Our Daily Tasks: Covering and Uncovering

Our Daily Tasks: Covering and Uncovering

The winter wonderland where we grow your veggies.

The winter wonderland where we grow your veggies.
Photo credit: Emily Hammon
Want to join and receive your own share of delicious veggies each week? If you are interested in signing up, please email us at greededgegardens@gmail.com. For more information or to download our Enrollment brochure, visit our website at www.greenedgegardens.com/CSA.

We love sharing our wonderful produce with you! We started this blog so that we can keep you up to date with all that is happening on the farm. It is also an opportunity for all of us to get to know one another better. One of the strengths of a CSA is the direct relationship between the farmer's experience and your experience receiving fresh vegetables weekly.

We want to hear from you, so please feel free to share recipes, thoughts and ideas-just click on the COMMENT below each post to add to our CSA community.

May 1, 2013

Week 20 Newsletter, Winter 2013


ATHENS HILLS CSA
Today is the last delivery of your Winter 2013 share of fresh, organic vegetables. We want to take this opportunity to once again thank you for your support and for the kind words about the farm and its products. We have enjoyed this past season and look forward to the beginning of the summer 2013 season, which starts June 12. We hope you will choose to join us for that as well, but if not, then we will see you next winter. 

Monday, the concrete truck was once again at the farm for the 3rd of 4 pours of the concrete forms for our extension of the raised bed area. In all, we will be doubling the size of the current space. This expansion will make possible more crops that are especially tricky to weed. We’ve been waiting to enlarge this area for about 2 years and are happy to be able to complete this goal at last. 

Even though, we are saying good-bye to our winter members, the crew is even busier now that the huge packing days are over. They continue to plant more rounds of salad mix, basil, and a new crop for this year -ginger. Each harvest day, more beds in the greenhouses are cleared making way for the bed preparation that occurs between the winter plantings and the heirloom tomatoes. With the new information from this year’s soil tests, we will be treating each house slightly differently in the hope of making them all fairly uniform. This task is tricky since the test results largely reflect the age of the house, not so much what was planted in the house. 

Our diversion ditch project awaits some dry weather. Just yesterday, the recently installed drain tile that catches the run-off of the hillside was delivering 5 gallons/minute. Fortunately, this run-off went to the creek, and not into the field that we are hoping to cultivate and plant in the near future (like late this week or early next). Among other crops, this field is the new home of the potatoes. We will then install the deer fencing – a 7 foot, 10-wire concoction with electricity in alternated strands. It’s not very attractive, but thankfully, it’s effective. Have a great week and an even greater summer!

From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, Rob, Miranda, Emily, Natalie, Penny, Mark, Matt, Theo, Matt, and PJ)


 THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES
Salad Mix – In the mix this week are 7 varieties of lettuce, mizuna, and pe-tsai. The last two 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 - Some will receive shiitake and some will receive our oyster mushrooms.
Sunflower / MicroMix Microgreens - If you’re not familiar with microgreens, you are in for a surprise! These are grown in soil, not sprouted in water. The sunflower has a mild, nutty flavor, is juicy and crunchy, while the MicroMix is spicier, and does not store as long as the sunflower.
Swiss Chard –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.
Kale - We love it raw, massaged, steamed, in soup, etc., etc. Saw a recent t-shirt that said, “Kale keeps me alive!”
Spinach – We are thrilled to bring you this item again. This wonderful green is so versatile. Use it raw in a salad, or cooked in many different dishes.
Radishes – Most of the sites will receive French Breakfast Radishes (elongated), but some will receive Easter Egg Radishes (round and colorful.) Both are still relatively mild in flavor mostly due to the spring season and cool weather.
Carrots – Another harvest of carrots for this winter. They are so sweet and tender there is never enough to satisfy the demand. Many have written to agree.


THE COMBO CORNER
The apple share is finished for this winter season.
The bread from The Village Bakery and Café is a French Galette.
The cheese from Integration Acres is their Raw Milk Goat Gouda.

PICKUP CONTACT NUMBERS & HOURS
BEXLEY NATURAL MARKET 614-252-3951 (3-8pm)
CLINTONVILLE COMMUNITY MARKET  614-261-3663 (11am-8pm)
DUBLIN TREK BICYCLE 614-791- 8735 (3-7pm)
HILLIARD POWERSHACK 614-506-3086 (4-7pm)
NEW ALBANY  614-216-9370 (12-8pm)
TIBET ROAD  614-784-8124 (11am-7pm) 
ATHENS COMMUNITY CENTER 740-592-3325 (2-8pm)
BELPRE 304-488-3620 (3-6pm)
HARMONY CHIROPRACTIC 740-592-4631 (3-7pm)
HYACINTH BEAN FLORIST 740-594-9302 (12-6pm)
OHIO UNIVERSITY - HR CENTER 330-284-5510 (4-6pm)
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!


Please bring your own bag today so you can transfer your veggies and leave the CSA bag at the host site for pickup next week. Thanks so much for a great season, but WE DO NEED OUR BAG S RETURNED! Thanks for your efforts.


RECIPES
SPINACH PESTO 
from: food.com

Ingredients:
2 cups spinach 

½ lemon, juice and zest 
1 – 2 cloves garlic, (pressed) 
1/3 cup olive oil 
1 oz. grated Parmesan 
¼ cup sun-dried tomato (opt. add as much as you like) 
½ tsp. sea salt 
½ tsp. black pepper 
1 lb pasta

Directions:
1. In a food processor put in the spinach, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and cheese (also sun-dried tomatoes, if using) Process until the spinach is small and everything is well combined. 

2. Meanwhile boil pasta until Al Dente. Pour pesto mixture into large pasta bowl and toss in hot pasta to coat and 1 or 2 tbls of pasta water if needed. 
3. Serve immediately with chicken or as a main dish. Enjoy! Reviews of this recipe raved about it; of course, they made small personal preference changes; and one person didn’t use pasta, but spread it on toasted French bread.

SAUTEED SWISS CHARD & SPINACH 

from: wordpress.theinadvertentgardener.com
 

Ingredients:
2 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil 

3-4 garlic cloves, chopped 
1 bunch Swiss chard 
1 bag spinach leaves 
salt and pepper to taste
 
Directions:
1.) Wash and dry the chard, then remove the stems from the leaves in any method you deem appropriate. Chop the stems into ½” lengths and set them aside. 

2.) Roll the leaves together into a big log, making a chiffonade, and slice thin strips by cutting perpendicular to the log. 
3.) Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan, and when it is hot, add the garlic and the chard stems. Sauté, stirring often, until the garlic just starts to brown and the stems are softening up. 
4.) Add the sliced chard leaves and the spinach a few handfuls at a time, stirring the mixture it is cooked down enough to make room for the next handfuls. Once all the chard and spinach is in the pan, put a lid on it and wait for about a minute or two. 
5.) Remove the lid, stir, add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Spinach and Red Chard Quiche (an eggless quiche made with tofu)
from: allrecipes.com 


Ingredients:
1 9” unbaked pie crust 

½ lb. spinach, rinsed and chopped 
½ lb. red (any color) chard, rinsed & chopped 
1 tbls. vegetable oil 
1 onion, diced 
3 cloves garlic, minced 
 ¼ tsp curry powder 
1 tsp dried parsley 
 ½ tsp salt 
½ tsp ground black pepper 
8 small oyster mushrooms, chopped 
2 tsp. capers 
1 (12 oz.) pkg, firm tofu, cubed 
¼ cup milk 
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg 
1 pinch ground cinnamon 
1 pinch ground cardamom 
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese 
½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350o F. 
2. Bake pie crust until lightly browned. Meanwhile, place spinach and Swiss chard in a steamer over 1” of boiling water, and cover. Lightly cook, about 5 minutes. 
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté onions and garlic. When onions become transparent, add spinach and chard. Stir in curry powder, parsley, salt and pepper. Sauté until spinach and chard reduce, then add mushrooms and capers. Stir and remove from heat. 
4. In a blender or food processor, combine tofu, milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom and Parmesan cheese. Process until smooth and creamy. Pour over vegetables and mix well. Transfer mixture to the pie crust. 
5. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle top with Cheddar cheese. Bake for 10 more minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned. 

Swiss Chard Cakes with Basil-Spinach Sauce

from: www.marcussamuelson.com

Ingredients:

2 cups basil leaves, packed 
1 cup spinach leaves 
½ cup Greek Yogurt 
3 tbls. extra-virgin olive oil, divided 
1 garlic clove, crushed 
½ tsp Dijon mustard 
 ½ tsp freshly ground pepper 
1 ¼ ll. Swiss chard, cut into ½” strips 
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted 
4 oz. grated Cheddar cheese 
1 egg 
½ cup + 2 tbls breadcrumbs 
1 tsp cayenne pepper 
Olive oil or grape seed oil, for frying

Directions:

1.) Place the basil leaves, spinach, yogurt, 2 tbls of the olive oil, 1 tsp of the salt, garlic, mustard and ¼ tsp of ground pepper in a blender. Blend until fully incorporated and bright green. Taste and add salt, if desired. Refrigerate until needed. 
2.) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the chard and simmer for 4 minutes. Drain the chard and allow to cool slightly. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much water as possible. Chop the leaves and stalks again and squeeze out any remaining water. Place the chard in a large bowl. 
3.) Add the almonds, cheese, egg, breadcrumbs, cayenne, and the remaining salt and pepper to the chard. Combine with your hands or a spatula until well incorporated. Form the mixture into 8 patties, which should measure about 3” wide and 1” thick.
4.) Pour enough frying oil into a large skillet to come ¼“up the sides. Fry the patties for about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Place on paper towels to absorb oil. Serve warm or at room temperature, with sauce on the side.

Kale and Spinach Bake 

From Weight Watchers Down to Earth Vegetarian Cookbook – Yields: 6 servings
 

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
About 1 lb. chopped fresh kale
About 1 lb. chopped fresh spinach
¾ c. plain low-fat or fat-free yogurt
¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese
2-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
1-1/2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion & garlic; sauté for 3 mins. Add kale & spinach, stirring well. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover & cook 20 mins. or until greens are wilted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat & spoon into a 2-qt. baking dish coated with olive oil or cooking spray. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place yogurt and next 8 ingredients in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Pour yogurt mixture over greens, stirring gently. Sprinkle with 1 ½ tbls Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.