2007 CSA Week 13

News from Windy Willow Farm: 2007 Week 13

This week’s share includes:
¼ bushel tomatoes – I hope you’re enjoying these awesome tomatoes. During tomato season, I try to include them in almost every meal, just because I enjoy them so much.
1 zucchini – our summer squash season may well have ended with this harvest. The plants are showing signs of their demise: powdery mildew will always kill these at some point. I think it’s been an awesome zucchini year, and, frankly, I’m ready for the end!
2 yellow squash/ patty pan squash
3 cucumbers + 2 lemon cucumbers – you can tell we’re at the end for cukes. The plants are getting old and tired, and are succumbing to the rigors of cucumber beetle attacks. These cukes aren’t pretty, but they still taste great.
1 bunch Sugarsnax carrots – The carrots were almost my undoing today! For years, I have tried to find a carrot with the same awesome taste as these Sugarsnax, but with a shorter growth habit. I have been unsuccessful, and I hate (hate!!) digging these carrots! I dig them with a garden fork and am either too far away (and I gouge the carrot with the tip of the fork) or too close and I snap off the ends. I almost gave up doing them today, but I know how well received they are. So this week’s carrots are ugly- gouged and broken, but still delicious. Mark should be here next week to dig them for me, and they’ll be beautiful again. I didn’t want to see them anymore, so I didn’t even spray them off, so they’re dirty to boot!
2 heads garlic
2 sweet onions, one red and one white
1 pt Sun gold and grape cherry tomatoes
1 Qt red potatoes
4 sweet peppers: 2 green Bell pepper and 2 Italian frying peppers
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch Edamame soybeans – If you’re new to the Edamame craze, this is a great introduction. However, there is some work to be done before you can enjoy them! You’ve got to pick the beans off the stalks, focusing on only the plumpest beans. You’re left with a pile of suspiciously fuzzy beans that you can’t imagine eating. Boil up a pot of water with a healthy handful of salt in it. Then boil the fuzzies for 4-5 minutes. Strain, shell and enjoy! Or, if you’d like to save them for another day, pack them in bags and freeze. Then, when the snow flies, you can boil them up again (4 or so minutes this time), salt them lightly and shell. A common method of shelling is to place one end of the fuzzy bean in your mouth and use your teeth to pop it out of the shell and into your mouth (sometimes they shoot out in every direction!). They are great on their own or in salads and soups and have a nutty flavor.
2 eggplant: one skinny Asian and one round Italian

Best guess for next week’s share: Leeks, scallions, sweet corn, beets, tomatoes, soybeans, potatoes, garlic, onions, Swiss chard. Don’t hold me to it!

This has been a great tomato year! This is the beauty of the CSA model, you live with the ups and downs of the harvest season; when it’s a good year, you benefit with the fruits of the harvest. When it’s not such a great year, you enjoy other bounties. Last year was a terrible tomato year – I think we gave a few quarts of tomatoes all year, but we enjoyed other types of veggies: 2006 was a great sweet corn year, and we enjoyed awesome corn for 3 weeks. This year’s early corn has already gone by way of the rototiller, and even the late corn is looking iffy (there are plenty of ears, they just have to fill in with the corn kernels). Last year’s Brussels sprouts succumbed to some sort of disease; this year we planted them differently, and we hope to enjoy them soon. And so it goes…

Like all homeowners, we too have to do periodic maintenance and replacement. Ours just happens to be the replacement of our barn roof. This barn, affectionately known as the Hay Barn (the red barn is the Dairy Barn) is approximately 150 years old. Like all old buildings, it has its own history. There is an old pulley at the peak of the barn that was used to grapple loose hay from the horse-drawn wagons, and drop into the haymow. The beams are band-sawn (as opposed to the house, where they are hand-hewn), and it is an impressive structure. We’ve toyed with the idea of ripping it down and building something new (either way we’d still have to buy a new roof), but we value the character of these old barns and want to preserve the history of the farm.

We also are getting ready to fulfill a dream that started when we bought the farm: meeting our energy needs via the sun. Next week begins the installation of 20 photovoltaic solar panels for solar electricity and several panels for solar hot water. We will still be connected to the grid and will be able to net-meter: sell energy back to the grid. The first time I see that meter spinning backwards will be a happy day! We estimate that we will be able to save over 70% of our fuel oil usage by pre-heating our hot water from the sun (since we heat our house with our wood stove), and 80% of our energy usage, depending on the time of year, of course.

If you regret missing our potato digging party, or enjoyed the first one so much, here is your opportunity! We will be hosting another potato digging party this week: Friday morning, as early as you’d like to come. We have 3 rows of our creamy white potato that need to be hand dug. We’ll send you home with a few of your own potatoes, since they always taste better when you dig them yourself. Just think of it as the adult’s version of a treasure hunt! If you’re available, let me know, we’d love to have you. Remember, you need gloves (so we don’t damage the spuds), long pants (for kneeling), hat, sunscreen and water. Don’t forget that playing in the dirt is good for you.

Thanks, as always, for your enthusiastic support!
Gwen, Mark, Sarah and Jason

© 2007 by Gwen Hyde

Sweet Spiced Eggplant
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil 1 large onion, chopped
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into ¾” chunks 15 ounces diced tomatoes
2 Tbs honey 1 Tbs white vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced 1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
1 ½ tsp ground cumin ¾ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground fennel ½ tsp salt
1 cup shelled edamame 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, shopped
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the eggplant and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, honey, vinegar, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, fennel and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 8 minutes.

Stir in the edamame and half of the cilantro. Simmer for 8 minutes or until the eggplant and edamame are tender. Stir in the remaining cilantro. Makes 4 servings.

Gazpacho
Gazpacho soup was invented for the summer. Refreshingly cold on hot summer days, this adaptation of the classic Spanish soup deliciously combines the best of summer vegetables. Make sure you only use the freshest, highest quality ingredients for this soup.

6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 purple onion, finely chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped
1 sweet red bell pepper (or green) seeded and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
6 or more drops of Tabasco sauce to taste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (omit for vegetarian option)
4 cups tomato juice

Combine all ingredients. Blend slightly, to desired consistency. Place in non-metal, non-reactive storage container, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, allowing flavors to blend.
Serves 8.

Carrot and Raisin Muffins
3 medium eggs.
1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour.
1 ½ cups of shredded carrots.
1 cup of powdered sugar.
¾ cup of granulated sugar.
½ cup of raisins.
½ cup of milk, plus 2 tablespoons of milk.
½ cup of melted butter, plus 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
¼ cup of cream cheese, softened.
2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder.
½ teaspoon of baking soda.
½ teaspoon of salt.
½ teaspoon of vanilla.

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).Combine the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.Beat together the eggs and the granulated sugar.Add the shredded carrots, raisins, ½ cup of milk, and ½ cup of melted butter; mix thoroughly.Add the flour mixture and stir until the dry ingredients have moistened.Spoon the batter into twelve greased muffin cups.Bake for 20 minutes.Mix together cream cheese and 1 tablespoon of butter.Stir in the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, and vanilla, then drizzle over top of the cooked muffins.