2007 CSA Week 15

News from Windy Willow Farm: 2007 Week 15

This week’s share includes:
11 ears sweet corn – Ah, the long-awaited sweet corn is here! It is delicious, bi-color and sweet. But beware: There are worms in the corn! It is impossible to grow worm-free corn without spraying anything. In the past, we’ve used Bt oil to prevent the corn earworm, but we found that it turned the corn cob brown – the corn still tasted great, but customers were bothered by the looks once they ate the kernels. So, this corn has been naked- no sprays, nothing. It tastes great, but you may have to cut out some worms. We love it, and I hope you do, too.
½ pt raspberries – Those darn kids of mine! They love to “help” me pick raspberries. Sarah was picking into a bowl and I could hear her little voice, “One for the bowl, and one for me.” Jason trails behind, saying, “more!” and holding up his hand for berries. The berries are delicious, and are still coming on strong on our many bushes.
1 Qt Brussels sprouts – It’s been two years since we had any Brussels sprouts to offer in our shares. We’ve learned that they don’t like to grow on the black plastic mulch, which encourages some sort of black, mucky disease to kill the plant. This year we planted it in the upper garden, and have a great crop of the mini cabbages coming. Some folks claim that the little sprouts get sweeter after a frost, but I can’t wait that long. I think they taste pretty good right now. My favorite preparation method is to boil until soft, and apply butter and salt. (Note: they do need to be trimmed before they look like supermarket sprouts. Just snip off the bottom ¼ inch and peel off a couple layers of the leaves.)
1 head red cabbage
1 Qt dry shell beans – I let half of the row of shell beans dry on the stalk so we can enjoy them dried as well. You’ll need to shell them, then store them in a jar or bag until you’re ready to use them. They are beautiful, white with brown and red speckles. Use them in your soup recipes, treating them just like white beans.
1 Qt snow peas – My last sowing of snow peas, green and yellow beans are here for your enjoyment!
1 Qt green beans
1 Qt yellow beans
¼ bushel tomatoes – The tomatoes are just about done, done in by the predicted blight. So, enjoy them while they last!
3 small heads garlic – The garlic is finally all cleaned and sorted. We’re including the smaller ones in the share. If you would like a supply for winter, of Large or Medium heads, we’re charging $6.50 per pound or $1.50 per Large head, $1.00 per Medium head. They should store for 6 months.
2 sweet onions, one red and one white
4 sweet peppers: 2 green Bell pepper and 2 Italian frying peppers
1 bunch Beets – Gorgeous roots, but the greens aren’t so great. These are among the first beets I seeded in the spring, and the greens are past their prime. Enjoy the roots in your favorite beet recipes.
1 Qt white potatoes – We finally got most of these dug. They are big, but spotted from the blight disease. It doesn’t affect the flavor or nutrition, but will cause them not to store as well. Peeling the potatoes should handle the spots. These spuds are great mashed, since they are so fluffy.

Best guess for next week’s share: Scallions, raspberries, leeks, sweet potatoes. Don’t hold me to it!

Our solar installations are complete. The array on the east side of the house is our solar hot water. The west side is the solar electric. Two hours after the solar hot water system was turned on, the water was warming. After 12 hours, we turned off our hot-water furnace! These sunny days have given us 200 degree F water. Even after using the dishwasher several times, the washing machine, a bath for the kids and two showers, we were still swimming in enough hot water that maintained it’s temperature throughout the night (the 120-gallon hot water tank only loses a half-degree of heat an hour) for hot water in the morning. We are thrilled with the system. As soon as National Grid installs our net meter, we’ll be all set to generate our own electricity and watch the meter spin backwards!

Slowly the garden clean up is progressing. We have harvested all of the onions and put them in the sun for drying and curing. All but one of the rows have had it’s plastic and drip tape removed. Mark picked up all of the irrigation supplies: the plastic lines must be discarded, but our filter and fittings are reused every year. And as soon as I get all the white potatoes dug, we’ll start on the sweet potatoes!

Was anyone up early enough to see the lunar eclipse? It was such a gorgeous, huge full moon, which made the eclipse even better. We sat outside on the patio and enjoyed the view with our early morning coffee. It was over (thanks to the clouds) by the time we were heading out to the barn about 5:45.

Is anyone interested in paste tomatoes? We have a couple bushels of ripe ones we have harvested, but won’t be using. We’re charging $8 per half bushel. Let me know.

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

© 2007 Gwen Hyde

Gwen’s new favorite garlic pasta
Boil up your pasta (linguine is my current favorite). While it’s cooking, sauté as much minced or pressed garlic as you dare (most of a head) in olive oil. Add some dry oregano, basil, salt and pepper and cook until garlic is crispy. Drain the pasta and toss in the frying pan. Arrange on your plate and top with freshly chopped ripe tomato, chopped fresh basil and chevre cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle olive oil to finish.

Cider-Braised Brussels Sprouts
3 cups Brussels sprouts, tough ends sliced off and outer leaves removed
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup apple cidersalt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

1. Cut an X in the bottom of each Brussels sprout. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add Brussels sprouts and return to a boil. Cook, covered, for 20 minutes, until sprouts are tender but still firm.
2. Drain Brussels sprouts. Heat oil or butter in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add sprouts and garlic, and sauté 5 minutes, stirring, until garlic is soft and fragrant and sprouts are coated with oil. Add cider and turn heat to high, stirring constantly, until cider is reduced in volume by half, making a sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
Serves 6.

Warm Onion-Mozzarella Salad
3 large red onions8 slices fresh mozzarella cheese, ¼ inch thick
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
¼ cup hazelnuts, roasted, hulled, and halved
½ cup chopped fresh sorrel (a lovely, tangy wild green found growing in many areas by April. If it is unavailable, simply add 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice when you add the vinegar)
Balsamic vinegar, to taste

1. Cut the onions in half-moon slices of about ½ inch, then arrange the slices on a baking sheet. Boil about 5 minutes, or until the skins begin to char. Remove from the broiler and set aside to cool.
2. Arrange the cheese slices on a serving platter, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
3. In a large frying pan, heat the oil and butter over low heat until the butter has melted. Increase the heat to medium, then add the peppers and saute 7-10 minutes, or until the peppers begin to turn translucent. Add the onions, chives, parsley, salt, and white pepper, and mix with a spoon. Add the hazelnuts and sorrel, mix briefly, and remove from the heat.
4. Remove the cheese from the refrigerator, and spoon the mixture over the slices. Season with vinegar (and lemon juice, if sorrel wasn’t obtainable) and serve immediately.
Serves 4-6.