2007 CSA Week 16

News from Windy Willow Farm: 2007 Week 16

This week’s share includes:
1 bunch leeks – Leeks are an awesome fall vegetable. They are a challenge to clean, however, but worth the work. Chopped and sautéed for a soup (my favorite soup is called Kitchen Sink Soup, since it contains everything but the kitchen sink. See below for recipe), it makes a wonderfully creamy base. Chop off the roots and start slicing until you start to get to dirty green parts (the dirt gets in between the leaves). Wash and keep chopping!
2 Qt tomatoes – our lovely tomato season has come to an end. We’ve been having nights with temperatures in the 40s, which turns the tomatoes to mush. I harvested all I could, so enjoy them and think fondly at this time when you’re enjoying your canned or frozen tomato dishes!
16 ears sweet corn – Don’t get your hopes up. This is not 16 ears of the finest, most beautiful sweet corn. It’s 16 ears that taste very sweet and nice, but they don’t look great. Most of the tops of the ears are empty, and many have kernels that are poorly organized, signaling poor germination of the corn. So, enjoy your 16 ears, but it’s probably a good idea to allocate more than one ear per person. This may be the last week of sweet corn.
½ pt raspberries – Hopefully I’ll be able to wrestle some of these from the grasp of my children. However, I’ve instituted a new policy called FFF (Feed my Family First). I used to try and get Sarah not to eat all the Sun Gold tomatoes and raspberries so I could pick for CSA or market. But I realized that I want her to have wonderful memories of eating out of the garden and I don’t want her to remember not being allowed to pick the good stuff. So, I have extras planted to be sure that we all get a fair share.
1 Qt snow peas
3 small heads garlic
3 sweet onions, two red and one white
sweet peppers: 4 green Bell pepper and 8 Italian frying peppers (3 small and 5 big) – it’s a lot of peppers, so I’ll include a great Williams-Sonoma recipe for snow peas and sweet peppers. I’m afraid of getting a frost soon, which will kill the peppers, so I harvested quite heavily. They freeze just fine, sliced and in bags. We use them to fry up for sausage, peppers and onions.
1 bunch Swiss chard
1 Qt white potatoes
1 bunch scallions – They are little scallions, and it’s my first time growing them. I think I’m really supposed to plant them in the fall, and let them grow all winter. We learn lessons every year. These scallions are nice and tender and would be great in any recipe you find.
1 bunch rosemary
1 bunch basil – Why do the Japanese beetles love basil so much? It’s not the nicest basil, but a few of you have asked about receiving more basil in the share. Definitely enough for a nice tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese dish!
Best guess for next week’s share: Winter squash, garlic, onions, potatoes, beets, raspberries, Brussels sprouts. Don’t hold me to it!

What beautiful weather we’ve been having: sunny, clear and not so hot. And dry. The garden loves the sun, but without some rain, nothing is growing vigorously. I need to run out this morning (writing this at an absurdly early time of the morning, you don’t want to even know what time!) and see if we have any sweet corn to pick. There’s plenty there, it just has not been maturing at any pace at all. A little rain would plump up the kernels nicely. Ok, we picked a boatload of corn, and field-tested it (this means that Jason was walking around the field munching on raw corn, with the dogs following for the inevitable drop).

I also have kale and collards planted for inclusion in our late shares, but these, too, are not showing any real growth. I’ll keep an eye on these and report back.

We had a visit from my mother in law this weekend, and one of the many gifts she brought was for you: a full flat of lettuce! She also planted it in the garden, with help from Sarah and Jason. We (Sarah and I) have committed to watering it every other day, so in a few weeks, we should all be enjoying some beautiful heads of fall lettuce. I think it’s an awesome way to end our season.

For those of you who haven’t yet signed up for our annual CSA picnic and bonfire, here’s more details. We’ll picnic on the side lawn (where the kids can play on the playset). We always prepare a meat-based main meal (this year will be marinated leg of lamb chunked for skewers) and dessert (my strawberry-rhubarb pie a la mode has been requested). The participants each bring a dish to pass. Several folks have asked if they need to bring a dish big enough for all to eat. My answer is that we always have a ton of food at these events (both vegetarian and non), so bring just enough for a family (4-6) to eat, not for 30! Please sign up for the type of food you’ll bring, so we don’t get overrun with desserts and no sides. Then, we all walk the ¼ mile down our road (Dutch Church Road continues as a grassy lane) to our bonfire area (by our pond) to watch the fire and roast marshmallows. I would recommend you bring few chairs (we do have some homemade benches around the fire ring), a jacket (it gets chilly on your back, since your front is usually warmed by the fire), a flashlight (for the walk back) and maybe bug spray. It’s a really nice way to chat/share and wrap up the year. I hope that all of you will join us for this lovely occasion. The date is Saturday, September 22nd.

I’m working on our annual survey, to be included in the week 18 newsletter. It’s your chance to comment on the quality, quantity and delivery of your vegetables and to give us constructive feedback. I’ll print them out and give them to you at pickup time. I can’t wait to hear how we’ve done this year.

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

© 2007 Gwen Hyde

Gwen’s Kitchen Sink Soup
Essentially an amalgam of Potato/Leek soup mixed with Broccoli/Cheese soup with added wild rice and barley. I do no measuring, and adjust the flavors by taste. Here are the ingredients:

Chopped onions, minced garlic, sliced leeks all sautéed together in some olive oil and a pat of butter in a big stock pot. Then I add as much water as I can fit in the pot, 8-12 quarts, vegetable bullion, cubed potatoes, wild rice, barley, carrots, frozen broccoli florettes, salt, pepper and a few frozen sun gold tomatoes. I cook it forever, on a low simmer, stirring often. The potatoes should fall apart as well as the broccoli. Before it’s done, I throw in a few healthy handfuls of cheddar cheese and taste again to adjust the seasoning. Very simple and awesome. I also freeze it in big containers for wintertime enjoyment.

Many folks have expressed concern that they “can’t make soup!” Soup is essentially sautéing some onions, and adding water! Then throw in whatever you have around, vegetables, meat or bones and cook until the flavors come out. (When cooking bones for a soup, I add a tablespoon of vinegar to get the marrow out). Then salt and pepper to taste. Anyone can make a great soup. Looking back at this week’s share, anything in the share would be a wonderful addition to your soup, including the Swiss Chard and snow peas!

Sesame Treasure Vegetables
(this is a great recipe for snow peas and bell peppers- it tastes great and is beautiful!)
1 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
2 Tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed and thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, deribbed and thinly sliced
¼ lb snow peas
your favorite stir fry sauce (see below for ideas)
½ tsp sesame oil

Add oil to a wok or frying pan over high heat, swirling to coat the bottom and sides of the pan. When the oil is very hot but not quite smoking, add the peppers and stir and toss every 15-20 seconds until they just begin to wilt, 2-3 minutes. Add the snow peas and stir and toss for 1 minute.

Quickly stir the stir-fry sauce and add to the pan over high heat. Simmer, stirring and tossing occasionally, for 1 minute. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Drizzle with the sesame oil and sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Stir fry sauce:
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 green (spring) onion, finely chopped (the green tops of our fresh onions work great)
½ tsp chili oil

Combine all ingredients and stir well.

Scallion Pancakes
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons salt1 cup boiling water (more if needed)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
3/4 cup scallions, white and green parts, minced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon peanut oil

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, place the flour and salt. With the motor running, add the water slowly through the feed tube until a ball of dough forms (you may need to add a little more water).
2. Remove the dough from the food processor, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
3. Divide the dough in 2 equal pieces, leaving the other covered as you work with the first. Roll out the first piece of dough on a floured work surface into a 1/4-inch thick circle. Brush surface with half of the sesame oil and press half the scallions and half the sesame seeds into the dough. Set aside, then repeat this process with the other ball of dough.
4. Heat half the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place one pancake in pan and cook about 3 minutes on each side, turning once, until both sides are golden brown. Repeat with other pancake.
5. Cut pancakes into wedges and serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
Serves 4.

Autumn Chard with Creamy Cashew Sauce
8 cups Swiss chard, washed and coarsely chopped (if the stems are tough, remove them and reserve for us in stir-fries, broths, soups, or stews)

1. Place chopped chard in a steamer over boiling water and steam, covered, until tender, just a few minutes at most.
2. Serve with Creamy Cashew Sauce, below:

Creamy Cashew Sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1-2 cups hot water
2 tablespoons cashew butter
1-2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. In a heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil a
nd slowly add flour, stirring to make a paste, or roux. Cook for a few minutes over low heat to toast the flour and give a nuttier flavor to the sauce.
2. Gradually add hot water, whisking constantly. (Amounts of water needed will vary. The end result should be a thick, creamy sauce).
3. Stir in the cashew butter, tamari, and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly, pour over the chard, and serve immediately.
Serves 6.