Newsletter, August 20

NICK’S FARM REPORT

August 20, 2010

Happy August everyone! We are on the downhill side of the season here, and nothing but good stuff to look forward to, produce-wise. The final seedings and plantings are going in the ground in the next couple of weeks, and the weeds have mostly given up trying to take over the garden, so things feel a lot more relaxed, which is nice.

Of course, anytime you’re on the farm and you start to relax, you need to look around for what you’re forgetting. The next big job we’re eyeing is the final chicken processing, and then the turkeys!

You will find in the bag this week some familiar things, and one new-ish item is the yellow wax beans. This is an item we meant to get to you earlier this year, but we had a failed seeding due to cold soil, so we bought them in from a neighboring farm. This is the Prairie Crossing Learning Farm, which is staffed by a group of enthusiastic high school students and presided over by an ace teacher/farmer. It is always nice to see young people around learning how the magic happens on the farm.

Also you will find some eggs in the bag, some of which are in a re-used egg carton. Pay no attention to the label on those, all the eggs came from us. Some of you will find that your eggs are different colors than you usually see as well. If you are one of the lucky folks who have a blue or green bunch of eggs, congratulations, you are eating eggs that were layed by our Auricauna chickens, bred to throw the pastel delights you received. They taste and cook just the same as the brown and white ones though, don’t worry.

In the CSA Bag This Week:

Kennebec baking potatoes – These potatoes have been partially cured, and will store for a few weeks in a cool place. A good baker and masher.

Yellow wax beans – Use these the same as you would a green bean, they are a nice presentation item in salads and soups.

Roquette Arugula – A tender, peppery mustard good in salads. Store in a plastic bag in the fridge.

Baby beet greens – These baby beet greens are tender and delicious, and can be sautéed or used as a salad green. The baby beets can be grilled, boiled, steamed, or roasted in a 350°F oven until tender. We recommend removing the baby beets from the greens and storing both separately, in your fridge, in a plastic bag.

Tomatoes – Store tomatoes on your kitchen counter.

Beets – An excellent storage item, good cut thin for salads, cut thick and hearty for soups, excellent roasted with other root crops, and good for pickling as well. Kept in the lowest drawer in your fridge, wrapped in a bag, these will keep well into the winter.

Chicken eggs – These will keep in your fridge for over a month, but they have the best quality eaten fresh.

Summer Squash – These also store best in the warmer parts of your fridge.

I know it’s awfully hot out still to be turning on the oven or the stove, so these recipes are good if there is a break in the weather, or if you have a really solid air conditioner. Otherwise, maybe do like us and just put those beets and potatoes in a cool dry place, make up a salad, put it next to a beer, and wait for August to be over!

- Nick

Sesame Potato Salad

Dressing:

2 parts olive oil

1 part sesame oil

2 parts soy sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

1-2 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds (optional)

(For a full share bag, this should be about ¾ cup of dressing. A half share would be about half that.)

Take about all the potatoes in this week’s bag, and half the wax beans. Cut them into bite-sized pieces, and boil them until tender. Drain off the water, and put the beans and potatoes in your serving bowl. Add the olive oil, sesame oil, and soy sauce and stir it all up. After that, if you have them, throw in the roasted sesame seeds and give it one last mix-up. If you can, put it in the fridge overnight so all the flavors get good and into the beans and potatoes. Serve cold.

Have you ever made Fritatta?

It’s easy! And so much nicer in the morning than cereal!

So: Take a squash, and cut it into thin slices, and sauté it in some butter or light oil in a skillet. Before the squash is quite cooked, add a bunch of chopped-up beet greens to the pan and sauté them and the squash until the leaves are limp, but not too wilted. Make sure you have a pie pan, and then beat about half a dozen eggs in a bowl (it is no good to beat all the eggs and then find out you don’t have a pie pan). Salt and pepper the eggs to taste, I go with about a teaspoon of each to start with. Oil the pie pan with butter or oil very liberally, and pour the beaten eggs into the pie pan. Add the sautéed vegetables to the eggs, and stir them in a bit to make sure they are covered by the egg. Now, slice a tomato and put the slices on top of it all, and pop it in the oven at 350 degrees until set, maybe 40 minutes. Serve hot, or cold as an antipasto.

One thing that is good is to add about a half a cup of grated cheddar cheese to the egg and vegetable mix before you put the tomatoes on, but this recipe will work well without it.