ATHENS HILLS CSA

The biggest news on Tuesday morning was that the empty delivery truck held its temperature overnight in sub-zero temperatures. This was a HUGE relief to us. We load the CSA shares onto the truck on Tuesday at the end of the day, so that the early start on Wednesday isn’t delayed by the hours it would take to load. With the truck full of fresh goodies, the temperature will be even more stable. That’s a big relief for Kip! Maybe you remember the news from last week, when I said we hoped to be able to harvest at least one day. Well, we were. This is why you have kale today. We harvested it last Friday in anticipation of this week’s early low temperatures. Good decision! 

 

The good news is that under all the row covers and plastic, the greens look fine so far. With the sun’s surprising appearance Tuesday, the temperature in the houses climbed to above the mid-30’s (we’re havin’ a heat wave…), so the plastic could be removed. If the sun stays for the day, we may need to open one top window for ventilation. This would be so awesome for the veggies! Fresh air will help to dry out the wet row covers and vent any built-up carbon dioxide. Another aide in keeping the veggies healthy is the snow pack rising halfway up the sides of the houses. This effectively blocks any wind and provides another insulating layer. 

Last week’s low temperatures and snow had another interesting effect. The S.A.R.E. workshop that was only partly pre-filled had twice as many people come as were registered. When it’s too cold to work, then sitting in a warm room is a nice alternative. The day was exciting and filled with great sharing of information and ideas. One young woman came all the way from Lakewood that morning and was going back that afternoon. Our visitors were very impressed to see all of the green and growing food. 

 

Talking about impressive….. let me say a few glowing words about your farmers. These men and women are brave and strong! They have a unique understanding of layering. Their dedication to the farm’s success is the core of our success. We’re blessed to have them! Have a great (and warmer) week! 

 

From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, Mark, Emily, Matt T, Natalie, Josh, Miranda, Paula, Penny, Andy, and Kristina) 

THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES

Salad Mix – Our apologies. Due to the sub-zero temperatures, we were unable to uncover the lettuces and harvest this week.
Mushrooms - Shiitake for some, and oysters for the rest.
Sunflower / MicroMix Microgreens - Some of you will get our more delicate mix, while others will get sunflower. The mix has a tangy flavor and does not store as long as the sunflower.
Kale – This week’s kale is a variety called Dwarf Siberian. This variety is prized at our Athens Farmers Market for its large leaves and sweet flavor.
Turnips – Our purple-top white-globe turnips are stored in the specially constructed bunker in the barn. This insulated room has two areas: one cool and damp for the potatoes and turnips; and the other warm and dry for the squashes and sweet potatoes. Try roasting them in chunks with potatoes and other root like carrots.
Sweet Potatoes – These are some of our favorite root veggies to grow and to eat! Whether they are baked, sliced and fried, chunked and roasted, or preserved as pickles, the sugar content is unmistakable.

The Combo Corner

The apple share from Cherry Orchards includes Fuji and Golden Delicious.
The bread from The Village Bakery and Café is the French Galette. The cheese from Integration Acres is chevre, a pasteurized soft cheese, ideal for spreading on crusty bread, or gently slivered atop of bed of greens. It also makes a great dessert cheese, baked inside pear halves and drizzled with honey. 

PICKUP CONTACT NUMBERS & HOURS

NEW ALBANY – 614-216-9369 12-8pm
BEXLEY MARKET-614-252-3951 3-8pm
HILLIARD POWERSHACK 614-506-3086 4-7pm
CLINTONVILLE COOP – 614-261-3663 11 am-8 pm
ECO-FLORA – 614-266-1618 12pm-7pm
DUBLIN TREK BICYCLE 614-791- 8735 3-7 pm
HYACINTH BEAN – 740-594-9302 12-6pm
ATHENS COMMUNITY CENTER - 740-592-3325 12-8 pm
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!

 RECIPES

Sweet Potato Shiitake Hash
 http://www.foodreference.com/html/shiitake-swtpot-312.html 
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
• 4 cups water
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and dis carded, caps thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions, white and green parts
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 2 tablespoons tupelo honey
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Bring the water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add the sweet potato and blanch for about 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are just fork tender. Remove the potatoes and transfer to an ice bath.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the mushrooms for 3 to 4 minutes, until just tender, and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the sweet potato, mushrooms, green onions, sage, hot pepper sauce, honey, salt, and pepper. In a nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over high heat and add the potato mixture. Saute for 8 to 10 minutes, until the mixture is caramelized.
Serve immediately.
While this savory hash is delicious with eggs (served any way you like them), we also love this dish with roasted duck breast or duck confit, since its earthy flavor plays off the richness of duck. The southern Appalachian region is conducive to mushroom cultivation, and many farmers are now growing their own shiitakes.

Sweet Potato Tofu Hash
vegan, makes 4 servings 
http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2009/10/sweet-potato-tofu-hash-vegan-comfort.html
Ingredients:
1½ cups cooked sweet potato, diced (1 large potato)
15 ounces firm tofu
½ cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1-2 ounces raw almonds
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp coconut or soy milk
1 tsp salt
¼ cup parsley, chopped
½-1 tsp liquid smoke
2 tsp cumin powder
1 Tbsp paprika
pinch of saffron
1 tsp fine black pepper
optional: you can easily add scallions or a sweet onion to this dish (just sauté about a ½ cup diced into the tofu sauté)
Directions:
1. Get all your ingredients out.
2. Cook sweet potato. Toss into the microwave for 5 minutes, or bake it in the oven so it gets that nice sticky caramelization. Set aside.
3. Chop the raw almonds, leave some whole - Slice the mushrooms, chop the parsley and dice the onion.
4. In a soup pan on medium heat, place your olive oil, 1 Tbsp soy or coconut milk and saffron. Wait until it starts to steam and sizzle.
5. Add mushrooms, onions, almonds and a pinch of your parsley. Sauté a few minutes, until mushrooms have shrunken in size.
6. Add tofu to the pan, either rough chopped or cubed or simply use a spatula to break the tofu block into 'hash' while it's sautéing in the pan (no larger than grape-size bits)
7. Add the salt, pepper, liquid smoke, cumin, and paprika.
8. Sauté tofu and veggies for about 3-5 minutes until the seasonings and spices penetrate the hashed tofu scramble.
9. Midway through your tofu sauté, add 1 Tbsp maple syrup. Keep hashing and sautéing. The edges of the tofu should start to firm up. You don't want mushy tofu. You may have to cover the pan with a lid for a few minutes to cook with a gently braise, do that.
10. Taste the tofu. Adjust salt, pepper, oil, and sweeteners to taste. Time to add the sweet potato.
11. Peel the cooked potato and cube. Add it to your hash on the stove. Also add the last Tbsp of soy/coconut milk, and maple syrup. Do a gentle fold of the ingredients. Keep the heat at low-medium and allow the hash to cook for about 2 minutes. Fold every 20 seconds.
12. Turn the heat off. Add chopped parsley and some more black pepper. Fold the parsley into the hot hash. You want the parsley warmed just enough so that the flavor is released, but the leaves are still a bit chewy and crisp.
13. Garnish with parsley. Serve when hot! You can place in a serving dish, cover and it will stay hot for a while-a great feature for holiday feasts and get-togethers.
Vegan MoFo: Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Turnips with Kale  
http://americanvegan.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/baked-sweet-potatos-and-turnips-with-kale/

Ingredients: 
3-4 small/med sweet potatoes 
2-3 turnips 
2 bunches of kale 
olive oil 
sea salt 
Balsamic vinegar (Optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400. 
2. Dice sweet potatoes & turnips into ½” -3/4” cubes 
3. In a large mixing bowl, lightly coat the cubes with olive oil and place into baking dish. Spread out the cubes so most of them will get crunchy 
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes until done as wanted 
5. After removing spine, use a fine chiffonade to chop the kale as small as possible. 
6. The kale can be made 2 ways: -Place kale in large open pan with a small amount of water to steam cook. -Lightly spritz kale with oil and bake in oven for less that 10 minutes. Extra crispy! 
7. Mix together the kale and the root veggies. 
8. Season this dish with sea salt, or drizzle some balsamic vinegar on the finished product right before eating. A little goes a long way, but the taste of the sweet potato, kale and balsamic is ….YUM!