ATHENS HILLS WINTER CSA:

WEEK THIRTEEN

Hello Everyone!

Wow! Winter really packed a wallop this past weekend! As we all dig ourselves out from the wonderland that buried us in, I want to share a ray of hope for the coming of spring. This past week at the farm we’ve seen the beginnings of our spring & summer plantings. Yes folks, we have started our seeds and the Start House is slowly filling up with flat upon flat of the next seasons’ culinary promises. While the winter’s plantings are holding out well, it is fun to think ahead to summer’s bounty. In a couple of weeks we’ll be sending you some information about our Summer CSA which will give you a better idea of all the goodies we’ll be harvesting for that season—it’ll really get those taste buds going!

Our Green Edge Gardens worker profiles are winding up, and this week we are featuring yours truly. Please have a look at the back of this newsletter for my very own brief autobiography. I hope you enjoy getting to know all of us over the next couple of weeks, and if you have missed the profiles of Kip & Becky, Dan, John, Margaret, Kate, or Cale please let us know and we can

email you that newsletter. Have a great week!

Best Wishes,

Claudia

FEATURED VEGGIES

Salad Mix (a mix of several lettuce varieties picked for their delicious taste and color combinations.)

Micro Mix (a mix of sunflower, buckwheat, radish, cabbage and kogani (pac choi)).

Mushrooms (pickers' choice of our farm-grown shiitake, oyster or trumpet mushrooms. Store these beauties in your refrigerator in a paper bag or in an unsealed plastic bag for a least a week.)

Spinach (A truly wonderful green vegetable, very nutritious and delicious. It adds wonderful color and texture to a salad when you chop it into strips and toss with the lettuces. The best storage for fresh spinach is to wash it, place it in a plastic Ziploc with a paper towel lain in between the side of the bag and the leaves. You can also wash, blanch and freeze to save for later. Enjoy this familiar staple this week—it might just help you avoid those yucky winter illnesses that have been hanging around.)

Carrots (These orange gems are so versatile it’s hard not to love them. Raw or cooked in your favorite dishes, these favorites pack in the nutrition along with their sweetness. Store in the refrigerator in a plastic Ziploc bag. They will keep for weeks and weeks, but I don’t imagine you’ll need to worry about long-term storage once you’ve tasted them!)

Recipe: Revised Caesar Salad (Serves 6-8)

2 cloves garlic

5 Tbs. fruity green olive oil

12-16 slices from a sourdough baguette

salt to taste

salad mix (about 12 C.)

3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1-2 Tbs. mayonnaise

1/3-1/2 C. fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

fresh black pepper

Crush the garlic cloves a little with the flat of a big knife, then peel and chop them coarsely. Combine the garlic in a dish with 2 Tbs. of olive oil and let steep for 15 minutes.

Cut 12-16 thick slices from the baguette. Using a pastry brush, very lightly brush a little garlic oil on both sides of each slice, then sprinkle with salt. Cut the slices into thirds or quarters, spread them on a cookie sheet, and toast them in a 400F oven for 15-20 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown around the edges.

Place the salad mix in a large, wide salad bowl. In the container of a blender, combine the remaining 3 Tbs. of olive oil, the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, a pinch of salt, and 1-2 Tbs. of mayonnaise, depending on how creamy you like your dressing. For more assertive garlic taste, add a bit of the shopped garlic you used for the crouton oil. Give this all a brief spin, drizzle it over the lettuce, and toss. Add the grated Parmesan cheese and a few turns of the pepper mill, and toss again. Scatter the croutons over the top, or toss them in with the lettuce, and serve.

Recipe: Tuscan Vegetable Soup

(Serves 6)

We would like to thank two of our Columbus members for sharing this recipe with all of us this week. It sounds wonderful and we hope it helps you get well & stay well these last few weeks of winter!

1 coarsely chopped onion

2 carrots, cut into pieces

½ coarsely chopped celery stalk

500g white cannellini (Tuscan) beans, soaked overnight

½ medium-sized white cabbage, coarsely sliced

2 small bunches of chard, shredded

1 bunch kale, shredded (can replace with spinach, if need be)

½ loaf sliced, day-old country bread

2 Tbs. tomato paste

1 C. canned whole tomatoes

2 Tbs. chopped mixed herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme & basil)

10 Tbs. olive oil

salt & pepper

4 C. vegetable broth

Pour half the olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the herbs and chopped onions. Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes, then all the vegetables and the soaked cannellini beans. Mix a few minutes and cover with vegetable broth. Cover, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour 30 minutes. Adjust with salt and pepper.

In another saucepan, layer vegetable soup and bread slices, adding 5 more tablespoons of the olive oil. Cook on a low flame for another 10 minutes. Allow to stand covered for 10 minutes and then serve drizzled with a last touch of olive oil.

(Recipe courtesy of the restaurant Cantinetta Antinori in Florence, Italy)

CLAUDIA BASHAW

You best know me from these newsletters, but this is only one facet of my life. I grew up in the Columbus area and made my way down here to Athens County after high school, an undergraduate degree at Ohio State University and a stint in Madison, Wisconsin, for graduate school. A curiosity about organic farming and a passion for eating well led me to Green Edge two years ago. Now I’m addicted to our veggies and hope to stay as long as possible working for and with these great folks you’ve met already in our worker profiles. My husband Andrew, dog McKinley and I are lucky to find ourselves surrounded by great neighbors (Margaret & her husband Shannon) and friends (the whole Green Edge crew included). While I make a home here in the hills with my family I plan to become a certified doula, or birth assistant, have some babies of my own, and continue to learn all I can about organic farming and sustainable agriculture in order to provide you with the best CSA around. Thanks for your continued support!

Have a wonderful week and don’t forget you can contact us at:

(740) 448-4021 OR

greenedgegardens@verizon.net

We look forward to hearing from you!