Week 4 Newsletter

Athens Hills CSA
This week started in a beautiful way, but around noon the weather alarms began to sound, alerting us to bad weather for our neighbors. And then, our skies clouded too, as a furious storm overtook again. Monday night we all saw some of the most intense lightning ever in our lives. This time it resulted in the power being off from Monday at 3 pm until about 8 pm on Tuesday night. Fortunately, it wasn’t Wednesday, so Kip was here to save us by hooking up the generator to the packing room so we could fill your shares. From the packing room the shares went directly to the back of the refrigerated truck. We’ve all had enough excitement for one week, and that’s for sure. We are finally closing in on the last of the weeding for the winter squashes, but still have the sweet potatoes to go. It seems like this year the weeds are growing faster than the plants! We have started to harvest the tomatoes, but it’s still very sporadic, and we need to have enough for all of the shares before we can put them in any of them. We continue to replant salad mix, beans, beets, and herbs. These are all prone to ‘bolting’ in the summer heat, so to keep a steady supply, we replant throughout the season. Some years we are fortunate to have surpluses, and this year, surprisingly, is one of them. At each of the pickup sites, there is a box of ‘extra’ summer squash for you to take if you would like. (And you can also leave your squashes if you don’t want them.) Take what you can use, but please remember those who have not yet picked up as you are choosing. Thanks. On Friday of last week, I was honored to be a part of a roundtable discussion with Senator Sherrod Brown and 20 other farmers from the southeastern part of the state to discuss the Farm Bill 2012. We were telling how the proposed cuts to the agricultural sector would affect us. We also shared how these programs had been of benefit to us in the past. Ohio is fortunate to have such a friend who serves on the Agricultural Committee of the Senate. Have a great week!
From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, John, Maria, Kurt, Rob, Marie, Penny, Guinevere, Diedra, Bethany, and Janell


This Week's Veggies:
Salad Mix – In the mix t his week are 7 varieties of lettuce 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 - The mushrooms this week are shiitake. Their flavor and texture are distinctive. Use the caps in soups, stir-frys, grilling shish-kabobs, and much more. Get even more value by simmering the stems in salted water for about 1 ½ hours, straining the broth for later use by freezing, and then chopping the stems to add to a savory dish.
Swiss Chard – This green is the summer stand-by. Verstaile, mild, and nutritious – low glycemic load, but a little high in sodium. Stir-fry, sauté, or shredded in a miso broth are just a few of its uses.
Sunflower Microgreens - If you’re not familiar with micro-greens, you are in for a surprise! These have a mild, almost nutty flavor and are juicy and crunchy.
Sweet Basil - Lok for tips on storage late in this newsletter. We know it’s summer now. Week #1 newsletter talks some of pesto making and different ingredients that can be used to make this herbal ‘paste’ for dip-ping, pasta sauce or a spread for bread.
Cilantro - This is another great flavor for summer although it ‘bolts’ of goes to seed very quickly. Many Latin recipes call for this pungent flavor.
Cucumber - Week #1 newsletter had several uses for cuumbers, but none of them mentioned slicing and marinating in a mild vinaigrette.
Summer Squash – There is about 2 lb. in the bag this week. We grow several varieties. Look on the blog for pictures of each with the name.


The Combo Corner
The 1st week of the fruit selections from Cherry Orchard include apricots, peaches, Lodi apples which are great for baking or cooking into sauce.
This week’s bread from The Village Bakery and Café is Italian Wheat--versatile and savory with just a touch of extra virgin olive oil, which makes a crisp edge when toasted or grilled for bruschetta!
This week’s Cheese Share from Integration Acres is Fresh Feta.

The Controversy of Basil Storage
There are 2 ways most commonly practiced. 1) at room temperature in a glass of water, and 2) stems wrapped in a damp paper towel in a re-sealable plastic bag in the warmest part of the frig - in the veg crisper where the humidity is highest, no colder that 50 degrees, or the door if your frig doesn’t have a ‘crisper’ drawer. For the counter method, re-cut the stems before you put them in the glass of water (just like flowers). This is the method I use, but I tend to use the basil pretty quickly.

PICKUP CONTACT NUMBERS & HOURS
NEW ALBANY – 614-216-9370 12-8pm
TIBET – 614-784-8124 11am-6pm
BEXLEY MARKET-614-252-3951 3-8pm
UPPER ARLINGTON- 614-506-3086 4-8pm
CLINTONVILLE COOP – 614-261-3663 11 am-8 pm
PILATES STUDIO –DUBLIN - 614-336-9502 4-8 pm
HYACINTH BEAN – 740-594-9302 12-6pm
Please remember to call your host first if problems arise. Since they are closer to you, they can usually resolve the problem. Feel free to call us if the host is unable to help you – 740-448-4021 Thanks!

Recipes:
Summer Squash Hummus
Ingredients:
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 cup coarsely chopped zucchini, or other summer squash 1 garlic clove, chopped ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley ¼ cup chopped fresh basil ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper ¼ C. extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Prep Time - 5 minutes-Cook Time - 0 minutes
Instructions: Combine all the ingre-dients in a food processor and pulse until desired consistency is reached. Serve with pita bread, grilled tortillas or vegetable sticks for dipping.
~from www.relish.com


Zucchini Salad
1 med. zucchini, trimmed and cut in to ½” cubes ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese (3 ounces) 3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbs small dill sprigs Thin strips lemon zest, + 1 tbs + 1 tsp lemon juice Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Toss together zucchini, cheese, dill, oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with lemon zest.

Zucchini Fritters
2 medium zucchini ( 8 oz. each), trimmed 1 medium onion ½ C. grated Pecorino Romano cheese (1oz.) 1/3 C. all-purpose flour ½ C. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 2 large eggs, lightly beaten Extra-virgin olive oil. for frying Plain yogurt and apricot jam, for serving.
1. Grate zucchini on the large holes of a box grater, then squeeze dry in a clean kitchen towel, or press in a ricer. Repeat with onion.
2. Mix together zucchini, onion, cheese, flour, and herbs. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Stir in eggs just before frying.
3. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, coat skillet with 1 to 2 tablespoons oil. Scoop mounds (2 ta-blespoons each) of the zucchini mixture into skillet: flatten slightly using a spatula. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
4. Transfer fritters to paper-towel-lined plates to drain. Serve with dollops on plain yogurt and apricot jam.

Both of the last recipes came from the August 2011 issue of Living magazine.


Kid’s Summer Squash Pancakes
4 cups grated squash 1 tsp salt 1 Tbl butter ½ cup diced leeks 4 eggs, separated 1 cup ricotta cheese 2/3 cup all-purpose flour ½ tsp grated lemon rind 3 Tbl grated Parmesan cheese 2 Tbl minced fresh parsely salt and pepper oil for frying
Place the zucchini is a colander and sprinkle with the salt. Toss to coat. Weight the squash wit a heavy plate and drain for 30 minutes. When the squash has drained, rinse with water. Drain and squeeze out any excess water. In a sauté pan, melt the butter and sauté the leeks until limp, 3-5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, leeks, egg yolks, ricotta, flour, lemon rind, parmesan, and parsley Season to taste with salt and pepper. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold them into the zucchini mixture. Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to cover the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter into the pan for each pancake and brown on both sides. Serve hot.
~from The Joy of Gardening Cookbook, Ballentyne, 1984

While attending a recent Food Safety seminar, I was reminded of the delicacy of lettuces. When picking and washing lettuces, be aware of the temperature of the lettuce and the temperature of the wash water. A difference of 10 degrees from wash/rinse water to the temperature of the lettuce can cause browning on edges and other cosmetic flaws. This is just one reason why it’s better to pick lettuce in the mornings.