ATHENS HILLS CSA
Another 4-7 inches of snow fell on the rolling hills of Athens County on Monday effectively bringing most things to a standstill. But, not your CSA farm. Most of your farmers made it to the farm (albeit a little later than usual) to begin the harvest for this week’s share. The 1st to arrive spent several hours shoveling the snow from the driveways so that the trucks could get out and back in. Then, Mark moved on to the gutter connect roof on 2 of the greenhouses, a slow, tedious and slippery job. It was a late start and an even later finish for Josh and Kip who stayed at it until around 9:00 pm Monday night. An early start on Tuesday meant that we were able to harvest, wash, and pack all of the other items you are receiving today. And as I write this, we are already a little worried about tomorrow’s start given the forecast of ice and freezing rain overnight. Just a few words about the items in the share this week can explain some of the site differences. Because of all the cold, not all crops are re-growing at the rate we typically expect. This means that we don’t have quite enough of one variety to supply all the shares. There are 3 types of greens this week: Red Russian kale (frilly edged leaves with purple stems), Dwarf Siberian kale (large flat all green leaves), or Swiss Chard (dark green flat leaves with white stems). All are delicious, so we hope you enjoy the one you received.
Last Friday we said goodbyes to our assistant manager Matt. He left to take a position with a new cooperative farming venture near Wilmington/Morrow. He left us with an improved system of composting, cover crops, and soil testing. We wish him great success as he begins this new adventure. We will miss his dedication to the soil and crop health.
We have begun receiving apprenticeship applications for the summer already. In fact, we have already had a couple come for their on-farm visit. We hope to have all selections made by the end of March or earlier. If you know of someone who is interested please let them know that now is the time to apply. Have a great week!
From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, Mark, Emily, Andy, Natalie, Josh, Miranda, Paula, Penny, 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 have a tangy flavor and do not store as long as the sunflower.
Turnips – 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.
Kale or Chard - An explanation of the difference is in the body of the newsletter. The 2 varieties of kale can be used the same way. In fact, most greens can substitute for one another in various recipes.
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.
Butternut squash – This flavor is somewhere between a sweet potato and a pumpkin. Bake whole or cut up and use in a recipe, something like squash soup. Yum! Store in a cool and dry place.
The Combo Corner
The apple share from Cherry Orchard includes Mutzu and Melrose. The bread from The Village Bakery and Café is Country Wheat.
The cheese from Integration Acres is raw goat's milk feta. Aged for over three months in a heavy brine, this feta is great crumbled into scrambled eggs, in a Greek salad and even on pizza.
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
Another outstanding Butternut Squash recipe from member Lisa H. 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.
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
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)
Directions:
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.
~from www.cooks.com
Sautéed Spinach with Mushrooms
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/health/nutrition/04recipehealth.html?_r=0
This classic combination can be served as a side dish or as an entree — with grains or piled atop a thick slice of toast. It also makes a great filling for omelets or crepes.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound mushrooms, wiped clean, trimmed and sliced
1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste), minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound baby spinach, rinsed but not dried; or 2 pounds bunch spinach, stemmed and rinsed but not dried, and coarsely chopped
Directions:
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy skillet, and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until seared and beginning to sweat, about five minutes. Turn the heat to medium, and add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir together for another minute or two until the mushrooms are tender. Add the spinach, and stir until wilted, about two minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat. Serve hot or warm.
Roasted Turnip Chips
http://annesoddsandends.blogspot.com/2012/03/roasted-turnip-chips.html
Ingredients:
Turnips, sliced thin (I used 5 small)
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp garlic flakes
¼ tsp onion flakes
Sea salt to taste
1½ - 2 Tbsp olive oil
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Cover a baking sheet with foil.
3. Slice the turnips thin, the thinner they are the crispier they will be.
4. Put the slices in a large mixing bowl and & the olive oil. Massage the oil in to coat all the pieces.
5. In a small bowl combine the spices. Then add to the larger bowl and mix to evenly coat.
6. Put the slices on the baking sheet and bake for 30-50 minutes flipping every 10 minutes or so. Remove from the oven when they look crisp enough for your liking. If you don't have garlic and onion flakes you could also use powder. Make sure to go easy on the olive oil so they don't get too soggy.
KALE AND SPINACH SAAG
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/kale-and-spinach-saag/
Ingredients:
1 (1”) piece fresh ginger, peeled & coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic
¼ cup water, or more as needed
½ tsp garam masala
10 oz 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.
Remember Massaged Kale? Check this video out. It is so informative and takes the raw salad to new heights: Mediterranean Kale
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