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Greetings!
This week you are receiving the first large-bulbed onions of the season and a real treat: fresh Walla Wallas. Store these in the refrigerator until use.
The official state vegetable of Washington, Walla Walla onions are prized for their mild sweet flavor--in contrast to that pungent culinary workhorse, the yellow storage onion. Treat Walla Wallas as a star ingredient and feature them as a main attraction in your meals while their brief season lasts. Check out
sweetonions.org for some ideas.
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Visit our on-farm store!
HOURS:
9am-2pm
Friday
9am-12pm
Saturday
By appointment for pre-orders and pickups
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Week 6/B
Pack List
Blueberries*
(*grown by a Hispanic farming collective in MI; non-organic)
Cucumber
Dill
Eggplant
Lettuce
Onions:
Walla Walla
Peppers:
green Italian
EOW will also receive:
Beets:
golden
Cabbage**
(**WI organic Amish farmers)
Pack list is subject to change due to harvest and weather conditions
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by Janet Gamble
My friend, Ginger, CSA member-assembler, long-time site host, and logo designer for TCG once coined the term “benevolent dictator” in reference to her role as the one who chose what the buying club she used to run would get each week. In the same way, all of us who run CSA farms are like benevolent dictators as we go through the fields and decide each week what will be in The Box.
The concept of having choice taken away for at least some of the food you eat each week is quite revolutionary and quite un-American. Having what we want when we want it is part of our American culture. It’s a luxury that has escalated quite rapidly and become normalized over the past 4 decades. Once-upon-a-time, within in my lifetime, eating seasonally from what was in the grocery produce aisles was pretty much par-for-the-course. But since NAFTA and World trade agreements have opened markets all over the world, we can now have most fruits and vegetables anytime of the year.
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As a CSA farmer and true believer in local economies—especially when it comes to food and security—I like to think that the way a CSA operates is not going backward to having diminished choices but that it allows us to experience a wide variety of unique foods.
I think of seasonal eating as a kind of biodiversity for our nutritional needs. With all the various vegetables and fruits TCG offers week-to-week, each one contributes a variety of nutrients.
Once we are eating seasonally, we have a tendency to crave certain foods at the right time. Our bodies will tell us it’s time to eat greens again after a long winter of roots. I do think this is a truth even unconsciously for most of us.
TCG sells to retailers and we can’t supply them with enough greens early in the growing season. The stuff flies off the shelves, according to the produce managers I’m in contact with. For instance, lettuce, spinach, and other greens will give you different nutrients such as high levels of Vitamins A and C and trace minerals like magnesium, whereas root crops give you nutrients like iron, and fruiting crops such as tomatoes and peppers will give you more vitamin B9 (folate)--not to mention the other nutritional values such as lycopene, the red pigments in foods that indicate high levels of antioxidants.
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So instead of wondering what all this unfamiliar-looking food is and how it might be disrupting your typical eating patterns, consider the nutrition you’re receiving and how good you will feel as the season progresses.
The beauty is that most foods can be substituted for other things you would typically use. Greens are interchangeable in most recipes, you can make coleslaws with kohlrabi and fennel when cabbage is not available. Pac Choi can be used in an Asian salads and not just stir fries; burritos can be made with all sorts of things added to the beans.
A CSA box is a vehicle to inspire the imagination.
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Ingredients:
1 head cabbage
½ onion
1 carrot, julienned
1 pint blueberries (about 2 c.)
1 c. mayonnaise
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. honey
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1 T. cumin seeds, toasted
Method:
Shred cabbage and thinly slice onion, preferably using a mandoline on its thinnest setting. Combine cabbage, onion, carrot and blueberries in a large bowl.
Add mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, cilantro, cumin and 1 teaspoon salt and toss to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
Servings: 8-10
Recipe adapted from:
foodnetwork.com
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Ingredients:
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped; plus extra coarsely chopped, for optional garnish
1⅓ c. yogurt
1⅓ c. milk
2 T. roughly chopped fresh dill
½ t. ground coriander
1 t. fresh lemon juice
2 t. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 T. chopped fresh mint
Extra herbs for optional garnish
Method:
Puree cucumbers in a food processor until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and pulse to combine.
Chill soup in refrigerator until cold, about 1 hour.
Divide among 4 chilled soup bowls and garnish with chopped cucumber or snipped herbs, if desired.
Servings: 4
Recipe adapted from:
marthastewart.com
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Foil-Roasted Golden Beets & Sweet Onions
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These foil packets can be done in the oven as given in the directions below, or directly on the embers of a grill. Grilling may take up to 1½ hours, depending on the heat of the coals.
Ingredients:
1½ t. salt, plus more for garnish
¼ c. sugar
2 large golden beets, trimmed and well scrubbed
2 sweet onions (Walla Walls, Vidalia, etc)
4 T. unsalted butter
2 T. packed fresh mint (optional)
lime wedges, for garnish
Method:
Preheat oven to 425F°F. Cut eight 8" squares of aluminum foil and use them to create 4 sets of 2-ply foil squares.
Mix together salt and sugar in a small bowl. Place 1 beet on each of 2 squares, one onion on each of the other 2 squares. Top each vegetable with 1 T. of salt/sugar mixture and 1 T. butter. Add a few mint leaves if desired.
Wrap each into a tightly sealed packet and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for about 1 hour. Carefully open each packet--steam will escape. Vegetables should be tender with some caramelized edges.
Transfer vegetables to a cutting board. Cut beets into halves or quarters and onions into bite-sized pieces. Serve warm with pan juices, a squeeze of lime and extra salt alongside grilled meats or over couscous.
Servings: 2-4
Recipe adapted from:
washingtonpost.com
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Chunky Eggplant Pizza Sauce
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Makes enough for two 12" pizzas. Use any homemade or store-bought pizza crust dough of your choice.
Ingredients:
3 T. olive oil
1 large eggplant (1½-2 LB), peeled and diced
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 c. sliced mushrooms
3 c. finely chopped seeded ripe tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, minced (more, to taste)
¼ c. chopped fresh basil
2 T. chopped fresh oregano (2 t. dried)
freshly ground black pepper and salt, to taste
Method:
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high. Add eggplant, onion, peppers, and mushrooms. Sauté, stirring frequently until eggplant is completely tender and mushrooms have given up their juices, about 15 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes, garlic, basil, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Using a slotted spoon, distribute sauce evenly between the two crusts. Top with a mix of Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and bake according to dough instructions.
Servings: about 8
Recipe adapted from
Serving Up The Harvest by Andrea Chesman
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Turtle Creek Gardens, LLC | 262-441-0520 |
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