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Harvest Week 5 - July 1, 2010
A Note From Your Farmer...
This Week’s Box
This week’s activities
T-Shirts
We would like to get another order of Ploughshare Farm T-shirts. You can preorder your shirt at http://www.ploughsharefarm.com/store/312
Show the world that you are a Ploughshare CSA Member with this originally designed T-shirt. Made with Certified Organic cotton.
On the front: Ploughshare Logo
On th
e back: The act of putting into your mouth what the Earth has grown is perhaps your most direct interaction with the Earth." Francis Moore Lappe (Author of "Diet for a Small Planet")
Beets
The beet is a vibrant and beautiful vegetable and more versitile than you may think. Not only are the roots of the beet plant edible, the greens may be prepared and enjoyed as you would chard. Wash the greens well, as you would any other leafy green and refrigerate loosely wrapped in plastic. Prepare by steaming or braising, season with salt, pepper and drizzle with a vinaigrette or olive oil and lemon juice. Beet greens taste great served as a simple side, in an omelet or as part of a sauteed or roasted vegetable mix.
To prepare the root of the beet, scrub it well with a vegetable brush, leaving on a bit of the greens to lessen the bleeding and staining of the beet's bright red color. Beets are best peeled after they are cooked. A simple and nearly mess-free method of cooking this veggie is to individually wrap each beet in tinfoil and roast in a 400 degree oven for 45 - 90 minutes. Keeping in mind that the cooking time is largely dependent upon the beet size and some may be finished before others, remove the beets from the oven when a thin knife meets just a bit of resistance when inserted. Once cooked, peel and slice for immediate use or refrigerate for a couple of days. Once cooked in this way, beets can be easily brought to the table following a brief saute in butter or oil over medium high heat followed by a seasoning of salt and pepper.
Turnips
A hearty vegetable packed full of vitamin C, potassium and calcuim, the turnip can be eaten raw in a salad or with a veggie dip as well as roasted, baked, steamed or boiled. They can be kept unwashed in plastic wrap in your refrigerator for a couple of weeks.
A simple side dish made from turnips is to peel, boil, mash and season as you would potatoes. Consider adding a few cloves of garlic to the boiling water or saute shallots in butter and add to the mashed veggies. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy.
Radicchio
With a bitter yet spicy flavor, radicchio is a member of the chicory family. Its red and white appearance makes it a dramatic addition to any meal. Clean thouroughly and saute, braise or grill. Or try this recipe:
Inspired Radicchio
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 medium red onion, sliced
2 cups bacon, cooked, drained and chopped
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 cup cherries (or any dried fruit)
3 heads radicchio, cleaned and quartered
1 cup walnuts (organic, pan toasted)
Black pepper to taste
Melt 3 Tbsp. of the butter and combine with vinegar and radicchio in a fry pan. Once radicchio becomes wilted, set aside. Melt other 2 Tbsp. of butter, adding onion and bacon. Stir until onion is transluscent. Add radicchio, maple syrup and dried fruit. Top with fresh pepper and walnuts. Serve immediately.
Peas
Peas! What to say about these wonderful little summer treats, except to encourage you to sit down, shell and enjoy them as soon as you are able. Share the experience and delightful taste with a kid and savor the best that summer has to offer. Store your peas loosely wrapped in plastic in the fridge. Although they taste absolutely terrific raw, a quick steam or braise in butter will take only about 5 minutes. You know they are done when they turn a bright green color. Add raw to salads or cooked to stir fries, pasta or rice dishes, or just about anything you want to brighten up with a fresh and colorful addition.
Greens
This week's share includes some familiar greens: spinach, salad mix, oakleaf and romaine lettuce,
as well as a couple of new vegetables: dandelion greens and kale. Packed with vitamins, dandelion greens can be rated raw or cooked, but need a thourough cleaning first. Store all of your greens loosely wrapped in plastic wrap in your fridge.
To cook your dandelion greens (or any of your greens), simply saute steam or braise. when it is wilted and tender, it is ready to be served topped with just about anything you like, olive oil and lemon, a tasty vinaigrette or as part of a vegetable mix or stir fry.
What you might think of when you hear (as you often will) that you should eat more dark green, leafy vegetables, the kale plant brings terrific health benefits and flavor to your table. It is easily identifiable thanks to its dark, ruffled leaves and tastes great braised, sauted, stir-fried or added to soups and stews.
This week you might consider serving a mix of cooked vegetables atop of your raw greens. Make a bed of mixed greens and top with sauted onions, garlic, peppers, beets, scallions, kale, anything you can get your hands on. Toss some chicken or beef in if you like and finish off with nuts, dried fruit or a squeeze of lemon. No dressing is required as the oil from the sauted veggies will bring the perfect flavor to your salad.
Week 5
Posted 7/2/2010 6:30am by Gary Brever.
Harvest Week 5 - July 1, 2010
| This Week's Share * Beets * Turnips * Radicchio * Peas * Spinach * Scallions * Salad Mix * Romaine Lettuce * Oak Leaf Lettuce * Kale (full shares only) * Dandelion Greens(full shares only) * Broccoli or kohlrabi (full shares only) |
|
A Note From Your Farmer...
This Week’s Box
You may see some signs of hail on the leaves in your box, but for the most part I feel like we are back on track since the storms hit us two weeks ago. It’s nice to see some other items besides greens as well starting to show up in the box. These include turnips, summer squash and Chioggia beets. This being Fourth of July weekend I want to recommend the use of your grill for many of vegetables. You can experiment with many of the vegetables that you receive.
What I would do for this week’s box is that I would cut up the summer squash and beets in about one half inch rounds and dip in a bowl of olive oil and then place on the grill. After a few minutes I would add quartered the radicchio (also lathered in olive oil) and maybe top it off with the dandelion greens. I would also add the scallions on top which will caramelize over everything and then add some balsamic vinegar to the mix.
Some of the regular size shares will receive either a broccoli or a kohlrabi. In future week’s we will have plenty broccoli for everyone. Also, you just received a taste of summer squash this week and we will soon be have zukes coming out of our ears in no time.
I realize that everyone would like to have more peas than what we can possibly pick(this is one of the reasons that we offer members the opportunity for them to pick their own). Please understand that it takes us several hours even to be able to pick 150 pounds for the 300 share members. Even though it is only a half of pound that you receive in the share I hope you all savor them.
What I would do for this week’s box is that I would cut up the summer squash and beets in about one half inch rounds and dip in a bowl of olive oil and then place on the grill. After a few minutes I would add quartered the radicchio (also lathered in olive oil) and maybe top it off with the dandelion greens. I would also add the scallions on top which will caramelize over everything and then add some balsamic vinegar to the mix.
Some of the regular size shares will receive either a broccoli or a kohlrabi. In future week’s we will have plenty broccoli for everyone. Also, you just received a taste of summer squash this week and we will soon be have zukes coming out of our ears in no time.
I realize that everyone would like to have more peas than what we can possibly pick(this is one of the reasons that we offer members the opportunity for them to pick their own). Please understand that it takes us several hours even to be able to pick 150 pounds for the 300 share members. Even though it is only a half of pound that you receive in the share I hope you all savor them.
This week’s activities
This past Saturday was our pea pick, and I think that everyone who came had a blast. In particular I think folks seemed very interested in how we went about harvesting shar
es each week. It was fun for me to show those who came to pick their ‘Tornado” share just how it is done. I think members also came away with not only fresh vegetables but also a bit of an educational experience. It really is part of the mission of Ploughshare Farm to help educate on where your food comes from and how it is grown. There really is an incredible amount you can learn by spending a day on our farm. Sure, if you come during the week you will most likely learn the “art” of hand weeding or hoeing (it truly is a skill that most everyone who comes here has to be taught). In addition, there are other jobs such as tomato pruning that once shown by a professional, learned and then practiced will be a skill you can take with you for the rest of your life. So, when we call for extra hands to come help out for a day at the farm don’t just think of it as simply work. Rather, think of it as an opportunity to be taught some new gardening skills by professionals with several years of experience. Plus, if you come Monday through Thursday you will usually receive a very decent lunch out of it. Think about spending the 5th of July out at the farm. We do have camping here on our 160 acres if you want to make it an overnight as well.
es each week. It was fun for me to show those who came to pick their ‘Tornado” share just how it is done. I think members also came away with not only fresh vegetables but also a bit of an educational experience. It really is part of the mission of Ploughshare Farm to help educate on where your food comes from and how it is grown. There really is an incredible amount you can learn by spending a day on our farm. Sure, if you come during the week you will most likely learn the “art” of hand weeding or hoeing (it truly is a skill that most everyone who comes here has to be taught). In addition, there are other jobs such as tomato pruning that once shown by a professional, learned and then practiced will be a skill you can take with you for the rest of your life. So, when we call for extra hands to come help out for a day at the farm don’t just think of it as simply work. Rather, think of it as an opportunity to be taught some new gardening skills by professionals with several years of experience. Plus, if you come Monday through Thursday you will usually receive a very decent lunch out of it. Think about spending the 5th of July out at the farm. We do have camping here on our 160 acres if you want to make it an overnight as well.Newsletters
Many of you have given me some good feedback on our new newsletter format. Thank you. I would also like to thank Victor (our intern) for taking many of the photos as well as Heather von Ruden (our Fergus drop site coordinator) who has taken time each week to pull together information on vegetables and works on formatting the newsletter.
Cookbooks
We highly recommend the cookbook, "From Asparagus to Zucchini" put out by the Madison Area CSA Coalition. It gives essential tips on how to use many of the typical vegetables you will be receiving in our CSA. I have gone ahead and ordered 75 of these books (even though only 30 of you bought one in advance). I hope they will be in for the next delivery. Go to our website to order online and receive yours. : http://www.ploughsharefarm.com/store/312 $18). At that time we will submit our order to the publisher and should receive copies in early July.
Many of you have given me some good feedback on our new newsletter format. Thank you. I would also like to thank Victor (our intern) for taking many of the photos as well as Heather von Ruden (our Fergus drop site coordinator) who has taken time each week to pull together information on vegetables and works on formatting the newsletter.
Cookbooks
We highly recommend the cookbook, "From Asparagus to Zucchini" put out by the Madison Area CSA Coalition. It gives essential tips on how to use many of the typical vegetables you will be receiving in our CSA. I have gone ahead and ordered 75 of these books (even though only 30 of you bought one in advance). I hope they will be in for the next delivery. Go to our website to order online and receive yours. : http://www.ploughsharefarm.com/store/312 $18). At that time we will submit our order to the publisher and should receive copies in early July.T-Shirts
We would like to get another order of Ploughshare Farm T-shirts. You can preorder your shirt at http://www.ploughsharefarm.com/store/312Show the world that you are a Ploughshare CSA Member with this originally designed T-shirt. Made with Certified Organic cotton.
On the front: Ploughshare Logo
On th
e back: The act of putting into your mouth what the Earth has grown is perhaps your most direct interaction with the Earth." Francis Moore Lappe (Author of "Diet for a Small Planet")Beets
The beet is a vibrant and beautiful vegetable and more versitile than you may think. Not only are the roots of the beet plant edible, the greens may be prepared and enjoyed as you would chard. Wash the greens well, as you would any other leafy green and refrigerate loosely wrapped in plastic. Prepare by steaming or braising, season with salt, pepper and drizzle with a vinaigrette or olive oil and lemon juice. Beet greens taste great served as a simple side, in an omelet or as part of a sauteed or roasted vegetable mix.To prepare the root of the beet, scrub it well with a vegetable brush, leaving on a bit of the greens to lessen the bleeding and staining of the beet's bright red color. Beets are best peeled after they are cooked. A simple and nearly mess-free method of cooking this veggie is to individually wrap each beet in tinfoil and roast in a 400 degree oven for 45 - 90 minutes. Keeping in mind that the cooking time is largely dependent upon the beet size and some may be finished before others, remove the beets from the oven when a thin knife meets just a bit of resistance when inserted. Once cooked, peel and slice for immediate use or refrigerate for a couple of days. Once cooked in this way, beets can be easily brought to the table following a brief saute in butter or oil over medium high heat followed by a seasoning of salt and pepper.
Turnips
A hearty vegetable packed full of vitamin C, potassium and calcuim, the turnip can be eaten raw in a salad or with a veggie dip as well as roasted, baked, steamed or boiled. They can be kept unwashed in plastic wrap in your refrigerator for a couple of weeks.A simple side dish made from turnips is to peel, boil, mash and season as you would potatoes. Consider adding a few cloves of garlic to the boiling water or saute shallots in butter and add to the mashed veggies. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy.
Radicchio
With a bitter yet spicy flavor, radicchio is a member of the chicory family. Its red and white appearance makes it a dramatic addition to any meal. Clean thouroughly and saute, braise or grill. Or try this recipe:Inspired Radicchio
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 medium red onion, sliced
2 cups bacon, cooked, drained and chopped
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 cup cherries (or any dried fruit)
3 heads radicchio, cleaned and quartered
1 cup walnuts (organic, pan toasted)
Black pepper to taste
Melt 3 Tbsp. of the butter and combine with vinegar and radicchio in a fry pan. Once radicchio becomes wilted, set aside. Melt other 2 Tbsp. of butter, adding onion and bacon. Stir until onion is transluscent. Add radicchio, maple syrup and dried fruit. Top with fresh pepper and walnuts. Serve immediately.
Peas
Peas! What to say about these wonderful little summer treats, except to encourage you to sit down, shell and enjoy them as soon as you are able. Share the experience and delightful taste with a kid and savor the best that summer has to offer. Store your peas loosely wrapped in plastic in the fridge. Although they taste absolutely terrific raw, a quick steam or braise in butter will take only about 5 minutes. You know they are done when they turn a bright green color. Add raw to salads or cooked to stir fries, pasta or rice dishes, or just about anything you want to brighten up with a fresh and colorful addition.Greens
This week's share includes some familiar greens: spinach, salad mix, oakleaf and romaine lettuce,
as well as a couple of new vegetables: dandelion greens and kale. Packed with vitamins, dandelion greens can be rated raw or cooked, but need a thourough cleaning first. Store all of your greens loosely wrapped in plastic wrap in your fridge. To cook your dandelion greens (or any of your greens), simply saute steam or braise. when it is wilted and tender, it is ready to be served topped with just about anything you like, olive oil and lemon, a tasty vinaigrette or as part of a vegetable mix or stir fry.
What you might think of when you hear (as you often will) that you should eat more dark green, leafy vegetables, the kale plant brings terrific health benefits and flavor to your table. It is easily identifiable thanks to its dark, ruffled leaves and tastes great braised, sauted, stir-fried or added to soups and stews.
This week you might consider serving a mix of cooked vegetables atop of your raw greens. Make a bed of mixed greens and top with sauted onions, garlic, peppers, beets, scallions, kale, anything you can get your hands on. Toss some chicken or beef in if you like and finish off with nuts, dried fruit or a squeeze of lemon. No dressing is required as the oil from the sauted veggies will bring the perfect flavor to your salad.
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