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Week 17 Share:
(**
see note, below
)
Arugula
Carrots
Celery
Garlic
Lettuce
Onions:
yellow
Peppers
Spinach
Squash:
Festival
EOW will also receive:
Pears
Squash:
spaghetti
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Dear Members of Turtle Creek Gardens,
For our Every Other Week A Group, this marks the last summer box of the season. We thank you for your support of our farm and we hope you have enjoyed the vegetables this season despite the difficulties the weather had on many of our crops.
Group B and Summer Full Share members receive one more box, on Week 18.
For those members continuing with a Fall CSA subscription:
Fall CSA Delivery Schedule:
- Week 1: Wed. October 24th/Thurs. October 25th
- Week 2: Wed. November 7th/Thurs. November 8th
- Week 3: **Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, all deliveries will take place on Wednesday, November 21st
The Farm Store will open in conjunction with Fall deliveries, every other week.
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** NOTE:
Pack list is subject to change due to weather or harvest conditions.
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Community
One of the nuggets of a CSA and principle reason for a CSA is the community and relationship building that occurs. These past couple weeks some of our members--to whom we are utterly grateful--have come to our aid, assisting us with tasks on the farm. It’s difficult to build relationship when boxes are dropped off at sites for so many of you we have never met. Communication through our newsletters brings us hope that we reach you nonetheless vicariously through the words we express in these weekly updates, bringing you a glimpse of our lives here on the farm.
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As tradition goes, we typically have an annual harvest festival so that we can express our thanks by opening our doors, giving tours and bringing a festive finale to the end of a season. This year, however, we decided not to have our annual event due to the stresses we’ve encountered and the tensions of the work before us. I feel as though we’ve slighted our membership of this opportunity to celebrate, break bread together and enjoy the successes of another season fulfilled. One of the band members from the group of musicians that usually plays at this event has offered to come with another musician and have a less formal night of music.
These gestures of support have really touched me deeply as I am reassured that what we are doing, growing food, is somehow resonating in this communal act of building relationship. When I scan our CSA list of members, most of you have been with us for the long haul, which is also a testimony of the dedication to the philosophical aspects of a CSA. I know that people care about transparency in the food they eat, the way it’s grown, buying local, and supporting the farms directly. It shows in the names that I have come to know all these years. You’ve accepted the risk along with us and stuck with the bigger belief that this model matters.
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Over the past 3-4 years our CSA membership has been declining about 15% annually. This decline is not unique to our farm but represents the experience of most CSAs across the country. There are many factors at play affecting this. Accessibility to locally/organically grown food is more widespread through farmers markets, grocery stores, and prepared foods. The ability to choose the foods you’re most likely to purchase is also more accessible. The demographics of those who grew up with the CSA movement is an aging one and now we are entering a new generation. The organic food industry is continuing to grow, and more and more organic foods are on the grocery shelves in most every grocery store.
So, it’s not that people don’t care; it’s what we wanted in the first place: accessibility. Although there are caveats in this scenario:
- Transparency: It’s vital to the well-being of a resilient food system, especially a local/regional one.
- Relationship: Know where your food is coming from and how it is grown and produced.
- Economics: Creating economic models, like a CSA, where more value goes directly to the farmers to help strengthen viability for even the small to mid-size farm.
There is still much work to be done and I still have hope that the nuggets that the CSA model has built this movement on will be applied perhaps in new ways for a changing world.
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Ingredients:
2 LB carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on the diagonal
½ c. slivered almonds
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ c. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 t. honey
1 T. cider vinegar
1/3 c. dried cranberries
4 oz crumbled Danish blue cheese
2 c. arugula
Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine carrots, almonds, and garlic in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake carrots in preheated oven until soft and edges turn brown, about 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature.
Once cool, return the carrots to the mixing bowl, and drizzle with honey and vinegar; toss until coated. Add cranberries and blue cheese; toss again until evenly mixed. Combine with arugula and serve immediately.
Yield: 6 servings
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Ingredient
1 LB (2¼ c.) red beans, washed, picked over and soaked for 6 hours or overnight in 2 quarts water
2 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium or large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced, divided 2/4
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large or 2 small green bell peppers, cut in small dice
2 T. sweet Hungarian paprika
2 T. tomato paste
1 bay leaf
Salt
1 t. oregano
Pinch of cayenne
2 T. red wine vinegar
½ t. sugar
Freshly ground pepper
½ c. minced fresh parsley, or a combination of parsley and dill
½ c. Greek yogurt for topping
Method:
Drain beans through a strainer set over a bowl. Place beans in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Measure the soaking water in the bowl, and add enough water to it to measure 2½ quarts. Add this to the pot with the beans, turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle boil. Skim off any foam and/or bean skins.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add onions, carrots and peppers. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are tender and fragrant, about 8-10 minutes. Add 2 of the garlic cloves and continue to cook for another minute or so, until garlic is fragrant.
Season to taste with salt, add another tablespoon of oil and the paprika. Cook, stirring, for a couple minutes, until vegetables are well coated with paprika and mixture is aromatic. Add a ladleful of simmering water from the beans to the pan, stir with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, scraping bottom and sides of pan to deglaze, then stir vegetable mixture into beans. Add tomato paste and bay leaf, reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour.
Add oregano, the remaining garlic cloves, salt to taste, cayenne, vinegar and sugar, and continue to simmer for another hour. The beans should be thoroughly tender and the broth thick and fragrant. Taste and adjust salt, and add more cayenne if desired. For a thicker stew, strain out 1 heaped cup of beans with a little liquid and purée. Stir back into the stew.
Just before serving, stir in the parsley. Serve over noodles or thick slices of country bread, topping each portion with a large dollop of yogurt.
Tip: Advance preparation: This stew tastes best a day after it is made, and even better two days later.
Yield: 6 servings
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Sausage & Spinach Stuffed Squash
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Ingredients:
2 medium acorn or Festival squash, halved and seeds removed
3 sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
2 T. minced garlic
1⁄2 c. onion, finely chopped
1⁄8 c. dry white wine or 1⁄8 cup chicken broth
3 c. chopped spinach
1⁄8 c. dried sage, crushed
olive oil
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
shredded mozzarella cheese
1⁄3 c. panko breadcrumbs
balsamic vinegar (optional)
Method:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Slice squash in half horizontally, scoop out seeds.
Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and place flesh side down on well-oiled baking sheet; roast for 20 minutes. Turn flesh side up and roast another 20-30 minutes until fork tender.
Meanwhile, heat 1 T. oil in heavy skillet and saute sausage over medium heat, breaking into chunks and cook until browned about 8-10 minutes. Add sage, onion, garlic; saute another 2-3 minutes to release herb and garlic flavors. Pour in white wine; stir bits from bottom of skillet, and simmer until almost all liquid is evaporated.
Add spinach and wilt 2-3 minutes. Drain liquid from spinach. Remove from heat.
Stir in bread crumbs.
Divide stuffing among squash halves, mounding, if needed. Top with cheese. Place under preheated broiler for 2-4 minutes until golden brown.
To serve: Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, if desired.
Yield: 4 servings
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Arugula, Celery & Pear Salad
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Ingredients:
2 t. extra-virgin olive oil
2 t. champagne vinegar
2 medium stalks celery, thinly sliced on the bias
2 c. arugula
1 pear or apple, sliced
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Method:
Whisk together oil and vinegar in a large bowl. Add celery, arugula, and pear; season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
Yield: 4 servings
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Thanks to CSA member Mary L. for sharing kitchen notes on her favorite ways to use the produce from her CSA box this summer.
Mary says,
"Each time I receive my CSA box of fruits and vegetables, I try to come up with recipes that “mets en valeur” the quality and wonderful taste. And I always use fresh herbs from my TCG-sourced herb garden. Sometimes, as with TCG tomatoes and melons, it takes nothing more than cutting them and putting them on a plate—the flavors need no adornment.
"I made a delicious dinner with TCG vegetables. The onions, garlic and cilantro went into a spicy guacamole; two bunches of leeks were slowly cooked for 50 minutes in a cast iron pan in a mixture of butter and olive oil (3 ounces each) until caramelized, and served underneath poached salmon. The caramelized leeks would also go well with chicken with the addition of thyme, rosemary and a tablespoon or two of heavy cream."
Mary also recommends these recipes with squash, shallots and arugula:
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Turtle Creek Gardens, LLC | 262-441-0520 |
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