Week 10 Newsletter

Week 10 Newsletter: Pickups 8/18 & 8/21
     With the humidity almost gone and a temperature that’s at least ten degrees cooler, mundane sweaty tasks are almost fun! The entire crew is very grateful for this change. On Sunday, right before the storm, I was sure that I smelled fall in the air, and the unmown pastures have taken on the dull green look that comes with autumn. There are still plenty of hot days to come though, of that we are certain.
     This week, Kip’s brother Greg, has joined us. He will be building new end-walls for two of the greenhouses. We had tried to use a new system that closes with zippers, and they were great for one year, but didn’t hold up. So we return to the old standby method. Also, all of the greenhouses are getting new doors. Those of you who were with us last year or for winter will recall that Greg came down to build the newest greenhouse last fall.
     This weekend news was released about the federal court decision that overturns the USDA’s approval of ‘Roundup-Ready’ sugar beets. This is the second time a court has overturned the USDA’s approval for a GE (genetically engineered) crop. Earlier this year you may have heard about the GE alfalfa ban that was upheld. For those who may not know, a GE crop when planted next to a non-GE crop will cross-pollinate eventually making all of the seeds in the area GE. When the seeds are tested, the owner of the non-GE crops is sued by the seed company because they are growing crops from a patented seed they didn’t purchase.
     A second bit of news from Washington, DC concerns the S.510 Food Safety Bill. Both parties in the senate have been working together and have reached agreements that probably assure its passage when it comes to the floor for a vote this fall. Small farmers have been very concerned about the provisions that regulate what can be sold and to whom. If you are interested in learning more, look below for some live links to websites that are informative.
     We are continuing to struggle with the remnants of the wet summer. Here’s to salad mix coming soon! Have a great week.

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

Center for Food Safety: http://truefoodnow.org/?CFID=24101405&CFTOKEN=93396429
This link tells about the GE Sugar beets.

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition: http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/senate-food-safety-bill/
This is a link that explains the S.510 Food Safety Bill.

THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES

Sweet Basil – We know you have been getting a lot of basil this season. We have a lot of basil. New recipes for bail on the 3rd page.
Mushrooms - This week’s mu-shrooms are either shiitake or any of the three oyster mushrooms (yellow, white, or blue) that we grow.
Sunflower Microgreens - We welcome the microgreens back. These crunchy and juicy treasures are also good for you! Try them on salads of course, but also in wraps, on pizza, or all by themselves!
Tomatoes – This week the tomato selections include slicers and some differing varieties of heirloom tomatoes. Some of these are really big. Besides the delicious flavor, they are also very fragile. Don’t squeezes too hard – they’ll bruise easily.
Swiss Chard- There are several recipes for chard on the 2nd page. I tried to select them for ‘something a little different’. Hope they’re useful, inspiring, and you find them delicious.
Peppers - Green peppers are one of the few veggies that can be frozen without blanching. If you can’t use all of them, consider chopping and freezing some for great soups and stews this winter.

The Combo Corner

The fruit selections from Cherry Orchard are Gala apples, white seedless grapes, and peaches.
This week’s bread from The Village Bakery and Café is the French Galett.
The cheese share from Integration Acres this week includes Feta and Aged Raw Milk Gouda.

Recipe:  Swiss Chard with Caramelized Onions and Pine Nuts – Here’s another recipe for Swiss Chard. It’s from a website or blog called chowhound, and this is from a contributor called janniecooks.

Ingredients: 2 Tbl. pine nuts
1 Tbl. EV olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 bunch swiss chard, about a pound, washed, leaves and stalks separated
2 Tbl golden raisins
2 Tbl balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp. salt ground black pepper to taste
Directions: Toast the pine nuts until golden brown, set aside to cool. In a large deep skillet or a dutch oven heat the oil over medium-low heat, add the onions and cook them until golden brown and very soft, stirring from time to time, for about 10 mins.
While the onions are cooking, cut the chard stalks into strips 2 inches long by ¼ “ wide and tear the leaves into 2” pieces.
Add the chard stalks and raisins to the onions and cook them until the stalks are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally while the stalks are cook-ing. Once tender add the leaves and vinegar, toss all about to coat the leaves with the oil, and cook about 5 minutes or until the leaves are wilted and tender. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to a serving dish & top with the reserved pine nuts.

Recipe: Chard, Onion, and Gruy`ere Panade (Bread Casserole) 8 servings prep 30 mins. total 2 ½ hrs.

1 ½ lbs. thickly sliced yellow onions, a sweet variety if possible (about 6 cups.)
½ cup mild-tasting olive oil 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
salt
1 lb. green Swiss chard, thick ribs removed and cut into 1” wide ribbons
water, as needed
10 ounces day-old chewy peasant-style bread, cut into 1” cubes (8-10 cups)
3-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock (or any other flavorful stock)
6 ounces fontina, gruyere, or another melting cheese, coarsely grated (a combination works well)
To Prepare Onions: Place the onions in a deep sauce pan (or Dutch oven) and drizzle with oil to coat, about 1/4 cup. Set over medium-high heat and, shimmying the pan occasionally, cook until the bottom layer of onions is slightly golden around the edges, about 3 minutes. Stir and repeat. Once the second layer of onions has colored, reduce heat to low and stir in garlic and a few pinches of salt. Stew, stirring occasionally, until onions are a pale amber and tender but not mushy, about another 20 minutes. If at any point the opinions dry, cover them to trap some moisture.
Preheat the oven to 3250.
To prepare chard: Place a few handfuls of leaves in a large sauté pan or skillet with a drizzle of oil, as sprinkling of water (just washed chard may have enough), and a few pinches of salt. Set the pan over medium hear until the water begins to steam, then reduce the heat and stir and fold leaves until just wilted, 3-4 minutes. (Leaves should be uniformly bright green, the white veins pliable.)
To Prepare bread: Toss and massage the cubed bread with a few tablespoons of olive oil, a generous ¼ cup of the stock and a few pinches of salt, to taste.
To prepare panade: Use a flameproof, 3-qt. soufflé dish or enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. Assemble the panade in layers, starting with a generous smear of onions, followed by a loose mosaic of bread cubes, a second layer of onions, a wrinkled blanket of chard, and a handful of the cheese. Repeat, starting with the bread, the onions and so on, until the dish is brimming. Aim for 2 to 3 layers of each component, then make sure the top layer displays a little of everything. Irregularity in the layers makes the final product more interesting and lovely. Drizzle with any remaining olive oil.
Bring the remaining 3 ¾ cups of stock to a simmer and taste for salt. Add stock slowly, in doses, around the edge of the dish. For a very juicy, soft panade, best served on its own, like a soup or risotto, add stock nearly to the rim; for a firm but succulent panade, nice as a side dish, fill to about 1” below the rim. Wait for a minute for the stock to be absorbed, than add more to return to the desired depth. The panade may rise a little as the bread swells.

Set panade over low heat and bring to a simmer; look for bubbles around the edges (heating it here saves at least 30 minutes of oven time.)
Cover the top of the panade with parchment paper, then very loosely wrap the top and sides with foil. Place a separate sheet of foil under the panade or on the rack below it, to catch drips.
Bake until the panade is piping hot and bubbly. It will ride a little, lifting the foil with it. The top should be pale golden in the center and slightly darker on the edges. This usually takes about 1 ½ hours, but varies according to shape and material of baking dish and oven.
Browning and serving: Uncover panade, raise temperature to 3750 F, and leave until golden brown on top. 10 to 20 minutes. Slide a knife down the side of the dish and check the consistency of the panade. Beneath the crust, it should be very satiny and it should ooze liquid as you press against it with the blade of the knife. If it seems dry, add a few tablespoons simmering stock and bake for 10 more minutes.

Recipe:  Sweet Basil Dressing

¼ cup fresh basil or 1 tsp dry
1 tbl dry minced onion, or 1/3 cup fresh
1 cup milk, (soy, nut, skim)
½ cup raw cashews
¾ tsp salt
1/8 tsp thyme or 1 tbl fresh
2 tbl lemon juice
½ tsp garlic salt
In a blender, whiz all but lemon juice; add lemon juice and blend until smooth. Chill.

Recipe: PASTA PUTTANESCA

1 Lb. pasta, cooked al dente’
1 lb. fresh ripe plum tomatoes, peeled (or canned)
12 black oil-cured olives, pitted (optional)
4-6 anchovy fillets 1 tbl. butter (optional-no subs)
¼ cup EV olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
6 large basil leaves, minced or ½ tsp dried
¼ tsp dried oregano
1 green or red bell pepper (opt.)
4-5 large garlic cloves, minced
pinch of red hot pepper flakes
1 tbl fresh Italian parsley, minced
½ lb fresh mushrooms (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste
This sauce is prepared more quickly if all the ingredients are coarsely chopped in a food pro-cessor, but this may also be done by hand.
Sauté chopped onion in olive oil or in butter until lightly colored. Add whole cloves of garlic and sauté until lightly golden and soft; mash the garlic into the olive oil using a fork.

Add chopped ingredients (except parsley and mu-shrooms) and simmer over medium low heat 10 to 15 minutes. Add the parsley and mushrooms halfway through the cooking.
Chopped (ground meat contains too much fat) meat may be added to the sauce and the anchovies omitted; good choices are Canadian bacon, ham, prosciutto, pork, lean salt pork or pancetta. Sauté with the onions and garlic in the first step and simmer the sauce 5 minutes. longer.
~ from Cooks.com