Dear CSA Members:
This week’s farm news comes from Judith - She is a great asset and has been here both as an apprentice for several years and now as our herdswoman - relieving Steffen of most of his milking duties. Judith has two young children and her husband, Abe will write next week's newsletter.
Rachel Schneider, CSA Coordinator
Welcome to summer! After weeks of rain (or so it seemed to all of
us involved with hay making) we had the first hot week here this
past few days just in time for the summer solstice. The weather
pattern is still a little tricky for the forage harvest as good
hay takes three, four days of good weather from the time it is
cut to the time it is baled up. However, we have been blessed
with abundant growth on our pastures and the cows have been
getting as much grass as they could eat. When they come into the
barn for milking, they mostly disregard the little bit of hay we
put out for them, enjoy the cooler barn and soon lie down. It
sometimes is quite a challenge for us to get them up in order to
attach the milking machines.
For the first time this year, we have incorporated new land
into our grazing program. Suddenly we have animals that we can
not easily reach by foot anymore, which adds another scope to
this place. We were busy this spring with building new fences,
which involves digging 3 ft deep holes, stringing out thousands
of feet of wire and pounding in smaller posts to keep the fence
off the ground. Now, though, it is haying time and in the fall we
will be spreading compost on hay fields and the garden.
Speaking of which: It is not an easy job to keep the weeds
down in weather like this. This is my eighth summer here. I have
not seen the garden look this good before. I think Katy and Sarah
have been doing an excellent job cultivating and I hope ground
hogs, deer and (let's not mention it too loud) the cows will
respect their hard work and ensure a plentiful harvest for
all.
Judith Mady, Herdswoman
Looking Forward to Next Week
Anticipated Harvest for July 10th
- Beets
- Lettuce
- Peas (for some)
- Scallions
- Napa (Chinese) Cbbage
For those of you who plan your grocery shopping based on
what is in the share, the “Actual Harvest” for the
week will be posted by Monday afternoon on the “CSA”
page at www.hawthornevalleyfarm.org.
Before joining the CSA,
I had never even SEEN, much less PREPARED or EATEN most of the regional, seasonal vegetables that appeared in my share -- fresh beets, kale, scapes, turnips, chard, Napa cabbage, kohlrabi, rutabaga, celeriac, and more were all quite foreign to me!
As a result, this weekly newsletter was developed to help answer the question s I asked most often in the first year of my CSA membership:
“What the heck IS this
and what do I DO with it?”
Not to mention the oft-heard lament made after receiving the 3rd straight week of a particular item –
“NOW what do I with this?”
One of the pleasures of CSA membership is the opportunity to try something new – whether it is tasting a vegetable that otherwise might not be on your “what’s for dinner” list, or the chance to try a new way to prepare an old familiar favorite.
If you would like to share an anecdote, cooking tip, or recipe to encourage the rest of us, please send it to me via e-mail or mail it to Rachel at the farm.
Jodie ColónRiverdaleCSA@aol.com
Beets the Old Days…My pre-CSA memories of beets go way back to when Mom served them out of a can. If you passed them up for the same reason, maybe it’s time you tried them again.
Farm-fresh beets have such a wonderful flavor on their own that, after my friends tasted my Beet and Apple Salad, we had the following conversation:
”Wow, what’s in this?”
“Beets and apples”.
“No, I mean, what’s the recipe?”
“Beets and apples.”
“Why won’t you tell me the recipe?”
“OK! The recipe is: BEETS & APPLES!”
Tips for Preparing Beets
First, cut off the edible leafy tops within an inch of the beets. The tender young leaves can be used raw in salads. The larger leaves are best sautéed or substituted in recipes that call for Chard.
Next, scrub the beets well. To use the beets raw, peel and grate to add to salads. To cook beets, peel, dice, and sauté in a little oil. Whole, unpeeled beets can be boiled in salted water or steamed until tender. To bring out a more intense, earthy flavor, put scrubbed, unpeeled beets in a pan with about a ½” of water. Cover the pan with foil and roast the beets in the oven at 3750 until tender, about 40 minutes to an hour, depending upon the size and number of beets.
However you cook them, once they are done and have cooled slightly, slip off the skins. Your beets are now ready to eat! Try the beets and greens in the following recipes:
Beet Salad with Orange, Feta and Walnuts
3 medium beets, cooked, peeled and sliced (about 3/4
pound)
3 tablespoons walnut oil or salad oil
1 tsp. finely shredded orange peel
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 Tbsp. broken walnuts, toasted
3 Tbsp. crumbled feta cheese
Ground pepper, to taste
Mixed Salad Greens
In a screw-top jar combine oil, orange peel, orange juice, and vinegar. Cover and shake well. In a medium mixing bowl gently toss the beet slices with the dressing. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours. To serve, let mixture come to room temperature. Gently stir nuts into beets. Sprinkle with feta cheese and season with pepper. Spoon over mixed greens.
Adapted from Cooking Light, 11/01/98
Penne with Goat Cheese & Chard
Try substituting beet greens or braising mix for the chard.
1 large bunch chard
2 large yellow onions
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. butter
salt to taste
1 - 2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
(or 2 tsp. red wine vinegar)
5 oz. goat cheese
¾ cup pine nuts
1 lb. penne pasta
½ cup white wine
Wash the chard thoroughly, cut off the thick stems and save for another use. Chop the leaves and thin inner stems coarsely.
Chop the onions and sauté in the olive oil and butter until they are soft and beginning to color. Add the chard and toss it together with the onions until it wilts. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for a few more minutes until the chard is tender. Toss the chard with tiny bit of salt and the vinegar. Crumble the goat cheese and set aside. Lightly toast the pine nuts, stirring them in a small skillet over medium heat until they begin to turn golden and fill the air with a fragrance.
Boil the penne in several quarts of salted water until it is al dente. Just before it's ready, bring the chard back to high heat and add the white wine. Drain the pasta. Add the crumbled cheese to the hot chard mixture, along with the pasta and mix it all together well. Serve at once on warmed plates; sprinkle each serving with toasted pine nuts. Serves 6 – 8.
The New Vegetarian Epicure, by Anna Thomas
