Dear CSA Members:

I am delighted to welcome returning and especially new members to the Hawthorne Valley CSA 2002 season!  I would like to begin by thanking Jodie Colón from the Riverdale CSA for continuing to edit our weekly newsletter for all our 220 shareholders in Harlemville, Spring Valley, Garden City and Riverdale.   Over the years Jodie has provided the tasty and timely recipes and has lent her interesting thoughts and considerable skills to this Newsletter.   Thank you!

I would also like to thank the Core Group members and site coordinators of each group for their support and communication.  CSA is only possible through the real and ongoing partnership between a farm and a group of committed consumers.  The very active and able core group members provide a valuable link between the farm and the membership. They are volunteers and deserve our hearty thanks.   Let’s all have a great season together!

In my column this year I hope to cover a wide variety of subjects – everything from how the farm is doing, to why a particular crop is grown in a certain way, to introducing you to the many folks who help keep Hawthorne Valley Farm going – and even to broader agriculture related issues.  Let me know if you have a special interest or question, so that I can respond in this column.

Just a few words about the early crops.  Receiving leafy greens is one of the first CSA lessons members learn about eating seasonally.  All plants go through a season of sprouting, sending up slender shoots, rapidly growing leaves to absorb the sunlight and moisture and then move on to developing buds, flowers and finally a fruit which contains their future – a tiny new seed.  ALL PLANTS!   Yes, even a head of lettuce makes a flower, fruit and then seed.  But we humans capture the different vegetables at different stages of their growth.  We eat the expanded roots of beets and carrots, the leaves of lettuce and chard, the stems of celery and the fruit of zucchini and tomatoes.  We even eat some flowers – the broccoli plant. 

So here we are in the “early” part of the season and most of the vegetables are still in their leafing stage – hence all the leafy greens.  Turnips are a quick exception, but you will only see them in June and then in the fall as they prefer cool growing conditions.  Peas will be coming this week because they were planted so early (they like it really cold) that they have already reached their flowering and fruiting stage.  Watch out -  zucchini is the first real fruit of the season and it is coming your way soon!  I hope you will enjoy the wealth and abundance of Nature this season.

Rachel Schneider, CSA Coordinator

  Pre-Order forms are available today in Spring Valley, Garden City and Riverdale.

The first pre-order will arrive on July 11th for those who fill out forms and pay in full on July 4th.

Anticipated for July 11^th

Lettuce

Zucchini

Peas

Braising Greens

Chinese Cabbage (maybe)

Turnips (maybe)

July is a great time to Cool off in the Country

All our farms welcome visitors.  There’s strawberry picking at Thompson-Finch Farm (call first, 518-329-7578) and 400 acres of barns, fields and gardens at Hawthorne Valley Farm (518-672-4465).  Take a dip in the creek, stop at the HVF natural foods store, or just sit out back until the cows come home. 

One of the first challenges of eating seasonally through CSA is preserving the fresh picked crispness of the abundance of early greens.  Here are some tips on how to store your leafy greens:

To Keep Greens Fresh, Crisp & Long-Lasting, pick through them and remove any damaged or soggy leaves.  Separate leaves and plunge in icy cold water, rinse and drain.  Put in a salad spinner or loosely pat with a towel.  Store in the refrigerator's crisper drawer, covered with linen or paper towels.  Or loosely fill a plastic bag, leave the top open, not sealed, and put on the refrigerator shelf.

If your greens wilt, there was probably not enough humidity to keep them crisp.  Revive them by soaking (as needed, up to 30 minutes) in icy cold water.  Dry and store using one of the methods above. 

If your greens rot, most likely they were stored too soggy, packed too closely, or were affected by already damaged leaves.  Salvage what you can and toss the rest on the compost pile.  Next time, try one of the above storage methods instead.

Of course there’s lettuce, and lots of it during the CSA season, but greens come in all shades and varieties.   Certain salad greens, which are usually eaten raw, take on an added dimension when they are cooked. Others, categorized as cooking greens, are best steamed or lightly sautéed. 

Lettuce and Salad Greens   Boston lettuce sautéed in some butter makes an old-fashioned French side dish to serve with delicately flavored fish.  Or cut down on your carbohydrates by using large, flat lettuce leaves as a wrap for warm or cold fillings. Lettuce leaf “cups” are perfect for servings of vegetable, fruit, bean, or pasta salads.  Or try lining a plate with shredded lettuce or whole leaves as a base for grilled meats.

Cooking Greens include Bok Choi, chard, collards, kale, mustard, mizuna, and the edible green tops of turnips, beets, or kohlrabi. Although the flavors and cooking times may vary, when it comes to using these greens in recipes, you can usually substitute one for another, or mix them up to create your own combos.

Braising Mix  is so versatile! It’s a combination of many different types of greens.  When you receive this as tender baby leaves, eat them raw, on sandwiches or tossed into a lettuce salad for a flavor accent.  Use it the same way you would use arugula or mesclun mix.  When you receive these greens as larger, spicier leaves they are best treated as cooking greens.

Send your recipes and tips to RiverdaleCSA@aol.com

For back issues of newsletters: www.hawthornevalleyfarm.org

4 scallions, sliced

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

12 leaves lettuce, shredded

¼ cup water

1 lb. snap peas, cut in half

Dash of sugar

Coarse salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 tsp. chopped parsley

1 tsp. chopped mint

Soften the scallions in the butter.  Add the lettuce, water, peas.  Season with a dash of sugar and salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer gently until peas are tender (about 7 minutes).  Sprinkle with parsley and mint and serve. Makes 4 - 6 servings.

Melt 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil in a saute pan.  Add 1 clove of minced garlic and cook until golden.  Mix in 5 cups thinly sliced turnips.  Saute until tender and browned.  Season with 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley, ¼ tsp freshly chopped rosemary, salt and pepper to taste.     

  (Adapted from the Joy of Gardening by Janet Ballantyne)