Week 7 Newsletter

Week 7: Pickups 7/28 & 7/31

    The Open Farm Day was a great success. Thanks to all of those who made the journey despite the weather reports. The rain hit is several communities around our area, but did not fall over us! We enjoyed a great dinner with lots of varied and tasty dishes. Chris from Integration Acres joined us with samples of some of the cheeses he and Michelle are working on. Once again, we were especially grateful for the use of the Amesville Grange for the meal. Not only is it air-conditioned, but has the entire infrastructure needed for large group dinners.
    As some of you who garden know, and others have probably heard from the local news channels, this year has been a different kind of ‘difficult’ for farmers. We are no ex-ception. New lessons are being learned concerning seed tolerances for heat and moisture, always having backup starts, and others. The salad mix has been especially hard hit in this current spell. We lost two consecutive plantings. There is a hole in our salad mix rotation. Fortunately, Dan has rigged a system that is working. We expect its return in 3-4 weeks. We thank you for your patience and understanding!
    As we did last summer cycle, we will be offering 25# boxes of paste and/or slicer tomatoes for canning this year. Please let us know if you are interested so we can put your name down for contacting when we have them. The harvest has begun and I am processing my 1st batch tomorrow. (Thank goodness the weather will be cooler than last week!!) If you don’t know how to can, but want to learn, give me a call. You can arrange to come down during one of the farm sessions for some hands-on training.
    This coming week will begin the planting of the fall root crops – more carrots, more beets, and rutabagas. Are you planting a fall garden? This week in the office, we will begin discussions for this winter’s CSA cycle. As soon as we set the dates, you will know. We are already receiving requests for information from people who want to sign-up for winter. How gratifying it feels. Have a great week!

From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, John, Cale, Rob, Julia, Penny, Guinevere, Morgan, Martin, Geoff, and Maria

THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES
Beets - Beets with greens are sweet and tender. To remove the skins, place in boiling water for 30 seconds. Skins will slip off. Steam, roast, or boil them. Use the greens as you would kale or chard.

Sweet Basil – We love this pungent herb for its many and varied uses. When all else fails, you can always dry it for winter soups, stews and sauces.

Tomatoes - This week you have slicing tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. We grow 2 varieties of cherries: Sweet 100 (red) and Sungold (orange tomato candy).

Yellow Onions - This time each year, we like to bring you some onions from another certified or-ganic grower down here. Our soil is not good for growing onions, but we wanted you to have some that are locally grown. Taste the difference!

Carrots- Sweet and tender, these little beauties are real treasures for us! Cooked or crunchy and raw, they are packed with goodness!

Parsley – Use this aromatic herb in salad, potato salad, tabouli, and many other dishes. Today you received either Flat Italian Parsley (prized for cooking) or Curly Parsley (that familiar garnish). Both have the amazing parsley flavor and can be used in the same recipes interchangeably.

Swiss Chard - We are thrilled to have the chard back. These mildly-flavored and tender leaves are perfect for chopping into any number of dishes, hot or cold. Separate the stems and leaves, blanch and go….!

Green Beans - We are excited to have green beans for your this week. The variety is an old standby called ‘Provider’. Check the 2nd page for an interesting recipe for these.

The Combo Corner
The fruit selections from Cherry Orchard this week are peaches.
This week’s bread from The Village Bakery and Café is Honey Oat Wheat.

Twice a year and unannounced, the food safety inspector from the Ohio Dept. of Ag visits and inspects our premises and packing operations. We are always ready to see these folks. Once again, this facility passed with no ticks on the sheet. Yeah to the Green Edge crew members and owners for their willingness to do what is asked.



In two weeks, our other inspector from O.E.F.F.A. (the organic guy) will be here to make the annual inspection that is so necessary to maintain our organic certification. His interests include every aspect of the operation from seed sources to distribution logs and everything in between – and you better have documentation. It is a lot of work to keep track of these little bits and bobs of paper, but we are committed to the process and the outcome. We are certain that most of you are too.
 
Recipe: Fresh Green Beans & Basil
1 Lb. green beans (the amount in your share today) 
1 tsp. herb vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 tsp ground pepper
¼ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook green beans for 5 to 6 minutes until just tender. Drain will. In the same pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add green beans, herb vinegar, salt and pepper; stir to coat. Cook for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Toss with basil and serve immediately.
From: OldFashionedLiving.com

Here’s a recipe sent to us over a year ago. I found it again while I was sorting through old messages. I wouldn’t hesitate to use fresh tomatoes and other fresh things for a great summer soup – maybe even cold.
"I made this using veg from the farm. I did also buy parsnips and add them. It was almost as good as the soup my Mom use to make."  --Ruth Ann
Recipe: ODDS 'N ENDS SOUP
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 can (35 oz.) peeled whole tomatoes, chopped coarse
6 c. assorted chopped vegetables such as carrots, celery, parsnips, turnips, green or wax beans
1 can (16-19 oz.) red or white kidney beans, chickpeas, drained
1 c. fresh or frozen corn kernel
2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. chopped parsley, divided
3/4 tsp. dried rose-mary
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 c. cooked bow-tie or other pasta


In large saucepot, sauté onion and garlic in oil 1 minute. Add tomatoes, vegetables, beans, corn, 2 table-spoons parsley, rose-mary, pepper and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil. Cover; simmer 30 minutes until vege-tables are tender. Add pasta during last 5 minutes to heat. To serve, ladle into bowl; sprinkle with parsley.

THE MOST VERSATILE SOUP!
USE AN ASSORTMENT OF VEGETABLES TO CREATE A DIFFERENT MEAL EVERY TIME! Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 239 cals. Preparation: 15 mi-nutes. Cook: 30 mi-nutes. Ready to serve in 45 minutes.

The GREEN BAGS and BOXES provided by us for you to carry your veggies is actually on loan to you for the season. We have two per member, so please return your GREEN BAG and BOX each week that you pick up. We are happy to support the goal for allto use fewer resources. But you need to help by joining with us in the effort to keep the GREEN BAGS and BOXES in the recycling loop. Thanks so much!