CSA Harvest #7

Good day everyone!! I'm actually cheating today and getting a head start on the newsletter so I can spend the cooler hours of evening outside planting and harvesting for our 7th harvest!! Asinete and I are amazed that already 7 weeks have flown by! The CSA seems a bit more effortless this year and much more bountiful than last year. We are definitely learning how to streamline our efforts although farming could never be considered "easy money!"
Perhaps some of you saw the article in last Sunday's paper in the business section about our local CSA programs. You may have seen a photo of me digging potatoes. We received much needed help in our potato harvest from neighborhood kids who needed to fulfill community service hours... (do any of you have kids who need these hours too?? send 'em our way and we'll make a farmer out of them if even for an afternoon!) Our Yukon gold and Norkotah russet potatoes are now carefully stacked in boxes in our basement where it is dark and stays cool all summer.
The vacant space left by our potatoes will be planted in buckwheat today as a cover crop. Buckwheat is a great summer cover crop as it grows quickly and its large leaves help to shade out competing weeds. In 4 weeks we will till this cover crop under and use the enriched soil as a fine seedbed to start our fall crops.

Enjoy this week's harvest of lettuce as we will not have as much during the worst heat of summer. Lettuce cannot tolerate constant hot weather and even young plants will immediately bolt (go to seed) and taste bitter. You will be be able to enjoy more lettuce later in the season.

Keep your ears open for our annual potluck/farm day! We are still trying to settle on a date.


Enjoy your CSA share!


This Week's Harvest Contains:

Walla Walla and Red Mercury Onions

Genovese Basil

Glacier Tomato

Summer Squash Medley

Dill

Cilantro

Head Lettuce (Red Sails/Red Oakleaf/Speckled Trouts Back Romaine)

French Fingerling Potatoes (my favorite! beautiful inside!)

Beets

Scarlet Nantes Carrots

Musick Hardneck Garlic


Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

If you want a little spice, sprinkle these potatoes with a Cajun seasoning before roasting. Serve roasted fingerling potatoes with just about any main dish, along with a side vegetable or tossed salad.
INGREDIENTS:

* 2 pounds fingerling potatoes
* 5 cloves garlic, crushed and finely minced
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 teaspoons lemon juice
* 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Cajun seasoning, optional

PREPARATION:
Heat oven to 450°. Grease a large shallow baking dish with olive oil or spray with olive oil spray.

Scrub potatoes and cut large ones in half. In a large bowl, combine the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, pepper, and seasoning, if using. Toss potatoes with the garlic and oil mixture. Arrange the coated potatoes in a single layer in the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Serves 4.

Orange and Beet Salad Recipe


Ingredients

1 bunch of beets, leaves removed (save them for beet greens!) - about 4 or 5 medium sized
2 large navel oranges, peels cut off with a small small knife and sliced
Bed of Mixed Lettuce Greens
Several thin slices of red onion
optional 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

dressing
In a small jar, mix the following ingredients. The mustard is there to act primarily as an emulsifier.
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon dried mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Method

1 Cook the beets with their peel on. I prefer the boiling method because it's more efficient - cover the beets with water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 minutes or until beets can easily be pierced through with a fork. Alternatively you can wrap the beets in aluminum foil and bake them in the oven at 400°F for an hour or until done. After cooking, allow the beets to come to room temperature and remove their peels. Slice or quarter them. If you have time, place them in a small bowl and marinate them in half of the oil and vinegar dressing, ingredients listed above.

2 Compose individual salad plates with lettuce leaves, a few slices of orange, a few beets, a few slices of red onion and a few chopped walnuts. If you want some added color, gently add a few slices of the orange to the beet juice from your bowl of beets. Let the oranges absorb the beet color and use in your salad. Sprinkle dressing over the individual salads.

Serves 4.


Mango & Cilantro Salsa
Servings: 8

Ingredients: 2 ripe mangoes, peeled, diced
1/2 red onion, finely minced
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:

Makes about 2 Cups

Combine and let sit 30 minutes at room temperature before serving. May be prepared ahead and refrigerated for one day.