ATHENS HILLS CSA
For some, the news that this is the last week for butternut squashes will bring a resounding cheer. For others (I know…), there’s never enough. Alas, though, this is the last of the squashes until summer rolls around and the zucchinis abound! Speaking of summer, many of you have responded to the message about the early enrollment for the Summer 2013 season. Please take a moment and let Miranda know your plans, too. Thanks. Preparations for this Thursday’s workshop are mostly completed, just a few more additions to the slides and notes. Once again, the response was overwhelming and we had to turn folks away. Sometimes we can only shake our heads in amazement. Lunch will be prepared from some veggies from our farm in addition to other locally available ingredients. Bob from Rural Action works tirelessly to source locally for this kind of event. It will definitely be a tasty lunch! With a forecast of cold and sunny, here’s hoping the mud will be frozen at least during the tour.
Next Wednesday, the 27th of February, Miranda will be at one of this season’s new host sites in Belpre during the regular pickup hours. She will have a selection of partner items for tasting as well as registration forms for this summer season. So Belpre folks, feel free to bring interested friends along next week. See you there.
During this month’s Visioning meeting the consensus was to postpone any more discussion of the 10-year plan and instead focus on more of the nuts and bolts like finances, investigating recycling options for the farm, employee policies, the internship program, upcoming projects, safety issues, and a few other topics that the crew wants to discuss. We have finally decided to call the process The Long Conversation. Meetings so far have been informative, inclusive, short, and delicious. Attendees take turns providing soup and bread for all.
Don’t forget OPEN FARM DAY is fast approaching. Save the date! March 17th, a Sunday, is the date and 1:00 pm is the time for this event. Mark your calendars! Have a great week.
From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, Rob, Miranda, Emily, Natalie, Penny, Jane, Mark, Theo, and Matt)
THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES
Salad Mix – In the mix this week are 7 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 - Some will receive shiitake and some will receive our oyster mushrooms. Store them in a paper bag in the fridge.
Sunflower / MicroMix Microgreens -These are grown in soil, not sprouted in water. The sunflower has a mild, nutty flavor, is juicy and crunchy, while the MicroMix is spicier, and does not store as long as the sunflower. Add them to salads or to top off pretty much any dish.
Spinach – We are thrilled to bring you this item again. This wonderful green is so versatile. Use it raw in a salad, or cooked in many different dishes. Try a spinach salad with maple pecans, apple slices and blue cheese with balsamic vinegarette.
Butternut squash – This flavor is somewhere between a sweet potato and a pumpkin. Bake whole or cut up and use in a recipe. Store in a cool and dry place.
Beets - Some years we are very unhappy about the germination rate - not so this year. These beets are Lutz ‘Winter-keepers’ and they are tasty. Chopped into small cubes, they roast quickly in olive oil with salt and work well atop salads or as a simple sweet side dish.
Rutabaga - These are very similar to turnips but with a little creamier flavor. You can use them just like turnips. These are easily as mild in flavor as the turnips and just as crunchy when eaten raw. (One site is actually receiving turnips.)
Kale - We love it raw, massaged, steamed, in soup, etc., etc. A complete amino acid score of this food is 92 – that’s with 100 being a complete protein!
THE COMBO CORNER
The apples from Cherry Orchard include two crisp apples with excellent flavor: Gold Rush and Fuji. The bread from The Village Bakery and Café is the premier of their newest creation called Barley Wheat, a soft sandwich bread with just a touch of Hartzler butter.
The cheese from Integration Acres is a tomme (rhymes with home), made with raw cow's milk from Snowville Creamery. This tomme is young (just a little over two months old), and is very mild; its distinctive rind developed during the aging process. Try it with sliced apples and crackers - it's a great snacking cheese!
PICKUP CONTACT NUMBERS & HOURS
BEXLEY NATURAL MARKET 614-252-3951 (3-8pm) CLINTONVILLE COMMUNITY MARKET 614-261-3663 (11am-8pm)
DUBLIN TREK BICYCLE 614-791- 8735 (3-7pm)
HILLIARD POWERSHACK 614-506-3086 (4-7pm)
NEW ALBANY 614-216-9370 (12-8pm)
TIBET 614-784-8124 (11am-7pm)
ATHENS COMMUNITY CENTER 740-592-3325 (2-8pm)
BELPRE 304-488-3620 (3-6pm)
HARMONY CHIROPRACTIC 740-592-4631 (3-7pm)
HYACINTH BEAN FLORIST 740-594-9302 (12-6pm)
OHIO UNIVERSITY - HR CENTER 330-284-5510 (4-6pm)
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
Butternut Squash Soup Another outstanding Butternut Squash recipe from member Lisa in Athens. Thanks so much for sharing these two ways to flavor a creamy butternut soup:
The butternut squash is outstanding! Very sweet and the color is so vibrant! It's a soup and I have two seasoning choices that I've used that are equally tasty. The soup can be vegan or creamed with some of that Snowville milk or half-n-half, from www.cooks.com
Ingredients:
Large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 or 4 sweet apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 or 2 yellow onions, cut into 1-inch cubes
4-6 C. veggie broth (or substitute 2c with milk)
1 tsp salt ½ tsp pepper
2-3 Tbl olive oil
1 Tbl brown sugar, optional (honey would also be good)
Spice mix of choice: Curry or Spicy
Directions:
Curry ½ -1 tsp of your favorite curry powder, to taste
Spicy (my fav!) 1t ground ginger ½ tsp garlic powder (or 1-2 tsp fresh, minced) ½ tsp nutmeg ½ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp ground chili of choice (ancho or chipotle are good)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread cut veggies and apples on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast uncovered in the oven 35-40 minutes, turning a few times, until the squash is very soft. Alternatively, these can be sautéed in a soup pot until soft and slightly browned.
In the soup pot, add seasoning of choice and broth, add roasted veggies/apples (or:: broth and seasoning go into the pot with the sautéed mixture), heat through.
For a smooth soup, remove the pot from heat. Using a hand blender, puree the soup until smooth. Or blend in batches in a blender and return to the pot. Add milk, if desired, or more broth if you like a thinner soup. Top with croutons or crumbled Shagbark Corn Chips.
Roasted Butternut Squash & Rutabaga (Swede) Soup from: www.sparkpeople.com
Makes 2 ample servings or 3 side dish/starter servings
Ingredients:
1 medium butternut squash
1 med/small rutabaga (swede)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups vegetable broth ½ - 1 cup milk (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Peel squash & rutabaga (swede), and cut into chunks of even size, roughly 1”
3. Drizzle olive oil into a roasting pan, add squash & rutabaga chunks, tossing with your hands to coat
4. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until soft and starting to brown on some edges
5. Puree in a blender or food processor with a little vegetable stock (you may need to cool the roasted veg- note: you can roast the veg the day before & store in your fridge)
6. Put puree into a saucepan and add the rest of the vegetable stock, and some milk to add a touch of creaminess (omit the milk if you are vegan or lactose-intolerant)
7. Season to taste & serve
MASHED RUTABAGAS
from www.foodnetwork.com
Peel 2 lbs of mashed rutabagas and cut into large chunks. Put them in a pan of water, cover, and bring to a boil. Simmer until very tender, about 40 minutes. Drain the rutabagas, return them to the pan, and heat gently for 2 or 3 minutes to dry them. Mash the chunks with a potato masher or fork, the puree will always be slightly fibrous. Work in butter with a generous grate of nutmeg, taste and adjust the seasoning. Like turnips, they mix well with potatoes in the mash. Enjoy!
KALE AND SPINACH SAAG
from allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
1 (1”) piece fresh ginger, peeled & coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic
¼ cup water, or more as needed
½ tsp garam masala
1 (10 oz) bag fresh spinach, chopped
10 oz kale, chopped
1 cup milk
1 cup cottage cheese
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground nutmeg
2 tsp ghee (clarified butter)
2 onions, chopped
Directions:
Place the ginger and garlic in a blender with ¼ cup water, and blend to a smooth paste.
Heat a large skillet with a lid over medium-low heat, and scoop the ginger-garlic paste in the skillet. Sprinkle with garam masala, and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer the paste for about 15 minutes, checking to see that it hasn’t cooked dry. Add more water if the mixture gets dried out. Stir in the spinach and kale, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are bright green and limp, about 10 minutes.
Place the milk and cottage cheese into the blender, and blend until smooth. Add a pinch of salt and nutmeg to the blender and pulse again just to mix.
Heat the ghee in a skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the onions until they are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Stir the cottage cheese mixture and the cooked onions into the skillet with the greens until well combined, let cool slightly, and place about half the saag into the blender. Pulse until smooth, return the blended mixture to the skillet, and stir well.
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