AMADOR HILL FARM & ORCHARD
Certified Organic - Locally Grown - Sustainably Farmed
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CSA Box #4 Friday July 20th
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Dear CSA Shareholders,
A very pleasant week at the farm even though we were down in numbers because of vacation time for some of the crew. We had a lot of farming with volunteers this week, mainly weeding, transplanting, and warding off pests attacking our brassicas. The apple trees are silently maturing in a beauty not seen in many years. So far they look perfect to us and probably to our common apple pests. We are looking forward to a good solid rain soon.
Thank you for returning your boxes.
Blessings,
Jacquelyn
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Coming Soon!
WATERCRESS
! Start reading up on these special greens! Share with us if you find a good recipe. Be aware of the strong taste if you are new to watercress. Here's a teaser to get you ready for a good peppery plant!
17 Watercress Recipes We're Just Wild About
on Martha Stewart's website. Here's WEI farmer, Shoua harvesting leaves and flowers of the watercress plant.
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DELIVERY TIMELINE UPDATE
The estimated delivery times we sent you in our first newsletter are remaining fairly consistent. To review your drop site's delivery time you can keep this schedule handy:
CSA PICK UP INFO
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WHAT'S IN THE BOX THIS WEEK
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Romain Lettuce
Large crisp dark green outer leaves, and tender inner leaves make for a wonderful grilled side dish. Cut the romaine head in half lengthwise, brush with olive oil, and grilled cut side down over medium heat 2-3 minutes and served with a good rich dressing.
Storage:
Refrigerate in a partially sealed bag, unwashed with a paper towel for up to a week.
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Encore Gourmet Lettuce (small batch-not washed)
A WEI top ten variety! A gorgeous mixture of young green and red lettuces! We hope you love these as much as we do! The perfect light salad mix! See
Lauren's Vinaigrette 101.
Storage:
Refrigerate in a partially sealed bag with a paper towel for about 5 days.
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Baby Kale -- a large batch this time.
Baby kale is much milder, more delicate than full grown kale, so cooking times will be dramatically reduces. Baby Kale is exceptionally good for salads. I like to call it the ‘gateway’ kale, the one that can convert a kale skeptic. Here's a simple
yet indulgent baby kale salad to try
Baby Kale Salad with Pine Nuts, Parmesan and Lemon Vinaigrette.
Storage:
Refrigerate unwashed in their bag for 5-7 days. Add a paper towel to help absorb moisture.
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Green Onion
Onions add so much flavor to your recipes. Start any dish with sautéed onion. Add a bit of wine for a good reductions sauce to drizzle over your grilled meat or grilled romaine. Try this
Lime, Green Onion Rice
recipe.
Storage:
Refrigerate, unwashed in their bag in the crisper drawer for 7 - 10 days.
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Early Summer Squash and cucumbers
Cucurbit surprise! Cucurbits are a family of plants that produce cucumbers, zucchini, melons, summer and winter squash. This week we send you a colorful mixture of summer cucurbits including various cucumbers, zucchini and summer squash.
Storage:
Refrigerate cucumbers in the crisper drawer wrapped in plastic for about a week and summer squash / zucchini for about ten - fourteen days (best temp 41 to 50 F degrees).
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Jade Green Beans
Fresh green bean season is almost as anticipated as tomato season! The first beans of the year are NOT your beans for sautéing, savor these gems by lightly steaming or blanching to showcase their flavor!
Storage:
Keep unwashed beans sealed in plastic for a week or more.
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Norland Potatoes
Young potatoes! Delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Gently boil them, roast with a bit of olive oil and onion, or grill them up in a grill basket with your zucchini.
Storage:
Store these young potatoes in a shallow layer in a cool dark place for up to two weeks.
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Genovese Basil
One of the most popular culinary herbs, add your basil to everything you cook this week! Check out the
“Out of the Box” Facebook page
for a neat tip on saving basil for winter.
Storage:
Tim the ends and place in a jar of water on the counter. Cut off leaves as you need them.
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FARM SHARE RECIPES & TIPS
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We welcome you to join the conversation and tell us how you'r using your CSA. If you have recipes or ideas you'd like to share in our emails, submit by replying to this email. We'd love to hear your
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Some suggestions for using and combining your produce this week: Potatoes, Green Beans, Green Onions, and Basil make the perfect picnic salad.
Susanne's Italian Potato Salad
Use boiled eggs and boiled young potatoes in equal proportions, sliced and lay a single layer in a shallow bowl. Top with gently steamed green beans, cooled off and cut into 1/2 pieces, Genovese Basil, and thin sliced celery and green onions. Sprinkle salt, pepper to your taste. Drizzled a healthy portion of olive oil. Continue with more layers in the same manner. Serve immediately or chill up to overnight. We usually serve with grated parmesan cheese. This dish has evolved over the generations in our family...I'm the only one who uses the green bean (because they are seasonally compatible), my auntie adds black olives and my son adds diced bacon. Suitable for breakfast, lunch or dinner. At breakfast, mix everything but the eggs, then lay a gently poached egg over the salad.
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CSA Inspirations from Lauren
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We’re getting more lettuce this week and as you build salads this week, I want you to keep texture in mind. Every salad needs some good crunchies (crunchies is an Official Culinary Term). Romaine always seems pretty floppy to me and definately needs some enhancement. Croutons are the traditional crunch of choice and are helpful for using leftover bread. Toasted nuts come in at a very close second and pumpkin seeds always seem to be overlooked, as well as golden brown baked garbanzo beans. These can be spiced before roasting to add even more flavor, think of adding cayenne or curry powder or garlic powder. If you’re feeling especially experimental, you can now find freeze dried fruit like pear and apple slices or strawberries at most grocery stores in the snack aisle and those are fantastic on top of a salad tossed with a mustardy dressing.
The only problem that crunchies pose in salads is that they tend to roll off a fork easily but then a spoon doesn’t properly spear the dressing slick leaves and sporks never functioned well for much of anything besides accidentally spearing a tongue. Maybe we should develop some salad mitts that could go over the fingers, salads always seems like they would be best scooped with a hand. The best salads are massaged and tossed by hands as it seems like a shame to go to all the work just to watch dinner guests struggle with get each bite perfect. If anyone has any salad mitt design insight, please send it my way.
I’ve provided a recipe for lemon flavored toasted almond for your salad and snacking enjoyment this week.
Lemon-y Toasted Almonds
Technique from “Salad for President: A Cookbook Inspired by Artists” by Julia Sherman
¾ cup (105 g) whole raw almonds
Grated zest and juice of one small lemon
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 TB olive oil
Coarsely chop the almonds, making sure they are at least in half. If you are brave you can tackle this with a chef’s knife or you can just pour the almonds in a gallon plastic bag, close it and lay it flat, and then roll over the bag with a rolling pin or just thwacking at the bag if the nuts are too squirmy. Dump the almonds into a small bowl and toss with the lemon juice and zest. Allow them to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and add the oil and sea salt to the almonds. Toss to coat evenly. Spread the nuts in a thin layer on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper if you got it). Bake for 20 minutes until very deep brown, making sure to stir occasionally so that they get cooked evenly. Let them cool completely before adding to a salad and they can be kept for a week in an airtight container.
-Lauren Haun
WEI Volunteer & Food Writer
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STAR TRIBUNE PROJECT
Women's Environmental Institute & Amador Hill Farm are proud to be a part of the Star Tribune's summer long series "Out of the Box: Getting the Most Out of Your CSA". This summer they are hosting a private Facebook group to provide shareholders and farmers market shoppers to dialogue, share and learn how to use amazing fresh seasonal local produce! They will have visiting chefs and great information about eating local. Amador Hill Farm will provide two CSA boxes to the project this summer and our shareholders are encouraged to join and participate in the discussions on line!
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WEI's Amador Hill Farm & Orchard is
organically certified by MOSA.
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Interested in getting more involved with the
Women's Environmental Institute?
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15715 RIVER ROAD, NORTH BRANCH, MN 55056
651-583-0705 - wei@w-e-i.org -
WEBSITE
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