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.

July 3, 2013

Week 4 Newsletter, Summer 2013

ATHENS HILLS CSA
It’s been another cool week with lots of little rain showers, and still unseasonably cool temperatures for July. The plants though are happy as can be. This extra moisture has made keeping ahead of the weeding somewhat challenging. In fact, Dan has declared a “War on Weeds” this week. With luck and persistence, we will be able to declare victory long enough to mulch the worst of the areas and eliminate some of the tedious work. But all in all, the crew has been able to keep up with the work load. 

Last Friday, we hosted another of our SARE – grant funded workshops for growers and other agriculture professionals. The topic of the workshop is “Season Creation”. We are sharing our knowledge and experiences about growing and harvesting throughout the winter months in unheated greenhouses. If you have been a member of the winter CSA cycle, you know firsthand what that can mean for local growers and customers who value locally sourced fresh food. 

Folks were here from as far as Darke County (north of Dayton by the Indiana border), Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus. The group was smaller which allowed for more in-depth discussions about growing techniques, planting schedules, infrastructure, finances, as well as many other topics that come up during these sessions. Our next one is scheduled in December when we will begin the Level 2 discussions with even more details than this season’s introductory workshops. 

Last week we said goodbye to Rob who came as an intern in April ’11 and joined us as staff that fall. He left to pursue a career in his degree field of social work. We will miss his enthusiasm and his zany jokes as well as all of his knowledge of our systems and talent in growing. And we wish him great success with all of his future endeavors! 

Look for information coming your way about this summer’s Open Farm Day coming up on Sunday, the 21st of July. Join us for a potluck and tours of your veggies! We hope to see you there! In the meantime, have a great week!

From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, Mark, Theo, Penny, Emily, Matt T, Brittany, Michelle, Josh, Matt C., Natalie, & Miranda)




THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES
Salad Mix – Our summer salad mix is a ‘lettuce only’ blend of 5-6 varieties. This mix is best stored in an air-tight container with some paper towel or cloth to absorb any moisture.
Mushrooms - Shiitake for most, oysters for a few.
Sunflower / MicroMix Microgreens - Some of you will get our more delicate mix this week, and some will get sunflower. The MicroMix has a tangy flavor and does not store as long as the sunflower.
Basil – The official start of summer for us begins with the 1st bite of basil. Whether it’s pesto, in salads or some other yummy dish, summer isn’t truly here without it.
Cabbage – We don’t grow cabbage and get this from another Athens organic grower. We hope you enjoy it!
Swiss Chard – We grow chard throughout the year. In fact, it’s the only green that will survive the heat of high summer. Look for new recipes throughout the season, or better yet - share your favorites with us!
Cucumbers - Besides just slicing these with some onion and vinegar, sugar, and oil, cukes are used widely in many cuisines of the world. Cucumber dip is a welcome foil to spicy flavors of Indian, Thai, and Greek dishes.
Mixed Summer Squash – Most of you will get zucchinis, but a few will get yellow, or patty pan. The yellow looks like yellow zucchini and the pattypan look like pies. They all cook and taste very much the same.
Curly Parsley – Some will recognize this as a garnish; others as an amazing herb.


THE COMBO CORNER
The fruit share begins next week, the 10th of July for full-shares and ‘Week A’ half-shares. (FYI- Today is a ‘Week B’ day so if you are a have share this week, your first fruit comes on the 17th.)
The bread from The Village Bakery and Café is Etruscan Wheat, featuring Starline Organics’ (another Athens grower) whole spelt flour.
The cheese from Integration Acres is Chase Cheddar, a 3-month-old white cheddar made with raw goat's milk. It is named for the road where the farmstead goat dairy is located.


PICKUP CONTACT NUMBERS & HOURS
BEXLEY MARKET-614-252-3951, 3-8pm
CLINTONVILLE COOP – 614-261-3663, 11 am-8 pm
ECOFLORA – 614-266-1618, 12pm-7pm 

DUBLIN TREK BICYCLE 614-791- 8735, 3-7 pm
HILLIARD POWERSHACK 614-506-3086, 4-7pm
NEW ALBANY – 614-216-9370, 12-8pm

ATHENS COMMUNITY CENTER - 740-592-3325, 12-8 pm
HYACINTH BEAN – 740-594-9302, 12-6pm
BELPRE 304-488-3620, 3-6 PM

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!

Join us for Open Farm Day Sunday, July 21st 1-5 pm 1:00 Potluck- Amesville Grange 2:30 Leave for Farm Tours MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW….


RECIPES

 Zucchini Keftedes with Feta and Dill
from: epicurious.com
Emily and Rob served these for our Friday Farm Lunch and they were a huge hit – so here’s how…
 

Ingredients:
1 1/3 lb zucchini, trimmed
1 tsp. coarse kosher salt
½ cup thinly slide green onions
3 tbl chopped fresh dill
3 tbl. chopped fresh mint
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs; larger than usual)
1 large egg, beaten to blend
1 cup coarsely crumbled feta cheese
Canola oil (for frying)
Plain whole milk or reduced fat Greek-style yogurt (garnish)
Additional chopped fresh dill (for garnish)


Directions:
Grate zucchini on large holes of box grater onto clean kitchen towel.
Sprinkle zucchini with 1 tsp coarse salt; let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment or foil. Wrap zucchini in towel; squeeze out as much liquid as
possible. Place zucchini in medium bowl. Mix in green onions, 3 tbls chopped dill, mint, garlic, lemon peel,
and ½ tsp black pepper. Gently stir in panko and egg, then feta. Using 2 tbls. zucchini mixture for each, shape mixture into a 1¾ -2 inch diameter patty; place on baking sheet. Chill at least 1 hour. (These can be make up to 4 hours ahead, but keep chilled.)
Pour enough canola oil into heavy large skillet to reach depth of ¼”; heat over medium-high heat. Working
in batches, add patties to skillet.
Cook until golden and cooked through, adjusting heat if browning too quickly, 3-4 minutes per side. Using a slotted, metal spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain oil.
Arrange keftedes on platter. Top each with dollop of yogurt. Sprinkle each with dill. Serve warm or at
room temperature.


Quinoa Tabbouleh Recipe
from: allrecipes.com


Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1 pinch salt
¼ cup olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
¼ cup lemon juice
3 tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, diced
2 bunches green onions, diced
2 carrots, grated
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped


Directions:
1. In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature; fluff with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine olive oil, sea salt, lemon juice, tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, carrots and parsley. Stir in cooled quinoa.


Parsley Potatoes
from: copycat.com
Ed.s Note: This version is as simple as it gets. There are many other versions of this classic, and all of them sound delicious. Some call for new potatoes as well as the specific variety of them.


Ingredients:
2 pounds russet potatoes
½ cup sliced onion
¼ cup of butter
1 tsp dried parsley – you can use fresh but use more, finely chopped
½ tsp salt


Directions:
Wash and peel potatoes. Cut potatoes into small bite sized pieces, place in pot. Cover potatoes and onions with water, and place on medium high heat. Allow potatoes to boil for about 15 minutes.
Check to see if potatoes are don’t by pricking with a fork. If the fork goes through the potatoes, they are done. Drain potatoes in a colander. Place ¼ cup of butter into the pot that you just boiled the potatoes in, and add dried (or fresh) parsley. Stir until the butter has melted, add cooked potatoes and onions to the melted butter, and stir to blend the parsley butter on the potatoes. Season with salt.


Savory Zucchini Chard Muffins

from: allrecipes.com
 

Ingredients:
cooking spray
3 tablespoons butter
5 slices bacon, diced
¾ cup diced onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
8 chard leaves, stems removed &
leaves thinly sliced
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup finely shredded Swiss cheese 


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400oF (200C). Generously spray 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat; add bacon. Cook gently until bacon begins to curl, 3-5 minutes. Add onion, garlic, and chard leaves; cook and stir until chard has wilted, stirring occasionally, 5-8 minutes.
3. Transfer chard mixture to a large bowl; stir in zucchini, eggs, salt and black pepper. Add flour and baking
powder; mix until flour is evenly distributed and moistened. Stir in Swiss cheese. Spoon batter into prepared
muffin tin.
4. Bake in preheated oven until edges of muffin turn golden brown, about 20 minutes.

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