Week 16 Newsletter

Week #16 March 30, 2011


   The time is flying by now that spring has finally showed on the calendar. The temperatures just have to catch up with the rest of things. Already Dan and Kip are trying to squeeze flats of seeds for germination into the micro house where the temperatures are bene- ficial for seeds to sprout. From there, the flats will be moved to the ‘starts house’ to finish their growth before transplanting. Some beds are currently being ‘direct seeded’ so that we can avoid the time and cost of transplanting. This method also means the plants won’t have to sit for a week in the ground recovering from ‘transplant shock’. It also means that those plants won’t be ready to harvest for a little while longer.
   The intern selections have been made and we are waiting to hear if those who were selected are still interested. In the meantime, there are three strong candidates for Cale’s position. That just leaves the Columbus delivery and market person. Think hard – maybe you know someone who would like a day of work once a week. The posts and girts are in place for the equipment shed. Now we are waiting for the trusses. We chose a gable shape to provide some out-of-the-weather storage at the top of the building. Our new method of securing the sides of the greenhouses in the winter has eliminated our need for the concrete lintels for that job. This means we won’t have to build new forms and lintels to expand the raised beds portion of the field plantings. We already have the needed lintels. Roughly translated – more salad mix and herbs!
   For the members who had an apple share this fall – this is the last week for the apples. With only a few more weeks until the end of the Winter 2011 season, Rob will be sending our seasonal survey soon. Here is your oppor-tunity to tell us anonymously what we did well and what we could improve. Remember, it will only take a minute or two (at most), but our changes come from your ideas, praise, and complaints. Thanks for helping. Have a great week!
From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, John, Rob, Cale, Julia, Penny, Guinevere and Morgan)
THIS WEEK’S VEGGIESSalad Mix – In the mix this week are 7 varieties of lettuce. This mix is best stored in an air-tight con-tainer with some paper towel or cloth to absorb any extra drops of water that can form.
Mushrooms - Shiitake. It’s a good thing they’re so good. If you can’t use them all in one week, they should store fine in their pa-per bag to be combined for a really big mushroom extravaganza next week!
Swiss Chard- We are glad to have this favorite back this week. The mild flavor of chard makes it the all around choice for most customers. It’s the only green that grows well in winter and summer.
MicroMix Microgreens - We are so pleased to once again bring you a generous portion of the oth-er microgreens that we grow. Unlike the sunflower ones, these are more delicate, don’t store as well, and have the tangy flavor of cabbage and radish. We hope you enjoy them.
Kale - One of our all-time favo-rites. We love it raw, massaged, steamed, in soup, etc., etc. Ac-cording to nutritiondata.com, the complete amino acid score of this food is 92 – that’s with 100 being a complete protein!
Spinach - Another week of spi-nach and our blood is happy for it! We hope you are not too bored with it.


The Combo Corner

The apple selections from Cherry Orchard are Fuji and Gold Rush.
This week’s bread from The Village Bakery and Café is hearth baked Sourdough Rye. The bakery has just finished the installation of their new wood-fired oven. Let us know your reactions to the new texture. We hope to have more information about the new oven soon.

This is Cale’s last week on the delivery truck and Friday is his last day.  We will miss him, his work ethic, his singular sense of humor, and all of the other things that make him distinctively Cale.  We wish him good fortune as he assumes his new position with a local landscaping company.  We are celebrating his time with us in typical Green Edge fashion – a special cake at Friday lunch, and more celebration at the Casa Nueva Cantina on Friday night.

Recipes

Some recipes this week are repeated from last week since you have another abundance of greens.

Bitter Lemon, Honey and Sweet Simmered Greens

from Barb Gertz on food.com

1 ½ - 2 lbs Swiss Chard or other greens
1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon cumin seed
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 slices lemons, 1/8” thick, with seeds removed
¼ cup reduced-sodium chick-en broth, vegetable broth, or water
1 tablespoon honey
¼ teaspoon salt (to taste) fresh ground pepper


Separate chard leaves from stems and ribs; wash leaves thoroughly, roughly chop; if using stems, rinse, and finely chop.
Heat oil in a deep sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat; add cumin seeds and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add garlic and chard stems; cook stirring often, for 3 minutes more; stir in lemon slices.
Add the leaves in 2 batches, allowing them to wilt before adding more; add broth (or water), honey, salt and pepper. Cover and cook until greens are tender, 1 to 2 minutes more. Serve hot or warm.


Vegan Lentil, Kale, and Red Onion Pasta



55 mins. ~from allrecipes.com~ 4 servings


2 ½ cups vegetable broth
¾ cup dry lentils
½ teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
¼ cup olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
½ teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces vegan sausage, cut into ¼” slices (optional)
1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped
1 (12 ounce) package rotini pasta
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)

1. Bring the vegetable broth, lentils, ½ teaspoon salt, and bay leaf to a boil in a sauce pan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Add additional broth if needed to keep the lentils moist. Discard the bay leaf once done.
2. As the lentils simmer, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion, thyme, oregano, ½ tsp. salt, and pepper. Cook and stir for 1 minute, then add the sausage. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the onion has softened, about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the kale and rotini pasta. Cook until the rotini is al dente, about 8 minutes. Remove some of the cooking water and set aside. Drain the pasta then return to the pot, and stir in the lentils and onion mixture. Use the reserved cooking liquid to ad-just the moistness of the dish to your liking. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast.


For omnivores, substitute Parmesan cheese for the nutritional yeast, and andouille sausage for the vegan sausage.


MEXICAN LASAGNA
adapted by Becky from Daisy Cooks



When I make this dish for the Open Farm Day, I’m planning on about 50 servings, so I’m going to list the ingredients, but not the amounts. This is a simple dish and easy to assemble. This year for the sauce, I was able to use mostly home-canned heirloom tomatoes from last summer’s harvest.


Ingredients you will need include tomatoes (canned or sauce), onions, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, cilantro, canola (or other) oil, fresh corn tortillas, cooked black beans, cooked rice, grated cheese, herbs for sauce, and ground meat (if you like).


Start with chopped onion and garlic. We always use lots of garlic. Sauté these until translucent, and add tomatoes. I can the tomatoes peeled and whole, but any chopped or crushed ones will work. When this is hot, I start the sauce. Re-member this is a Mexican tomato sauce, not Italian, so we use lots of cumin and cilantro. Salt, pepper, a little sugar, some red wine. Feel free to taste and add as your taste buds tell you. This sauce can simmer for hours or days as you wish.
If using canned beans, sauté some onion and add beans to it with some cumin and salt. If cooking dry beans, add raw, chopped onion and cumin to the cooking water.
If adding meat, fry with garlic and cumin.
Cook rice according to directions.
Grate cheese (lots of cheese)
Heat some (about 1/2 cup) canola or other kind of oil in a shallow frying pan. Cut tortillas into at least two pieces and fry in oil on both sides. Remove when crisp and drain on paper towel. Fry all that you will need. (For a pan 9 x 13, you will need about 36 6” tortillas).
Assemble the layers: Cover the bottom of the pan with sauce, then lay the tortillas over the entire bot-tom. Press to crack and flatten the ‘chips’. Layer beans, rice, meat, cheese, sauce. Place another layer of tortillas and flatten. Repeat bean, rice, meat, cheese, sauce. Add another tortilla layer, sauce and cheese.
Bake this at 350 degrees for about 1 ½ hours covered and 15 minutes uncovered.

Veggie List for Week 16

Veggie List for Week 16
3/30 & 4/2 Pick-ups

Salad Mix
Microgreens Mix
Mushrooms
Swiss Chard
Kale
Spinach

Week 15 Newsletter

Week #15 March 23, 2011


   As you can see from the little sidebar section, the Open Farm Day was great fun. We had a good turnout of members and non-members alike. Some of the non-members had just heard about the tour and that it was open to the public, so out to the farm they came. We got to meet some of you in person, which is always a treat! One member from Bexley took lots of pictures so we hope to share them with everyone once we get copies.
   The lumber for the equipment shed was delivered on Monday, and today the job of installing the upright posts has begun. Judging from the length of the posts, this step could take days. The rest of the lumber will be delivered on Thursday morning. A little break in the rain would be nice. As we drive out to the main road, we can see the coltsfoot blooming on the north side, and this makes us smile. Little bulbs planted decades ago by another hand continue to bloom unexpectedly in different parts of the yard. The tulip foliage is up, and most of the daffodils have begun to wave their heads in the breeze.
   Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week, we are being visited and helped by a class from Wright State University. Each day, we get a new group of 6-8 students with one professor. In this ‘service-learning’ part of their course, the groups help a different organization each day. They have helped us, the Chesterhill Produce Auction (Amish farmers in the area), and Monday Creek Restoration (stream clean-up from coal mines), and several others. They helped us grub out that Bur Oak tree we were trying to give away (alas, it’s dead at the side of the field – heart-breaking since we planted it); clean-up the interns cooking and eating area; and they helped us pick and pack your shares today! Thanks to all!
  Reservations and payments for the Summer 2011 season continue to come in every day. Please let us know your intentions if you have not already done so. Spaces are filling faster than in the past seasons. Just send an email so you aren’t left out. Have a great week!
From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, John, Maria, Rob, Cale, Penny, Guinevere and Morgan)

THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES

Salad Mix – In the mix this week are 7 varieties of lettuce. This mix is best stored in an air-tight con-tainer with some paper towel or cloth to absorb any extra drops of water that can form.
Mushrooms - Shiitake. It’s a good thing they’re so good. If you can’t use them all in one week, they should store fine in their pa-per bag to be combined for a really big mushroom extravaganza next week!
Swiss Chard- We are glad to have this favorite back this week. The mild flavor of chard makes it the all around choice for most customers. It’s the only green that grows well in winter and summer.
Spinach - Another week of spi-nach and our blood is happy for it! We hope you are not too bored with it already.
MicroMix Microgreens - We are so pleased to once again bring you a generous portion of the oth-er microgreens that we grow. Unlike the sunflower ones, these are more delicate, don’t store as well, and have the tangy flavor of cabbage and radish. We hope you enjoy them.
Kale - One of our all-time favo-rites. We love it raw, massaged, steamed, in soup, etc., etc. Ac-cording to nutritiondata.com, the complete amino acid score of this food is 92 – that’s with 100 being a complete protein!
Rutabaga/Turnips - This year’s crop of rutabagas was very sparse. (Your share may also include tur-nips this week instead.) Treat these special veggies as you would turnips. They are somewhat creamier than turnips when cooked, and some claim the flavor is less strong, but you can make your own descriptions. This veggie is a cross between cabbage and turnips. The name comes from ‘rotabagge’ meaning “round root.” It is Swedish in origin.

The Combo Corner


The apple selections from Cherry Orchard are Fuji and Gold Rush. Attention fruit shareholders, only one more week and the fruit shares end. The last day of apple delivery is March 30th.

This week’s bread from The Village Bakery and Café is Bo’s Brown Bread made from 100% whole grain: 50/50 white and sprouted wheat with some Snowville milk yogurt (made at the bakery).
 
Recipes
Bitter Lemon, Honey and Sweet Simmered Greens
from Barb Gertz on food.com


INGREDIENTS:
1 ½ - 2 lbs Swiss Chard or other greens
1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon cumin seed
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 slices lemons, 1/8” thick, with seeds removed
¼ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
1 tablespoon honey
¼ teaspoon salt (to taste) fresh ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Separate chard leaves from stems and ribs; wash leaves thoroughly, roughly chop; if using stems, rinse, and finely chop.
Heat oil in a deep sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat; add cumin seeds and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add garlic and chard stems; cook stirring often, for 3 minutes more; stir in lemon slic-es.
Add the leaves in 2 batches, allowing them to wilt before adding more; add broth (or water), honey, salt and pepper. Cover and cook until greens are tender, 1 to 2 minutes more. Serve hot or warm.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Kale and Great Northern Beans
from food.com makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:
salt 2 ½ cups milk (low-fat is fine)
2 Bay leaves
1 bunch kale (chard will work)
1 lb pasta, elbow, shell, ziti
1 (15 ounce) can of northern white beans, drained
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese freshly
ground black pepper
½ cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.
Cook the milk with the bay leaves in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. When small bubbles appear along the sides, about 5 min-utes lat-er, turn off the heat and let stand.
In the salted water, cook the pasta al dente. Drain it, rinse it quickly to stop the cooking, and put it in a large bowl.
Trim the stems from the kale. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add kale. Boil kale for one minute, remove, and set aside to cool. Squeeze excess water from kale and chop into edible pieces.
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter; when it is foamy, add the flour and cook, stirring, until the mixture browns, about 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaves from the milk and add about ¼ cup of the milk to the hot flour mixture, stirring with a wire whisk all the while. As soon as the mixture becomes smooth, add a little more milk and continue to do so until all the milk is used up and the mixture is thick and smooth. Add the cheddar and stir.
Pour the sauce over the noodles, toss in the Parmesan and kale, mix in the white beans, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Use the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to grease a 9 x 13-inch or similar size baking pan and turn the pasta mixture into it. Top liberally with bread crumbs and bake until bubbling and the crumbs turn brown, and 15 minutes. Serve piping hot.

MEXICAN LASAGNA adapted by Becky from Daisy Cooks

When I make this dish for the Open Farm Day, I’m planning on about 50 servings, so I’m going to list the ingredients, but not the amounts. This is a simple dish and easy to assemble. This year for the sauce, I was able to use mostly home-canned heirloom tomatoes from last summer’s harvest.
Ingredients you will need include tomatoes (canned or sauce), onions, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, cilantro, canola (or other) oil, fresh corn tortillas, cooked black beans, cooked rice, grated cheese, herbs for sauce, and ground meat (if you like).
Start with chopped onion and garlic. We always use lots of garlic. Sauté these until translucent, and add tomatoes. I can the tomatoes peeled and whole, but any chopped or crushed ones will work. When this is hot, I start the sauce. Remember this is a Mexican tomato sauce, not Italian, so we use lots of cumin and cilantro. Salt, pepper, a little sugar, some red wine. Feel free to taste and add as your taste buds tell you. This sauce can simmer for hours or days as you wish.
If using canned beans, sauté some onion and add beans to it with some cumin and salt. If cooking beans, add raw, chopped onion and cumin to the cooking water.
If adding meat, fry with garlic and cumin.
Cook rice according to directions.
Grate cheese (lots of cheese)
Heat some (about 1/2 cup) canola or other kind of oil in a shallow frying pan. Cut tortillas into at least two pieces and fry in oil on both sides. Remove when crisp and drain on paper towel. Fry all that you will need. (For a pan 9 x 13, you will need about 36 6” tortillas).
Assemble the layers: Cover the bottom of the pan with sauce, then lay the tortillas over the entire bottom. Press to crack and flatten the ‘chips’. Layer beans, rice, meat, cheese, sauce. Place another layer of tortillas and flatten. Repeat bean, rice, meat, cheese, sauce. Add another tortilla layer, sauce and cheese.
Bake this at 350 degrees for about 1 ½ hours covered and 15 minutes uncovered.

Open Farm Day Details

Please Join Us for
The Winter 2011 OPEN FARM DAY
Sunday, March 20th, 1pm--5pm

We begin the day with a potluck meal at the Amesville Grange.  Come share a meal with your farmers and community members and learn more about Green Edge Organic Gardens.  Starting at 2:30, groups will head over to the farm, just a few minutes away.  At the farm we will have guided tours, and all the time you want to ask questions or wander around on your own. 
This is a great opportunity for you to see where, how and why we grow your vegetables the way we do.
This event is FREE and OPEN TO EVERYONE, so please spread the word!

Directions (Do Not Trust Your GPS!)
From SR 33, take the OH 550E/Columbus Rd. Exit, toward Amesville. Take a left off of the exit ramp and continue straight through the light on 550 East.
You will drive for about 10 miles before coming into the town of Amesville. The Grange is the second brick building on the left. You can park in between the Grange and the Post Office.



NOTE: You will lose cell reception just after getting on to 550.

Week 14 Newsletter

Week #14 March 16 , 2011


  We hope you are as excited as we are about the upcoming Open Farm Day. We really enjoy seeing all the folks who come out for the great potluck dinner and amazing tour of the farm. Hope you can be one of them this year! Please remember to reply to the emailed E-vite so we can have a count of folks planning to attend. Visits from prospective intern candi-dates continue. We will make our decisions toward the end of this month. At the same time, we are interviewing others to replace Cale who will be leaving us at the end of this month.
  With his departure, we are changing some things, and we need your help. Green Edge/Athens Hills CSA is looking to hire someone from the Columbus area to work with Kip on delivery days. This job is one day a week on Wednesdays. It would start around 9:30 am through the end of the route (around 4:00 pm). End times vary with the seasons and from mid-May through October are 6:30 pm. This person needs to be physically fit, a non-smoker, a good handler of details, with transportation to meet our truck. Wages are $10 per hour. If you know of anyone who you would recommend for this position, have him or her email a cover letter and resume to us at info@greenedgegardens.com . Please put “Columbus position” in the subject line. Thanks for your help with this!
  Work on the equipment shed is moving along nicely. Yesterday before the rains, Kip and his crew were able to pour the cement pedestals that will hold the posts. We are expecting the lumber and trusses by the end of the week. The shed won’t be done by Sunday, but at least you can see where it will be. When this project is completed, we will begin to build more forms for more lintels to make even more permanently raised beds. These beds have been a very real improvement for grow-ing salad mix and herbs. We need more for other ‘hard-to-weed’ crops. When those forms are finished, the lumber that is used for those forms will eventually complete the last intern cabin. (We rarely throw anything away.) We hope to see you Sunday. Have a great week!
From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, John, Rob, Cale, Penny, Maria, Guinevere, and Morgan

THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES

Salad Mix – In the mix t his week are 7 varieties of lettuce. This mix is best stored in an air-tight con-tainer with some paper towel or cloth to absorb any extra drops of water that can form.
Mushrooms - Shiitake. It’s a good thing they’re so good. If you can’t use them all in one week, they should store fine in their pa-per bag to be combined for a really big mushroom extravaganza next week!
Sunflower Microgreens - If you’re not familiar with micro-greens, you are in for a surprise! These have a mild, almost nutty flavor and are juicy and crunchy.
Spinach - Another week of spi-nach while we patiently wait for the chard and kale to size up. We hope you are not too bored with it already.
Rutabaga - This year’s crop of rutabagas was very sparse. This is the only time you will get them this season. Disappointing yields like this just mean we have some extra planting to do now, so that we will have variety for the rest of the cycle. Treat these special veggies as you would turnips. They are somewhat creamier than turnips when cooked, and some claim the flavor is less strong, but you can make your own descriptions. This veggie is a cross between cabbage and turnips. The name comes from ‘rotabagge’ meaning “round root.” It is Swedish in origin.
Kale - We love it raw, massaged, steamed, in soup, etc., etc. A complete amino acid score of this food is 92 – that’s with 100 being a complete protein!
Swiss Chard- We glad to have this favorite back this week. The mild flavor of chard makes it the all around choice for most cus-tomers. It’s the only green that grows well in winter and summer.

The Combo Corner

The apple selections from Cherry Orchard this week are Fuji and Gold Rush.
This week’s bread from The Village Bakery and Café is Irish Soda Bread! It's 50% whole grain, with organic unbleached white, oat, barley, and Kamut flours. Slightly sweet, rich with Hartzler butter and house made (Snowville Creamery) yogurt, studded with organic raisins and currants, it is a great complement to savory Irish stews or served as simple scone-like breakfast bread. The bread is smaller than the usual loaves, and not suitable for sandwich making. We only make this for St. Patrick's day, and our local micro-brewery, Jackie O's, serves our Soda Bread all day to help mitigate the effects of the other St Patty's Day tradition.... Serves 4.

Recipes
MAPLE-GLAZED RUTABAGA

¼ cup maple syrup
1 ½ teaspoons butter, melted
7 cups (1/2” cubed) peeled rutabaga
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 F.
Combine syrup and but-ter in a large bowl, stir-ring with a whisk. Add rutabaga, salt, and pep-per, toss to coat. Spread rutabaga mixture on a jell y roll pan coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 425 for 35 mi-nutes or until rutabaga is tender, stirring occasio-nally.

SHERRY’S POTATO-SWISS CHARD CURRY

3 medium red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1” pieces
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
3 cups chopped Swiss Chard
1 (14.5 oz can) diced tomatoes, undrained

Place potatoes in a large pan, cover with water. Bring to boil. Boil 4-6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes, sugar, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper.
Cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in Swiss chard and tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, simmer 4-6 minutes.
Very saucy, healthy side dish.
Sherry Monfils www.cooks.com

Garlicky Greens Recipe

If you are using spinach, ignore the stem instructions below. With spinach, I simply trim any long stems. Also, feel free to make this vegan and/or dairy-free by leaving out the Parmesan cheese. Toasted almonds or pine nuts are a great substitution (or addition).
1 large bunch of kale, chard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt
5 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (opt)
crushed red pepper flakes

To destem each leaf of chard/kale, grab the main stalk in one hand and strip the leaf from the stem all the way up with the other. I then tear the big leaves into bite-sized pieces, but you can use a knife for this task if you prefer. Wash the greens in a big bowl (or sink) full of clean water, rinsing and swishing to rinse away any stubborn grit and dirt. Drain, rinse again, and set aside.

Hold off cooking the greens until just before eating. Then, in a large skillet heat the olive oil. Add a couple big pinches of salt and the greens. They should hiss and spit a bit when they hit the pan. Stir continuously until their color gets bright green, and they just barely start to collapse - two, three, maybe four minutes, depending on how hot your pan is and how much structure your greens have. Then, just thirty seconds before you anticipate pulling the skillet off of the heat, stir in the garlic. Sauté a bit, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Parmesan, and add a big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Taste, add a bit of salt if needed, and serve immediately if not sooner.
Serves 2- 3.
from 101 Cookbooks

Week 14 Veggie List

Veggie List for 3/16 & 3/19 Pickups:

Salad Mix
Sunflower Microgreens
Shiitake Mushrooms
Kale
Spinach
Rutabaga

Maybe Swiss Chard also

Week 13 Newsletter

Week #13 March 9, 2011


  As the water levels rise and fall around us, we are continually thankful for the drainage project of last summer. Fall planted crops that have wintered over are looking better than they have in years thanks to the lack of standing water in the fields. Kip has the equipment shed staked out, and today they are pouring the concrete pedestals for the corner posts. After the next two days of rain, and several more for drying out the soil, the next step will begin. Last Friday night, we had a great send-off party for Julia and Steve at the Casa Nueva Cantina. We miss them, but Maria has definitely ‘stepped up’ and ‘stepped in’ to fill the gap. Welcome to Maria.
  And despite all of the rain and high water, we are actually watering in the greenhouses. These sunny days make things ‘toasty warm’ in the houses. The extra warmth causes the soil to dry faster than the outside. Of course, when we add water, weeds also grow, so the greenhouses are receiving a nice weeding this week too. This warmer weather also signals the beginning of the battles against aphids in the greenhouses. We usually win this with the help of insecticidal soap.
  This week we will be sending out the E-vites to the Open Farm Day on March 20. This is a day that we invite all of our CSA members, hosts, and partners to come and visit their veggies and us. It is also a day open to the public for a visit. As we have grown, many people are interested to see how we grow what we grow. A full tour will take about an hour. Join us at the historic Amesville Grange Hall for a potluck dinner at 1:00pm. Then it’s off to the farm around 2:30 (in several waves of cars) about 1 mile away. We like to take the tours in several groups because it is difficult to accommodate large groups inside the greenhouses. Smaller groups also mean more time for you to ask your questions. We hope you will join us, and remember you can bring a friend or two with you. Please let us know if you are planning to come by responding to the e-vite which will come to your email inbox. Thanks and have a great week!
From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, John, Rob, Cale, Penny, Maria, Guinevere, and Morgan

THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES

Salad Mix – In the mix this week are 7 varieties of lettuce, but the mizuna, and pe-tsai are gone for awhile. This means lettuce only for a few weeks. The salad mis is best stored in an air-tight container with some paper towel or cloth to absorb any extra drops of water that can form.

Mushrooms - Mushrooms this week – shiitake. It’s a good thing they’re so good. If you can’t use them all in one week, they should store fine in their paper bag to be combined for a really big mu-shroom extravaganza next week!
Sunflower Microgreens - If you’re not familiar with micro-greens, you are in for a surprise! Unlike sprouts (which are only grown in water), these are grown in soil and therefore im-part the nutritional additions from the soil. These have a mild, almost nutty flavor and are juicy and crunchy.
Spinach - Another week of spi-nach while we patiently wait for the chard and kale to size up. We hope you are not too bored with it already.
Turnips – Calling all turnip lovers! Yes, it’s beginning to be turnip time. Spring must be right around the corner when these treasures start coming.
Collards- We hope you were able to try the sweet stems of these beauties last time. If not, well, there’s this week… In addition, the greens are sweet and flavorful, but remember they need a little longer cooking time than some of the other greens.

The Combo Corner

The apple selections from Cherry Orchards are the same. For the remaining weeks the apples will be a mix of Fuji, Red Delicious and/or Yellow (or Golden) Delicious.
This week’s bread from The Village Bakery and Café is Honey Oat Wheat.

RECIPES
You’ll notice a sweet potato recipe here. This was sent by a member as her great favorite. So, even though there are no sweet potatoes this week, you might have a few left.


DRIED TURNIPS
The faster the drying process, the more vitamins and minerals are retained in the dried product. Contents of vitamins A and C are lower in the dried product than in fresh food due the exposure to air during the drying process.

Bacteria, molds, and yeasts cannot survive without sufficient water. The drying process removes enough water from the plant cells to prevent their hosting the growth of spoilage organisms during storage. Except for onions, vegetables should be blanched in steam or in boiling water before they are dried. This sets the color, checks the ripening process and also hastens the drying time by softening the tissues.

Wash the turnips and cut them into thin slices. Spread on drying trays in the hot sun (or use a dehydrator). When dry, turnips will be brittle. Store in glass jars or grind into a vegetable powder.

To stove-top dry or oven dry, slice very, then steam slices for 6 minutes. Allow to cool. Spread on trays and dry until brittle.
from: Putting It Up with Honey, a natural foods canning and preserving cookbook; Geiskopf, 1979.

Smokey Sweet Potato Chicken Soup

2 Tbls extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled
2 ribs celery
1 large onion, peeled & chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 chipotle chili in adobo, finely chopped, plus a spoon of sauce from the can
Salt and Black pepper
1 teaspoon dry thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine
5 cups chicken stock
1 large sweet potato
¾ to 1 lb. chicken tenders, cut into bite- size pieces
4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
¼ cup cilantro leaves, a generous hand ful, coarsely chopped
½ cup sour cream, optional
Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, about 2 turns of the pan. While the soup pot heats, chop carrots in half lengthwise then slice into thin half moons. Add the carrots to the pot while it heats, stirring to coat the carrots in the oil. Chop and drop in celery and onion, chopping as small as you can, but don’t make yourself crazy. Add the garlic, chipotle, and adobo sauce and stir to combine. Season the veggies with salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook the veggies together 1 minute. Add the wine and reduce a minute. Add the stock to the pot, cover the pot, and raise heat to high. Bring the soup to a boil, remove the cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into quarters lengthwise, then thinly slice into bite size pieces. Add the cut chicken and sweet potatoes and simmer 5 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn the heat off and add the scallions and cilantro. Serve each portion of soup with a dollop of sour cream on top.
~foodnetwork.com~

SPINACH SOUFFLE

1 10-oz. frozen spinach or all of the spinach that came in your share, stemmed 2 Tbl butter or margarine 2 Tbl all-purpose flour ½ tsp salt ½ cup milk ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese * * * 5 egg yolks 5 stiffly beaten egg whites Cheddar Cheese Sauce

Cook the spinach until mushy. Drain thoroughly! Add butter to spinach; cook and stir over high heat till butter is melted. Blend in flour and salt; add milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat till mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat; stir in grated Parmesan cheese.
Beat egg yolks till thick and lemon-colored. Stir spinach into egg yolks. Pour spinach mixture over egg whites; fold together carefully. Pour into ungreased 1-quart soufflé dish. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or till knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Makes 4-6 servings. Serve with Cheddar Cheese Sauce.
CHEDDAR CHEESE SAUCE: Combine 1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup and 1/3 cup milk; heat. Add 4 ounces sharp natural Cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup); stir to melt.
Soufflé tips: Yolks are less likely to break when separated if the eggs are still cold; Egg whites should be beaten when room temperature; Stir the ready-and-waiting hot sauce slowly into the beaten egg whites’; Fold sauce mixture into beaten whites; gently lift up-and-over in high strokes. Take your time; To help the soufflé clinb, use and ungreased dish.
~from Better Homes and Gardens’ Casserole Cookbook, 1968. This cookbook was one of my mother’s. Growing up in the depression, she embraced the ‘quick’ recipes calling for a can of creamed condensed soup instead of making her own ‘sauce’ with butter, flour, and milk. She was a ‘git-it-done’ girl who appreciated saving minutes when she could.

OPEN FARM DAY Sunday March 20


1-5 pm

Mark your calendars and save the date!


Join us for a Potluck Dinner at the Amesville Grange Hall. and then caravan to the farm for a tour of your veggies.


Look for an E-Vite soon!


Bring a friend or two!

Week 13 Veggie List

Veggie List for Week 13:
Pick-ups 3/9 and 3/5

Salad Mix
Sunflower Microgreens
Mushrooms
Spinach
Collard Greens
Turnips

Week 12 Newsletter

Week #12 March 2, 2011

  Somehow, we managed to avoid much high water here on the farm over the weekend. Friday’s rains saw waters rising, but the devastating heavy winds and rain missed our end of the county. And we breathed a sigh of relief. With March here already, yesterday we all heard the peepers that are the first harbingers of spring. On Friday of this week, we are saying goodbye to our dear friend, employee, and former intern, Julia. She and Steve are moving to the Dayton area to begin their newest adventure! We wish them so much success! We are honored to have had them with us. One intern from last summer, Maria, has taken Julia’s position. We feel very fortunate to have her join us. We know she will be a valuable member of the crew!
  Our Athens Wednesday pick-up site has moved. Hyacinth Bean Florists has relocated to West Union Street behind Catalyst Café. The phone number is the same so give them a call for directions. Thanks to all of the Athens folks for being so accommodating!
  Most of the seeds have arrived and the planting is beginning. Some beds of harvested greens will be re-seeded with salad mix, salad greens, ra-dishes, dill, and cilantro for harvest in the early spring. Kip has ordered the trusses and roofing for the equipment shed. Now we wait for the ground to dry out from the last rains. All in all, we’re hoping this week’s warm and sunny temperatures will only decrease the time for the soil to dry out a bit. Everyone has finally returned from the many places visited, and we are looking forward to a spring filled with surprises in every direction. We can only hope we will be nimble enough and quick enough to jump when called upon. This is a time when the forces of nature speak grandly and demand respect. All we can do is joyously embrace the changes. Be on the lookout for crocuses; their colorful heads will be up in no time. And please, please do not drive your car through the water over the road. Have a good week!
From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, John, Rob, Cale, Julia, Penny, Guinevere, and Morgan

THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES
Salad Mix – We are so thrilled to have an extra large bag of lettuce for your share this week! This is the result of the several days of warmth and sun. Those little plants really respond! We hope you enjoy it.
Mushrooms - Mushrooms this week – shiitake. It’s a good thing they’re so good. If you can’t use them all in one week, they should store fine in their paper bag to be combined for a really big mu-shroom extravaganza next week!
Sunflower Microgreens - If you’re not familiar with micro-greens, you are in for a surprise! Unlike sprouts (which are only grown in water), these are grown in soil and therefore im-part the nutritional additions from the soil. These have a mild, almost nutty flavor and are juicy and crunchy.
Spinach - Another week of spi-nach while we patiently wait for the chard and kale to size up. We hope you are not too bored with it already.
Turnips – Calling all turnip lov-ers! Yes, it’s beginning to be turnip time. Spring must be right around the corner when these treasures start coming.
Sweet Potato - This is the last week of the sweet potatoes. We are now sorting through the leftovers for seed for next year, and seconds for the restaurants.

The Combo Corner
The apple selections from Cherry Orchards are the same. For the remaining weeks the apples will be a mix of Fuji, Red Delicious and/or Yellow (or Golden) Delicious.
This week’s bread from The Village Bakery and Café is the French Gallette.

So what’s your favorite sweet potato recipe?
We’ve sent you several recipes this summer for the fabulous sweet po-tatoes. Did you try any of them?
Did they inspire you to create something new?
Do you have a favorite that others would like?
Your feedback will help us decide which recipes to post on the blog. Thanks for taking a sec to think about this and reply.

RECIPES
POTATO TURNIP CAKE
4 cups grated turnips
2 cups grated potatoes
½ cup minced onion
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil salt and pepper
Mix the turnips, potatoes, and onion. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a large cast iron or non-stick frying pan. Spoon in the vegetable mixture, flatten it evenly in the pan, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium low, cover the pan, and fry the cake until it is golden brown on the bottom, 10-15 minutes. To turn the cake, slip it out of the pan onto a plate. Place another plate on top of the cake and invert it. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and heat. Slip the cake back into the pan to brown the second side. Fry uncovered until browned. Slice in wedges to serve.
 from Joy of Gardening Cookbook, Ballantyne, 1984

SPINACH RICOTTA PIESweet Potato Waldorf Salad

from Moosewood Cookbook, Katzen, 1977
3 hours to prepare, assemble, and bake; yield: 1-9” pie
THE CRUST -
Cut together 1 cup flour (4/5 white plus 1/5 whole wheat is nice) (that’s approximate, of course) and 1/3 cup cold water. Use a pastry cutter or two forks, or a food processor fitted with steel blade. (Try to work quickly so ingredients stay cold.)
When the mixture is uniformly blended, add about 3 Tablespoons cold buttermilk (or water. But buttermilk really. Specialness is worth it.) ~ or enough so that mixture holds together enough to form a ball. Chill the dough at least 1 hour.
THE FILLING –
1 lbs. ricotta cheese
3 beaten eggs
½ lb. chopped spinach
1 small onion, diced
3 tablespoons flour
 ½ cup grated sharp cheese dash of nutmeg
Sauté the spinach and onion in butter with black pepper, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp basil. Mix all together, blending well. Spread into unbaked pie shell. Top with 1 cup sour cream spread to the edges of the crust and a generous application of paprika. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Serve piping hot.

Sweet Potato Waldorf Salad

8 cups diced sweet potatoes

2 cups diced celery
4 cups unpeeled diced red or green apples (3 apples)
½ cup raisins or currants
¼ cup chopped walnuts
1 ½ cups mayonnaise
¼ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
Parboil the potatoes until just tender, 3-5 minutes. Plunge into cold water. Drain.
In a large salad bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Add the potatoes and toss to coat. Chill and serve cold.

SWEET POTATO TARRAGON SALAD
4 cups Julienne-sliced sweet potatoes
1/3 cup vegetable oil
5 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tbl. minced fresh tarragon
salt and pepper
Parboil the potatoes for 3-5 minutes, until just tender. Plunge into cold water and drain immediately.
Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the potatoes. Toss to coat. Marinate for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to mingle. Serve cold.



If anyone is interested in signing on to a letter in Support of a Moratorium on Hydro-Fracturing (fracking), please let Becky know and she will forward the letter to you.  As a grower of food, we are certain that it is vitally important to keep our groundwater and wells safe from the toxins that are disturbed in this process