WEEK 9 - August 21st, 2013

We are extremely grateful for our Solar Camel this week!!!  We have been able to water no problem and our crops are definitely seeing the benefit of a cool drink on these hot days.  We also were able to get the roof on our shed last weekend thanks to the help of our good friend and CSA member Jimmy! 

As you can see from the picture, we had an unexpected friend in one of our tomato boxes this week.  It gave a few of our helpers a bit of a scare when they went to sort the tomatoes!

We will have plenty of tomatoes and peppers next week as well as some egg plant and another round of broccoli.  Sweet corn is also just about ready so you should see that in the next few weeks also.  We are well positioned to continue to have bountiful boxes for many weeks to come! 

WHAT'S IN YOUR BOX THIS WEEK:

Onions
Beets
Swiss Chard
Cherry Tomatoes
Moskvich Tomato
Zucchini/Patty Pan Squash
Cucumbers
Red Swan Beans

Some of the onions are a bit small this year but the flavor is great!  We think it's because we were unable to get a hold of straw for mulch until very late in the season this year.  The extra weed pressure and possibly loss of moisture are likely causes. 

We recommend that you do NOT refrigerate your tomatoes.  If they are not fully ripened it will stop the ripening process.  Ripe tomatoes will likely become mealy after a few days in the fridge.  Some people also claim that they will lose some of their flavor.  Your tomatoes are picked fresh from the fields weekly, often a day or two before you receive them.  They will easily keep another 3-5 days on your counter before they start to deteriorate.   

RECIPES WE THOUGHT YOU WOULD ENJOY:

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Poppy seed Dressing

4-5 Beets, all but 1” of greens removed
Olive oil
1 log of Goat Cheese
1/3 C. toasted walnuts
Salad mix
Poppy seed dressing (recipe below)

Rinse any dirt or debris from the beets – some beets may need to be scrubbed clean. Put beets on a large piece of aluminum foil and preheat the oven to 375. Drizzle the beets with a bit of oil before roasting. For even roasting of the beets, fold the foil over them and crimp the sides closed. Roast beets until tender. The amount of time this will take can vary greatly depending on the size of the beets, how many there are, if other things are in the oven, and how fresh the beets are (fresher beets cook up faster). For smaller beets, start checking them for tenderness at about 25 minutes. Larger and older beets can take up to an hour. Remove beets from oven when tender. Let sit until cool enough to handle. When beets are cool enough to handle, slip their peels off. You can use a paring knife, if you like, but you can also marvel at how easily the peels come off with just a rub of your fingers.

For the Dressing:

1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. vinegar
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. whole milk
2 tbsp. poppy seeds
Place all ingredients in a jar; cover and shake until blended. Keeps several days in refrigerator.
(This salad is also great with balsamic vinaigrette!) 

Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries

·         2-3 small zucchini, sliced into fry shapes

·         1/4 cup flour (I used chickpea flour to offer a gluten-free option, but I don’t see why regular flour shouldn’t also work.) (24g)

·         1/4 tsp salt

·         1/4 tsp garlic powder

·         1/2 cup milk of choice (120g)

·         1 cup breadcrumbs (I made my own by toasting Ezekiel bread and processing it in a food processor. If you’re gluten-free, use gf bread.) (40g)

Zucchini fries recipe: Preheat oven to 420F. Lightly grease a cooling rack, place it on a baking tray, and set aside. Set up an assembly line: flour and spices in one bowl, milk in another, and breadcrumbs in a third. Dip each zucchini stick in the flour, then the milk, then the breadcrumbs. Place on the cooling rack. Bake 18-19 minutes, or until desired crispiness is reached. Makes 40-45 fries.