Good day!! Wow how the time flies! This will be the 13th week into your adventure of eating locally grown food through the CSA program. On our end we have to keep reminding ourselves that we still have 13 more weeks to go!
At this time of year the weeds try to make their last valiant attempt to get as tall as they can and produce their seeds before the killing frosts of fall come. We struggle to keep them at bay, to keep everything watered and harvested.
I always want the farm to look nice and presentable but in the end I have to remember that we are not being paid by the hour.. we are paid by how much we can harvest and effectively market. Of course our main market is to all of you through the CSA, then comes farmers market and now we have opened a farm stand here at the farm! This will be open Sat from 3-8pm and Sunday from 10-7 pm. We have already met some great folks who happen to just be traveling through. Many are local people who would not other wise seek out organic food. They are full of questions about the odd looking heirloom tomatoes and remark on the weird looking hard neck garlic. The farm stand has given us a chance to reach out to folks who do not normally go to farmers market or enroll in CSA programs.. we can still educate them about the benefits of eating locally produced foods! It was great when we even saw people coming back later in the day to buy more corn and tomatoes because they said it was so good they needed to get more!
Potluck Time at Big Lick Farm~~~~~ We hope you will all be able to attend our 2nd Annual Farm Open house/potluck!! The date will be Sunday September 6th after 1 pm. We will have some great music from our neighbor Shasta Ray! Please let us know if you will be attending or not.. and if so with how many people.
CSA Harvest This Week:
Bartlett Pears~ To fully ripen place in paper bag to keep it dark. Keep in cool place 'til ripe.
Summer Squash
Hakurei Turnips~ a "gourmet" turnip. Greens also edible!
Arugula (last of it until new planting ready)
Garlic
Red and Yellow Onions
Sungold Tomatoes
Tomato Medley (Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, Brandywine, Green Zebra, Sweet Cluster)
Luscious Sweet Corn
Basil
French Fingerling Potatoes
Rainbow Chard
Cucumber Mix
Jalapenos
Hakurei turnips are a Japanese variety noted for their tenderness and mild flavor. Here are some preparation ideas!
Curried Hakurei Turnips
One chopped onion
2 tablespoons oil
5 or 6 hakurei, peeled and sliced thin (all the recipes said to peel them but it seemed sort of pointless, since they were so tender throughout)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
one lemon, cut into wedges
Sauté the onion in the oil for a few minutes until translucent. Add the turnips, the curry powder and salt and cook until everything is tender. Squeeze some lemon juice over the dish before serving and serve with extra lemon wedges.
Sauteed Hakurei Turnips and Braised Greens
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
1 Bunch Hakurei Turnips with greens
1 lb Greens such as Chard, Mizuna or Braising Mix
2 tsp oil, divide
½ cup water, apple juice or white wine
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
Method:
1. Cut the greens from the turnips. Wash and tear all the greens into large pieces and remove the stems. Cut the turnips into bite sized pieces.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sautee the turnips stirring or tossing occasionally until they are crispy outside and tender inside. Season with salt and pepper and remove to a warm plate.
3. In the same pan, heat the remaining oil over medium heat.
4. Add the washed and wet greens, and add to pan in batches. Stir and mix as they wilt.
5. Add the wine or other liquid and cook until it is mostly evaporated.
6. Plate greens and arrange the warm turnips on top.
Rainbow Chard Recipe Ideas:
Rainbow Chard Salad with Raisins and Walnuts
serves 4
About half a large bunch of rainbow chard
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup walnuts
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese
Wash the chard well and let dry. Fold the leaves in half and slice away the tough stalk. Discard or compost. Cut the leaves in half, lengthwise, then slice into fine ribbons. You should have about 4-6 cups of finely sliced chard.
Put the walnuts in a small, heavy frying pan over medium heat and toast for about five minutes, shaking to keep them from burning. Add the raisins to the pan right at the end just to warm them through.
Whisk the sugar, olive oil, wine, and orange juice together and taste. Adjust to taste and add salt and pepper.
Toss the raisins, hot walnuts, chard and dressing all together. Distribute among individual salad bowls and sprinkle Parmesan on top.
Enjoy!!
Suzie, Asinete, M.A, Violet and Robin!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
CSA Harvest #12
Everyone loves luscious Big Lick Plums! Even Vegas the umbrella cockatoo whose favorite place is hanging out in the tree.. testing the plums to see which one tastes the best! Also you can see above Asinete decked out in his knee pads planting some fall cauliflower seedlings. And the other photo I had to document the arsenal of horsepower employed by Big Lick Farm.. what is that saying "he/she who dies with the most toys wins?" we might qualify yet!
Hopefully you have all received the invitation to the farm potluck/tour on Sunday September 6th. We hope you can all come!
In other farm news we are trying to stay afloat among the rising tide of ripe tomatoes, basil bonanza, and foot long cucumbers which seem to materialize overnight. Asinete keeps saying that we need to employ someone who can prepare meals for us while we are out working in the fields. The ugly, shameful truth is that each of you eat more of the produce we grow then we do. We cannot find the extra energy to do any food preparation when we get in... "mono meals" become the norm at our house about now... lunches and dinners of quesadillas!
Today we also wanted to include a list of local businesses that buy directly from Big Lick Farm to support us and to support our community. We wanted to tell them thank you! Please remember them as you are doing your shopping!
1. Meadowlark Welding- Cindy and Scott Phillips are our "farm angels" coming to our rescue with everything from tractor repair, pump repair to roof repair! Scott is a "jack of all trades" so if you have a special project that involves some form of welding you can give them a call. Look for them under Meadowlark Welding in the phone book.
2. The Maui Vegetarian~ Brian, Crystal and Skye serve beautiful, tasty vegan food. You can find their prepared food at the following health food stores:New Day (Roseburg), Harvest Market (Winston) and Promise in Canyonville.
3. Harvest Market~ owner Steve always buys our tomatoes for preparing food in their kitchen. Gazpacho time!
** Also we have noticed that Kathy of Harrison's Hardware (in Winston) as well as Mystic Earth (Roseburg) owner Michelle always seek us out at farmers market to buy directly from us.
We wish the list was longer..but realize more accounts will come with time.
In your CSA share this week we wanted to get the rest of the plums to you before Vegas eats them all. We hope you are loving the tomatoes! The Sungold cherry tomatoes are impossible to keep up with. At the start of the season I am desperate to find enough to fill all the baskets and now even between CSA and the market we cannot keep up! Please bring containers to pick into if you are coming to the farm potluck! Also as you may have noticed the heirloom tomatoes do not store well. They needed to be left at room temp (like all tomatoes) and eaten asap! Soft spots can be cut off if need be. We highly recommend you enjoy the heirloom tomatoes first and save the round, red hybrid (sweet cluster) ones for later as they will keep a lot longer!
Harvest This Week Will Include:
Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
Mystery Variety Plums
Eggplant Mix
Heirloom Tomatoes (Cherokee Purple,Black Krim and Brandywine)
Sweet Cluster Red Tomatoes
Scallions (Green Onions)
Arugula
Radishes
French Fingerling Potatoes
Basil (surprise!)
Luscious Sweet Corn
Squash Mix (sick of summer squash yet?)
Cucumber Mix (Marketmore, Boothby Blonde, Lemon, Armenian) Most of the Armenian cukes are too long to fit in the basket so we had to cut them and wrap. If you see a long, ribbed green fruit in your basket it is the Armenian.. my favorite!
Peppers (mix of sweet Gypsy and hotter varieties)
Sugar Baby Watermelon (in full share only this week) Next week we should have enough for all the half shares! Sorry we had to cut some up and wrap to be able to fit all the other goodies into the baskets!
Recipe Ideas:
Spaghetti with arugula and cherry tomatoes~ Thank you CSA member Lily for passing this on. Lily made this dish from her arugula and cherry tomatoes last week!
(Beatrice Peltre for The Boston Globe)
July 15, 2009
Serves 4
Most people eat arugula greens (also known as rocket), which have a lemon-pepper flavor, in a salad. But this leafy vegetable is also wonderful in a pesto or to dress up a pizza or pasta. Buy it by the bunch, remove the stems, and thoroughly rinse the leaves, which can be quite sandy, in cool water. To make this pasta, cook spaghetti, and while it bubbles, saute red onion, garlic, and lime rind in olive oil, then add the spaghetti to the pan. Toss with lime juice, a dash of cayenne, chopped basil, and a few cups of arugula. The heat of the spaghetti cooks the vegetable. To serve, add sweet cherry tomatoes, crumbled feta, and a generous sprinkle of Parmesan. The peppery greens, succulent tomatoes, and slightly salty Parmesan and feta transform ordinary spaghetti into a fine summer meal.
Salt, to taste
12 ounces spaghetti
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
Grated rind and juice of 1 lime
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 packed cups arugula
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped basil
3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Extra Parmesan (for serving)
Extra feta (for serving)
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until it is tender but still has some bite.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, lime rind, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, 4 minutes, or until onions soften. Add cayenne pepper.
3. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it and transfer to a large bowl. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and toss gently. Tip the spaghetti into the skillet. Toss again.
4. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the arugula, lime juice, and salt. Toss gently and cover the pan for a few minutes. The heat of the spaghetti will cook the arugula. Add the tomatoes, basil, feta, and Parmesan. Toss again. Serve with more Parmesan and feta.
Beatrice Peltre
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
Arugula Pesto- recipe from simplerecipes.com
Arugula Pesto Recipe
Ingredients
* 2 cups of packed arugula leaves, stems removed
* 1/2 cup of walnuts
* 1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
* 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
* 1/2 garlic clove peeled and minced
Method
1 Brown 6 garlic cloves with their peels on in a skillet over medium high heat until the garlic is lightly browned in places, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan, cool, and remove the skins.
2 Toast the nuts in a pan over medium heat until lightly brown, or heat in a microwave on high heat for a minute or two until you get that roasted flavor. In our microwave it takes 2 minutes.
3a Food processor method (the fast way): Combine the arugula, walnuts, roasted and raw garlic into a food processor. Pulse while drizzling the olive oil into the processor. Remove the mixture from the processor and put it into a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
3b Mortar and pestle method (photo pictures pesto produced this way): Combine the nuts and garlic in a mortar. With the pestle, grind until smooth. Add the cheese and olive oil, grind again until smooth. Finely chop the arugula and add it to the mortar. Grind up with the other ingredients until smooth.
Because the pesto is so dependent on the individual ingredients, and the strength of the ingredients depends on the season or variety, test it and add more of the ingredients to taste.
4 Mix with freshly prepared pasta of your choice. You may need to add a little bit of water or more olive oil to mix the pesto more evenly with the pasta.
Makes enough pesto sauce for an ample serving of pasta for four people.
Grilled Eggplant
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
* 1 large eggplant
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* 2 cloves garlic, very finely minced
* 1 pinch each thyme, basil, dill, and oregano
* salt and freshly grated black pepper
Preparation:
Heat grill.
When grill is hot, slice eggplant about 1/2-inch thick. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with the oil and vinegar mixture.
Place eggplant on the hot preheated grill. Grill about 15 to 20 minutes, turning once.
While the grill is on put your scallions on there and grill them too... the best scallions i ever tasted were south of the border somewhere outside of Hermosillo.. so delicious!
Grilled Scallions
yield: Makes 4 (side dish) servings
active time: 10 min
total time: 25 min
Scallions are often treated more like a garnish than a vegetable, but they make an excellent side dish when grilled and tossed with a simple vinaigrette.
Ingredients
* 3 bunches large scallions, trimmed
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
* 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
* 1 teaspoon grainy mustard
* 1/4 teaspoon sugar
* 1 hard-boiled large egg, peeled and chopped
Preparation
Prepare a gas grill for direct-heat cooking over medium heat; see Grilling Procedure .
Toss scallions with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
Grill scallions, covered, turning occasionally, until wilted and tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
Whisk together remaining tablespoon oil, vinegar, mustard, and sugar in a large bowl.
Toss scallions with vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with egg.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
CSA Harvest #11
Happy CSA Thursday!! A bit tuckered out tonight after a long day planting our next round of crops including: Chinese cabbage, daikon radish, more carrots (purple dragon!), parsley, rainbow chard, Lacinato kale, Easter egg radishes, arugula, baby greens and much more!
It has been a very productive week for us here and we feel confident that we will have a great variety of produce to carry us all the way through the season.
We have heard from many of you about your baskets and how much the produce has been enjoyed. In the next few weeks we will be sending out a survey to find out what each of you enjoy and may not enjoy in your CSA share and hopefully we will have time to improve and or make changes before the season is over.
Sorry that this blog entry will be a bit short... still have to eat some dinner as we have been making the most of these warm summer evenings in the gardens.
Enjoy your bounty!
Harvest This Week Includes:
Cucumber Mix (marketmore and boothby blonde)
Arugula
Plums
Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
Heirloom Tomato Mix (may include Cherokee purple, Brandywine, Black Krim, Pruden's Purple, Green Zebra)
Red and Yellow Onions
Scarlet Nantes Carrots
Summer Squash
Basil (again I know!)
Asinete's Luscious Bicolor Sweet Corn
Hot Peppers (Bulgarian Carrot/Jalapeno)
Arugula~
Arugula is a pungent, peppery salad green that has been widely used in Italy since ancient Roman times. It was virtually unknown in the United States until the 1970s when it, along with other exotic mesclun greens from the Mediterranean region, such as radicchio and mache, caught the wave of interest in the new style of seasonal cooking known as California cuisine -- and rode that wave into the periphery of the mainstream American diet. Arugula is now widely available in farmers markets, even though it is still seldom seen in the average American supermarket.
To the uninitiated, arugula can take some getting used to, though it is an easily acquired taste if properly presented. In relatively small quantities, shreds of arugula can add a touch of spice to any salad without overwhelming it. It is also excellent as the dominant or even sole green in a salad with fruit or a fruity dressing to offset its pungency.
Apple Vinaigrette
This is an excellent dressing for an arugula and/or spinach salad. For more layers of flavor complexity, add walnuts and/or feta cheese and/or crumbled bacon.
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons grated sweet or purple onion
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup finely chopped apple
1. Whisk together sugar, vinegar, onion, mustard, salt, oil, and apple, or pulse a few times in blender.
2. Refrigerate salad greens and dressing separately until serving time.
Arugula and Pear Salad
Dressing:
2 tablespoons minced shallot
3 tablespoons vegetable broth
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Salad:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 firm red Bartlett pears
5 cups butterhead lettuce (Bibb or Boston)
washed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
4 cups arugula, trimmed, washed and dried
1. To prepare dressing, whisk shallots, broth, oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
2. To prepare salad, toast walnuts in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool.
3. Just before serving, cut pears into 16 slices each. Place in a large bowl. Spoon on 1 tablespoon of the dressing and toss to coat. Add lettuce, arugula and the remaining dressing; toss well. Divide among 8 plates. Top with walnuts.
Arugula, Orange and Red Onion Salad
2 bunches arugula, washed and trimmed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 large navel oranges, peel and white pith removed, cut into segments
8 very thin slices red onion, separated into rings
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Drizzle the arugula with half of the olive oil and the lemon juice; toss to coat and divide among 4 salad plates.
2. Arrange the orange segments and onions on top, dividing evenly. Drizzle with remaining oil and season with black pepper.
Arugula, Orange and Fennel Salad
Salad:
1 large fennel bulb
1 red onion, shaved paper thin
2 cup mandarin orange segments
6 bunches fresh arugula
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)
Vinaigrette:
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon turbinado or other brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Trim off the top off the fennel bulb. Slice the fennel and onion paper thin.
3. To prepare the vinaigrette, combine ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk.
4. Toss the arugula, fennel and onion with vinaigrette, divide among serving plates and top with mandarin orange slices, walnuts and, if desire, pomegranate seeds.
Grilled Fig and Arugula Salad
8 large black mission figs or 12 smaller green figs
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus extra for brushing figs
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 lb. arugula
1/2 lb. ricotta salata, grated
1/4 lb. proscuitto, julienned
1. Rinse and trim stem end of figs and split lengthwise.
2. Whisk olive oil into 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Toss arugula with vinaigrette.
3. Lightly brush figs with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill or broil figs one minute on each side. Remove figs from heat and toss with remaining 3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar.
4. Place figs on a bed of greens then sprinkle with cheese and Proscuitto and serve.
Arugula and Red Pepper Pesto
1/2 lb. arugula
1 1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
4 roasted red peppers
1 cup toasted piñon nuts
1 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 cup olive oil
1. Blend everything together in a food processor, stopping to scrape sides and processing again. We like the pesto rich, salty and oily. A few cloves of sweet roasted garlic are a nice addition.
2. Older arugula can be bitter; this pesto can be cut with fresh spinach for milder flavor.
3. Spread on pizza crust, and top with cheese & veggies; toss with hot pasta (ziti is a particularly good vehicle); add to sour cream for a dip. You can freeze the pesto in greased ice cube trays for easy-access portions.
Arugula and Olive Pesto
3 cups arugula
1/2 cup best-quality extra virgin olive oil
1 small clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup coarsely chopped kalamata olives, or other oil-cured black olive
1/4 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
1. Place all ingredients except cheese in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
2. Transfer mixture to a small bowl and stir in the cheese. Taste for seasonings adding salt or pepper as desired.
Makes enough sauce for one pound of pasta.
Linguine with Arugula, Pine Nuts
and Parmesan Cheese
1 pound linguine
1/2 cup olive oil
4 ounces arugula, trimmed
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
additional freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1. Cook linguine in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add arugula and stir until just wilted, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
3. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add arugula and toss well. Add 1 cup Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste; toss well.
4. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve immediately, adding additional Parmesan, if desired.
Basil Ideas!
Fresh Basil Pesto
If you want to freeze the pesto you make, omit the cheese (it doesn't freeze well). Line an ice cube tray with plastic wrap, and fill each pocket with the pesto. Freeze and then remove from the ice tray and store in a freezer bag. When you want to use, defrost and add in grated Parmesan or Romano.
Ingredients
* 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
* 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
* 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
* 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
* Special equipment needed: A food processor (Check Amazon.com's sale on Cuisinart food processors.)
Method
1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Makes 1 cup.
Serve with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.
Bulgarian Carrot Pepper:
The Bulgarian Carrot Pepper looks just like a carrot - but doesn't taste like a carrot! This is a hot spicy pepper perfect for chili, roasting, or for salsas.
It has been a very productive week for us here and we feel confident that we will have a great variety of produce to carry us all the way through the season.
We have heard from many of you about your baskets and how much the produce has been enjoyed. In the next few weeks we will be sending out a survey to find out what each of you enjoy and may not enjoy in your CSA share and hopefully we will have time to improve and or make changes before the season is over.
Sorry that this blog entry will be a bit short... still have to eat some dinner as we have been making the most of these warm summer evenings in the gardens.
Enjoy your bounty!
Harvest This Week Includes:
Cucumber Mix (marketmore and boothby blonde)
Arugula
Plums
Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
Heirloom Tomato Mix (may include Cherokee purple, Brandywine, Black Krim, Pruden's Purple, Green Zebra)
Red and Yellow Onions
Scarlet Nantes Carrots
Summer Squash
Basil (again I know!)
Asinete's Luscious Bicolor Sweet Corn
Hot Peppers (Bulgarian Carrot/Jalapeno)
Arugula~
Arugula is a pungent, peppery salad green that has been widely used in Italy since ancient Roman times. It was virtually unknown in the United States until the 1970s when it, along with other exotic mesclun greens from the Mediterranean region, such as radicchio and mache, caught the wave of interest in the new style of seasonal cooking known as California cuisine -- and rode that wave into the periphery of the mainstream American diet. Arugula is now widely available in farmers markets, even though it is still seldom seen in the average American supermarket.
To the uninitiated, arugula can take some getting used to, though it is an easily acquired taste if properly presented. In relatively small quantities, shreds of arugula can add a touch of spice to any salad without overwhelming it. It is also excellent as the dominant or even sole green in a salad with fruit or a fruity dressing to offset its pungency.
Apple Vinaigrette
This is an excellent dressing for an arugula and/or spinach salad. For more layers of flavor complexity, add walnuts and/or feta cheese and/or crumbled bacon.
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons grated sweet or purple onion
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup finely chopped apple
1. Whisk together sugar, vinegar, onion, mustard, salt, oil, and apple, or pulse a few times in blender.
2. Refrigerate salad greens and dressing separately until serving time.
Arugula and Pear Salad
Dressing:
2 tablespoons minced shallot
3 tablespoons vegetable broth
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Salad:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 firm red Bartlett pears
5 cups butterhead lettuce (Bibb or Boston)
washed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
4 cups arugula, trimmed, washed and dried
1. To prepare dressing, whisk shallots, broth, oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
2. To prepare salad, toast walnuts in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool.
3. Just before serving, cut pears into 16 slices each. Place in a large bowl. Spoon on 1 tablespoon of the dressing and toss to coat. Add lettuce, arugula and the remaining dressing; toss well. Divide among 8 plates. Top with walnuts.
Arugula, Orange and Red Onion Salad
2 bunches arugula, washed and trimmed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 large navel oranges, peel and white pith removed, cut into segments
8 very thin slices red onion, separated into rings
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Drizzle the arugula with half of the olive oil and the lemon juice; toss to coat and divide among 4 salad plates.
2. Arrange the orange segments and onions on top, dividing evenly. Drizzle with remaining oil and season with black pepper.
Arugula, Orange and Fennel Salad
Salad:
1 large fennel bulb
1 red onion, shaved paper thin
2 cup mandarin orange segments
6 bunches fresh arugula
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)
Vinaigrette:
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon turbinado or other brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Trim off the top off the fennel bulb. Slice the fennel and onion paper thin.
3. To prepare the vinaigrette, combine ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk.
4. Toss the arugula, fennel and onion with vinaigrette, divide among serving plates and top with mandarin orange slices, walnuts and, if desire, pomegranate seeds.
Grilled Fig and Arugula Salad
8 large black mission figs or 12 smaller green figs
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus extra for brushing figs
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 lb. arugula
1/2 lb. ricotta salata, grated
1/4 lb. proscuitto, julienned
1. Rinse and trim stem end of figs and split lengthwise.
2. Whisk olive oil into 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Toss arugula with vinaigrette.
3. Lightly brush figs with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill or broil figs one minute on each side. Remove figs from heat and toss with remaining 3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar.
4. Place figs on a bed of greens then sprinkle with cheese and Proscuitto and serve.
Arugula and Red Pepper Pesto
1/2 lb. arugula
1 1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
4 roasted red peppers
1 cup toasted piñon nuts
1 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 cup olive oil
1. Blend everything together in a food processor, stopping to scrape sides and processing again. We like the pesto rich, salty and oily. A few cloves of sweet roasted garlic are a nice addition.
2. Older arugula can be bitter; this pesto can be cut with fresh spinach for milder flavor.
3. Spread on pizza crust, and top with cheese & veggies; toss with hot pasta (ziti is a particularly good vehicle); add to sour cream for a dip. You can freeze the pesto in greased ice cube trays for easy-access portions.
Arugula and Olive Pesto
3 cups arugula
1/2 cup best-quality extra virgin olive oil
1 small clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup coarsely chopped kalamata olives, or other oil-cured black olive
1/4 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
1. Place all ingredients except cheese in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
2. Transfer mixture to a small bowl and stir in the cheese. Taste for seasonings adding salt or pepper as desired.
Makes enough sauce for one pound of pasta.
Linguine with Arugula, Pine Nuts
and Parmesan Cheese
1 pound linguine
1/2 cup olive oil
4 ounces arugula, trimmed
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
additional freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1. Cook linguine in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add arugula and stir until just wilted, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
3. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add arugula and toss well. Add 1 cup Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste; toss well.
4. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve immediately, adding additional Parmesan, if desired.
Basil Ideas!
Fresh Basil Pesto
If you want to freeze the pesto you make, omit the cheese (it doesn't freeze well). Line an ice cube tray with plastic wrap, and fill each pocket with the pesto. Freeze and then remove from the ice tray and store in a freezer bag. When you want to use, defrost and add in grated Parmesan or Romano.
Ingredients
* 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
* 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
* 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
* 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
* Special equipment needed: A food processor (Check Amazon.com's sale on Cuisinart food processors.)
Method
1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Makes 1 cup.
Serve with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.
Bulgarian Carrot Pepper:
The Bulgarian Carrot Pepper looks just like a carrot - but doesn't taste like a carrot! This is a hot spicy pepper perfect for chili, roasting, or for salsas.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
CSA Harvest #10
Hooray for cooler weather... and rain?? Well with the changing weather comes more challenges for the farmer~! We were in a rush tonight to get all of the tomatoes picked in case the rain comes. As many of you may already know when a tomato is nearly ripe and it gets watered... BOOM the tomato absorbs that water and actually explodes (or to use the technical tomato term it "cracks")
We do not want to seem completely ungrateful for the cooler temps and chance of precipitation since we are currently unable to irrigate. Yesterday our friendly neighbor Earl asked me over the fence if I knew the bearing was out on our irrigation pump. Evidently Earl could tell just by the way our pump had changed it's pitch from a usual soft humm to a load, vibrating clank. It was at that moment that I had to admit that I knew nothing of pumps and what they should sound like. Good thing I am a woman where such ignorance of mechanical things is acceptable! ha ha! It was then that we put in a call to our farm angels Scott and Cindy Phillips out at Meadowlark Farm in Lookinglass. Scott is a wiz with farm machinery and he got our pump up and running in no time. Today was spent getting the pump back down to the river, connected to the electric box and "reprimed" (which means you have to manually fill the valves, pipe and pump with water so that the pump does not burn out when you turn it on. Wherever the stereotype arose that farming is mindless work for those who aren't smart enough for other professions is sure untrue. There is so much to learn from mechanical to biology to accounting (my least favorite part) to sales, research and I could go on and on but am getting too tired to make my case! :)
Today we will be featuring some much anticipated items in your CSA share: Asinete's bicolor sweet corn and eggplant! Look for recipe ideas below!!
Harvest This Week Includes
Asi's Luscious Sweet Corn
Classic Eggplant
Tomato Mix (sungold cherry, Cherokee purple, Sweet Cluster, Glacier)
Maxibel Haricot and Royal Burgundy Bean
Garlic
Sweet Yellow Onion
Summer Squash Mix
Basil (we have so much!)
Potatoes
Carrots
Marketmore Cucumbers
Eggplant
Baba Ghanouj ~ this is a Middle Eastern dip that is excellent on pita bread!
Ingredients:
* 2 1-pound eggplants, halved lengthwise
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)*
* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 garlic clove, chopped
* Pita bread wedges
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously oil rimmed baking sheet. Place eggplant halves, cut side down, on sheet. Roast until eggplant is very soft, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly. Using spoon, scoop out pulp from eggplant into strainer set over bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, allowing excess liquid to drain from eggplant.
Transfer eggplant pulp to processor. Add 1/4 cup oil, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic; process until almost smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Serve with pita wedges.
* Look for tahini in the natural food section of your grocery store.
Briam (Greek Mixed Vegetables in Tomato Sauce)
SUBMITTED BY: Aggeliki on myrecipes.com
"This is a Greek summertime favorite recipe, full of the aromas of fresh vegetables and herbs. It is easy to make and you can replace or add any vegetables you like and still get a great dish. You can serve it hot or cold."
* 4 tomatoes
* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
* 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
* 1/4 cup capers
* 2 cloves garlic
* salt and ground black pepper to taste
*
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 onions, sliced
* 2 potatoes, sliced
* 2 eggplant, sliced
* 3 zucchini, sliced
* 3 green bell peppers, sliced
* 2 cups okra
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place three of the tomatoes, the 1/2 cup olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, parsley, mint, basil, oregano, capers, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and process to create a fresh tomato sauce. Season with salt and black pepper; set aside. Chop the remaining tomato; set aside.
2. Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the onions until slightly golden, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir together the onions, potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, okra, the reserved chopped tomato, and the fresh tomato sauce, and place the mixture in a large baking pan. If needed, stir in a little water so that the vegetables are just covered with sauce.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until all vegetables are tender, about 1 hour.
FOOTNOTES
*
Cook's Note
*
While baking, add water if necessary, but keep in mind that you want the food to be relatively dry in the end.
Yummy Ways to Contend With all Those Cukes!
Agua de Pepino (Cucumber Limeade)
* 1 cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
* Juice of 2-3 limes
* Sugar to taste (1/4 c or so is good)
* water
* ice
Put cucumber, sugar and lime juice in blender with enough water to reach an inch and a half below the top. Blend well. Strain the pulp out of the mixture and serve over ice. Very tasty drink from our neighbors south of the border!
Creamy Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
* 3 medium cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup cider vinegar
* 1/2 cup water
* 1 Tbsp sugar
* 2 green onions, sliced into 1/4 thick rings
* 1/2 cup yogurt, sour cream or mayonnaise
Put cucumbers in a non-metallic bowl. Mix together the vinegar, water and sugar. Pour over cucumbers, cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Drain cucumbers and mix in the green onions and yogurt (or sour cream or mayonnaise).
You can also add some sliced sweet onions (i.e., Vidalia) to the cucumbers when you marinate them. This recipe is on the tart side.
From: Lucinda Rasmussen lrasmuss@PICA.ARMY.MIL via Veggies Unite!
Enjoy from your farmer friends!
Suzie, Asinete, M.A, Violet, Robin and Wayne
We do not want to seem completely ungrateful for the cooler temps and chance of precipitation since we are currently unable to irrigate. Yesterday our friendly neighbor Earl asked me over the fence if I knew the bearing was out on our irrigation pump. Evidently Earl could tell just by the way our pump had changed it's pitch from a usual soft humm to a load, vibrating clank. It was at that moment that I had to admit that I knew nothing of pumps and what they should sound like. Good thing I am a woman where such ignorance of mechanical things is acceptable! ha ha! It was then that we put in a call to our farm angels Scott and Cindy Phillips out at Meadowlark Farm in Lookinglass. Scott is a wiz with farm machinery and he got our pump up and running in no time. Today was spent getting the pump back down to the river, connected to the electric box and "reprimed" (which means you have to manually fill the valves, pipe and pump with water so that the pump does not burn out when you turn it on. Wherever the stereotype arose that farming is mindless work for those who aren't smart enough for other professions is sure untrue. There is so much to learn from mechanical to biology to accounting (my least favorite part) to sales, research and I could go on and on but am getting too tired to make my case! :)
Today we will be featuring some much anticipated items in your CSA share: Asinete's bicolor sweet corn and eggplant! Look for recipe ideas below!!
Harvest This Week Includes
Asi's Luscious Sweet Corn
Classic Eggplant
Tomato Mix (sungold cherry, Cherokee purple, Sweet Cluster, Glacier)
Maxibel Haricot and Royal Burgundy Bean
Garlic
Sweet Yellow Onion
Summer Squash Mix
Basil (we have so much!)
Potatoes
Carrots
Marketmore Cucumbers
Eggplant
Baba Ghanouj ~ this is a Middle Eastern dip that is excellent on pita bread!
Ingredients:
* 2 1-pound eggplants, halved lengthwise
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)*
* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 garlic clove, chopped
* Pita bread wedges
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously oil rimmed baking sheet. Place eggplant halves, cut side down, on sheet. Roast until eggplant is very soft, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly. Using spoon, scoop out pulp from eggplant into strainer set over bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, allowing excess liquid to drain from eggplant.
Transfer eggplant pulp to processor. Add 1/4 cup oil, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic; process until almost smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Serve with pita wedges.
* Look for tahini in the natural food section of your grocery store.
Briam (Greek Mixed Vegetables in Tomato Sauce)
SUBMITTED BY: Aggeliki on myrecipes.com
"This is a Greek summertime favorite recipe, full of the aromas of fresh vegetables and herbs. It is easy to make and you can replace or add any vegetables you like and still get a great dish. You can serve it hot or cold."
* 4 tomatoes
* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
* 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
* 1/4 cup capers
* 2 cloves garlic
* salt and ground black pepper to taste
*
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 onions, sliced
* 2 potatoes, sliced
* 2 eggplant, sliced
* 3 zucchini, sliced
* 3 green bell peppers, sliced
* 2 cups okra
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place three of the tomatoes, the 1/2 cup olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, parsley, mint, basil, oregano, capers, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and process to create a fresh tomato sauce. Season with salt and black pepper; set aside. Chop the remaining tomato; set aside.
2. Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the onions until slightly golden, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir together the onions, potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, okra, the reserved chopped tomato, and the fresh tomato sauce, and place the mixture in a large baking pan. If needed, stir in a little water so that the vegetables are just covered with sauce.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until all vegetables are tender, about 1 hour.
FOOTNOTES
*
Cook's Note
*
While baking, add water if necessary, but keep in mind that you want the food to be relatively dry in the end.
Yummy Ways to Contend With all Those Cukes!
Agua de Pepino (Cucumber Limeade)
* 1 cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
* Juice of 2-3 limes
* Sugar to taste (1/4 c or so is good)
* water
* ice
Put cucumber, sugar and lime juice in blender with enough water to reach an inch and a half below the top. Blend well. Strain the pulp out of the mixture and serve over ice. Very tasty drink from our neighbors south of the border!
Creamy Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
* 3 medium cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup cider vinegar
* 1/2 cup water
* 1 Tbsp sugar
* 2 green onions, sliced into 1/4 thick rings
* 1/2 cup yogurt, sour cream or mayonnaise
Put cucumbers in a non-metallic bowl. Mix together the vinegar, water and sugar. Pour over cucumbers, cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Drain cucumbers and mix in the green onions and yogurt (or sour cream or mayonnaise).
You can also add some sliced sweet onions (i.e., Vidalia) to the cucumbers when you marinate them. This recipe is on the tart side.
From: Lucinda Rasmussen lrasmuss@PICA.ARMY.MIL via Veggies Unite!
Enjoy from your farmer friends!
Suzie, Asinete, M.A, Violet, Robin and Wayne
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