ATHENS HILLS SUMMER CSA:
WEEK FIVE: JULY 20-25
Hello Everyone!
We want to thank everyone who made it to the Open Farm Day! We were blessed with lovely weather, and we really enjoyed putting faces to the names of our CSA Members. We hope you enjoyed the day, and that it adds to your CSA experience with us. For those who couldn't make it Sunday, please contact us any time that you are in the area; we would love to give you a tour!
This week's share features three new veggies: Slicing Tomatoes, Green Peppers and Sweet Onions. We want you to know that the onions were grown by another organic farmer in the Athens area. We have received repeated requests for onions to be included in the CSA, but we are unable to grow them here at the farm because of problems with onion maggots. Just like our produce, these are certified organic onions, , and we hope that you enjoy this culinary staple.
Finally, we want to repeat our plea to please bring back the reusable green bags to your pick-up site every week. We invested in these bags to reduce the amount of disposable packaging used in our CSA program. We have not been getting enough of them back weekly to continue this practice, so please return any bags and boxes that might be hiding in a corner of your kitchen, or maybe stuffed into the back seat of the car. Thanks.
As we tried to communicate through the open farm day; we value the support you provide to us and we appreciate the special relationship that we continue to develop together. Enjoy the new tastes of summer in your share this week!
Best Wishes,
FEATURED VEGGIES
Check out the previous newsletters (on our blog) for serving suggestions, storage advice, etc. for each of these vegetables.
Salad Mix: The salad mix is a treat to the stomach and eyes. And now with more summer vegetables available every week, more bountiful salads await every meal.
Sunflower Microgreens: These crisp and delicious sprouts are a perfect topper for a salad, sandwich, or even as a refreshing snack on their own.
Tomatoes: These red fruits are
firm for slicing, or perfect for chunking onto some salad or into sauce, or dicing into some salsa. The possibilities are just beginning…..
Beets with Tops: You can't get much more out of these late spring beauties. Their roots are soooo delicious & sweet and the leaves are vitamin-packed and wonderful sautéed as you might do with any of our greens—a little butter or olive oil and some garlic and onion helps to makes this veggie into a great side dish.
Cucumbers: Crisp and crunchy! This is our first season to offer these summer taste treats, and we are excited!
Green Peppers: Sweet and crunchy.
Eggplant: These purple beauties are amazing. No need to peel or blanch, and seeds are not a bother either. Chunk them for shish-kabobs, or slice for sauté. Yum-yum.
SURPLUS / SWAP BIN
Members who did not receive a share last week will notice a Surplus/Swap Bin at your pick-up site. We will stock this bin with some extra harvest from the farm each week. You are welcome to take some to add to your share, especially if it is something you particularly like, or if your family needs a little extra to use that week. You can also use this bin to swap out something that your family doesn't have a taste for; chances are that someone else does! This will be on a first-come, first served basis, but let's keep the Community in Community Supported Agriculture and make sure that everyone gets a chance throughout the season to take home a little extra.
RECIPE: Potatoes in Pepper Boats - 4 servings
Preheat oven to 325 F.
2 medium sized green peppers
2 C. mashed potatoes
½ C. non-instant dry milk powder
1 Egg, beaten
½ C. grated cheddar cheese
¼ C. chopped parsley
½ tsp. celery salt
½ tsp. paprika
1 T. wheat germ
1. Cut slice from stem end of peppers. Cut in half; remove seeds and tough white membrane. Cook in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain.
2. Combine remaining ingredients, mix well, and mound onto the pepper halves.
3. Bake in buttered, shallow casserole about 20 minutes @ 325F.
Recipe: Squash/Zucchini Salad with Lemon and Mint
serves 4
1-1/2 pounds squash/zucchini, cut crosswise into 2-inch lengths
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium white onion (8 ounces or so), sliced
2 tablespoons slivered fresh garlic
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (1 large lemon)
1 tablespoon each chopped mint and parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Lemon wedges and whole-milk yogurt, to garnish
1. Steam the squash until it's just softened but still bright in color, 8-10 minutes. With a fork, mash the squash in a colander to press out as much water as possible. Squash will look very roughly chopped. Set aside.
2. In a sauté pan add 3 tablespoons olive oil and cook the onions and garlic over moderate heat until crisp tender and just beginning to color, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cool, then gently stir in the squash and lemon zest.
3. Turn mixture into a bowl and stir in the mint, parsley, and remaining olive oil. Season to taste with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper. Serve at room temperature with lemon wedges (squeeze fresh juice over salad) and a dollop of yogurt. Can be prepared up to a day ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator; allow salad to come to room temperature before serving.
RECIPE: Eggplant, Tomato
and Mozzarella Sandwiches
Makes 4 Open-Faced Sandwiches
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 pound eggplant
4 slices of good sandwich bread
1 tomato, sliced
8 large basil leaves
4 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese
cut into ¼" slices
salt and pepper to taste
-Preheat oven to 375.
-Pour olive oil into a small bowl. Crush garlic with the broad side of a knife, remove skin, and stir into the oil. Let garlic steep in the oil for 5 minutes.
-Slice the eggplant into ½"-thick rounds on a baking sheet. Brush/spoon olive oil on to the rounds. Add salt and pepper to taste.
-Bake for 20 minutes, or until soft. Remove the pan from the oven, but keep the
oven on.
-Lay the four slices of bread on a baking sheet. Put bread in oven until lightly toasted--about 3 minutes.
-Add a single layer of eggplant to the bread. Top that with a tomato slice and add salt and pepper to taste. Then add basil leaves and mozzarella slices.
-Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted completely. Cut the sandwiches diagonally and serve open-faced.
From: Vegetarian Planet
