Week 8 Newsletter

Week #8, February 2nd , 2011

Hello CSAers,
These days are busier than normal, with Kip and Becky gone on their well-deserved vacation to Belize. Everyone has taken on duties beyond their normal routines, as well as calling in some old friends for extra help. We are glad to do it, as Kip and Becky deserve a break from the demanding schedule of farm life. Plus, though they haven't said it, we are all pretty sure they are going to give us all a week off when they get back, and offer to run the show themselves!

I'm trying to include some non-traditional recipes this week for some of the veggies that you get on a routine basis (shiitakes, sweet po-tatoes, salad mix). Hopefully this helps you branch out from the basic preparations week after week. Most people have told us they are happy to receive these consistently, but we understand that they don't fit everyone's taste buds--so goes one of the basic challenges of running a CSA: different people like different things!

While we are not able to customize shares, we do want to help those who don't use any particular vegetable in your share. If this is the case, feel free to email us and tell us what vegetable you don't use, and what you would be interested in getting instead. We will then email the other members at your specific site with your contact information and your trade request. We do not have the time to coordinate the exchange itself, but we are glad to facilitate the process by putting your request out to the other members at your site. It's a great way to utilize the COMMUNITY in Community Supported Agriculture!

You may have heard that the USDA revised their nutrition guidelines recently. In case you don't have time to read the 90+ pages in the report, one of the basic instructions was this: Make half of your plate vegetables and/or fruits. We hope that practice has been made a little easier for you through the CSA!

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

THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES
Salad Mix – In the mix this week are 5 varieties of lettuce, mizuna, and pe-tsai. The last two are mild Asian greens. This mix is best stored in an air-tight container with some paper towel or cloth to absorb any extra drops of water that can form.
Mushrooms - Shiitakes this week. We hope you aren’t getting too bored with these yet. I've included a "recipe" for one of my favorite ways to use our mu-shrooms.
Sunflower Microgreens – We hope you enjoyed the microgreens mix the last few weeks, but now it's back to the old favorite--Sunflower Microgreens! Believe it or not, they are delicious on eggs!
Sweet Potatoes - I've included recipes for Sweet Potato Biscuits and Sweet Potato Fries this week, in case you needed a new way to prepare these delicious treats.
Carrots - Always a favorite, the variety of carrot that we grow is called Bolero. These will be delicious and refreshing raw or added to a favorite soup.
Pak Choi - Another of our mild Asian greens, this variety is called Vitamin Green, which tells you what it does for your body! Can be eaten raw or steamed, sautéed or stir-fried. The stalks hold water, so they are a refreshing snack raw. They can be cooked as well and will take slightly longer to cook than the leaves.
Arugula - This versatile green can be used raw in salads or steamed. Its peppery flavor can be hit-or-miss with folks, but you can always mix it with other greens to balance the flavors.

The Combo Corner
The apple selections from Cherry Orchard this week are Yellow/Golden Delicious, and Fuji and Mutzu.
This week’s bread from The Village Bakery and Café is Bo's Brown: 100 percent whole wheat with sprouted whole wheat, white whole wheat, Snowville yogurt and extra virgin olive oil.

Recipes

Rob's Sort-of-a-Recipe for Mushroom Rice Salad
Those who like to adhere to strict recipes (my wife included) will be frustrated by this "recipe's" lack of measurements and other concrete details, but I encourage you to have fun and experiment with different methods of preparation and to use what you have on hand at the time.
I also can take no credit for this meal, as I stole the idea from our beloved Casa Nueva restaurant in Athens. It is an absolute favorite in our house.

Ingredients:
Salad Mix (plus any other fillers you want to add: Microgrens, Arugula, Pak Choi, etc)
Mushrooms
Olive Oil
Tamari, Sesame Oil, Braggs' Amino Acids--any flavoring sauce you like.
Rice
Cheese

-Prepare the rice according to the directions.
-Sautee the mushrooms in olive oil and whatever flavoring sauce and spices you like.
-Plate out the salad mix in individual servings, top with rice, then cheese, then the mushroom/sauce mixture.
-Depending on how saucy your mushroom saute is, you may want to add a salad dressing, or not.
Do what your family will like the best!

Sweet Potato Biscuits
Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 heaping table-spoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened butter
• 2 to 4 tablespoons milk (depending on the moisture of the potatoes)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
In a separate, large bowl, mix the sweet potatoes and butter. Add the flour mixture to the potato mixture and mix to make a soft dough. Then add milk a tablespoon at a time to mixture and continue to cut in.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board and toss lightly until the outside of the dough looks smooth. Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter.
Place the biscuits on a greased pan and coat tops with melted butter.
Bake for about 15 minutes. (Watch your oven: If the biscuits are browning too fast, lower the temperature.)

Sweet Potato Fries
Sweet Potatoes
Olive Oil
Seasoning (could be savory--Rosemary, Thyme, etc; spicy--paprika, red pepper; or simply salt and pepper)
Cut the sweet potatoes into strips, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings of your choice.
Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes.

Creamed Mushrooms

from Epicurious.com
This recipe sounds like it would be a wonderful topper to chicken, pasta/noodles, cooked greens or just as a side dish of its own.

Ingredients
• 1 large shallot, minced (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps chopped coarse (this is the exact amount you usually get in your shares)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves or a rounded 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumble
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
Cook shallot in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add shiitake and salt and pepper to taste and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring, until mushrooms are softened and browned lightly. Stir in wine, vinegar, and rosemary and boil until all liquid is evaporated. Add cream and simmer, stirring, until thickened slightly, about 1 minute. Season mixture with salt and pepper.