Week Eleven Newsletter July 21st 2014

Important reminders

• There will be a meat share email coming for deliveries 7/29 7/31 and 8/5.
• Please remember to return all boxes. Produce and fruit and also egg cartons this week.
• Please remember to sort through fruit when receiving it. We do not receive it until Tuesday morning so I do not have the opportunity to let you know how ripe it is when I write the weekly newsletter.

Farm news from Jane

Green and blue, these are the colors for this week’s share. The green beans are long, slender and plentiful and the green peppers are also large, and like the beans, crisp and sweet. We have loads of beans to share thanks to the help of our worker share members. It did get a bit hot out there today but because the beans are so plentiful the baskets fill quickly and make them much more encouraging to pick. Picking peas on the other hand seemingly takes one forever to fill a basket no matter how quickly one picks! We will have several different varieties of beans this season including green, yellow, dragon tongue and Romano.

The Walla Walla onions are so very sweet this year that I think we could eat onions every night. They take every dish up a notch.  Fried peppers and onions were on the menu at our house this evening. With the regular rainfall everything is growing well and this week’s projected heat will hopefully ripen the blueberries a bit quicker. We try to wait for a certain threshold of ripeness before we begin harvesting but it seemed that even though we waited another week we had to be extra careful to pick well ripened berries. But they are so very worth the wait!

We were hoping to have new red potatoes for the shares this week but when we began to dig on Saturday it was obvious that they were still a bit too small to yield sufficiently for shares. We’ll have to wait a few more weeks for those tubers. As the rain has been plentiful some of the vegetable plants continue to grow more lush and are not in a hurry to produce and ripen their fruit. On a drier year the veggies seem to mature more quickly and set their fruit and seed as they want to make sure that their species survives for another generation! But patience is the key; we’ll just have to be content with more cukes, squash and chard for now and hope those potatoes grow faster with this week’s heat!

The sweet corn is starting to form ears and so that season is only a few weeks away. Nothing says summer like sweet corn. We have planted sweet corn successively eight different times and hope to have corn for a good portion of late summer.

On the nutritional side ~ to encourage you to eat all your vegetables…

Green peppers are high in Vitamins A, C, E and also iron and potassium.

And did you know that cucumbers and summer squash are good for fluid replacement as they are 94-95 per cent water. Summer squash is high in vitamins A and C, potassium and calcium.

Cukes are high in Vitamin E and contain small amounts of vitamin A, C and a few minerals.

The cucumber is also an effective skin conditioner perhaps due to its vitamin E content.

Try rubbing end slice or inside peel on your face and experience its refreshing benefits!

Stay cool as a cucumber this week while enjoy summer’s heat! Jane

 

Produce:   Blueberries   Green Beans   Green Peppers   Walla Walla Onions   Summer Squash   Cucumbers

Fruit share:   Apricots   Plums   Sweet cherries  

 

Produce tips:

– Green beans keep best in a plastic bag in the fridge.

– Green peppers do not have to be bagged but will keep best in the hydrator drawer in the fridge.

– Blueberries will keep best in the fridge if they last that long!

– Onions are fine kept on the counter but refrigerate after cutting.

 

Recipes

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE

1/4 cup butter; 1/4 cup honey; 1 egg; dash of salt; 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour; 1 teaspoon soda; 1/3 cup buttermilk or yogurt; 1 pint blueberries (2 cups fresh or frozen); 1/4 cup butter; 2 tablespoons honey; 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease an 8 x 8-inch pan. Cream together butter, honey, egg, and salt. Add flour, soda, and buttermilk or yogurt. Mix well. Spread in prepared pan and cover with berries. Mix butter, honey, flour, and cinnamon into crumbs. Spread over blueberries. Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes. Cut into squares. Yield: 6 to 8 servings. Recipe from Naturally Delicious Desserts and Snacks.

APRICOT-CHERRY CRISP

2 1/2 pounds ripe apricots; 1 pound sweet cherries or pie cherries; 2 tablespoons sugar; l 1/2 tablespoons minute tapioca; 1/8 teaspoon almond extract

THE CRISP TOPPING: 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small chunks; 3/4 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed; 2/3 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup rolled oats or finely chopped almonds; 1/4 teaspoon sea salt; 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly butter a 2 1/2-quart gratin dish. Pit the apricots and cherries, then toss them with the sugar, tapioca and almond extract. Lay the fruit in the prepared dish. Make the topping. Using your fingers or the paddle attachment of a mixer, work the butter with the rest of the ingredients until the texture is coarse and crumbly. Pat the topping over the fruit. Set the dish on a baking pan to catch the juices and bake until the top is browned and the juices have thickened around the edge, about 45 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla or honey ice cream.

Serves 6-8; Recipe from Local Flavors.

 

APRICOT CRUSH

11/2 pounds apricots; 1/2 cup orange juice; 1/2 cup sugar

Blanch apricots in boiling water. Peel and de-stone. Place in blender with l/2 cup water. Process until almost smooth. Combine with orange juice and sugar in medium saucepan. Simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens. Cool. Serve as ice-cream, shortcake, yam, or sweet-potato topping; as ham, fowl, or pork glaze; mixed into cold fruit salads; or as cake filling. Recipe from The Fruit and Vegetable Stand.

 

GREEN BEANS WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS

2 pounds green beans, stem ends snipped off; 2 tablespoons butter; 2 medium onions, sliced as thinly as possible; 1 cup chicken stock; 1/2 tablespoons sugar; 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar; salt and pepper to taste Cook beans in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 2-4 minutes. Drain; immerse in ice water. Drain again and let stand to dry. Melt butter in skillet over medium flame. Stir in onions and cook them slowly until very wilted and deepened in color, about 15 minutes. Boil stock in a saucepan until reduced to 1/4 cup; stir in sugar and vinegar. Stir in onions. Simmer until slightly reduced. Combine onions and green beans; heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Makes 8 servings.

 

BALKAN CUCMBER SALAD

½ cup thinly sliced red onion; 4 medium cucumbers; 1 tsp salt; black pepper; 1 ½ cups yogurt; 1-2 cloves garlic, minced; 1-2 tsp honey; 2 tbsp mint leaves, minced; ¼ cup packed parsley, minced; 1-2 tbsp dill, minced; 2 scallions, minced; 1 cup chopped walnuts

Soak the onion in cold water for about 30 minutes while you get everything else ready. Drain thoroughly and pat dry before adding to the salad. Peel the cucumbers, seed them and cut into thin rounds. Place them in a medium sized bowl. Add the remaining ingredients except walnuts and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Sprinkle walnuts on top just before serving. Serves 6. Recipe from The Moosewood Cookbook.

 

STUFFED CUCUMBERS

Cut firm, fresh, unwaxed cucumbers in half. Peel. Remove seeds with a long thin knife or apple-corer. Stuff halves with one of the following:

Whole trimmed radishes Soft cheese Tuna fish, crabmeat, or shrimp Caviar Relish

Chill. Slice. Recipe from The Fruit and Vegetable Stand

 

HERB-SMOKED STEAK WITH GRILLED VEGETABLES

You can vary the vegetables for this summery grilled meal according to what available- baby eggplant, patty pan squashes, or any color of sweet bell pepper.

1/3 cup defatted lower-sodium chicken broth; 3 T balsamic vinegar; 2 tsp olive oil; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 1 T chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1 1/2 pounds top round steak, cut about 1 inch thick; Vegetable oil spray; 8 branches fresh oregano, plus additional for garnish; 1 zucchini (about 8 ounces), cut into long diagonal slices; 1 yellow crookneck squash (about 8 ounces), cut into long diagonal slices; 1 large red onion, cut into crosswise slices about 1/4 inch thick; 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 6 slices; 1 small yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 6 slices; 8 ounces Italian bread, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

In a small bowl, whisk together the broth, vinegar, oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the marinade into a shallow dish just large enough to hold the meat. Place the meat in the marinade, turn to coat completely, and set aside in a cool room for I hour or refrigerate for up to 8 hours, turning occasionally. Prepare a medium-hot barbecue fire. Make sure the grill rack is well seasoned coat it with vegetable oil spray. Soak the oregano branches in water for 10 minutes. Brush the cut vegetables with some of the marinade. Distribute the oregano branches over the hot coals. Grill the meat and vegetables, turning once or twice and brushing more of the marinade. Cook the vegetables until they are tender and lightly charred at edges, 5 to 7 minutes. Grill the meat until it is cooked the way you like it, 7 to 8 minutes medium- rare, a few minutes longer for well-done. Brush the bread lightly with the remaining marinade and grill until lightly 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. Let the meat rest for 5 minutes, then slice thinly across the grain. Heap the vegetables onto the grilled bread, and serve the meat alongside, garnished with the oregano. Makes 6 servings

 

SUMMER SQUASH SOUP SMYRNA

2 Medium-size summer squash or zucchini; 3 Cups plain yogurt; 4 Tablespoons each lemon juice and vinegar;  3 Tablespoons olive oil; 1/2 Tablespoons curry powder; 3 Cups tomato juice; Salt and black pepper; 6 Tablespoons minced fresh celery leaves

Seed and chop the squash. Simmer until tender in enough water to barely cover. Drain well, then puree. In a large bowl, beat the yogurt until smooth, then mix in the lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil and curry; stir in the squash and tomato juice. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper, and refrigerate, covered, for 4 hours. Serve cold, garnished with minced celery leaves. Serves 6 to 8

 

MARINATED BEET AND SUMMER SQUASH SALAD

2 Medium-size beets, cooked, peeled and thinly sliced; 4 bunching onions, thinly sliced; 1/4 Cup olive oil; 3 Tbsp tarragon vinegar; 1/2 Tbsp sugar; 2 Small yellow summer squash (or zucchini, or a combination), cut into 1/4-inch slices; 1 Tbsp minced dill; 3/4 Cup sour cream; Salt and black pepper; 2 Scallions, each with 3 inches green top, coarsely chopped

Directions: Toss together the beets and onions with 2T olive oil, 2 tablespoons vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. In another bowl toss together the squash slices the remainder of the oil and vinegar, and the dill. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Just prior to serving, drain the squash and toss all the vegetables together with the sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper, adding additional sugar and vinegar if desired for a more distinctive sweet-and-sour taste. Yield: Three servings.

 

PEPPER PASTA

3 large bell peppers; 3 lbs chicken breast cut in 2-inch pieces; Salt and black pepper, to taste; 1/4 c vegetable oil; 6 green onions, chopped; 4 cloves fresh garlic, pressed; 1 lb hot, cooked fettuccine; 1/4 c bottled teriyaki sauce; 1/4 c soy sauce

Cut red, orange and yellow bell peppers into strips. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Sauté green onions and garlic 1 minute to soften. Add chicken. Stir-fry 5 minutes. Add bell peppers; sauté 3 minutes. Add teriyaki sauce and soy sauce; cover, reduce heat to low, and steam 2-3 minutes, until peppers are just tender. Pour mixture over pasta in serving dish. Season with black pepper. Serve hot. Serves 9.

 

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

2 large green peppers; 1/2 loaf (1 lb.) firm white bread; milk; 2/3 cups cooked chicken breast, ground; 2 tbsp cup pine nuts; 2 tbsp cup light raisins; 1/2 large egg, well beaten; salt and white pepper

Wash peppers. Slice off tops and remove seeds. Rinse insides and drain. Remove crusts from bread slices. Reduce to crumbs using blender or fingers. Add enough milk to crumbs to thoroughly moisten. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well and pack into peppers. Replace tops. Stand peppers in shallow baking dish with about 1 inch of stock or water. Bake in 350°F oven about 30 minutes or until peppers are thoroughly cooked. Cool and serve at room temperature. Makes 2 servings. Recipe from GALLIA PALACE.

 

BARBECUED SWEET ONIONS

1 sweet onion, peeled and quartered; 1 small lemon, quartered; 2 tsp minced parsley; 2 Tbsp butter; Lemon pepper, to taste

Place onion in small iron skillet or on large sheet of aluminum foil. Squeeze lemon over onion, and add lemon piece to onions. Add parsley and butter. Season with lemon pepper. If using foil, fold edges of foil together to seal tightly. Place skillet or foil pouch on grill over medium heat. Cook until onion is soft, about 15 minutes. Stir pan, or turn pouch occasionally. Serve hot as side dish. Makes 2 servings. Variation: Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over cooked onion prior to serving