2007 CSA Week 10

News from Windy Willow Farm: 2007 Week 10

This week’s share includes:
½ pt red raspberries – The raspberries just won’t quit producing, although for every one berry I put in a box, I have to throw down 2 or 3, from insect damage or mold. I’ve frozen lots of them for mid-winter jam production – a feat I’ve never attempted before. Does anyone have any words (or recipes) of advice?
1 Qt yellow beans
1 Qt green beans
1 head cabbage
4 zucchini
5 yellow squash
2 Eggplant: 1 Asian (skinny), 1 purple Italian
1 Qt red potatoes – I can’t get enough of these awesome potatoes! The vines on this variety have begun to die back, so I’ll give them a week to cure and dig the rest of them. The white potatoes are still going strong, so we’ll wait a bit to harvest them. If anyone wants to join in a potato digging party, let me know. Last year’s party was great, we treated the digging like a treasure hunt, finding the red gems in the cool dirt. And everyone goes home with potatoes they dug themselves! They always taste better when you dig them yourself.
4 cucumbers – I recently read that the best way to judge a fresh cuke at the market was the presence of the spines. This made me laugh, because I regularly rub off the spines after picking, on its way to the picking bin. This ensures that the cukes don’t damage eachother, and more importantly, me, upon handling. The best way to judge a fresh cuke is it’s firmness, and (of course) knowing the farmer who grew and picked it.
1 bunch baby carrots – Thanks to all of you who have cut off your carrot greens! Zack, my horse, is loving his Wednesday night treat of greens. Our main season carrots are almost ready for your enjoyment. Don’t forget, carrots also freeze nicely and make a nice cool weather addition to your cooking. Just scrub, slice and blanch for 1 ½ minutes.
1 bunch Swiss Chard – Maybe the most gorgeous chard I’ve grown, these “bouquets” of chard are awesome. Each contain about 20 stems, or whatever I can just about hold in my hand and still get the band on them. Blot them dry with a towel and store in a plastic bag in the fridge.
1 head garlic – I’m jumping the gun a bit with these, but I can’t resist. The papers on the cloves are still a little thick, just peel them like usual.
1 sweet onion – These sweet white onions are of the Spanish type and are called Alisa Craig Exhibition. They grow especially well here, often reaching sizes akin to a softball. They’re not great keepers, so use this one within a month or so. Once they are cured and stored properly, they can last as long as 3 months. Use the green parts, too!
½ pt cherry tomatoes – A few Sun gold tomatoes to sweeten your salads, and a few red grapes thrown in. The orange ones are a combination of Sun gold and the new “improved” version: Sun Sugar. According to Mark, the new ones are not as good as the original, but my jury is still out. As usual, the downfall of these sweeties is that the moment they are ripe, they tend to split. Splitting does not affect the taste or nutrition, only the attractiveness. Because of this, I often pick them a little under ripe, so that you have a bit more time to enjoy them. Not that many will make it through the ride home, but you can hope! I’m hoping these will come on strongly for next week’s harvest.
Best guess for next week’s share: Beans, onions, garlic, basil, beets, tomatoes. Don’t hold me to it!

Week 10 is the midpoint of our 20 week CSA season! It truly seems like we’ve just begun. We hope that you and your family are enjoying the fruits (and vegetables!) of our harvest. If you have any feedback, such as “Please grow/give us more of this… or less of this!” or “I tried a great new recipe, and here it is!” or “I tried a new vegetable, please consider putting it on your crop list for next year!” we’d love to hear it. I’ll do a formal survey around week 18, but I’d love to hear how we’re doing and how you’re doing with the quantity/quality/variety of produce you receive every week.

This week’s favorite garden tool of destruction is my new lawn mower! The new one replaced the lawnmower we were given (already 5-6 years old) when we bought our first house 11 years ago. That would make it 16 or 17 years old, but, until recently, it started on the first or second pull. I used the new mower to “renovate” our strawberry patch. Mowing removes most of the greens and gives the roots a chance to rest. My new mower blazed through the patch like a hot knife through butter! It has a power assist, so with the slightest touch, it was enthusiastically eating up the strawberry patch. I did ask myself why I waited so long to purchase a new mower, especially given the price paid for the first! Next step for the strawberries is to thin the rows with the rototiller, so there’s less competition and more light to the berries.

Last week’s two inches of rain was a welcome sight on the farm! It relieved us of a week of irrigation, and helped the non-irrigated crops take off. The sweet corn grew several inches (the late planting, that is; the early planting tasseled at about two feet high, and did not produce any edible ears of corn). The pigs loved the rain, too, running around their pen like crazy. On hot days like today, we go out and make a pond for them to wallow in. They love to get sprayed in their mouths with the hose, and immediately lay down in the muddy water.

Last week we started our annual trek to most of the area’s county fairs. The Saratoga fair is one of my favorites, since we always watch the 6-horse draft horse hitch competition. Those giants make my horse seem like a pony. At the fairs, we always tour all of the animal barns and chat up any colleagues or neighbors we find. Someday maybe Sarah and Jason will show animals at the fair! I’m frequently tempted to enter in some of my veggies to our local fair, but Mark always reminds me that it’s for amateurs, not commercial growers like me. My Swiss Chard bouquets would win the blue ribbon!

Have a great week, and thanks for your loyal support,
Gwen, Mark, Sarah and Jason (and Zack!)
© Gwen Hyde 2007



Summer Squash Strata
4 slices cracked wheat bread
2 cups sliced summer squash or zucchini
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cups milk
3 eggs
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
cayenne pepper

1. Butter a 9-inch baking dish. Line the dish with the bread.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the squash to the boiling water and boil for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender. Drain, plunge the squash into cold water to stop the cooking, and drain again. Pat dry.
3. Combine the squash, cheese, and butter in a large mixing bowl. Toss to mix. Layer the squash mixture on top of the bread.
4. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat together the milk, eggs, onion, salt, dry mustard, and cayenne to taste. Pour over the casserole.
5. Refrigerate the strata for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
6. Preheat the oven to 350F.
7. Bake the strata for 40 to 50 minutes, until it is puffed, set, and browned.
8. Let the strata sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
Serves 4.

Grannie’s French Swiss Chard
1 bunch Swiss chard
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/3 cup raisins or golden raisins
2 tablespoons pine nuts
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

1. Remove the chard stems and the thick central vein from each leaf. Chop the leaves very coarsely.
2. Using a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium high heat, melt the butter with the oil until sizzling. Add the chard and the rosemary, stirring well to coat the chard with the butter mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, for another minute until the chard has wilted to about half its original volume.
3. Add raisins and pine nuts, stirring to combine evenly, and continue cooking until any moisture has evaporated. The entire cooking process should take no more than about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Serves 4.

Cucumber Salad Trio
3 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion

Salad 1
1. Put the cucumbers and onion in a bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Allow to stand 1 hour, then drain off liquid.
2. In a saucepan, place:
1/3 cup organic sugar1/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar1/2 teaspoon celery seed
3. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved. Pour this dressing over the drained cucumbers and onions, cover, and chill in fridge several hours, oor overnight. This salad will keep for several days.

Salad 2
1. In a bowl, mix:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil1/2 teaspoon seasalt1 tablespoon organic sugar
2. Add to cucumbers and onions and toss to mix.

Salad 3
1. Place cucumbers and onions in a bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Allow to stand for 1 hour, then drain off liquid.
Add to the cucumbers and onions:
3/4 cup plain yogurt1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or dill weed
Each version serves 4.