Week 20 Newsletter

ATHENS HILLS CSA

   Check out the progress of the two new greenhouses on the Blog (greenedgegardens.blogspot.com) and on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-Edge-Gardens/327289894146)! When we consider the days of rain that we’ve had since this project began, we are thrilled to have this much already completed. We will be picking up the endwall lumber on Thursday. We hope to be ready for the plastic by the weekend. We just need one hour of sunny calm to pull the plastic and secure it. Sometimes we have to wait a while for that one hour though. 

   This Friday we will say goodbye to our intern, Corey, who will be traveling to the West. We will not replace him, as soon things will slow for all of us. On one hand, we can’t wait for the shorter days of winter. We still have plenty of normal tasks - weeding, watering, etc. but for two or so months, the planting ceases. On the other hand, we spend the extra time covering (to grab and hold the ground heat) and uncovering (to let the plants breathe during the day) all of the beds in all of the houses. 

   Since this is the last newsletter of the Summer 2011 season, there are a few housekeeping details for you to remember. Please return the extra green bags to your host site on your next visit. If you are joining us for the Winter 2012 season, just wait until your 1st delivery. We have an online survey that will take only a few moments to complete. There have been many responses so far, and they are wide-ranging so please give us your opinion too. We really do use these to help us refine and improve our products and service as far as the weather will let us. If you were dissatisfied, please elaborate! We can’t fix something we don’t know about. The ‘live’ link is in the next column. Thanks for that. 

   And finally, we all want to express our gratitude for your patience this season. The cold, wet spring caused many delays in growing and planting. Changing weather patterns created new challenges for us too. In the end, it is our dedicated members, like you, who make this work so rewarding for us. Thanks again for your support.

From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, John, Maria, Penny, Bethany, Corey, Diedra, Alicia, Theo, Liz, and Rob)

THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES

Salad Mix – In the mix this week are 7 varieties of lettuce, mizuna, and pe-tsai, and tatsoi. The last three are mild Asian greens. This mix 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 - Shiitake
Sunflower Microgreens - These have a mild, almost nutty flavor and are juicy and crunchy.
Salad Radishes – This week there are either French breakfast or Easter Egg radishes. Sometime the Easter Eggs can be a little tangier, but at this time of year, they are both juicy and crisp. Perfect for that radish, bread, and butter (w salt) sandwich.
Peppers, Sweet and Hot - Don’t forget that you can freeze these easily if you can’t use them now. Just wash, dry, remove the seeds, chop, bag, and freeze. No blanching is necessary.
Arugula – This pungent green is truly one of our ‘love it or hate it’ products. We use it raw in salads or as a pesto, or sautéed in a variety of dishes.
Garlic – Another round of the ones that we grew this year. It wasn’t a stellar year for us for garlic, so we’re just happy to have a little of it for you.
Lemon Grass – This a first for us. By dividing much of the lemon grass, we can give you some and make a smaller space for ‘wintering over’ in the hothouse. Now that these plants are established, we expect to have more for the summer shares next season!
Red and White Potatoes - The red variety is called Desiree’ and is great for salad, boiling, and mashing. The white ones are called Katahdin. An excellent variety for storage and is great for soup, as well as other traditional uses.

THE COMBO CORNER

The fruit selections from Cherry Orchard have finished. Remember we started the veggies a week late making the fruit end a week early.
This week’s bread from The Village Bakery and Café is French Batard.
This week’s Cheese Share from Integration Acres is a new variety called Capri Romano. Aged 7 months, this is a hard goat cheese for grating.

PICKUP CONTACT NUMBERS & HOURS

NEW ALBANY – 614-216-9370 12-8pm
TIBET – 614-784-8124 11am-6pm
BEXLEY MARKET-614-252-3951 3-8pm
UPPER ARLINGTON- 614-506-3086 4-8pm
CLINTONVILLE COOP – 614-261-3663 11 am-8 pm
PLATES STUDIO –DUBLIN - 614-336-9502 4-8 pm
HYACINTH BEAN – 740-594-9302 12-6pm
Please remember to call your host first if problems arise. Since they are closer to you, they can usually resolve the problem. Feel free to call us if the host is unable to help you – 740-448-4021 Thanks!

Below is the link to this Summer 2011 survey. Please take a moment to fill in your answers. Many of the changes we make from one season to another are in direct response to suggestions, praises and complaints from members. Thanks as always for your continued support.

http://www.websurveymaster.com/s/AthensHillsCSA_Summer_2011_Survey

RECIPES

Chicken Curry Puffs

From allrecipes.com. Serves 9.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

½ teaspoon ground coriander 

½ teaspoon ground turmeric 

½ teaspoon ground cumin 

2 teaspoons curry powder 

½ cup coconut milk, or more as needed 

2 red onions, chopped 

1 stalk lemon grass, thinly sliced 

1 red chile pepper, roughly chopped 

1 large russet potato, diced 

3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut in bite-sized pieces 

1 teaspoon salt 1 (17.25 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed

Directions:  

Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in coriander, turmeric, cumin, and curry powder. Cook a few seconds until fragrant. Pour in coconut milk, onions, lemon grass, and red pepper; cook until the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Stir in potato and continue cooking for 12 minutes, adding more coconut milk if the mixture becomes too dry. Stir in the chicken, then season with salt. Cook and stir until chicken and potato has absorbed most of the liquid, and then spread mixture on a plate to cool. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Unfold puff pastry and cut each sheet into 9 squares. Place heaping spoonfuls of the filling in the center of each square. Gather all 4 corners of the pastry and pinch together at the top, forming a small pouch. Place each pastry on the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 22 to 27 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Lemongrass Tea

For making this tea, all you need is 1-1 ½ quarts boiling water, a large (2qt.) saucepan, and 2-3 pieces of the “grass” portion of the stalk. (Caution: Lemongrass has sharp serrated edges and can cut skin if you slide it along the edge of the grass.)

Place the grass pieces in the bottom of the pan, pour the boiling water over the grass in the bottom of the pan. Cover and steep for at least 15 minutes (and longer is fine). Serve piping hot, over ice, or anywhere in between. Stir in your sweetener of choice if you like - Milk too, if that’s your desire. This tea has a delicate, but pure lemon flavor. It is also prized in many cultures for its fever reducing qualities as well as for the flavor.

Mushroom, Chive & Garlic Strudel  

From Taste.com.au. Serves 6.

Preparation Time: 25 minutes Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients: (serves 6) 80ml (1/3 cup) water 1 brown onion, halved, thinly sliced 3 garlic cloves, chopped 200g cap mushrooms, quartered 200g Swiss brown mushrooms, thickly sliced 150g portobello mushrooms, thickly sliced 100g oyster mushrooms, halved lengthways 6 green shallots, trimmed, chopped 1 bunch fresh chives, cut into 1cm lengths Salt & freshly ground black pepper 3 tsp cornflour mixed with 3 tsp water 150g sour extra light cream 1 tbs Dijon mustard 8 sheets filo pastry (Antoniou brand) 1 tbs vegetable oil and 1 tsp poppy seeds

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Combine water, onion, and garlic in a medium saucepan and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes or until onion is soft. 

2. Transfer to a deep frying pan. Add cap, Swiss brown and portobello mushrooms. Cook over high heat, tossing, for 10 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Add oyster mush- rooms and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add green shallots and chives. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside for 15 minutes. Drain any liquid. 

3. Combine cornflour mixture, sour cream and mustard. Stir into mushrooms. Brush a pastry sheet with a little oil. Top with another sheet and brush with oil. Repeat layering, brushing sheets with oil. 

4. Spoon filling lengthways along centre of pastry, leaving 8cm border at narrow ends. Fold 1 long side over filling, fold in narrow ends, then fold remaining long side over. Hold together and place on lined tray, seam-side down. Brush with remaining oil. Sprinkle with seeds. 

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Serve with salad.