ATHENS HILLS CSA
So much of our lives here at Green Edge is bound to the current weather conditions, especially in winter. All the talk of cold temperatures and cloudy days somehow isn’t all that creative. But, given the forecast for the coming week, it is just about all that we have to talk about. The only day that we could harvest this week is Monday unless the sun peeks through towards the end of the week. This is a good test for our method of winter harvesting that we are teaching to the extension agents on Thursday. There have been cold spells in earlier years, but none has been as prolonged as this one. Our only reprieve is that starting Tuesday, the day length starts to increase by 2 minutes each day. Hopefully, the extra light will be some help to offset the frigid temperatures! We know that in other years the increase in day length has made big differences in the harvest recovery time for the greens. Let’s all think warm and sunny! The new generator did not get installed, but the new pole that holds the electric service for the generator did, and early enough that the concrete in the hole had time to set before this newest cold spell. Now, we just have to wait for the electrician to move the power from the old pole to the new one, and then install the transfer switch. This job is not expected to be done until the temperatures warm a bit though.
Dan and Matt continue to work on the planting schedules and field maps for the coming year. Rotation of crops is so important to the maintenance of good soil – not to mention changing things confuse the insects some. Moving the crops from one field to another can also reduce some weed pressures.
Most of the seeds and sets have arrived. Logging the receipt of these is the beginning of the record keeping for this year’s organic certification. Other supplies to be ordered include items for greenhouse and irrigation maintenance, and the soil amendments like fertilizers and minerals. There are new tools to be ordered this year which I will describe later in the season. In the meantime, have a great week!
From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, Mark, Emily, Matt T, Natalie, Josh, Miranda, Paula, Penny, Andy, and Kristina)
THIS WEEK’S VEGGIES
Salad Mix – Our winter salad mix is a blend of 10 varieties of lettuces plus the mild-tasting tatsoi, pe-tsai, and mizuna. This mix is best stored in an air-tight container with some paper towel or cloth to absorb any moisture.
Mushrooms - Shiitake for most and oysters for the rest. We change the oyster sites each week so that all can have them at least once. Sites that receive them are selected based on numbers of shares and how many oyster mushrooms we have.
Sunflower / MicroMix Microgreens - Some of you will get our more delicate mix this week, and some will get sunflower. The mix has a tangy flavor and does not store quite as long as the sunflower.
Sweet Potatoes – So many wonderful ways to cook these beauties. Roasted, baked, fried – all delicious! Do not store in the fridge – they like it warmer to store for a long time. (Ideal storage is 50-60 degrees and out of the sunlight)
Tatsoi – This is the last week of tatsoi for the CSA. Soon the plants will bolt and there won’t be enough to fill all of the shares. Hope you enjoyed it’s mild and sweet flavor.
Spinach – We are thrilled to bring you this new item. This wonderful green is so versatile. Use it raw in a salad, or cooked in many different dishes.
Turnip – Purple top/white globe turnips are finally here. The traditional winter roots are pungent and sweet. Boiled and mashed, roasted in the oven – any way to cook other roots will work for the turnips, too.
The Combo Corner
The apple share from Cherry Orchards includes two varieties that are popular with the market and orchard customers. The apples are Yellow or Golden Delicious and Cameo. Cameo is a late fall sweet apple. The bread from The Village Bakery and Café is Persian Wheat that is made with Khorasan wheat & fennel.
The cheese from Integration Acres features the Snowball, a pasteurized Snowville cow's milk cream cheese. Place unwrapped cheese in a plastic or glass container. Whip the cheese into a more typical cream cheese consistency; any whey that's accumulated can either be drained off or mixed in. Spread it on your next bagel or crusty bread. (Unlike many commercial cream cheeses, the Snowball contains no locust bean gum, guar gum, xantham gum, carob bean gum, or sorbic acid - just fresh milk and kosher salt!)
PICKUP CONTACT NUMBERS & HOURS
NEW ALBANY – 614-216-9369 12-8pm
BEXLEY MARKET-614-252-3951 3-8pm
HILLIARD POWERSHACK 614-506-3086 4-7pm
CLINTONVILLE COOP – 614-261-3663 11 am-8 pm
ECO-FLORA – 614-266-1618 12pm-7pm
DUBLIN TREK BICYCLE 614-791- 8735 3-7 pm
HYACINTH BEAN – 740-594-9302 12-6pm
ATHENS COMMUNITY CENTER - 740-592-3325 12-8 pm
BELPRE 304-488-3620 3-6 PM
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!
Return rate of the green/red bags has fallen off. Folks, this return is very important. Please gather the ones you have and return them this week. Thanks so much!
RECIPES
Thanks to an Athens member for this one:
Asian Caramelized Roasted Root Veggies
Ingredients:
5 C. root veggies (turnips, beets, carrots, etc.) in chunks
Mix with:
2 T olive oil
½ T salt
¼ t. pepper
Roast for 15 minutes at 450.
Puree:
1 chopped onion
2 T molasses (sorghum works well also)
1 t Chinese five spice
Toss veggies and bake another 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes until tender.
TATSOI EGG BAKE
www.wordenfarm.com
Low-fat cheese and milk work fine here. Mustard greens can be used instead of or along with tatsoi.
Ingredients:
1 bunch tatsoi
1 cup cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, feta, cottage cheese, or other cheese)
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
½ cup bread crumbs, or several slices of bread, cut into 1-inch pieces
paprika
Directions:
1) Wash tatsoi and chop leaves. Sauté until wilted. Drain well.
2) Mix cheese, eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and fresh basil in a baking pan.
3) Distribute bread crumbs or bread pieces and tatsoi evenly
throughout the egg mixture. Top with paprika.
4) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until baked through. Allow to
stand for several minutes before cutting.
Garlic Butter Turnips
from The Joy of Gardening Cookbook, Ballentyne 1984
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
5 cups thin, bite-sized pieces of turnips
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1/8 tsp. ground rosemary
salt and pepper
Directions:
Heat the butter and oil in a sauté pan, and sauté the garlic until golden brown. Add the turnips and sauté until tender and golden brown. Add a tablespoon of water if the turnips are browning too quickly. Sea -son with parsley, rosemary, and salt and pepper.
Chard, Arugula, and Feta Soup
www.werenotmartha.com
Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
1 C chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 C Swiss chard leaves (stems removed)
3 C arugula leaves (ribs and stems re moved)
2 C vegetable or chicken broth
1 C coarsely chopped parsley
1/4 C chopped mint leaves
2 T fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 C plain Greek yogurt
2-3 oz. feta, crumbled
Directions:
Start by pouring the olive oil into a large saucepan over medium heat. Add your onion and garlic in and cook for about 7-8 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add chard, arugula, broth, parsley, mint. Bring this mixture to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the greens are tender. Stir in the lemon juice and salt and pepper.
Puree the soup. You can either puree in batches in a blender and then return it to the pot or you can use an immersion blender right in the pot. I’m sure the soup would be delicious like this, but you really love a soup to be nice and creamy, right? But without adding cream, of course. You’ll want to take about 1/3 of your Greek yogurt and put it in a separate bowl. Now, add about 1/4 C warm soup to it and whisk until smooth. Repeat this twice with the rest of the yogurt and another 1/2 C soup.
And then return the yogurt and soup mixture to the soup pot. Stir almost all of the feta into the soup, saving a little for garnish.
I think this could work just as well with any leafy green you happen to have a surplus of. I know I’ll be making different variations of it again. And now you know what to do when your CSA overloads you with too much chard, arugula, etc. Never a bad problem to have!
Spinach and Mushroom Quiche
from: Moosewood Cookbook, Katzen, 1977 (adapted from Swiss Cheese and Mushroom Quiche)
Preheat the over to 375 degrees.
Follow you own favorite pie crust recipe
* Cover the bottom of the crust with 1½ cups grated Swiss, Gruyere is best.
* Cover cheese with:
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ lb of mushrooms sautéed with 1-2 cups spinach salt, pepper
chop & add last dash of thyme
* Make custard: beat well together
4 eggs
1½ cups milk
3 Tbls flour
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. dry mustard
* Pour custard over mushroom layer.
* Sprinkle with paprika. (Optional: also sprinkle Parmesan cheese.)
* Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes, or until solid in the center when jiggled.
Variations: 1. Use fresh tomato slices instead of mushrooms (no need to sauté them) 2. Sub 1 cup chopped scallions for the onion. 3. Add 1 tsp. prepared horseradish. This seems to be delicious no matter what you have to put in it.
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