WEEK 16 NEWSLETTER

ATHENS HILLS SUMMER CSA

WEEK SIXTEEN:

OCTOBER 5-10

Welcome to Week 16 - We’re glad you’re here!

The winter enrollment forms were mailed Tuesday, so if you haven’t received it by Wednesday or Thursday, let us know and we’ll get another to you pronto. The sooner you can let us know, the sooner we know if there are open spaces for enrollment of those on the waiting list. Thanks for that. And speaking of thanks, a HUGE thank you is sent your way for the return of the green bags and/or wax boxes. We’re grateful for your efforts!

This week you are finally receiving parsley. This crop was the big loss (except for several inches of topsoil in one field) from the early spring flooding. We hope you enjoy it!

Winter preparations continue here. Today we had a smidge of frost, nothing damaged, but a reminder that there is no time to dawdle. The wind and rain held off long enough today for us to remove and replace the top plastic on one of the unheated coldframes, affectionately known to us as the Ditch House. We have one more replacement scheduled for next week. It takes 3 people on ladders, one person on the skid loader, and at least 1-2 additional people on the ground, 1-2 hours of prep work, but only 10 minutes to pull the plastic along the top rail. I have to say, I am always amazed to watch it happen! It is a ‘wide-eyed time’.

One of the contractors who will help with the building of the newest heated greenhouse paid a visit today to talk about the plans for setting the ground stakes. We are very excited about this new house. When we built the first greenhouse, we had planned the heating system to accommodate this expansion, so we are thrilled to finally be using this extra heating capacity. And, of course, the planting continues for the winter harvests.

And lastly, several people have emailed us about our views on Issue 2, about Livestock Care. If you also have questions or confusion, please drop Becky a note or email or phone call….. She will be happy to answer questions about our position on this matter.

Have a great week.

Becky

(on behalf of Kip, Rob, Dan, John, Cale, Claudia, Penny, Eric, and our interns: Corey, Steve & Julia)

FEATURED VEGGIES

Check out the previous newsletters (on our blog) for serving suggestions, storage advice, etc. for each of these vegetables.

Tomatoes: Our colorful and delicious heirlooms return to your share this week. Each variety has its own taste to savor before they leave us for the season.

Sweet Peppers: Sweet green and colored peppers are coming your way this week. Great for roasting and eating on sandwiches, pasta, or also for stuffing.

Salad Mix: This gorgeous and delicious mix of greens has returned! Toss a late summer salad while some of the warm-loving veggies are still around.

Collards: These are beautiful! Steam, sauté, or use them as a wrapper for delicious collards rolls.

Parsley: This flat-leaf Italian parsley is prized by chefs for its flavor in cooking. Truly fab with Parsley Potatoes.

Sunflower Microgreens: These juicy and crunchy yum-yums work great on salads, pizza and stir-fries. Or try them solo – kids love them that way!

Oyster Mushrooms: Blue, white, or yellow oyster mushrooms are in the shares this week. A little milder than the shiitake’s bold flavor.

Acorn Squash: This sweet and mild flavored squash will work with any winter squash recipe (except spaghetti). Try it baked with butter and brown sugar or maple syrup in the well.

Wrapped Vegetable Terrrine

10-15 Whole collard leaves

4 Cups grated summer squash

1 tsp. salt

4 Tbl. butter

2 Cups dices onions

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Cups diced carrots

1/3 Cup water

1Tbl. minced fresh dill

1 Cup grated Swiss cheese

3 Cups sliced mushrooms

1 Cups grated Parmesan

2 tsp. minced fresh tarragon, or ¾ tsp dried

3 Eggs. beaten

1 Cup milk

¼ tsp. pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350. remove the tough, large stems from the collard leaves. Steam the leaves until bright free and limp, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan and line the pan with the leaves, letting them drape over the edges of the pan. (Eventually these cover the loaf of veggies.)

2. Layer the summer squash and ½ teaspoon salt in a colander. Weight with a heavy plate and drain while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

3. Melt 2 Tbl. of the butter in a sauté pan, and sauté the onions and garlic until limp, 3-5 minutes. Remove from the pan. Add carrots uncovered until they are just tender and the waster has evaporated. Remove the carrots from the pan to a bowl and stir in ½ Cup of the onions, the dill, and the Swiss cheese. Place the mixture in the loaf pan as a bottom layer.

summer squash for 2 minutes. Add the remaining onion, parmesan cheese, and tarragon. Stir to mix. Spoon this mixture on top of the mushrooms.

4. Melt 1 Tbl butter in the same sauté pan, and sauté the mushrooms until limp about 5 minutes. Mix in 1 cup of the onion mixture. Spoon this mixture into the loaf pan on top of the carrots. Sprinkle half the parmesan cheese on top.

5. Heat the remaining 1 Tbl. of butter in the pan, and sauté the summer squash for 2 minutes. Add the remaining onion, [armesan cheese ad ttarragon. Stir to mix. Spoon this mixture on top of the mushrooms.

6. Mix the eggs, milk, ½ tsp. salt, and pepper. Pour the custard mixture into ho the loaf pan and let it slowly seep down to the bottom. Fold the collard greens over the loaf and place a few remaining leaves on top to cover the dish Cover with aluminum foil. Place the loaf pan in a larger baking dish and fill the dish with boiling water halfway up the sides of the loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Let the loaf sit for 10 minutes before unmolding. Cut into slices with a serrated knife.

from The Joy of Gardening Cookbook – Janet Ballantyne, 1984