CSA Harvest #3

Good day Everyone Happy Summer Solstice (on the 21st) and hooray for three days in a row without rain! woah.. now wait a minute what is this about rain for the CSA harvest and delivery!? Guess we did not have to race to get the pump back in the river today after all!

Have most of you been reading about, looking at stories and images from the oil spill in the gulf? I have and we don't have tv or get the newspaper but we do have internet and NPR on the radio. It's overwhelming and tragic and we ask ourselves "how can I be less dependent of those fuels for my existence?" well guess what? Eating locally is one of the main ways you can do that. In a time when most of the food we eat travels an average of 1,300 miles away you can enjoy the fresh crunch of the snow peas and carrots and know they were grown less that 2o miles away. That is a big step that helps to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

Many people and maybe most of you seek out organic foods for personal health reasons and that is great. As farmers the driving force for us in growing food using organic methods is for the health of the planet and second for our own personal health. Of course many of us are realizing that the health of both the planet and our bodies are interlinked. So thank you for the sake of your health and the health of the planet to eating locally and organically! Actually we are now certified naturally grown. Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) is a third party certification program. That means someone we did not know came and inspected our fields and reviewed our records and seeds to be sure we don't plant GMO seeds (genetically modified) or seeds that have been treated with chemicals. Also they cheked to be sure we were not using pesticides or herbicides and to see that we use only certified organic fertilizer. We had wanted to become certified organic as we were in Ca. but the cost is fairly prohibitive and we do not sell things wholesale. Since we only sell locally we can explain to folks about how we grow our crops and now we have the certified naturally grown to confirm our commitment to growing food healthy for people and the planet! You can check out more about what Certified Naturally Grown at their website and check out our farm profile there.

We are looking ahead for a future 3rd annual farm tour and potluck day for all CSA members. So stay tuned!

Thank you for eating locally!

Suzie, Asinete, MA & Violet

Harvest This Week Includes:

Carrots

Snow Peas

Hakurei Turnips

Grandpa's Admire Butterleaf Lettuce (Romaine in full shares) Romaine for all next week!

Broccoli

Bok Choy (aka: Pac Choi)


How to Store it and Eat it!

Bok Choy is a traditional stir fry vegetable from China. The Bok choy growing season is limited to the cooler months of spring and fall. Bok choy is often touted as the garden vegetable highest in calcium. Bok choy is an excellent source of vitamins A, B complex, and vitamin C.

Storage Tip: wrap bok choy in a damp towel or put in a plastic bag and place in the hydrator drawer in the 'fridge. Store for up to 1 week.


Stir Fry Bok Choy

Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:

* 4 bunches bok choy (basically, 1 bunch per person)
* 2 slices ginger
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
* 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
* 1/4 cup water
* A few drops sesame oil
* 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil for stir-frying

Preparation:
Wash the bok choy and drain. Separate the stalks and leaves. Cut the stalk diagonally and cut the leaves across.
Heat wok and add oil. When oil is ready, add ginger and stir-fry briefly, for about 30 seconds, until the ginger is aromatic. Add the bok choy, adding the stalks first, and then the leaves. Stir in the soy sauce, sugar, and salt, and stir-fry on high heat for 1 minute.
Add the water, cover the wok and simmer for about 2 minutes. Stir in the sesame oil and serve. Serves 4.

Bok Choy Salad

Ingredients

* 1 medium head bok choy, diced
* 1 bunch green onions, chopped
* 1 (3 ounce) package ramen noodles
* 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds
* 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 3 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions

1. Combine bok choy and green onions; cover and chill.
2. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and ramen noodle seasoning packet. Refrigerate until chilled.
3. Break ramen noodles into small pieces; combine with toasted almonds and sesame seeds.
4. Before serving, combine the cabbage mixture and noodle mixture; add dressing and toss to coat.

Snow Peas enjoy the weekly share of snow peas as they are a fleeting spring treat. Once summer arrives the vines will wither. They are strictly a spring treat. Snow peas are full of vitamins A & C.


Snow Peas with Pine Nuts and Mint

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 pound snow peas, rinsed, dried, tips of the ends cut off, strings removed
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil
10 large mint leaves, chopped
Method

1 Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the snow peas, garlic, and pine nuts. Stir to coat with the oil. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring. You do not want to overcook the snow peas or they will get limp. They should still be a little bit crunchy.

2 Remove from heat. Stir in the sesame oil and chopped mint leaves. Serve immediately.

Serves 2-3.


Sorry all another late blog entry and I'm falling asleep as I type! For any other recipe ideas for your goodies please try allrecipes.com there are millions of recipes avail!