Athens Hills CSA

April 7, 2008

ATHENS HILLS WINTER CSA:

WEEK SEVENTEEN

Hello Everyone!

GREEN! GREEN! GREEN! GREEN! In just two days the fields have gone from dingy to beautiful!

Our spirits are really flying with all of this sun! Things are growing, and the ground is drying. Soon, the tillers will be very busy! In this week's share bag you will find the summer cycle brochure (also available online at our website: greenedgegardens.com). You will also find a brochure about the Conservation Connection Tour that we are a part of; all sites are a 5-10 min. drive from one another. We hope you can come.

We have most of our summer interns identified; spring projects are well underway both at the house and in the fields. The CSA planning crew is meeting this week to make decisions about changes in packaging, newsletter formats, pickup days and other minutia that pop up from time to time. This is a good time to let us know your thoughts about making your experience better.

Don't forget your hat and sunscreen. Enjoy the daffodils and spring trees and shrubs with their colorful blooms and intoxicating fragrances.

Best Wishes,

Becky

FEATURED VEGGIES

Salad Mix (a mix of several lettuce varieties picked for their delicious taste and color combinations.)

Micro Mix (a mix of sunflower, buckwheat, radish, cabbage and kogani (pac choi)).

Mushrooms (pickers' choice of our farm-grown shiitake, oyster or trumpet mushrooms. Store these beauties in your refrigerator in a paper bag or in an unsealed plastic bag for a least a week.)

Spinach (A truly wonderful green vegetable, very nutritious and delicious. It adds wonderful color and texture to a salad when you chop it into strips and toss with the lettuces. The best storage for fresh spinach is to wash it, place it in a plastic Ziploc with a paper towel lain in between the side of the bag and the leaves. You can also wash, blanch and freeze to save for later. Enjoy this familiar staple this week—it might just help you avoid those yucky winter illnesses that have been hanging around.)

Swiss Chard/Collard Greens (Two of our favorite greens make their return this week. Don’t forget that you can blanch, freeze & store them for later.)

Turnips (These beauties may not appear again in your shares for this season, so enjoy the last tastes of winter with turnips as part of your meal this week.)

Baby Beets (Welcome to spring! These delicious red roots are just the harbingers we’ve been waiting for. We hope you enjoy their wonderful sweetness this week.)

Recipe: Spinach and Strawberry Salad (Serves 6 to 8)

12oz. spinach, washed & dried

¼ C. sliced almonds

1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered

½ medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced

dressing…

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbs. white wine vinegar

½ C. sugar

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 tsp. poppy seeds

In a large salad bowl, toss together the spinach, almonds, strawberries and cucumber. In a small glass dish or jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, oil, and poppy seeds. Whisk in the glass dish or shake if using a jar.

Dress the salad right before serving and enjoy!

(Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen Celebrates, 2006.)

Recipe: Great Northern Bean and Roasted Vegetable Stew (Serves 6 to 8)

1 small celery root, scrubbed, peeled, & cut into 1-inch dice

1 turnip, peeled & cut into 1-inch dice

2 parsnips, peeled and sliced into thick rounds

1 russet potato, peeled & cut into 1-inch dice

3 carrots, peeled and sliced into thick rounds

1 onion, peeled, halved & sliced into thick crescents

Several large cloves garlic, peeled & crushed

Coarse Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

3 Tbs. olive oil

3 large, fresh tomatoes cut in half

4 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps wiped clean & thickly sliced

2 C. vegetable stock/broth

2 bay leaves

3 C. cooked Great Northern beans, drained & rinsed

Position two oven racks evenly apart and preheat the oven to 350F.

Combine the celery root, turnip, parsnips, potato, carrots, onion, and garlic in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt, several grindings of black pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the oil. Toss the vegetables to coat evenly and spread them in a single layer in a large baking dish or jelly roll pan. Roast, uncovered, on the upper rack of the oven until the vegetables are fork-tender and lightly charred around the edges, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, place the tomatoes, cut side up, on a baking sheet and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Toss the mushrooms with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and scatter the, around the tomatoes. Place on the bottom rack of the oven to roast until extremely tender and lightly charred, about 30 minutes.

Transfer the vegetables to a large soup pot. Stir in the stock, bay leaves, and beans, and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper as needed. Remove the bay leaves, spoon the stew into large bowls & serve.

(Recipe adapted from Hay Day Country Market Cookbook, 1998.)

Recipe: Culinary Tips for Beets

Shred raw beets to garnish salads.

Cook unpeeled, scrubbed beets whole. When the roots are slightly cool, it’s easy to slip off the skin and cut into the desired shape. This avoids messy peeling and bleeding of raw beets.

For a perfectly pink Scandinavian salad, mix cooked beets with new potatoes and then toss with sour cream, mayonnaise, snipped dill and chives. Serve on a bed of lettuce.

(Recipe suggestions courtesy of The Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden, 2005.)