Week 2 Newsletter June 29, 2011

Steep Creek Weekly
CSA Newsletter
WEEK 2 - JUNE 29, 2011
THIS WEEK’S SHARE CONTAINS:
• HEAD LETTUCE
• RADISHES/Turnips-FRENCH BREAKFAST &
SHUNKYO LONG Radishes, & Hakurei Turnips
• “New” Potatoes - A mix
• Garlic Scapes - The curly things
• BROCCOLI Or Kohlrabi or Beets
• Italian PArsley
• Dinosaur Kale
• Cilantro
Volume 3 Issue 2
FARM HAPPENINGS:
WELCOME TO SEASON 3!!!
Thank you to everyone for signing up to share in
the harvest with us.
This season began in late December when I began designing the brochures
for 2011. January was spent paging through seed catalogs, calculating seed
amounts, devising field plans and seeding dates for the transplants. The
next several months were spent seeding flats, tending to seedlings and
adding members for the 2011 season. Then came time to start placing
seeds and transplants into the ground...but the wet, deep and heavy snow
we received in mid-April pushed this off by a few weeks. The back half of the
main field had standing water up until 4 weeks ago. My perfect field layout I
had worked so many hours tweaking and rearranging on paper just wasn’t
going to work. Crops were moved around between the main field, the new
plot and the front plot. Plan B was put into action and here we are with most
crops looking very healthy and happy in the beds they ended up in!
I am getting some help from a friend/CSA member with the newsletter this
season. Helen will be taking over the recipe page for me. I have included
many of Helen’s recipes over the past 2 seasons and think it will be a great
fit! Please forward any recipe ideas you may have to Helen’s email located
on the back of this newsletter. THANK YOU HELEN!!!
I have been blessed with a work crew of very willing and capable women this
season! Starting last season, we added work-share members to help with
the day to day chores of running a 2 acre CSA garden. Judy has been
helping since April this year and is a returning work-share member from last
year. As a matter of fact Judy helped me plant the potatoes in April that her
and I harvested for the shares you received today. I am very thankful to
have her on board. Julie & Jessica are also returning work-share members
from last season. Julie is a “walking plant encyclopedia” willing to take on
any job I throw at her and Jess always knows the quickest and most
organized way to get the job done. Thanks Ladies! I have 3 new workshare members this season also; Doris Stephanie & Cindy. I am so glad to
This season’s lettuce is flourishing in the wet & cool conditions
have them all here! I also want to mention Deb & Sue who are very kindly
delivering my Green Bay Pick Up shares to Western Racquet & Fitness
Storage Tips:
each week. Without them, a Green Bay pick up site would not have been
possible.
• Make sure when transferring your vegetables from our box
to your container that the heaviest items make it to the
bottom and the lighter items be put in last.
• Almost everything is rinsed of field dirt here at the farm,
but please take care to wash properly when you are going
to use the produce at home.
• Most items do best either bagged in plastic or placed in
reusable storage containers and kept in the refrigerator.
• Most of the herbs will do best in a glass of water on your
counter.
What you can expect in the next couple of weeks:
Snow & Snap Peas
Fennel
Swiss Chard
Beans
The curly garlic scapes are truly a once a year treat! If you break off an
end you will get a lovely garlic scent. Scapes are the top of the garlic
plants. We remove the scape in order for the garlic plant to focus it’s energy
on making the bulb nice and large. Garlic scapes are milder than the bulb
and can be eaten both raw or cooked. Chopped into chunks and sauteed
with olive oil and salt & pepper is one delicious way to eat them. I suggest
using them to make a batch of pesto (See recipe page on back for my
pesto recipe). My family loves to eat this pesto on just about anything.
Till Later,
Meg
Meg & Adam Goettelman 1902 county road u sturgeon bay, wi (920)743-5527 steepcreekfarm.com1902
Hello – my name is Helen and I will be
writing the recipe column this year. I am very
excited about all the beautiful vegetables
that we will be eating this growing season. I
love to cook and try new recipes – so please
email me if you have any questions or want to
have one of your favorites included.
[email protected]
Hello and welcome to Week 2 of The Steepcreek Farm
Recipe Page. This week we are going to start with
one of those foods that one dreams about in the
dead of winter…Fresh Potatoes! Freshly dug
potatoes are one of best treats ever. Wash gently, leaving
skins intact. If there are any blemishes, no need to peel,
just rub or scrape the skin off in that area. Steam or
simmer gently in salted water. Drain, “smash” with a fork,
place in a beautiful bowl and dress with butter and freshly
ground salt and pepper. Simple, easy and one of the
reasons we belong to a CSA!
As the season progresses, and we get more fresh
potatoes, I like to jazz it up a bit, sometimes replacing the
butter with a drizzle of olive oil or, if I think ahead, I like to
make Cuban style pickled potatoes Papas en
Remove and set aside.
If using chorizo, sauté until the sausage is cooked,
breaking into smaller pieces:
½ pound of chorizo
Drain the oil from the sausage.
Return the onion and garlic to the sauce pan.
Add:
4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
1 medium potato cut in ½ inch dice
1 19 ounce can of white beans, rinsed and
drained
1 bay leaf
Sprigs of oregano and thyme
Simmer for 5-10 minutes until potatoes are almost tender.
While simmering, prepare the:
½ pound of Kale, washed. To prepare,
strip leaves from the stems and discard the tough stems.
Roll leaves into tight rolls, cut into thin slivers.
Add to the soup and simmer for another 5-10 minutes until
the kale and potatoes are tender.
With the back of a spoon, mash about one quarter of the
beans and potatoes to thicken the soup. Add salt and
pepper to taste and remove the bay leaf and sprigs of
oregano and thyme.
Serve with crusty bread and a colorful salad made with this
weeks lovely red lettuce.
Escabeche. Later in the season, a recipe for Mexican
style papas will include more vegetables, spices and hot
peppers. Cuban style is a simpler version, perfect for
tender, early potatoes.
Boil until tender but firm:
2 pounds potatoes in their skins
Peel if desired, cut in ¼ inch rounds and place in a shallow
bowl
Layer with:
2 fresh onions cut into thin rings (if onions are too
strong, cover with cold water, rinse and dry before
using)
I sweet pepper, seeded, cut into thin
slices 2 cloves garlic, minced
Sprinkle with:
1 tsp salt
Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1 tsp paprika
Mix and pour over potatoes:
1/3 cup good quality olive oil
1/3 cup good quality wine vinegar
Cover and refrigerate at least 12 hours to “pickle”. This is
excellent with grilled meats or veggies.
White Bean and Kale Soup
I often cook and freeze dried beans for use later. If I don’t
have any cooked white beans on hand, I use a 19 ounce
can of white beans, rinsed and drained. This is favorite
meal, adapted from Steve Raichlen’s Healthy Latin
Cooking. Chorizo is traditional and gives a spicy tang to
this soup, but you can omit, for a vegetarian version.
In a large saucepan over medium heat
Heat: 1 TBL olive oil
Add:
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Hot pepper, fresh or dried, to taste
Sauté, stirring frequently until soft but not brown.
A very old fashioned dressing for early lettuce is as
follows: 3 spoonfuls of sugar and 3 of vinegar, 4 spoonfuls
of milk. Mix all in a cup, add celery seed and pour over a
bowl of torn, dried lettuce leaves. Add fresh onion, white
parts only, separated into rings.
Citrusy Poppy Seed Dressing
Blend or process until thick and creamy: ¼ cup of lemon
juice, 1/3 cup of neutral oil, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 2 TBL
honey, 2 tsp of minced onion, ½ tsp salt. Alternatively
you can also shake in a jar or use a whisk to mix.
Add: 1 ½ TBL of poppy seeds
Serve over torn lettuce leaves with rings of fresh onion, in
season strawberries and walnuts.
Meg’s Garlic Scape Pesto
A favorite spring treat amongst family & friends.
10-12 Garlic Scapes, Chopped into 1” pieces
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or almonds
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
salt & pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in food processor and process until
thick paste (it’s ok to leave a bit chunky, but beware of
very garlicky breath!). You may need to add a bit more
olive oil until it reaches the correct consistency. This is one
of those recipes which is open to many variations. Try
adding herbs like basil or cilantro and experimenting with
different nuts. It’s also great with the addition of lemon
juice.
Until next week – Helen
[email protected]
Meg & Adam Goettelman 1902 county road u sturgeon bay, wi (920)743-5527 steepcreekfarm.com