turned into the full fledged flu by Monday morning.. bad timing to be laid out with the upcoming storm! So we did not quite get to our 100th thing on the list but we are crossing our fingers that the ground will dry out enough for us to till in all of the remaining crop residues and then get our cover crop seed in and then we will welcome the rain with open arms!
Exciting news in the Umpqua!! There will be a local showing (with local popcorn!) of the movie Food,Inc playing Friday November 6th at 6pm at the Douglas County Museum. This event is being hosted by our good friends at Think Local Umpqua.. please mark your calendars!! This is a great movie for all of you who are obviously concerned about where your food comes from!! We'll see you at the movies!!!
Harvest This Week Includes:
Garlic
Norkotah Russet Potatoes
Red and Green Tomatoes (green tomato recipes below!)
Concord Grapes
Butternut Winter Squash
Daikon Radish (the long white root)
Beets
Napa Cabbage OR Kohlrabi
Yellow Onion
Sage (to help with butternut lasagna recipe below!!)
Butternut Squash Time!!
Your butternut squash will keep best at room temp and will keep for over a month. It only gets sweeter as it ages so do not feel compelled to cook it at once. When your ready here are some ideas:
Spiced Butternut Squash Soup
* 3 pounds butternut squash, halved and seeded
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 medium onion, sliced
* 1 leek, sliced
* 2 cloves garlic, sliced
* 2 (49.5 fluid ounce) cans chicken broth
* 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/2 cup sherry wine
* 1 cup half-and-half cream
* 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Pour a thin layer of water in a baking dish, or a cookie sheet with sides. Place the squash halves cut side down on the dish. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce the flesh. Cool slightly, then remove the peel. Set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek and garlic, and saute for a few minutes, until tender. Pour the chicken broth into the pot. Add the potatoes, and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until soft. Add the squash, and mash with the potatoes until chunks are small. Use an immersible hand blender to puree the soup, or transfer to a blender or food processor in batches, and puree until smooth. Return to the pot.
3. Season the soup with cayenne pepper, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, salt and pepper, then stir in the sherry and half-and-half cream. Heat through, but do not boil. Ladle into bowls, and top with a dollop of sour cream.
How to Bake Your Winter Squash
Cut smaller squash (like acorn squash) in half; scoop out the seeds. Place 2 teaspoons honey, brown sugar, or maple syrup and 1 tablespoon butter into their centers. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for about 30 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork.
Roasting Method
Cut in half and seed squash. Place the squash halves, cut-side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Rub the flesh with softened butter or oil, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with brown sugar, maple syrup or orange juice. Flip the squash over and roast them for 40 to 45 minutes in a preheated 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) oven. Roast the squash until the skin is blistered, browned and the flesh tender. Insert a fork or knife under the skin to test that the flesh is tender. When the squash has cooled the skin should peel off easily.
Roasting squash helps to maintain squash's delicate flavor. Once roasted and cooled, there are a plethora of cooking options available. One option is to mash the squash and use it in any recipe calling for squash purée. Roasted squash freezes extremely well and reheats easily. Don't be afraid to roast several squash at once and freeze it for use during the holidays
Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna- thanks Martha Stewart for the heads up on this one! Butternut lasagna is fantastic!! Dino's Italian Restaurant made a batch of it last year for one of the Think Local Benefit Dinners.. believe me I'm going to dust off the old apron and give this one a whirl!!
Ingredients
Serves 8
* 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
* 1 pound whole-milk ricotta cheese
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 2 large egg yolks
* 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)
* Freshly grated nutmeg
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1/3 cup loosely packed fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
* 1 1/4 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
* Fresh Lasagna Noodles, (you will need only 1/2 of the batch), cut into 4-by-13-inch strips and cooked, or store-bought dried noodles, cooked
* 4 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/4 cups)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash, oil, and 1 teaspoon salt on a baking sheet. Season with pepper. Bake until light gold and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, cream, yolks, mozzarella, and a pinch of nutmeg in a medium bowl. Season with salt.
3. Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. As soon as it starts to sizzle, add sage, and cook until light gold and slightly crisp at edges, 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Place squash in a medium bowl, and mash 1/2 of it with the back of a wooden spoon, leaving the other 1/2 in whole pieces. Gently stir in sage-butter mixture and stock. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Spread 3/4 cup of ricotta mixture in a 9-cup baking dish. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 of the butternut squash mixture over noodles. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1 cup of ricotta mixture over noodles. Repeat layering once more (noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta). Sprinkle Parmesan over ricotta mixture.
6. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until cheese is golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
From Martha Stewart Living, October 2008
Concord Grapes:Concord grapes are a grape variety developed in the Eastern United States during the 19th century. The grapes have a number of uses, and often appear in jams, jellies, grape juice, and sweets. Concord grapes are extremely high in antioxidants and I love to just pop them in my mouth like table grapes. They are crisp, refreshing and even taste purple... pop one in your mouth and you'll see what I mean! They are seedy. Seeds can be squeezed out or spit at your spouse, kids if they're acting unruly.
Daikon Radish The Daikon radish comes to us from Japan where it is used raw to complement the taste of oily or raw foods and, more importantly, to aid in their digestion. Laboratory analysis has shown that the juice of raw daikon is abundant in digestive enzymes similar to those found in the human digestive tract. These enzymes - diastase, amylase, and esterase - help transform complex carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into their readily assimilable components. Traditional Japanese restaurants serve grated daikon (daikon oroshi) in tempura dip to help digest oils, or shredded daikon with raw fish to help digest the protein. Grated daikon is a wonderful aid to people with a weak digestive system. It is important, however, to use grated daikon immediately. In just thirty minutes nearly 50 percent of its enzymes are lost. Daikon is also
To Prepare for Eating:
Scrub or peel removing only a thin layer of the outside. It can be grated, or cut into cubes, sticks, or thin slices. It can be eaten raw or cooked. Cooked daikon is used like a turnip in soups and stews. Raw daikon can be used to add some crunch and spice to salads and relishes.
Beijing Radish Salad
1 medium daikon radish
2 tablespoons rice or balsamic vinegar (or a combination)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Wash and julienne radishes. They can be peeled or not as you like or you can grate them. Mix together the rest of the ingredients and dress the radishes with the dressing.
DAIKON RADISH REMOULADE
1 lb.
3 tbsp.
4 tbsp.
1 tsp.
1/4 cup
daikon radish
dijon style mustard
olive oil
wine vinegar
minced fresh parsley leaves
Cut the daikon into 2-inch-long fine julienne strips or grate it coarse. Rinse a large bowl with hot water, dry it, and in it whisk the mustard with 3 tablespoons hot water. Add the oil in a slow stream, whisking until the dressing is emulsified, and whisk in the vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Add the daikon strips and the parsley and toss the mixture well. Serves 6.
Gourmet, April 1991
Napa Cabbage~ Another treat from the Asian world! Napa cabbage is also know as Chinese Cabbage.
How it Stacks Up Nutrient Wise:
1 cup raw shredded contains:
calories: 20
Vitamin C: 46% RDA
Vitamin A: 26% RDA
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 1 g
Sesame Noodles with Napa Cabbage
Vegetarian Times Issue: February 1, 2007 p.65 — Member Rating: 1111
This easy dish is equally good hot or cold, and leftovers make a great take-along lunch.
Ingredient List
Serves 4
* 3 Tbs. reduced-fat peanut butter
* 2 Tbs. roasted sesame oil
* 2 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
* 2 Tbs. sherry or mirin (rice wine)
* 1 Tbs. rice vinegar
* 1 Tbs. sugar
* 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes or 1/2 tsp. chile sauce
* 10 oz. long noodles, such as udon or spaghetti
* 1/2 lb. napa cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)
* 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Directions
1. Whisk together peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, sherry, vinegar, sugar and red pepper flakes in saucepan.
2. Cook noodles according to package directions.
3. Meanwhile, place cabbage in colander over sink. Warm sauce over medium-low heat.
4. Drain noodles over cabbage in colander to wilt cabbage. Transfer noodles and cabbage to serving bowl, add sauce, and toss until combined.
5. Sprinkle with cilantro, and serve.
Nutritional Information
Per SERVING: Calories: 408, Protein: 15g, Total fat: 13g, Saturated fat: 2g, Carbs: 59g, Cholesterol: mg, Sodium: 553mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugars: 7g
Green Tomato Time:
Classic Fried Green Tomatoes
* 4 to 6 green tomatoes
* salt and pepper
* cornmeal
* bacon grease or vegetable oil
Preparation:
Slice the tomatoes into 1/4 - 1/2-inch slices. Salt and pepper them to taste. Dip in meal and fry in hot grease or oil about 3 minutes or until golden on bottom. Gently turn and fry the other side. Serve as a side dish - delicious with breakfast!
Baked Green Tomatoes:
* 4 large firm green tomatoes
* salt and pepper
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 3/4 cup coarse buttery cracker crumbs
* 4 tablespoons butter
Preparation:
Cut green tomatoes in 1/2 inch slices; arrange green tomato slices in a greased baking dish. Season sliced green tomatoes with salt and pepper and spread each with about 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar. Cover sliced green tomatoes with crumbs and dot with butter. Bake at 350° until green tomatoes are tender but still firm, or about 25 to 35 minutes.
Recipe for baked green tomatoes serves 6.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
CSA Harvest # 19
Hooray that Fall is really here!
Early this week during our vigilant weather watch we heard that we would encounter our first frost. We immediately started out into the garage to find every box, container, crate and bag that we could to store the crops in to get them out of the field. We labored over the tomato vines picking everything.. red ones in one box, green ones in another. The most rotten ones of course we had to throw at each other while we worked. Soon we looked like we were extras in a bad horror movie, tomato pulp dripping off our backs like fake blood. Tomato vines we didn't pick were covered with reemay. Reemay (also called agribon) is a fabric very similar to cheescloth. For farming purposes it comes in long rolls, wide enough to fit over the garden beds.
The two main functions of reemay are to protect a crop from frost and also to allow water and sun through to the plant but not pests. It is remarkable at how much better plants do when grown under it (except during really hot weather than you can actually cook your plants!) There are a few drawbacks to it though. The biggest is that it is expensive, the other is that for the high cost it is very delicate and tears easily. The worst is when we carefully cover a bed with the reemay and the next morning we wake up to find that deer have come through and poked holes all through it when passing through. Yes.. we are probably the only farmers in Oregon without deer fencing! For those of you who don't know the farm sits at only about 25 feet above the South Umpqua river. This makes for wonderful loamy soil but also there is always the chance that the river will flood and would take our deer fence with it! We have had much better luck this year than last with the deer and for that we are thankful. Of course now that hunting season is upon us that may change as the deer come down out of the hills to set up camp in the safe zone.
By the way we ended up not having a frost as warned although last night we had a small one. Last night's frost was cold enough to kill the uncovered basil, cucumbers (you're breathing a sigh of relief I bet!) and the winter squash.
Yes we do have winter squash (3 varieties) which we are hoarding until next week.
This week you will find tomatillos or husk tomato.. a very favorite treat of mine used in the Mexican specialty called "salsa verde" (or green salsa) sounds better in Spanish! So please read below on how to prepare and store them!
Enjoy!
Harvest This Week Includes:
Eggplant
Tomatillos
French Fingerling potatoes
Gypsy Peppers (sweet)
Jalapeno Peppers (spicy)
Red Zeppelin Onion
Heirloom Tomatoes
Sweet Cluster Tomatoes
Sungold Tomatoes OR Grapes
Carrots
Rainbow Chard
Recipe Ideas and Storage Tips:
Tomatillos:The tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica) is a plant of the Solanaceae (nightshade) family, related to tomatoes, bearing small, spherical and green or green-purple fruit of the same name. I took a photo of them above. Tomatillos, referred to as green tomato (Spanish: tomate verde) in Mexico, are a staple in Mexican cuisine.
Storage: Fresh ripe tomatillos will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks. They will keep even longer if the husks are removed and the fruits are placed in sealed plastic bags stored in the refrigerator.[2] They may also be frozen whole or sliced.
Roasted Tomatillo and Garlic Salsa
* 1 pound fresh tomatillos, husks removed
* 1 head garlic cloves, separated and peeled
* 3 fresh jalapeno peppers
* 1 bunch fresh cilantro
* 1/2 cup water, or as needed
* salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven's broiler. Arrange the whole cloves of garlic, tomatillos, and jalapenos on a baking sheet. Place under the broiler, and cook for a few minutes. Remove garlic cloves first, as soon as they are toasted, to avoid developing a bitter flavor. Continue to roast jalapenos and tomatillos until evenly charred, turning occasionally. Set aside to cool. Don't remove the charred parts of the tomatillos or the peppers. They add a really nice flavor.
2. Place peppers and tomatillos in a blender with the garlic and cilantro. Add a little water to the mixture if necessary to facilitate blending. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until serving. Grab your favorite bag of tortilla chips or spoon over quesadillas..yummmmmmm
Chicken soup with tomatillos adapted from Splendid Soups.
1 chicken cut into 8 pieces
1 lb tomatillos coarsely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 jalapenos seeded and chopped
3 c chicken broth
2 T chopped cilantro
salt and pepper
Brown the chicken in a pan 8-10 minutes a side. Adjust the fat and lightly saute the onions and garlic. Add broth, tomatillos, jalapenos and chicken to pan. When chicken is done (~15 minutes) remove to cool. Skim any fat (I use a stick blender) and puree what is in the pan. The recipe calls for straining it, but if you like it a bit more chunky leave it. Shred the chicken meat and return to the pan with the cilantro. Adjust salt/pepper (add cayenne if you need it) to taste and you have a great soup (I'll sometimes add a little lime juice to taste as well). Serve with sour cream and/or shredded cheese.
There are plenty more recipes on how to use tomatillos on the internet if these don't interest you.. try myrecipes.com
Jalapeno Chicken easy and elegant!
Ingredients:
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced into rings
*
1 chicken breast, thawed and sliced lengthwise, thin
*
1 cup spinach
*
1 tomato, sliced
*
1 slice provolone cheese
*
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
*
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
*
1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
*
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste, or with any other seasonings you may prefer.
2.
In a skillet, sear the chicken breasts, about 2 minutes each side, then reduce heat to low and cook until chicken is done throughout. Use a bit of cooking spray to avoid sticking.
3.
In a separate pan, cook the spinach until soft.
4.
Once spinach is done, transfer to a mixing bowl and toss with Worcestershire and minced garlic.
5.
Place spinach mixture atop the chicken breasts.
6.
Cover spinach with tomato slices and jalapeno pepper slices.
7.
Top with provolone cheese.
8.
Cover the pan until cheese is melted.
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