ATHENS HILLS CSA

    The phrase, “What a difference a week can make” continually enters my mind as I start to describe the farm’s activities over the past weeks. Three of the eight greenhouses are fully planted with winter’s bounty. Most of the others are waiting on just a few more things before they too will be fully planted. Our planting schedule remains intact (a first for this year so far!) and we are on track to have everything in the ground by the 1st week in November, our goal. This also includes the product for the 2 new houses that we still have not received. We hope to have the ground stakes for them by this Thursday. After those are installed, we can lay out the spacing for the beds and begin to plant. That just leaves the Hothouse to be planted, but with the floor heat in that one, we can leave it until last. 

    At some point this week, we will begin to batten down at least one side of the greenhouses with straw and blocks. The maintenance crew will be busy replacing some of the sidewall plastic on a few of the houses before that step. Yesterday they dug around all of the doors for proper closing. Throughout the season grass clumps and weeds constantly encroach on these portals. We are still using overhead watering for these houses until the plants are fully established. The drip irrigation will be re-installed as the plants size-up. The Starts House has been cleaned and next seasons flats are neatly stacked by sizes for the planting in February. As we look at the forecast for the week, it seems that frost will be here by the weekend. That’s just enough time to move the tender perennial herbs inside for some protection from the winter wind and cold. 

    The Winter 2012 season promises to be full soon. After we took measure of the harvest of storage foods like potatoes, squash and the like, we are optimistic and have opened the enrollment to include another 25 shares. This means that most of the folks who waited patiently on the “Waiting List” (some from last winter even) are going to have an opportunity to join this year. We are extremely pleased to be able to offer these extra shares. Have a good week!

From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, John, Maria, Liz, Penny, Theo, Diedra, Bethany, Corey, and Rob)

THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES

Salad Mix – In the mix this week are 7 varieties of lettuce, mizuna, and pe-tsai, and tatsoi. The last three 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 - Shiitake
Sunflower Microgreens - These have a mild, almost nutty flavor and are juicy and crunchy.
Spaghetti Squash - This winter squash differs from the others with creamy flesh that comes out in ‘strings’ that look like spaghetti. Many people put sauce on it and serve it that way, but there is more that you can do with it. Check out last week’s newsletter for several recipes for this.
Collards - These are the first of the fall greens to be ready. You can treat then as you would any green. They may require a little more time for cooking, but the wait is worth it.
Parsley – After the cold and wet spring, the parsley has finally made an appearance in the garden. We hope it will be here for a while. This flat Italian parsley is prized by cooks.
Heirloom Tomatoes - The greenhouses have been cleared of all tomatoes, so savor the flavor of each of these. They will soon be gone.
Sweet Peppers - We are thrilled to still have these summer treats to share with you. But, if you have had enough for a while, consider chopping them into uniform pieces and freezing them. Peppers are one of the few veggies than can be frozen without blanching. They’ll be a happy reminder of summer in February.
Hot Wax Peppers – Just a few of these this week. Seeds are hot so do not rub your face after removing them from the pepper….

THE COMBO CORNER

The fruit selections from Cherry Orchard this week include Staymen Winesap (an heirloom) and Fuji apples. Pears are Beurre Bosc, a French heirloom. The last picking of the Mars seedless grapes tops off the share. Enjoy!
This week’s bread from The Village Bakery and Café is the French Galette.
This week’s Cheese Share from Integration Acres is Chase Cheddar, hard white goat cheese.

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
PLATES STUDIO –DUBLIN - 614-336-9502 4-8 pm
HYACINTH BEAN – 740-594-9302 12-6pm

 

GREEN EDGE ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

The link to reach our twitter profile:
http://twitter.com/#!/GreenEdgeGarden

And our facebook profile:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-Edge-Gardens/327289894146

We are now using Facebook and Twitter to provide more updates from the farm, recent pictures, and relevant news articles. All of our members will still receive all important news through email and the blog, as in the past, but those wanting to stay more in touch with what's happening here can choose to "like" us on Facebook or follow us on twitter. To reach our twitter profile, use the following link: (http://twitter.com/#!/GreenEdgeGarden), then click on the green follow button. To find our Facebook profile, go here: (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-Edge-Gardens/327289894146) and click the "like" button.

RECIPES

Vegetable Smoothie with Carrots, Collard Greens, Onions, Parsley, Tomatoes, and Zucchini

from www.all-creatures.org/recipes
Ingredients:
1-2 Carrots, large
1/3 lb. Collard Greens, fresh or frozen
1 tsp. Curry Powder
4 tbsp. Flax Seeds
1/3 to 1/2 cup Onions, sweet
2-3 sprigs Parsley
1/8 tsp. Stevia Extract (or to taste)
1 lb. Tomatoes, fresh ripe
1/2 lb. Zucchini Squash
1-1/2 cups Ice

Directions:
This is a recipe we like to make in the summer when we can get fresh tomatoes from the farm stores, as the flavor is so much better. This recipe makes four 12-oz. glasses of vegetable smoothie, which we prepare in our Vita-Mix high speed blender. If you have a smaller blender or wish to make less, cut the recipe in half. 

1.  Wash and clean the veggies, peel the onion and carrots, and remove the stem ends from the tomatoes and zucchini squash. 

2.  Put the tomatoes in the bottom of the blender container and add the other ingredients on top. 

3.  Cover the blender container and run the blender on high speed until the smoothie is creamy smooth. (We usually add additional veggies and/or ice to bring up the volume once the veggies have been ground up and the air spaces around the veggies are gone.) 

4.  Serve with a straw and enjoy!


Tomato Bacon Collard Pasta
from www.glutenfreedelightfullydelicious.com
This was really simple and oh soooo good! The levels of flavor really stood out. The smokiness of the bacon, the meaty richness of the mushrooms, the 2 cheeses, the mellowness of the greens and the brightness of the tomatoes and herbs…delicious! And added bonus: this would be great on Spaghetti squash for those not wanting to use grains.
Ingredients:
1 28 oz. can tomatoes (I really like the taste of whole canned tomatoes – I usually just pour them into a bowl, then slice up each tomato before adding them to a recipe) – but regular diced tomatoes are fine too! 

4 diced garlic cloves 

1 medium onion, diced 

6 – 8 organic cremini mushrooms diced and halved 

4 slices of bacon, diced and cooked crisp 

about 1 ½ cups thinly shredded collard greens
Seasonings: pepper, fennel, Italian seasoning, oregano (to taste) 

Parmesan cheese 

1 package Tinkyada Spaghetti Pasta (any style pasta would work) 

Top with shredded Asiago Cheese

Directions:
Begin by browning the bacon bits in a pan low to medium heat. Once browned remove to a paper towel to drain. Brown the mushrooms, then add the onion and garlic cooking till translucent. (I did drain off some of the fat) Then add the tomatoes with the juice, seasonings, and diced collard greens. Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid cooking for 12 minutes. Meanwhile cook the pasta as per directions, and while cooking, then remove the lid from the sauce, continuing to cook so the sauce can thicken a little. After cooking another 15 minutes, add ½ cup parmesan cheese to the sauce, and mix well. Serve the sauce over the pasta, and garnish with more Parmesan, Asiago and bacon bits.

Note: Fresh parsley, and rosemary would be delicious, as well as any other greens – spinach or kale.

Tomatoes with Parsley Pesto  

from allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
1 cup packed fresh parsley
1/4 cup snipped fresh chives
1 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges

Directions:
In a blender or food processor, combine parsley, chives, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and process until finely chopped. Add oil and vinegar; mix well. Transfer to a bowl; cover and refrigerate. When ready to serve, add tomatoes and gently toss to coat.

Prep Time: 10 Min.  Ready In: 10 Min.