grated raw beet salad!

People who swear they hate beets love this salad. It’s a North African-inspired mixture of grated, uncooked beets dressed with orange and lemon juices and a small amount of olive oil. It makes a great starter when you’re serving something robust as a main course, like a couscous.
Recipes for Health

Martha Rose Shulman presents food that is vibrant and light, full of nutrients but by no means ascetic, fun to cook and to eat.


1/2 pound beets

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoon minced chives, mint or parsley (or a combination)

Salt to taste

Leaves of 1 romaine heart

1. Peel the beets with a vegetable peeler, and grate in a food processor fitted with the shredding blade.

2. Combine the orange juice, lemon juice and olive oil. Toss with the beets and herbs. Season to taste with salt. Line a salad bowl or platter with romaine lettuce leaves, top with the grated beets and serve.

Yield: Serves four.

Advance preparation: The grated beets can be dressed and kept in the refrigerator, covered well, for a couple of days. They become more tender but don’t lose their texture, and the mixture becomes even sweeter as the beet juices mingle with the citrus. Toss again before serving.

Nutritional information per serving: 58 calories; 3 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 6 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 32 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during cooking); 1 gram protein

Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

CSA Harvest #9~

Happy Sunny, Summer Day! We wanted to share some images from the farm tour two weeks ago. Thank you to our CSA members Ardyce (pictured above) and her daughter Kris for printing these pics up for us to share with you! If you look close at the pics above you can see the field of strawberries with our 1948 farmall cub tractor in the background and also the little red barn where the chickens sleep at night. Notice how we like to goof around with overgrown squash at the farm!

Today it took us a whopping three hours to harvest all the berries for the CSA. We have berries everywhere! Since our 'fridges are full of berries we had to take a truckload of our produce up to Dillard Farm Stand today. Jill Laurance (McGregor) who owns the stand and farm was kind enough to share some of her coveted walk in cooler space with us.. how nice! We went pretty gung ho this spring with our green cabbage planting and had 160 heads in the field that needed to be cut. We wanted to give you all a break this week on the cabbage so we needed to find a cool place to keep it in the meantime.. luckily cabbage stores well! We also went through and harvested what appears to be the last of the spring planted broccoli.. (finally!) it is sooo good though! Broccoli will not store as well so it will make an appearance in your baskets again this week. Please get through any lingering cabbage this week as next week we may hit you again hard with it (limited access to that coveted cooler space!)

Back to the joys of a walk in cooler.. it is definitely on our list of either buying one already made or building our own.. it is a pretty big expense and really we will only need it for three months out of the year.. but how much easier it would make our lives.. so if any of you have one collecting dust in your backyard please let us know! :) (we can always wish!)


Another huge thank you is in order this week to CSA members Beth and Jim Houseman. They both came down from Sutherlin for the farm tour and as we walked among the potato patch they saw we did not have a proper potato digging fork. So we were surprised a few days later when Jim pulled into our driveway with a new digging fork in his hand. It is truly these moments that make many a hot, weary, dreary day of farming worthwhile! So thank you Houseman's for your gift! You can thank them as well as it hopefully ensures many less potatoes riddled with slashes and cuts from the shovel method of harvesting.


Thank you to all of you for supporting these local farmers!

Suzie, Asinete, M.A (see M.A I spelled it right!) Violet and Sally

Harvest This Week Includes:

Summer Squash

Strawberries

Basil Tops

Beets

Maxibel Haricot Bush Beans

Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce

Walla Walla Onions

Broccoli

Glacier Tomatoes (a few for everyone!)


How to Store it & Eat it!

Your beans this week are a French green bean called a Haricot Vert.. they are characterized by their long, pencil thin shape. They are our favorite string beans because they taste so good and although bush beans (not pole) they produce and produce. Green beans are will keep best in a bag in the fridge.

Green Bean Stir Fry
Serves 2


Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
* 1 teaspoon brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon peanut butter
* 3/4 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
* 4 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, garlic, sesame seeds, brown sugar and peanut butter; set aside. In a large skillet, stir-fry the green beans in oil until crisp-tender. Remove from the heat. Add the soy sauce mixture; stir to coat.

Ginger-Garlic Green Beans

1 lb. fresh green beans
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
8 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup low sodium chicken stock

Wash the beans, trim the ends, and cut into 2" pieces. Arrange beans over vegetable steamer and place over boiling water. Cover and steam 5 minutes, until the green beans are tender crisp. Drain beans and set aside.

Heat vegetable oil over low heat. Add ginger and garlic and sauté 3 minutes ,or until tender. Add chicken stock, stir. Add beans, cook 4 minutes stirring occasionally. Serves 4.

Walla Walla (bing bang) onions! Walla wallas are pretty famous and coveted around these parts and for a good reason! They are heavy, juicy and sweet and a fleeting seasonal treat. Walla Walla season is from early June through mid- September and we have learned the hard way that you cannot store walla wallas for more than a few weeks without them spoiling so use them up quick! If you would like to keep the green tops on them please refrigerate or else lop off the tops and keep onions in a cool, dark place.

French Onion Burgers

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 cups chopped Walla Walla onions
1 pound ground beef
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
4 hamburger rolls
4 teaspoons blue cheese salad dressing

Directions:
1. Preheat grill to medium high heat.

2. Heat oil in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute 10 minutes or until tender. Spoon onion into a large bowl. Set aside to let cool.

3. Add beef, pepper, egg white and salt to onion, and stir well. Divide beef mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping into 3/4-inch-thick patties.

4. Oil grill grate. Grill burgers for 5 minutes on each side or until done.

5. Serve burgers on rolls with dressing.

The Houseman's Onion Casserole (passed along from CSA members.. if you have a fave recipe using Big Lick produce please pass on for us to post!

4 large walla walla onions (please half recipe if not enough onions in your bskt!)

1/2 cup butter

saltine crackers

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

black pepper

1/4 cup cheddar cheese grated

1 can (15 ounces) cream of mushroom soup

1. Slice onions, saute in butter 'til clear

2. Grease bottom of 9x13 baking dish, crush some crackers into bottom of dish

3. Add half of onions and half of soup, alternating until gone.

4. Beat eggs, milk and pepper. Pour over top.

5. Top with cheese and some additional crushed crackers.

6. Bake at 350 degrees until brown (about 30 mins) yummy!


More beet ideas sure to tempt the beet hater in your family!

Beet burgers

Makes 6-8 servings
4 medium sized beets
2 sprigs of basil, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
salt and black pepper, to taste
1/4 to 2/3 cup flour
olive oil
mozzarella cheese
burger buns

1. Trim beet tops and root. Shred the beet in a food processor; transfer to a bowl. Add basil, onions, eggs, salt and pepper; mix.
2. Mix in just enough flour to make the mixture stick together. Form into 4-inch patties about 1/2 inch thick. (Don't make them too thick or the centers won't cook well.)
3. Heat 1/4 inch of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties 2-3 minutes on one side, until crispy. Turn, place a slice of mozzarella on top and fry 2-3 minutes more, until crispy.
4. Place hot on bun; serve immediately.

Roasted Beets with Pesto~ serves 4

Ingredients

* 4 beets, trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stems attached
* 6 tablespoons basil pesto
* salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place the beets in a large saucepan and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the beets are just tender, about 30 minutes. Drain, and allow the beets to cool until you are able to handle them. Peel and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices, then toss with the pesto in a bowl.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
3. Spread the beets out onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until the beets are hot and have turned slightly brown around the edges, 10 to 15 minutes.

In regards to the pesto I just whipped up a huge batch on Sunday in the food processor and then froze it in ice cube trays until frozen, then popped pesto cubes into freezer bags for winter use. I took all the basil (even the more tender stems) put in food processor, put in enough nuts (pine nuts, walnuts or even macadamia nuts work well), a quick squeeze of fresh lemon juice, three cloves of garlic (we love garlic.. you could use less :) and then a good drizzling on top of all with your favorite olive oil. Since I was freezing ours I did not add the Parmesan cheese but you could add to taste and whip up with the rest of the ingredients.. should be smooth and no chunks when you are done!


Happy eating!!!!!

CSA Harvest #8~ ode to a strawberry

Hooray for the 8th harvest of 2010~! And finally a celebration of strawberries that are filling our fridges (when I say our I mean every square inch of our fridge) and also our neighbors fridge!) strawberries are also filling our tummies as we pick we find one small flaw in every few plants and decide it's best if we cull the fruit by popping it into our mouths.. every one of our work shirts is now covered with red blotchy stains from the juicy treats.

In other news this past Saturday we had our first ever Big Lick Farm tour and it was great to have some of you decide to spend your afternoon with us! We will hopefully be posting pics soon as a CSA member took pics and we will need to wait for them (hint hint :) . Guests left with arms full of the first summer squash and baskets of berries.. see what you missed out on! :) We hope you all can make the annual potluck which will be in the near future. We will post the date as soon as we decide!

Days now are set to the rhythm of sprinklers and seeds trickling through hands, down fingers and onto the soil. It seems strange to be planning for fall since we have just started harvesting our summer crops.. but fall crops have always been a weak spot for us here. The time of year when the fall crops need to be planted and tended is now and we have always been overwhelmed with keeping the last of the spring crops and the summer crops alive and healthy.. and our energy reserves of the winter rest are starting to erode.. but we will persevere!

This week you will see a new vegetable that you may not be familiar with.. it is bulb fennel. We have posted recipe ideas and directions for how to prep it for eating below. Also the broccoli you got this week is tenacious.. these plants suffered heavy chewing by pesky flea beetles in their early spring feeding frenzy. At several points we considered just mowing the ragged broccoli seedlings down.. good thing we didn't! Depending on the weather this really may be the last broccoli until the fall when the seeds we are just now planting start producing... hopefully in about 70 days!

We hope you have been enjoying each week of produce so far!

Your farmers~ Suzie & Asinete with the help of awesome volunteer trio: MA, Violet and Sally!

Harvest This Week Includes:

Fennel

Garlic

Green cabbage

Salad Mix

Strawberries

Hakurei Turnips

Broccoli

Zucchini.. standard green and ridged Italian heirloom zuke called a costata romanesca

Glacier Tomatoes (a sprinkling of them this first week in the full share baskets.. hopefully enough for everyone next week!)

How to Cook it and Store it:

Fennel Storage: store in a plastic bag in the fridge. If space is a problem, remove the long fronds to store just the fennel bulb.

Fennel: popular as a vegetable in Italy, it can be thinly sliced and eaten plain or as part of a vegetable platter. It is often served with just salt and olive oil as a simple appetizer or salad course. It can be chopped up into salad as celery, and indeed used almost anywhere celery is used.

Fennel is high is vitamins A and E, calcium and potassium. Fennel and ginger make a good digestive tea. (Steep the fresh leaves with a bit of sliced ginger for 5 minutes in boiling water.)

SOME IDEAS from The Victory Garden Cookbook

*
Sprinkle chopped fennel leaves on hot baked oysters or clams.
*

Add cooked fennel to omelets, quiches, stuffings or sauces.
*

Add stalks to stocks for their flavor.
*

Add sliced sauteed fennel to fish chowders.
*

Cook fennel in your favorite tomato sauce.
*

Place stalks and leaves on barbeque coals as they do in France. The fennel scent permeates the grilled food.
*

Slice steamed or blanched fennel, cover with a vinaigrette and serve chilled.
*

Chop raw fennel and add to tuna fish sandwiches.


Oven Potatoes with Fennel

20 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in 1/2" cubes
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and cut in 1" slices
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced finely
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper -- to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. In large bowl, combine potatoes, fennel, onion, parsley, oil, salt and pepper; toss gently until well coated. Arrange mixture in a single layer on a prepared baking sheet. Bake, turning occasionally, until potatoes are crisp on all sides, 30-35 minutes. Serve immediately.


Pickled Fennel with Orange from The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich
Julia suggests using these on a sandwich, on a cheese board/.cracker platter, or tossed in a green salad.

2 fennel bulbs, sliced thin
1 t pickling salt (kosher or other uniodized salt)
zest from ½ an orange, in strips
1 or 2 small fennel fronds (optional)
6 T white wine vinegar
6 T orange juice
1 T sugar
4 black peppercorns, cracked

In a bowl, toss the fennel slices with the salt. Let them stand 1 hour. Drain the fennel slices, and toss them with the orange zest. Pack gthem into a pint jar, placing a fennel frond or two against the side of the jar, if you like. In a saucepan, heat the vinegar, orange juice, sugar, and peppercorns to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the hot liquid over the fennel. Cap the jar, and let cool to room temp.
Store the pickle in the fridge . It will be ready to eat in a day or two, and will keep for at least several weeks.


When all else fails roast it! Normally fennel tastes like a cross between celery, cabbage, and licorice. Roasting, however, brings out an entirely new flavor - as if pine nuts decided to join the party.

Roasted Fennel Recipe


Ingredients

* 2 fennel bulbs (thick base of stalk), stalks cut off, bulbs sliced
* Olive oil
* Balsamic vinegar

Method

1 Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 Rub just enough olive oil over the fennel to coat. Sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar, also to coat. Line baking dish with silpat or aluminum foil. Lay out piece of fennel and roast for 15-20 minutes, until the fennel is cooked through and beginning to caramelize.

Serves 4.

As you warily oggle the fennel in your basket please know that we too are doing the same since we have never grown it before and only heard from other CSA farmers about what a wonderful asset to the baskets the bulbs were! Pretty sure we are going for the roasted fennel recipe! Easy and sounds divine!


Plenty more fennel recipes on line if needed!

CSA Harvest #7

Good day everyone... isn't it great to have sunshine without the baking heat? we think so! We have been busy big licker's over here in preparation for the farm tour this coming Sat July 17th. We have heard from many of you and look forward to showing you where your food is coming from and how we grow it. If you plan to attend and you have not yet rsvp'd please do so as soon as possible. We have included directions to the farm in the weekly email.

At this time of the year many of the spring crops have finished producing and we need to get the beds ready for the fall crops. Above you can see Asinete mowing down the buckwheat cover crop we planted. It seemed a shame to mow it down just as it started to flower as the honey bees were going crazy for the nectar. However to get the full benefit of the buckwheat as a cover crop it needs to be mowed and tilled as soon as it flowers for two main reasons. After flowering the plant begins to prepare for seed production, at this point all the nutrients the plant has added to the ground is taken up again for energy to produce seeds. We want those nutrients to stay in the ground for the next crop! Also once buckwheat flowers the stalks go from being succulent and tender to woody and tough. Woody and tough stalks take much longer to break down in the soil. We are filling up the greenhouse again to be sure we have seedlings ready to plant by the time the buckwheat has finished decomposing.

In other news the strawberries are blooming their fool heads off and this has led to some big, beautiful berries in your baskets this week and our volunteers will even get some this time since so far they have been strictly rationed to only CSA members.

We hope many of you can join us in the field this Sat!

Your farmers~ Suzie, Asinete, MA, Violet and Sally

Harvest This Week Includes:

Spinach! (in July??? yes!)

Carrots

Strawberries

Red Marble and/or Ciopollini Onions

Romaine Lettuce

Yukon Gold Potatoes (please use the ones that were nicked in the harvesting process first!)

Green Cabbage


How to Store it and Cook it!

Green Cabbage is a great storage vegetable.. keep in the crisper drawer of your fridge as you use it.


Cabbage and Beet Slaw (still have beets to use? put 'em in this)

Ingredients
Beet salad:

* 2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
* 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
* 5 tablespoons safflower oil
* 3 large raw beets, peeled, coarsely grated

Cabbage salad:

* 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 5 tablespoons safflower oil
* 6 cups very thinly sliced green cabbage
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint


Preparation

For beet salad:
Whisk vinegar and mustard in large bowl. Gradually whisk in oil, then mix in beets. Season with salt and pepper.

For cabbage salad:
Whisk vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar in another large bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Mix in cabbage and mint. Season with salt and pepper. Let salads stand 30 minutes and up to 2 hours at room temperature, tossing occasionally.


Cabbage Slaw


* 4 cups julienned green cabbage (or 2 cups red cabbage, julienned, and 2 cups green cabbage for a more colorful presentation)
* 1 3/4 cups Pearl Oyster Bar Tartar Sauce
* 5 tablespoons sherry vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

In a large bowl, blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.


Spinach Ideas:


Warm, Bacon, Spinach Salad

Ingredients

* 3 bacon strips, diced
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1 egg
* 6 tablespoons water
* 2 tablespoons vinegar
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* salt and pepper to taste
* 3 cups torn fresh spinach
* 1/2 cup seasoned croutons

Directions

1. In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Stir flour into drippings until smooth. In a large bowl, beat egg; add water, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Slowly pour into skillet. Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Place spinach in a bowl. Remove dressing from the heat; stir in reserved bacon. Immediately spoon desired amount over spinach; add croutons and toss to coat. Serve warm. Store leftover dressing in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Before serving, reheat over low heat just until heated through.


Enjoy!!!

CSA Harvest #6

Happy Sunny Day! It looks like we might get a summer after all! The image of the green tomatoes I posted last week has changed.. those green, hard as rock balls have started to turn orange and then red! We are pretty confident we have the first ripe tomatoes on our block! Unfortunately there are not enough ripe ones for this week's harvest but with the summer weather here to stay they should find their way into your baskets and stomachs next week!

In other news with the help of many friends we have expanded our greenhouse space. While greenhouse space isn't at a premium this time of year when most crops are seeded directly in the garden in early Spring we are hard pressed to find enough extra inches left unoccupied in our current greenhouse. A friend of ours had a unused fiberglass greenhouse they wanted to find a home for and they knew Big Lick could put it to good use! Of course today we find ourselves a bit itchy.. like we've been installing insulation.. but that little greenhouse will be a warm safe haven for the tender seedlings of spring... we will post pics of it in the next few days..

We have some wonderful news that we're sure you're all going to love and that is that the snow peas are finished! Yes today we did the last harvest of the year and then we came at the tender vines with knives cutting the plants right at the soil level. Peas are a legume (like beans) and they actually take nitrogen from the air and store it in their roots on small nodules. We wanted to be sure the roots of the peas stayed in the soil so they can fertilize the next crops going in.

Also happening at the farm this week is the great garlic pull of 2010~! Garlic cloves that we planted in late October are now ready to be pulled out of the ground, bundled and hung to dry in the storage shed. We have lots of garlic for you in the weeks ahead and some to enjoy today.

We have heard from some of you who will be attending the farm tour on Sat July 17th at 3pm and 5pm.. we hope more of you decide to join us! Please rsvp to our email address to we can plan for your visit! For those of you who have replied we will send out email directions in the upcoming days!

Enjoy this week's harvest!

Suzie, Asinete, MA, Violet and Sally!

Harvest This Week Includes:

Hardneck Garlic (a more pungent garlic with large, easy to peel cloves)

Genovese Basil

Bull's Blood Beets

Cauliflower OR Broccoli (last of these 2 crops for awhile)

Cabbage (Chinese or standard green)

Snow peas (rejoice! the last of 'em!)

Cilantro

Baby Hakurei Turnips

Black Seeded Simpson Leaf Lettuce

Strawberries (we hope enough for all.. we have to wait and see!)

How to Use it and Store it!!

Basil... ahh the essential summer food and one of our favorites! Basil deteriorates quickly so please use asap.. to keep fresh in the meantime wrap leaves in a lightly damp (not wet) towel and refrigerate.. basil does not like to get wet! Fresh leaves freeze well.. place in plastic zip lock bag, remove air, seal and freeze... fresh pesto freezes well too!

Basil in believed to have originated in India where it was viewed as a holy plant and was grown around temples and shrines. A "good Hindu" was supposed to leave this life with a basil leaf on the chest to aid in passage to the next.

Easy Pesto! (please adjust recipe according to how much basil you receive!)
3/4 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 TBSP pine nuts, walnuts or even macadamia nut pieces
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 cups fresh basil leaves

Place all ingredients except for basil leaves in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, then add basil a handful at a time, blending until all the basil is incorporated and pesto is smooth. yummy! use as a topping on pizza, on toast, on eggs on pasta.. pesto is good almost anywhere! Pesto can be frozen.



Double Tomato Bruchetta

Ingredients

* 6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
* 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
* 3 cloves minced garlic
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* 1/4 cup fresh basil, stems removed
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 French baguette
* 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven on broiler setting.
2. In a large bowl, combine the roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Cut the baguette into 3/4-inch slices. On a baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly brown.
4. Divide the tomato mixture evenly over the baguette slices. Top the slices with mozzarella cheese.
5. Broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.


Cabbage Ideas

If you received the Chinese cabbage in your basket today here are some ideas about how to use it:

Chinese Cabbage is also known as Napa Cabbage.. they thrive in cooler weather and so are usually only avail early summer and fall. Store your Chinese cabbage in the crisper drawer of your fridge.. also leave outer leaves on until ready to use.. the outer leaves will keep the more tender leaves inside fresh.

Cooking Tips:

chop raw Chinese cabbage into green salads

substitute Chinese cabbage in traditional coleslaw

For an Asian styled salad, toss chopped cabbage with grated carrot, chopped green onion, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar and soy sauce.


Napa Cabbage Salad
* 1 medium head cabbage, shredded
* 1 bunch green onions, chopped
* 2 (3 ounce) packages chicken flavored ramen noodles
* 4 ounces slivered almonds, toasted
* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, green onions, noodles and almonds.
2. Prepare the dressing by whisking together the oil, sugar, vinegar and seasoning packets. Pour over cabbage mixture and mix well to coat. Refrigerate until chilled and serve.

Best way to use Beets for all those beet haters out there!

Beet Brownies! Divine!!

You need:

* 3 oz (90 g) Dark chocolate
* 3.5 oz (100 g) flour
* 3.5 oz (100 g) almond powder
* 3 oz (90 g) sugar
* 3 oz (90 g) butter (soft)
* 4 eggs
* 7 oz (200 g) shredded raw red beetroot
* Vanilla extract
* Confectioner sugar and cocoa for decoration

Steps

* Start by peeling and shredding the beets. Set aside
* Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
* Mix together (using a food processor the butter with the eggs, then add the sugar.
* Mix until lighter, then add the chocolate, flour, almond powder, the beets and the vanilla extract, and mix well.
* Butter a small baking pan and placed greased parchment paper at the bottom)
* Pour the preparation in it and bake in the oven for about 30 mns in a preheated oven, 350 F (180 C)

Note: Your brownies are cooked once the blade of a knife comes out dry after you insert the blade in the cake

The trick to making these disappear? Just don't tell your kids that there are beets in them!


I would add more recipes but here it is 11:40 pm and falling asleep again in front of computer... hot day tomorrow!

CSA Harvest #5

Good day all! We wanted to include a few images of life at the farm these days.. summer means never a dull moment and it seems if you listen close enough you can hear the plants growing! The picture at the bottom is of a swarm of bees that left the hive and during a tornado of whirling, buzzing honeybees flew about 100 feet before landing on the branches of an apple tree. By nightfall they were shaken back into a new hive with more elbow room and are bringing in nectar like mad!

Also above you can see the early green tomatoes of the Glacier tomato.. today as I took the picture I noticed the first red tomato and interestingly enough on the same day last year (the 29th of June) we also found the first red tomato! Surprising given that this spring has been much colder and wet.

In other farm news we have had many baby birds leaving the nests around the farm. It is great to rest on the hoe for awhile and watch them flutter around a bit wobbly while their mom keeps a close eye on each one. So far there have been tiny baby sparrows, and noisy stellar's jays and then the newest ones fledging have been American robins. They are entertaining to watch as they search out worms and grubs in the soil their head constantly bobbing up and down as they hop down the rows. Loved those little birds until this afternoon when Asinete and I did our nightly strawberry harvest and realized that too many of the best, ripest berries had huge chucks slashed out of them and then we saw the baby robins bobbing innocently away down the aisle. Disturbing and aggravating yes but we were able to harvest enough berries between tonight and a few nights ago to get some to all of you today.. including the baby robins! We are hoping in the next few days a strong wind will carry them farther down the river and that this won't be a problem for long! We try to look at it as our land tax.. hopefully if we are willing to share a bit we can be rewarded by a more plentiful harvest.. let's hope so!

We hope you can all join us for the farm tour coming up this Sat July 17th with one tour at 3pm and another at 5pm. Please rsvp to us via email if you think you can attend and how many you will be with. We will provide juice and snacks and may even bust out the hand cranked ice cream maker (throwing in some ripe berries!)

Thank you and enjoy the newest goodies that this season has brought!

Suzie, Asinete, MA and Violet

Harvest This Week Includes:

Yukon Gold New Potatoes

Snowball Cauliflower or Romanesco Cauliflower

Rainbow Chard

Rainbow Carrots

Snow peas (not much longer we promise!)

Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce

Seascape Strawberries (not a lot this first week but more to come!)

Broccoli (less this week but one more big harvest before the fall crop comes in)

Italian Flat Leaf Parsley (goes great with potatoes see recipes below!)

How to Cook it and Store it:

The Yukon Gold potatoes in your basket are called new potatoes because they were just dug out of the ground today and their skin has not cured. You will notice the skin on these are very thin and some even peel off. Because of the thin skins new potatoes do not store well and are best eaten within 2-3 days. If you need to store longer than this please put in the crisper bin of your fridge. No need to peel these buttery beauties as most of the nutrients in a potato lies right under the skin. kept in a

Garlicky Yukon Gold Potatoes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* Salt and freshly ground pepper
* 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, large ones quartered small halved.
* 6 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
* 2 Tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Brush a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Arrange the gold potatoes on the baking sheet, cut side down, and bake for 45 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl.

Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until crisp and lightly browned; do not let the garlic get too brown or it will be bitter.

Pour the garlic and oil over the potatoes, add the parsley and toss. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once.

Yield: 8 servings

Yukon Gold Potato Gratin
SERVES 4

Ingredients

* 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
* 1 lb yukon gold potato
* 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
* 2 tablespoons sour cream
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 garlic cloves, very finely minced
* 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/3 cup chicken broth or white wine
* 4 fresh thyme sprigs (to garnish)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch round or oval baking dish.

2.Slice potatoes 1/8-inch thick and combine thoroughly in a mixing bowl with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, the sour cream, olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper.

3. Arrange potatoes in a neat overlapping pattern in the baking dish. Pour chicken broth over potatoes.

4. Bake 35 minutes, until potatoes are nearly-tender and the cheese and potatoes are starting to brown. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake another 10-15 minutes.

5. Garnish with thyme sprigs and enjoy!



Rainbow Chard~ Please keep your chard wither wrapped up in a damp towel in your fridge or in a plastic bag. It does tend to wilt quickly if not wrapped. This chard is chock full of nutrients! Here are some recipe ideas to get your creative juices flowing!

Sauteed Swiss Chard with Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* 1/2 small red onion, diced
* 1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and center ribs cut out and chopped together, leaves coarsely chopped separately
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
* 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* salt to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Melt butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and onion, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the chard stems and the white wine. Simmer until the stems begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chard leaves, and cook until wilted. Finally, stir in lemon juice and Parmesan cheese; season to taste with salt if needed.

Chard, Sausage and Feta Frittata~

Ingredients

* 12 ounces swiss chard, stems and centers removed
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 cup onion, chopped
* 8 ounces mild Italian sausage, casings removed and broken up
* 8 large eggs
* 1/4 cup heavy cream
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F Spray 8x8x2 baking dish with nonstick spray.

2.Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add Swiss chard and cook until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain and finely chop. Place in a kitchen towel and squeeze dry, set aside.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add onion and saute until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add sausage and cook until browned and done, breaking up with a fork; about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

4. Whisk eggs, cream, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add chard and sausage mixture, then feta; stir to blend. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.

5. Bake until set in center, 45-55 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool for 15-20 minutes. Turn over onto a platter, then flip to so that the frittata is right-side-up. Cut into 20 pieces.

6. NOTE: Can be made 1 day ahead. Place frittata pieces on baking sheet, cover and chill. Rewarm in 325F oven for 10 minutes, or until heated through.


Enjoy!!

CSA Harvest #4~ Sunny with a side of snowpeas!

Happy Summer!! That's right! It seems like we might get a summer after all and the best part is yet to come with the juicy heirloom tomatoes, sweet melons, nutty squash, brilliantly colored peppers, and basil (well those are some of my favorites anyways!) Of course we are still a few weeks behind schedule with the summer crops since several of the things we planted from seed ended up rotting in the cold, wet ground that plagued our Spring. Luckily we should have enough cool weather things to carry us through until then...

We wanted to invite all of you out for our first ever farm tour!! We always have a farm potluck later in the season open to all CSA members.. but this year we wanted to have two events here at the farm so everyone has at least one chance to see where their weekly baskets come from and also a chance to meet others getting weekly baskets. We are scheduling the farm tour for July 17th with two tours one at 3pm and one at 5pm.. We wanted the farm tour to happen week after next but that would put us at 4th of July weekend with many folks taking trips. Don't worry we will remind you all in the next week or so about upcoming farm tour on Saturday July 17th.

We are still busy as ever irrigating, weeding and seeding until the days seem to blur together. We had ordered 4 tons of certified organic fertilizer called Nutri-Rich. It is manufactured in Canby and is made up of composted and pelleted chicken manure with micro nutrients added. To date this season we have gone through two tons of it! In the photos above you can see some of the prime river bottom land that we are fortunate enough to grow on. Behind our yellow lab you will notice some land that is fallow (or bare of any crops). We just planted this area with a cover crop of buckwheat which will be tilled back into the soil when it flowers to enrich the soil and get it ready for the fall crops. At this time of year we are already starting to plan out what crops we will be planting now to harvest in Oct and Nov when many of the summer crops get killed off by frost.

Hooray for strawberries!! The berries will make their debut this week in the full share baskets. Hopefully now that the warm weather is here we can get enough for half share members in the upcoming weeks. Our berries are coming on later because we just planted the bare root plants in March and the plants have needed time to get settled in. So hopefully this means that they will produce longer into summer and early fall!

Enjoy!! Suzie, Asinete, MA & Violet


Harvest This Week Includes:

Snow Peas (they are at their peak now!)

Broccoli (also at its peak!)

Romaine Lettuce (outer leaves can be removed to get to more tender and blanched heart)

Bok Choy (the last of it until fall)

Green Garlic

Beets

Romanesco Cauliflower

Strawberries (full shares only this week)

How to Cook it and Store it!

Beets

Beets are one of our favorites because of their earthy smell and taste. Now only that but they store for up to 3 months in the crisper of your fridge..bidding their time until you're ready! Don't toss the greens either! They are edible as well. Beets are high in Vitamin A and C and also carotenes. The beet greens are high in Vitamin C, iron and calcium.

To store beets and keep them firm remove greens about 1-2 inches above the beet. Store beets in a plastic bag and put in crisper drawer in fridge. Beet greens should be used asap as they will not keep well. For quick storage keep in plastic bag or damp towel in crisper.

Roasted Beets on a Bed of Beet Greens

Ingredients

* 1 bunch beets with
* greens
* 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 tablespoons chopped onion (optional)
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C). Wash the beets thoroughly, leaving the skins on, and remove the greens. Rinse greens, removing any large stems, and set aside. Place the beets in a small baking dish or roasting pan, and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. If you wish to peel the beets, it is easier to do so once they have been roasted.
2. Cover, and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a knife can slide easily through the largest beet.
3. When the roasted beets are almost done, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onion, and cook for a minute. Tear the beet greens into 2 to 3 inch pieces, and add them to the skillet. Cook and stir until greens are wilted and tender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the greens as is, and the roasted beets sliced with either red-wine vinegar, or butter and salt and pepper.

Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 204 | Total Fat: 13.9g | Cholesterol: 0mg

Roasted Beets with Feta

Ingredients (green garlic from your basket can be used in place of shallot)

* 4 beets, trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stems attached
* 1/4 cup minced shallot
* 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
* 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil, and place onto a baking sheet.
2. Bake beets in preheated oven until easily pierced with a fork, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Once done, remove from oven, and allow to cool until you can handle them. Peel beets, and cut into 1/4 inch slices.
3. While the beets are roasting, whisk together shallot, parsley, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and red wine vinegar in a bowl until blended; season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside.
4. To assemble the dish, place the warm, sliced beets onto a serving dish, pour vinaigrette over the beets, and sprinkle with feta cheese before serving.


Beet Greens Recipe

While this recipe calls for discarding the stems, if you want you can use them too if they aren't too woody. Just cut them into 1-inch segments and add them to the onions after the onions have been cooking for a minute.
Ingredients

* 1 pound beet greens
* 1 strip of thick cut bacon, chopped (or a tablespoon of bacon fat)
* 1/4 cup chopped onion
* 1 large garlic clove, minced
* 3/4 cup of water
* 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 1/6 cup of cider vinegar

Method

1 Wash the greens in a sink filled with cold water. Drain greens and wash a second time. Drain greens and cut away any heavy stems. Cut leaves into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

2 In a large skillet or 3-qt saucepan, cook bacon until lightly browned on medium heat (or heat 1 Tbsp of bacon fat). Add onions, cook over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions soften and start to brown. Stir in garlic. Add water to the hot pan, stirring to loosen any particles from bottom of pan. Stir in sugar and red pepper. Bring mixture to a boil.

3 Add the beet greens, gently toss in the onion mixture so the greens are well coated. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5-15 minutes until the greens are tender. Stir in vinegar. (For kale or collard greens continue cooking additional 20 to 25 minutes or until desired tenderness.)

Serves 4.


Snow Pea Info!

We know that perhaps we got a little giddy when we planted the pea patch in early Feb! Savor them now for as soon as the heat gets here the peas will die off. Peas should be used immediately. Like corn the sugar in peas in converted to starch as soon as they are picked. If you do need to refrigerate keep in plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your fridge. Your peas can be frozen for later use if you'd like to stretch them longer. To freeze them they must first be blanched in boiling water for 2 mins, then immediately cooled under cold water to stop cooking. Drain well and freeze in freezer zip locks or vacuum sealed bags.
Your snow peas are not only tasty but also so good for you! High in vitamins A,C, K and B's. They are also high in iron, potassium and phosphorous and also high in fiber!

Asian Salad

Ingredients

* 1 (16 ounce) package pasta
* 2 cups broccoli florets
* 1 red bell pepper, chopped
* 1/2 cup diced red onion
* 1 cup snow peas
* 1 cup Asian-style salad dressing
* salt to taste
* ground black pepper to taste
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root (optional)
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic (optional)
* 1 tablespoon sesame oil
* 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds

Directions

1. Blanch broccoli in rapidly boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the water. Blanch snow peas for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from water.
2. Cook one pound of pasta in a large pan of boiling water until al dente. Drain, and transfer to a large bowl.
3. Toss pasta with salad dressing. Toss with broccoli, red pepper, red onion, and snow peas, ginger, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. When serving, sprinkle with sesame oil and sesame seeds.

Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 361 | Total Fat: 20.2g | Cholesterol: 41mg


Moo Goo Gai Pan (a great way to use your peas and bok choy together!)

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1/4 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
* 1/4 pound snow peas
* 1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
* 1/4 pound sliced bok choy
* salt and black pepper to taste
*
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
* 3/4 cup skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - thinly sliced
* 1 teaspoon white wine
* 1/4 teaspoon white sugar
* 1/4 cup chicken broth
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, snow peas, water chestnuts, and bok choy; season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the wok and wipe the wok clean.
2. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in the wok. Stir in the garlic and ginger; cook a few seconds until the garlic begins to turn golden brown. Stir in the chicken and cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, sugar, and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir into the simmering sauce. Once the sauce returns to a simmer, stir until thick and clear, about 30 seconds. Return the vegetables to the wok and toss until hot and coated with the sauce.

Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 175 | Total Fat: 8.4g | Cholesterol: 26mg

Broccoli

Yes we got crazy planting the broccoli as well! This week will be the largest harvest of this early spring planted crop. When we sent out our surveys last year almost all of the CSA members responded that they would like to see more broccoli! At an organic farming conference we attended this winter we were saddened to hear that broccoli holds the title of the top two crops that you actually lose money on as a farmer! Why? Simply because they require a fairly long growing time and lots of fertilizer and the reward for your efforts? One large broccoli head if you're lucky! There will be small florets after this week for awhile. Any guess what the other big money loser crop is for a farmer? Tell us what you think at the pick up tomorrow~!

Broccoli is so good for you! When eaten fresh and not overcooked it is loaded with vitamin A,C, calcium, potassium, and iron. Broccoli has also been touted as an anti cancer vegetable due to a special enzyme called sulforaphane. Please use your broccoli promptly as all those nutrients will wilt with the broccoli. Store for a few days in a plastic bag in the crisper portion of fridge. Broccoli can also be blanched in boiling water for storage in freezer. Cut head into florets and slice stems. Blanch for 3-4 mins, rinse in cold water to stop cooking and freeze in freezer bags or vacuum seal.


Raw Broccoli Salad Recipe
(Serves 2)

3 cups of chopped broccoli
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 tbs of finely minced cilantro
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp of sea salt

Method:

1. Wash and finely chop the broccoli, several florets at a time. Include 1 garlic clove in the chopping. Chop for another minute and then add the second clove. Keep chopping until the broccoli is in tiny pieces.
2. Place the broccoli into a large, non-reactive bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and then mix well with a metal spoon. Cover and let the broccoli sit in the fridge for one hour.
3. Serve with accompanying meal of chicken, seafood or on its own.

Broccoli Salad

5 cups shredded broccoli (shred with food processor)
1/2 - 1 cup red onion
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins

Add all to a bowl.

Dressing
1 cup raw cashews
3T raw agave nectar (or honey)
2T raw apple cider vinegar
1/4t sea salt
1/4 cup water

Blend the dressing in a *blender (you may want to soak the cashews in water for an hour just to soften them up if your blender is not high speed to make it easier to blend or you can try first in the food processor then the blender). Pour over the broccoli mix and mix well with your hands to really coat it. Enjoy!

Augustine's Favorite Roasted Broccoli

Cut broccoli into long florets, peel and cut stem into strips as well. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place broccoli florets on large cookie sheet and drizzle liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt to taste. Toss broccoli so all evenly coated with oil and salt and place in over. Heat for 10 mins and then toss. Roast another 5 mins or until broccoli is tender and even a bit toasted! YUMMYYYY!!!

Off to bed to pick peas in the early dawn!