ATHENS HILLS CSA
WEEK #6
January 20, 2010
Have you noticed how amazingly sweet the greens have been recently. A little research tells the reason. These wonderful edible green leaves produce sugar - as an antifreeze. Can you believe it? It is the total truth, and so, the colder the temperatures, the sweeter the flavor. Nature is so amazing! As we move further into the winter, we will be relying on different roots more to fill out your share. With this in mind, you will find some information about storage and cooking these wonderful sources of nutritional winter calories. We hope you find them useful. We don’t know nearly all there is to know about them, so we welcome your input to these ideas for uses. (But ‘doorstop’ isn’t really the kind of use we’re seeking….ha, ha).
The prices for the summer CSA shares for the veggie-only will remain the same as last summer, but the combo shares may see a slight increase as we talk to our partners. We are talking with a local producer of goat and cow cheeses, and are hopeful that we will be able to include this option by the summer, so stay tuned for the details as they develop. You will be receiving a quick ‘re-signup’ form from us soon.
Kip is working on building new and repairing old fence. Other projects include building the permanent beds for the perennial herbs, which we hope to be including this summer. You may have already tasted the sorrel in the salad mix; it has a lemony flavor. We are also building more permanently raised beds for expanding our ability to direct seed crops instead of raising transplants for many of the plants. All of these are designed to make us the most efficient market garden that we can be. So stay tuned….
Have a great week!
Becky (for Kip, Dan, Cale, John, Julia, Rob and Penny)
THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES
SALAD MIX - This is our famous blend of lettuces and mild Asian greens. We expect it to last a week, and sometimes longer. Place a paper towel in the bag to absorb the extra moisture and keep it moist without being soggy.
SUNFLOWER MICROGREENS – Thanks to all who wrote to us this weekend about their excitement to see microgreens this week. We’re thrilled to have them for you. Use them to add extra crunch and juiciness to a sandwich or a stir-fry. They are sooo good!! They’re great as a snack too.
TATSOI – As you know, this is one of our favorite Asian greens. It’s mild flavor and tender stems make it the most versatile of all the Asian greens. It’s great in a salad raw, or stir-fried or in a nice miso broth, maybe with a few sunflower microgreens.
SWISS CHARD – Known far and wide for its mild flavor, Swiss Chard is one of the few greens which will grow without extra urging in all seasons, even the hot summer. It is high in both Vitamins A and C.
SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS РYou have another week of our tasty mushrooms. They are good on pizza, just saut̩ed, or in many other dishes. There are some recipes in earlier newsletters.
KENNEBEC POTATOES – These are a repeat from last week, and we hope you are as happy to get them as we are to send them. These are great baked, fried, mashed, or any of the myriad ways to cook these roots.
TURNIPS – Welcome to Petwogs (Purple Top/ White Globe turnips.) These hardy roots have been patiently waiting to come to your table! Look for recipes for these on page 2. These are not your mother’s turnips…..
STORING THOSE ROOTS:
TURNIPS: Poke a hole in a food-safe plastic bag and fill it with the turnips. Store these in the coldest part of the refrigerator.
RUTAGABAGAS- As with the turnips, place is a food-safe plastic bags with holes. Store in the coldest part of the refrigerator. These will store much longer than turnips.
POTATOES: Store potatoes in a cool spot, not refrigerated, and out of the light. Light causes the potatoes to turn green. Potatoes do not freeze well.
The Combo Corner from our Athens partners ~
The fruit basket this week contains three of the more tart and crisp varieties: Melrose, Gold Rush, and Enterprise.
This week’s bread selection from the Village Bakery and Cafe is Italian Wheat. This is enriched with olive oil.
PICKUP CONTACT NUMBERS & HOURS
NEW ALBANY – 614-216-9370 3-10pm
TIBET – 614-784-8124 3-6pm
BEXLEY MARKET-614-252-3951 3-8pm
UPPER ARLINGTON-614-284-1181 2- 6pm
1st Winter CSA Open Farm Day Sunday, March 21 Potluck at the Amesville Grange 1:00 pm
~Farm Tour~
2:30 pm
MARK YOUR CALENDARS PLEASE!
ROASTED ROOTS
would definitely include garlic clove, or garlic powder, or both…. Anyway – make enough of this oil mixture to coat the vegetables on all sides. Put the oiled veggie cubes on a baking sheet, in a baking dish, or in another dish that can go safely into the oven. Stir occasionally to keep the veggies coated in oil. They are done when they are soft to the fork.
Some folks (I’ve not tried this yet) tell me that you can reduce the cooking time substantially by par-boiling the veggies (about 5-10 minutes) before you oil and roast them. I hope that you will try these. Roasting can bring the natural vegetable sugars our in the food and when those blend with the oil, your body knows what’s good.
Mashed Turnips
Peel and boil the turnips until they are soft., probably about 15 minutes. To mash them, use the same utensil that you use to mash potatoes. Add a dollop of butter, salt and pepper. Stir and enjoy.
bacon clapshot (from Scotland)
1 1/3 pound peeled and quartered potatoes 2/3 pounds peeled and chunked turnips 3 Tablespoons butter 1/4 cup milk 8 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled 1 pinch ground nutmeg salt and ground black pepper to taste
1. Place the potatoes and turmips in a large saucepan, cover and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes. 2. Drain the potatoes and turnips, return them ot the saucepan and masj imto; cramy. Add the butter and milk and beat until fluffy, Stir in the crumbled bacon and season with the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. ~from Allrecipes.com
After reading Sugar Blues and Diet for a Small Planet, the next book I read in the -70’s was Helen and Scott Nearing’s Living the Good Life. Those three books changed my whole view of food and the world. So, when Rob brought Helen Nearing’s book, Simple food for the Good Life into the office, I was sure I had to include at least one of her recipes. So here is one:
POTATO CASSEROLE
6 smallish potatoes, scrubbed and sliced (need not be peeled) 6 stalks celery, sliced 6 onions, sliced 4 tablespoons butter or margarine ½ cup grated or chunked cheese
Put potatoes in a baking dish. Add the celery. Fill the dish with the onions. Add cold water to just cover and dot with pieces of butter. Bake covered in slow oven for 3 hours. Add more water if necessary. Uncover for the last hour, adding the grated or chunked cheese.
category: those who are not good cooks and couldn’t care less.”
1 comment:
I can't wait to try all this!
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