2015 CSA week 5
July 1, 2015
2015 CSA week 5 July 1st
In The Box
1 bag baby head lettuce
1 1/2 lbs fava beans
1 bunch ‘Rainbow’ Swiss chard
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 bunch spring onions (scallions)
1 bunch flat leaf Italian parsley
a lucky few will get a tease of red slicer tomatoes. Don’t worry, we should have enough for all next week 🙂
Okay, not our most stellar box ever this week due to a combination of events. This morning started in a mad panic as our neighbor called to tell us that they weren’t able to get the blueberries picked that we were going to be in this weeks box. Too late for us to get a replacement item in play so……you get it. The current heat wave is handing us a mixed bag with several plantings of head lettuce bolting prematurely and some of even the most heat tolerant crops going into a holding pattern as far as growth goes. Not to worry I think overall it will mean good things to come for the boxes in the coming weeks.
The first of the cherry tomatoes in your boxes this week and with the high tunnel planting looking good it looks like there will be many more next week and the next week and the…..
The majority of our larger field plantings are all in, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, melons and we switch to maintenance mode for these crops. Pruning, trellising, weeding and watering will be the order of the days for the foreseeable future. With the farm on summer auto pilot we switch our focus to fall and winter crops, every year it seems insane to be thinking about these crops when it’s 100 degrees out, but many of the October and November staples will need to be seeded in the next few weeks to ensure time to grow.
For those of you thinking of your poor farmers working out in this heat it’s okay, remember temperatures are measured in the shade so for us out in the field….oh wait yeah, it’s hot.
Stay cool and have a splendid fourth of July!!
Enjoy,
Dave, Lori, Chloe, Ryder and “the crew”
LOGISTICAL NOTES
The Fremont Grand Central location has extended its hours through the summer staying open until 6:00 PM
Remember to return the empty wax boxes to your pick up site
All of our pick up sites allow us to use their space as a courtesy please respect their generosity by keeping the area neat.
RECIPES
Link to salad greens washing video
http://food52.com/blog/6202-how-to-wash-greens-without-a-salad-spinner
Marinated Cherry Tomatoes 4 servings
2 baskets Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup Finely chopped parsley
1 Tablespoon Finely chopped rosemary
3 Garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup Extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Mix tomatoes, onions, parsley, rosemary, garlic, olive oil and vinegar in a shallow bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the bowl and let tomatoes marinate at room temperature at least 1 hour, but preferably 3 to 4 hours or overnight. Stir occasionally. Enjoy with crostini or as a side dish.
Cherry Tomato & Avocado Salad
1 basket cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tablespoons chopped scallion or other mild onion
1 cup (approx.) chopped avocado
2 tablespoons chopped herb (such as parsley, cilanto, dill….)
optional vinaigrette to coat (whirl 2 T lemon juice or vinegar, 1 small clove garlic, 1 t mustard, pinch salt and pepper, with 1/2 cup olive oil in blender.) Gently mix all ingredients. Serve. (The avocado is optional but delicious)
Roman-Style Raw Fava Beans, Scamorza(or Smoked Mozzarella), and Fresh Onion Antipasto di Fave e Cipolla Fresca
from Verdura by Vivana La Place
A springtime antipasto of raw fava beans and new onions. Eating tender fava beans is a special treat. Eat them unpeeled if you enjoy the refreshing bitter edge of the peel, or peel them first for a sweeter flavor. Serve this dish with crusty breadsticks, a sturdy country loaf, or black pepper taralli, a type of pretzel found in Italian specialty markets, and company with a pitcher of cool dry wine.
2 pounds fava beans, unshelled weight
a few small lettuce leaves
3 scallions or 1 small fresh onion, thinly sliced
1 pound scamorza cheese, sliced (substitute smoked mozzarella)
Basket of bread sticks, black pepper taralli, or bread
Shell the favas and mound in the center of a platter. Surround with the lettuce leaves and scatter the onions over the top. Arrange slices of the cheese around the edge of the platter. Serve with the bread.
Fava Bean and Pancetta SaladÂ
3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
7 oz. sliced pancetta, coarsely shredded
4 cups shelled fava beans
1 medium-sized white fleshed onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 cup of parsley leaves
3 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Black pepper
Heat the oil in deep frying pan and add the pancetta. Â Cook over high heat until it begins to crisp, then add the beans and saute until the skins start to burst, stirring gently every few seconds. Â Add the onion and garlic and cook for another minute, stirring well. Â Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. Â Just before serving, mix the vinegar through the salad and grind some black pepper over it.
Chard With Parmesan
from Alice Waters of Chez Panisse
1 bunch of chard
3 tablespoons butter
1 handful freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1. Pull the leaves from the ribs of one or more bunches of chard. Discard the ribs (or save them for another dish) and wash the leaves.
2. Cook leaves until tender in abundant salted boiling water, 4 minutes or so. Drain the leaves, cool, squeeze out most of their excess water, and chop coarse.
3. For every bunch of chard, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a heavy pan over heat. Add the chopped chard and salt to taste. Heat through, and for each bunch of chard stir in a generous handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Remove from heat and serve.
Baked Swiss Chard Stems with Olive Oil and Parmesan
(Makes 2-3 side dish servings, can be doubled. Adapted from Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop.)
1 bunch chard stems
1/4 tsp. salt
olive oil for spraying pan and chard
1/4 cup (or more if you have lots of stems) coarsely grated parmesan cheese (any type of hard aged cheese would be good here.)
coarse ground black pepper to taste
Trim any discolored ends from chard stems, then cut stems on an angle into pieces about 3 inches long. If some stems are very thick, you may wish to cut them lengthwise so all pieces are approximately the same thickness.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt and chard stems and boil about 3-5 minutes. Let chard drain well.
Spray a non-stick baking dish with olive oil. Place chard in the pan and mist lightly with olive oil, then sprinkle with cheese. (If doubling the recipe, make two layers, misting each layer with oil and sprinkling with cheese.) Bake about 20 minutes, or until chard is softened and cheese is slightly browned on the edges. Season with fresh ground black pepper if desired and serve hot.
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