ATHENS HILLS SUMMER CSA:

WEEK NINE

Hello Everyone!

I don’t know if you all have noticed, but the tomatoes are in full swing these days and in honor of this annual summer occurrence I’ve devoted this week’s recipes to the round, flavorful fruit of the vine we all love so much! Becky made the suggestion that I have a look at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association Newsletter she just received since there were some tasty recipes included. She was right. They all sound wonderful! I hope you think so too.

We are nearing the mid-way point of this season and I just want to thank all of you for your efforts in getting us our boxes back to us. Please keep up the good work - we really appreciate it! Also, please feel free to contact us with any of your comments, suggestions, critiques, recipes, etc., over the next eleven weeks. These are also greatly appreciated.

Some of you may not know this, but our dear Margaret will be leaving us later this week. She has been our trusty CSA manager up in the office for several seasons now, and I know many of you have had the chance to speak with her over the last few months. I just want to take this opportunity to thank her for her hard work, and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors. We love you Margaret and will miss you very much!

Best Wishes,
Claudia

FEATURED VEGGIES

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

Salad Mix (I’m so glad to see this back in your shares! The greens have recovered and now you can get back to all that salad eating you’ve been missingJ.)

Green Bell Peppers (These beauties are doing great this year! If you can enjoy them right away, think about slicing or chopping them, placing them in a Ziploc and storing them in your freezer for later.)

Mushrooms or Swiss Chard (You all know these well by now and are hopefully enjoying both. There’s no rhyme or reason which one you will get so have fun with the surprise!)

Slicer Tomatoes (Ah, the round red tomato that we all know so well. Great for everything a tomato is great for, including canning. Unfortunately, these taste so good that they never last that long in my kitchen!)

Cherry Tomatoes (You all know our Sun Golds and Super Sweet 100s well by now. The recipes this week include using them as well, so have a look and enjoy!)

Green Beans (Crunchy wonderful green beans, what can I say about these? If you want to freeze these beauties, don’t forget to blanch them first and allow to cool before placing in a freezer bag—they don’t freeze too well if you don’t cook them just a little first.)

Beets (Sweet & tasty—I planted this patch myself J and I hope that you enjoy every bite. For easy peeling, just boil whole root, minus the leaves, for about 10 minutes, drain, rinse and rub the peel right off.)

Recipe: Great & Easy Tomato Tart (Serves 6-8)

1 8oz. package cream cheese
1 pie or tart shell
½ C. fresh basil, finely minced
½ C. fresh parsley, finely minced
1 clove minced garlic or 1 Tbs. garlic powder
1 to 2 medium sliced tomatoes
fresh thyme
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Set package of cream cheese out to soften. Make your favorite pie or tart shell, or use a frozen one. Back pie shell until lightly browned & let cool.

Work the basil, parsley & garlic into the softened cream cheese. Spread this mixture into the shell. Top with the sliced tomatoes & sprinkle with fresh thyme, a little salt and pepper. Bake at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes and cool slightly before cutting and serving.

(Recipe courtesy of Trish Mumme and OEFFA News, Summer 2008.)

Recipe: Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Slice fresh, ripe tomatoes in ¼ inch slices (make them very even) and place on an oven rack sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 450F until they start to turn brown, slightly crispy and bubbly. Watch them carefully. Remove and cool. Pack them in small freezer containers by layers: 4 to 5 oven roasted tomato sliced, dash of balsamic vinegar, ½ teaspoon of chopped garlic, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, and a generous dash of Parmesan cheese. Repeat the layers. Pack loosely to top and shake once, then freeze. Defrost and add to pizza, pastas and pasta salads, sandwiches and salads.

(Recipe courtesy of Trish Mumme and OEFFA News, Summer 2008.)

Recipe: Pasta Pedro

2 Tbs. olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 to 2 hot peppers, seeded & diced
1 tsp. ground cumin
6 C. chopped tomatoes, mixed colors, or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 can red beans or light kidney beans, rinsed and drained
corn cut from 1 to 2 ears (opt.)
1/3 C. chopped cilantro leaves
salt to taste
1 lb. package of thin spaghetti
4 oz. shredded cojack or Mexican blend cheese

Chop the garlic and onion and sauté in olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and sauté for 2 more minutes. Add the hot peppers and cumin and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook and stir over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, till the tomatoes are cooked and sauce starts to thicken.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Add the kidney beans, corn, and cilantro to tomato sauce, and salt to taste. Heat through. Serve sauce on a bed pf spaghetti, topped generously with shredded cheese. You can make and freeze the sauce (minus the beans) in 1 quart containers for a quick meal in the winter. Defrost, add beans, heat and pour over cooked spaghetti with cheese for a taste of summer.

(Recipe courtesy of Trish Mumme and Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association News, Summer 2008.)

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

(740) 448-4021 OR

greenedgegardens@verizon.net