ATHENS HILLS WINTER CSA:
WEEK THREE

Hello Everyone!

Our warmest holiday wishes accompany your share this week! As we prepared the shares we did have the holidays in mind and we hope that you will find all of the vegetables useful for your menus over the next week or so. In this newsletter I’ve included some recipes that may be helpful as well if not for the holidays, at least for the aftermath.

All of our minds are set on preparing for the crazy schedule that next week brings. For those Green Edge farmers that will be in the Amesville area next week, work, although minimal, remains to be done even on Christmas Day. A big thanks goes out to both Penny and Cale who will leave their families briefly that day to take care of things on the farm should the weather dictate.

While we get ready to spend time with our families & friends over the coming holidays, we hope that you have the opportunity to enjoy your family and friends over the next two weeks too. We are looking forward to beginning a new year with all of you and we want to thank you again for helping us do what we love best—growing delicious, nutritious food for our neighbors, friends and relatives. A joyous winter and a happy new year to each of you and yours!

Best Wishes,

Claudia (on behalf of Kip & Becky, Dan, John, Cale, Rob & Penny)

FEATURED VEGGIES

Salad Mix (This week we have all lettuces in the mix (no Asian greens this time around). You will recognize all of them from your last share I’m sure. I’ve included a great recipe for a lovely holiday salad that will be sure to please. After all who wouldn’t like this beautiful & tasty array of greens?)

Mushrooms (This week’s fungi of choice are our outstanding Oysters. This variety of mushroom is mild and delicate. They do not need much cooking time, so only add them to your dish at the end when you only have 2-3 minutes left.)

Pac Choy (This is one of our favorite winter Asian greens. You may already be familiar with its relative Bok Choy. It is mild, yet flavorful and a wonderful addition to soups, grilled veggies and salads.)

Arugula (Spice up those cold early winter evenings with this bold peppery green that we love so well. If spice is not what you are looking for, just cook the arugula with your favorite pasta sauce, or sauté it with our garlic to mellow it out.)
Spinach (This is another treat that we hope you find useful for your holiday culinary adventures. After all who doesn’t love a great spinach-artichoke dip at a holiday open house or New Years bash? )

Kennebec Potatoes (These fantastic roots far surpassed our expectations this year as far as how much our plants produced as well as how flavorful they are. We hope that you enjoy them as part of your holiday feasts this year.)

Garlic (There are many uses for this great root—I’m sure you’ll find at least one this week.)

Salad Radishes (Our fresh and crisp little roots are sure to brighten up your holiday veggie tray or salad—enjoy!)

Recipe: Apple Salad with Arugula & Herb Buttermilk Dressing (Serves 8)

For the dressing…
2/3 C. buttermilk
1 6oz. container of plain
yogurt (about ½ C.)
2 Tbs. cider vinegar
1 Tbs. chopped fresh
tarragon leaves
salt & pepper to taste

For the salad…
4 Fuji, Gala &/or Granny
Smith apples, cored
& cut into 16
wedges
1 bag of G.E. salad mix,
chopped
1 bunch of G.E. arugula,
chopped


Prepare the dressing in a medium bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, yogurt, vinegar, tarragon, salt & pepper. This can be made up to three days ahead and refrigerated until ready to serve. Just before serving, whisk dressing and take ¼ cup of it and place in a medium bowl with the apple slices, tossing to coat.

In a large serving bowl, toss the salad mix and the arugula. Top with the apples and serve the remaining dressing on the side.


(Recipe courtesy of Good Housekeeping Magazine, December 2008.)

SO WHAT IS THIS VEGETABLE AND WHAT DO I DO WITH IT?

To get us all started off on the right foot, I thought I would include some history, serving suggestions, and storage recommendations for some of the vegetables in this week’s share. I hope you find these helpful and if you have anything to add, please feel free to comment on our blog—we would love to hear from you!

ARUGULA: This is a mustard green that is usually picked young when it has a wonderful nutty and peppery flavor (some liken it to horseradish). It is rich in vitamin C and minerals adding more nutritional value to a dish when served raw. It is a great addition to salads and can even stand on its own as a salad. In this form it is often accompanied by goat cheese, roasted red peppers and pecans, but it will lend itself to many other salad variations. Arugula also works well as a cooked green and heating it up often mellows the bite it has as a raw vegetable. Sautéed with tomatoes and garlic, it becomes a delicious sauce for pasta; add it to your favorite omelet along with a stronger flavored cheese; or use it as a side dish by sautéing it in butter & lemon juice along with some oyster mushrooms.

Recipe: Potato & Root Vegetable Gratin (Serves 16—side-dish servings)

To make ahead, prepare and bake the recipe through step 4; refrigerate up to two days. When ready to complete, bake, uncovered, as in step 5, on bottom rack of oven, increasing final baking time to 55 minutes. Snip the chives a day ahead and store in the fridge in plastic wrap; sprinkle on gratin before serving.

¾ C. chicken broth
2 Tbs. butter
1 ½ lbs. G.E. potatoes (3 medium),
peeled and thinly sliced
1 ½ lbs. sweet potatoes (3 small),
peeled and thinly sliced
1 lb. celery root (1 large or 2 small),
trimmed, peeled, quartered,
and thinly sliced
1 lb. parsnips (6 medium), peeled
and thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 C. heavy whipping cream
2 Tbs. snipped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 400F. In a shallow 3 ½ to 4-quart baking pan or shallow casserole, combine broth and butter, place in oven while oven preheats to melt butter (about 5 minutes).

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss potatoes, celery root, and parsnips with 1 ¼ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper until well mixed.

Remove baking pan from oven. Add broth mixture to vegetable mixture and stir to coat. Spoon vegetable mixture into the same baking pan, cover with foil and bake vegetables for 40 minutes.

Remove pan from the oven. In a 1-cup liquid measuring cup, heat cream in the microwave on high for 45 seconds to warm. Pour cream evenly over vegetables.

Return baking pan to oven and bake vegetables, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes longer or until top is golden and vegetables are fork-tender. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

(Recipe courtesy of Good Housekeeping Magazine, December 2008.)

I hope you find this information helpful! Enjoy your first share and keep in touch throughout the season. Have a wonderful week and don’t forget you can contact us at:

(740) 448-4021 OR
greenedgegardens@verizon.net
or on the blog:
www.greenedgegardens.blogspot.com


We look forward to hearing from you!

Hello everyone!

We just wanted to remind folks that we will not be delivering next week (Christmas week) or the week after (New Year's week). We hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season and that it is filled with warmth, peace, laughter & love. Thank you for your support this winter and we will see you again in the new year (after this week of course :) ).

Sincerely,
The Green Edge Farmers

WHAT TO EXPECT IN YOUR SHARE THIS WEEK: WEEK THREE

SALAD MIX
OYSTER MUSHROOMS
BABY PAC CHOI
POTATOES
GARLIC
SPINACH
SALAD RADISHES
ARUGULA

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THIS WEEK'S SHARE: WEEK TWO

SALAD MIX
SUNFLOWER MICROGREENS
MUSHROOMS
TATSOI (A MILD ASIAN GREEN)
BUTTERNUT SQUASH
CILANTRO

WELCOME TO THE WINTER 2009 CSA!
HERE IS WHAT TO EXPECT IN THIS WEEK'S SHARE: WEEK ONE

SALAD MIX
SUNFLOWER MICROGREENS
MUSHROOMS
SPINACH
SWEET POTATOES
GARLIC