AMADOR HILL FARM & ORCHARD Certified Organic - Locally Grown - Sustainably Farmed

CSA Box #7 Friday August 10th

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Dear CSA Shareholders, Summer time is the best in August! Just today we found a few ripe tomatoes. You can rest assured that tomatoes will be piling up in your boxes in the following weeks. It has been a long but not unusal wait. Our eggplants are a mystery this year. Last year we could not stop their avid productivity -- this year they are large and sturdy with sparse bloom, but we hope to see more progress soon. The winter sqaush and melons are racing for the fence -- literally growing across the field with bloom and vine vigor. This week we did a lot of direct seeding and transplanting for fall crops. Only the semi-drought conditions on Amador Hill cause some challenge for our farm crew, but spirits are high and our energy levels with the cool morning starts are positive. We wish for more rain. Oddly Amador Hill remains dry while all around us it rains. Clouds and thunder pass over us as they drop down in Wisconsin or spend out earlier in the Twin Cities or Cambridge. We thank the aquifer that modestly feeds our drip tapes as we grow and flourish in the third month of summer 2018. Enjoy the corn this week and thank you for returning your CSA boxes to your drop site. Please watch out for the hot peppers in the box. You will find a sampling from our harvest of Cayenne, Ring O'Fire or Hot Thai. Consume with care.      Blessings, Jacquelyn

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

WHAT'S IN THE BOX THIS WEEK

Sweet Corn This is a much anticipated time of year, Minnesota Sweet Corn Season!  The first corn harvest of the year is always something special, the ears are young, tender, very, very sweet!  Be sure to try one ear raw when you unpack your box! For the rest, you can use a basic preparation, boiling ears for 5-10 minutes depending on the size and maturity of the corn. Check out the recipes below for roasting and more. Storage: Your corn will taste best if you keep it chilled and use it within 2 to 3 days. When you get your CSA box home, wrap the cobs with damp paper towels and store in the crisping drawer of your refrigerator. Or you can remove the husks and silks and store bare cobs in sealed plastic bags.

Kohlrabi A unique cruciferous, with a crunchy bulb and crisp leaves, both are edible, tasty and full of nutrients, particularly Vitamin C. Sometimes called a Cabbage Turnip, you will notice the leaves are similar in texture and flavor to cabbage, while the bulb is dense and crisp – a bit like a turnip. Their mild flavor make them good for snacking on raw or  adding to salads or slaws.  The skin can be tough, so you may choose to peel the skin using a carrot peeler. Smaller bulbs have a more tender texture and nice flavor.  Storage: Remove the leaves and store separately like you would cabbage, loosely wrapped in plastic, they will last a few days in the refrigerator. Store the bulbs wrapped in plastic for up to two weeks.

Georgian Crystal Garlic This wonderful early garlic variety is a good introduction to Amador Hill’s farm fresh garlic. Milder than many of our other varieties - less spicy but very rich and distinct, the large cloves of Georgian Crystal Garlic has a flavor that holds well when cooked.   Tip: to avoid a bitterness, do not overcook your garlic. When sautéing, keep your butter or oil at a medium to medium high heat and sauté just 1 or 2 minutes without browning. See Lauren's recommendations for using your garlic in pesto. Storage: When kept in in a cool dark place your garlic will last through winter.

Hot Peppers Spice up your cooking this week! We are packing Cayenne Pepper and Ring of Fire Thai Chili Peppers randomly between boxes, so you will see one or the other variety. Both are moderately hot peppers, good for adding heat to a dish without an intense pepper flavor. You will see more hot peppers in coming weeks, including Ghost Peppers, for those heat loving shareholders!  Storage: Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about a week. To dry your peppers, you can string with culinary thread in a warm dry place, ideally in the sun, for a bout a week. Dried chiles will last indefinitely in an open jar in your cupboard.

Radishes Mix We have a mix of radishes for you this week, you may find French Breakfast, Crunchy Royal or Cherry Bell. . . our top radish varieties.  Storage: Remove the rubber band and remove the greens from the radishes. Store greens and radishes separately, unwashed in plastic bags in the crisper drawer of the fridge. Greens will last only a few days and radishes will last for a few weeks. Greens are full of nutrients, use them mixed into a Kale salad.

Red Norland Potatoes These are a classic red potato you’ll love for potato salad, breakfast potatoes or serving boiled. Storage: Stored in a cool dark place these potatoes will last for several weeks. When you cook your potatoes, keep the skins on for flavor and added fiber. Give a gentle wash just prior to cooking.

Assortment for the week: In addition to the list or produce described above, you'll see some of familiar items like various cucumber, zucchini and summer squash.

FARM SHARE RECIPES & TIPS

Recipe links and tips for using your Farm Share Produce Together This Week: Five Ways to Prepare Kohlrabi Mexican Street Corn Brown-Butter Glazed Radish and Kohlrabi Zucchini and Corn Summer Salad

TIPS ON COOKING SWEET CORN OVER FIRE Roasted Sweet Corn is a special later summer treat in Minnesota! While boiled sweet corn is the common tradition and serves to showcase the intense sweetness, roasting Minnesota grown corn over fire enhances the flavor adding depth and a complimentary smokiness. Here are a few tips on roasting corn. Remove the silks- pull back the husks without removing, then remove the silks by hand or using a gentle vegetable brush like a mushroom brush, then pull the husks back over the corn Soak the Corn- once you've removed the silk and re-wrapped the corn in it's husks, submerge in water for 15-20 minutes, up to an hour. You can use your sink or a cooler filled with water to soak a large volume of corn. Medium Hot Grill- Heat your coals to a medium heat, lay corn evenly over the grate, avoiding any known 'hot spots', grill your corn for about 20 minutes, turning periodically as the husks begin to char Glaze - if you like a glaze on your corn, grill with husks on for about 12-15 minutes, then using a tongs or grill gloves carefully pull back the husks, placing the ears directly on the grate. Brush the corn with a glaze of your choosing – and cook another 5-7 minutes, turning frequently and brushing with more of the glaze.  Sesame Oil, ginger, lime, salt and Sriracha and honey Garlic, basil, olive oil, lemon juice Paprika, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, s&p Maple Syrup, chipotle pepper, garlic, s&p Over the Campfire – create a bed of hot embers away from the direct flames, lay your corn, wrapped in husks, tightly in the bed of embers, and roast for about 12 minutes turning once.

CSA Inspirations from Lauren

Culinary fatigue continues this week and it seems like I’ve been getting pillowcases full of pesto from the CSA box and friends alike. I finally decided to give into my pesto resistance and make a batch. The things that most pesto recipes forget to mention is the recipe is HIGHLY flexible. I have maybe used pine nuts in pesto once, but they cost $4,398 per pound so I just skip it. I had some walnuts in my pantry, along with some pumpkin seeds that I needed to use up so I did a half and half mixture of both types of nuts. I used handfuls of basil but then also threw in a bit of the rosemary because I figured it would bring a bit of richness to the flavors. I ran out of olive oil midway through blending the pesto so I just used regular canola, realizing that the fresh garlic (mmmm) would overpower the subtle fruitiness of good olive oil anyways. By the entire of the entire improvisational process, I had a small jar of pesto that I could slather on warm pasta, grilled squash or my personal favorite: chopped cucumbers. HIGHLY ADAPTABLE PESTO RECIPE 6 handfuls of fresh basil leaves (add other greens like kale/spinach, carrot or beet greens, if you don’t have enough basil) 1/2 cup walnuts/pumpkin seeds/almonds/cashews (quickly toast in a dry pan first) 4-6 cloves garlic ½ tsp of salt Fresh ground black pepper ¼ to ½ cup of olive oil 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or any other hard cheese (a hard goat cheese would be LOVELY) In a food processor, or even with a stick blender if you’re feeling brave, mix together the basil/greens, nuts, garlic and olive oil until less than chunky but more textured than smooth. Think PASTE not SOUP. Once it is well combined, add salt and pepper to taste and stir in the cheese. Pulse again if you want it well combined or leave as is if you like having the interesting cheese bits in the pesto. The pesto lasts about a week in the fridge, it will oxidize and turn brown just like an avocado. To prevent this, make sure there is always a thin layer of oil on top or just press down a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the pesto so air cannot make contact. This will allow it to retain a lovely green color :) Lauren Haun -volunteer and food writer

VISIT THE FARM

Pizza on the Orchard with Vitali Pizza! WEDNESDAY AUGUST 15, 22, 19 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm $18 for 12" Pizza  $15 if pre-ordered 24 hours ahead: BUY NOW Jeff Vitali, local family Italian cook and Amador Hill farm hand prepares  Vitali Pizza  in our outdoor brick oven using fresh local ingredients from WEI’s  North Circle Food Hub  partners: Heritage Pizza Flour Sunrise Flour Mill, North Branch All natural European Style Cheese Eichten’s Artisan Cheese, Center City Fresh organic, USDA suitably raised meats Ferris Family Farm, Cambridge Seasonal selection of vegetables & herbs grown on local, organic, sustainable farms including   WEI’s Amador Hill Farm, North Branch Pizza on the Orchard  Amador Hill Farm & Orchard 15715 RIVER ROAD, NORTH BRANCH (Amador Township), MN Two more dates - Wednesdays August 15th & 22nd

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

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! Join the Star Tribune Out of the Box Facebook Group Visit the Star Tribune Out of the Box Website Be sure to like Amador Hill Farm & Orchard on Facebook too - please share your photos, recipes and questions! We love your input!

WEI's Amador Hill Farm & Orchard produce is organically certified by MOSA.

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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