CSA Harvest #9

Hello everyone... I will omit my normal greeting of "good day" as it is just too darn hot!! So much for the lingering mornings where we check email and have tea before heading out... now the alarm clock is strictly adhered to so that we can work before the sun gets too intense. As we come inside to cool ourselves off with the fan I worry about our poor wilted plants. How difficult to be rooted in somewhere, unable to move to sun or shade at will. Plants sure are amazing in the conditions which they manage to survive!
Unfortunately we have seen the last of our lettuce for awhile. We had just started harvesting a new bed of the flashy trouts back romaine but in the heat it has bolted. We have just planted more for baby lettuce and we have some smaller romaine which will hopefully survive the heat wave (even if we don't) ha ha!!

We hear a lot about climate change and some people are still skeptical. Farmers face so many challenges already and in a job where your livelihood depends on the weather the idea that the earth is heating up is a scary one. We all know tomatoes,beans, cucumbers, melons and many more enjoy the hot weather... but anything over 100 degrees and even these heat loving plants are feeling the effects!

One thing is that by eating locally you are helping to combat climate change as most of the food we buy in the store has traveled an average of 1,500 miles to our plates... so enjoy these fruits of our labor (and sweat lately!) and know that every delicious bite is just as good for the earth as it is for you!!

*** If you have any clean plastic and/or paper bags,, please bring them to the CSA pick up tomorrow. Also we will be very happy to keep reusing the paper bags and small carton in your basket.

Thank you and enjoy!

Suzie and Asinete


Harvest This Week Includes:

Basil

Gravenstein Apples!

Scarlet Nantes Carrots

Marketmore Cucumbers

Glacier Tomatoes

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Maxibel Haricot Green Bean

Royal Burgundy Bean

Yukon Gold/Bintje Potatoes

Walla Walla Onion

Red Zeppelin Onion

Poblano Peppers (Spicy dark green ones)

Gypsy Sweet Pepper (yellow ones)


Coming Soon: Eggplant!!!


Peppers are here hooray!! We sneaked the yellow Gypsy peppers off a little early to ease the burden off some of the plants. These peppers can be used just as you would use a bell pepper. Excellent when roasted! The poblano peppers with their bite take a little more consideration. But if you are a chile relleno lover such as myself today is your lucky day!


Chile Rellenos with Vegetables

Chiles rellenos are stuffed with everything from cheese in the north of Mexico to crab or seafood along the Gulf Coast. Though chiles rellenos are usually fried, they are baked in this vegetarian version. Bell peppers can be substituted for the poblano chiles.
Yield

4 servings
Ingredients

* 4 large poblano chiles (about 1 pound)
* 2 pounds tomatoes
* 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
* 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
* 1 drained canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
* 1 cup water
* 4 oregano sprigs
* 1 bay leaf
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* Dash of pepper
* 1 1/4 cups frozen or fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
* 1 cup diced chayote (or zucchini)
* 2/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
* 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
* 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* Dash of pepper
* Fresh whole chives
* Cilantro sprigs

Preparation

Preheat oven to 500°.

Remove stem ends of poblano chiles, leaving chiles whole; discard seeds and membranes. Set aside.

Place tomatoes, onions, and garlic on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan. Bake at 500° for 30 minutes (garlic should be lightly browned; remove before 30 minutes, if necessary). Let vegetables cool 10 minutes. Peel tomatoes and garlic; discard skins. Remove cores from tomatoes. Place tomatoes, garlic, onion, and chipotle chile in a food processor, and process until smooth. Strain through a sieve into a large saucepan; discard solids. Add water, oregano, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 40 minutes or until reduced to 2 cups. Remove from heat; discard oregano and bay leaf. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and dash of pepper to tomato mixture; set sauce aside, and keep warm.

Combine corn and next 6 ingredients (corn through dash of pepper) in a bowl; stir well. Pack 3/4 cup corn mixture into each poblano chile. Place stuffed chiles on foil-lined jelly-roll pan. Bake at 500° for 20 minutes or until chiles are blackened, turning after 10 minutes; peel chiles.

Spoon 1/2 cup tomato sauce onto each of 4 plates, and top with stuffed chiles. Garnish with whole chives and cilantro sprigs, if desired.
Nutritional Information

Calories:
255 (10% from fat)
Fat:
2.7g (sat 0.5g,mono 0.7g,poly 1.1g)
Protein:
10g
Carbohydrate:
54.7g
Fiber:
9.5g
Cholesterol:
0.0mg
Iron:
4.7mg
Sodium:
514mg
Calcium:
115mg

Cooking Light, MAY 1996



Quinoa Stuffed Poblano Chiles


Yield

4 servings (serving size: 2 stuffed chile halves)
Ingredients

* 4 (5-inch) poblano chiles
* 1 1/2 cups water
* 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
* Cooking spray
* 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño pepper
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 tablespoons unsalted pumpkin seed kernels
* 1/2 cup minced green onions
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh or 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
* 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon lime juice
* 2 cups tomato juice
* 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cut chiles in half lengthwise; remove stems and seeds. Set aside. Combine water and quinoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 13 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Set aside.

Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add bell peppers, onion, jalapeño pepper, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add pumpkin seed kernels; saute 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in quinoa, green onions, cilantro, soy sauce, and lime juice. Spoon 1/3 cup quinoa mixture into each chile half.

Pour tomato juice into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish; place stuffed chiles in dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over chiles; bake, uncovered, an additional 10 minutes or until cheese melts and chiles are thoroughly heated. Spoon tomato juice over chiles.
Nutritional Information

Calories:
329 (26% from fat)
Fat:
9.6g (sat 4.3g,mono 2.5g,poly 2.2g)
Protein:
20.4g
Carbohydrate:
47.9g
Fiber:
7g
Cholesterol:
19mg
Iron:
7.4mg
Sodium:
787mg
Calcium:
347mg

Cooking Light, JULY 1996


Central Market's Poblano-Cilantro Pesto



Central Market is headquartered in Austin. You can also find locations in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Plano, and San Antonio. This unique pesto is fabulous served in or as a topping for fajitas or quesadillas.
Yield

Makes 1 3/4 cups
Ingredients

* 4 poblano chile peppers
* 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
* 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
* 3/4 cup olive oil
* 3 garlic cloves
* 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 1 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Place peppers on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.

Broil 5 inches from heat about 5 minutes on each side or until blistered.

Place peppers in a zip-top plastic bag; seal and let stand 10 minutes to loosen skins. Peel peppers; remove and discard seeds.

Process peppers and remaining ingredients in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Store pesto in refrigerator up to 1 week.

Southern Living Favorites, Southern Living, APRIL 2004


The Gypsy pepper is a sweet pepper, not unlike a small Bell pepper. Gypsies are yellow at first, gradually turning orange, then red, and they’re never spicy. I like to take Gypsies and slice them very thin into slivers and cook them alone or with onions. When they’re red they roast well over coals, but when they’re yellow I have more success cooking them in a skillet. As they cook, the Gypsies caramelize, and they go well with tacos, eggs, fajitas, potatoes, rice, or beans. Later in the year we will have Gypsies that are multicolored, and then they’re a feast for the eyes even before dinner is made.

NUTRITION NOTES (from The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition, Sheldon Margen, M.D.): Perhaps the most surprising feature of peppers is their nutritiousness: They are excellent sources of many essential nutrients, especially vitamin C - by weight, green bell peppers have twice as much as citrus fruits (red bells have three times as much.) Hot peppers contain even more vitamin C, 357 percent more than an orange. Moreover, red peppers are quite a good source of beta carotene. Red peppers are higher in beta carotene than green peppers: A sweet red pepper provides nearly 11 times as much beta carotene as a sweet green one; hot red peppers contain nearly 14 times as much as their green counterparts. Furthermore, sweet red peppers have one and a half times as much Vitamin C as sweet green peppers; the vitamin C content of red and green hot peppers is the same.