Walking around the farm this time of year is always a treat, there are so many delicious veggies to munch on. The apple and pear trees are also very heavy this year and the crew had their first taste of harvesting them this week, yummy crab apples. Hopefully the fruit looks good enough to include in your boxes, since we don’t spray the apples are usually very wormy, but the pears are excellent!
In your box this week:
Full Shares:
Irish Cobbler Potatoes
Mesclun
Mustard Braising Greens
Pickling Cucumbers
Ailsa Craig Onions
Green Filet Beans
Fennel
Cherry Tomato Mix
Half Shares:
Irish Cobbler Potatoes
Mesclun
Mustard Braising Greens
Boothby Blonde Cucumbers
Heirloom Tomatoes
Ailsa Craig Onions
Cabbage
Green Filet Beans
Creamy Braising Greens Soup
Ingredients
1 slice thick-cut bacon, diced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound sausage, dried chorizo or smoked sausage, diced
6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
7 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 1/2 cups mixed braising greens, such as kale, Swiss chard, mustard greens and dandelion greens, thoroughly washed, stems removed, and cut into very fine strips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)
Coarsely ground black pepper
Sauté bacon in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, reserving drippings in pan. Crumble bacon when cool. Add onion and carrot to pan; cook over medium heat until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and sausage; cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Add potatoes and broth; stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes. Add greens, cream and salt and continue to simmer until soup is thoroughly heated, about 5 minutes. Add hot sauce, if using, and black pepper to taste.
This is one of our favorite recipes and if you’re a vegetarian it’s just as good without the meats. Enjoy!
Matt and Heather and the Sparrow Arc Crew
Friday, August 19, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
CSA Newsletter 08.12.11
At this point in the season, there’s a great rhythm going on in the fields and we are able to sit back and enjoy the process as a whole. The kitchen is full of veggies to be processed and put up. Maybe some of you are doing the same?! Our baby girl will be starting foods this winter and there will be peas, green beans, and summer squash ready for her to try. Pickles are always in demand around here too and if you have never made them you can always start with a simple refrigerator recipe. Being able to enjoy the harvest during the cold months is always such a treat.
In your box this week:
Full Shares
Heirloom Tomatoes
Potatoes
Scallions
Mesclun
Wild Arugula
Boothby Blonde Cucumber
Summer Squash
Rainbow Chard
Half Shares
Cherry Tomatoes
Potatoes
Scallions
Mesclun
Wild Arugula
Rainbow Chard
Swiss Chard with Parmesan and Lemon
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and center ribs cut out and chopped together, leaves coarsely chopped separately
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt to taste (optional)
Directions
1. Melt butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and onion, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the chard stems and the white wine. Simmer until the stems begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chard leaves, and cook until wilted. Finally, stir in lemon juice and Parmesan cheese; season to taste with salt if needed.
~Matt and Heather
In your box this week:
Full Shares
Heirloom Tomatoes
Potatoes
Scallions
Mesclun
Wild Arugula
Boothby Blonde Cucumber
Summer Squash
Rainbow Chard
Half Shares
Cherry Tomatoes
Potatoes
Scallions
Mesclun
Wild Arugula
Rainbow Chard
Swiss Chard with Parmesan and Lemon
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and center ribs cut out and chopped together, leaves coarsely chopped separately
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt to taste (optional)
Directions
1. Melt butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and onion, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the chard stems and the white wine. Simmer until the stems begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chard leaves, and cook until wilted. Finally, stir in lemon juice and Parmesan cheese; season to taste with salt if needed.
~Matt and Heather
CSA Newsletter 08.05.11
Another lovely week here on the farm and the rain keeps falling. August and September are my favorite months to eat on the farm, since July is usually too hot I’m glad to see it go. We lost one of our core crew members this week, due to family illness, and will be losing three more once school starts. The crew this year has been amazing and once again the farm season is flying by!
In your box this week:
Full Shares:
-Mesclun
-Arugula
-Frisee
-Golden Beets
-Ailsa Craig Onions
-Summer Squash
-Scallions
-Arrowhead Cabbage
-French Breakfast Radishes
Half Shares
-Mesclun
-Arugula
-Ailsa Craig Onions
-Green Filet Beans
-Summer Squash
-Scallions
-Arrowhead Cabbage
-French Breakfast Radishes
Roasted Stuffed Onions
• 10 medium red and yellow onions (4 lb)
• 1 lb sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch-wide pieces
• 3 celery ribs, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 15 oz baby spinach, trimmed and coarsely chopped (14 cups)
• 1 (9-inch) round loaf country-style bread (1 1/4 lb), cut into 1/2-inch cubes (10 cups), lightly toasted
• 2 cups salted roasted cashews (10 oz), coarsely chopped
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/4 chicken or vegetable stock
Preparation
Make onion shells:
Cut a 1/2-inch-thick slice from tops of onions, discarding tops, and trim just enough from bottoms for onions to stand upright. Scoop out all but outer 2 or 3 layers from each using a small ice cream scoop or spoon (don't worry if you make a hole in the bottom), reserving scooped-out onion and onion shells separately.
Make stuffing:
Coarsely chop enough scooped-out onion to measure 3 cups.
Cook bacon in 2 batches in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp, about 10 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, reserving about 1/3 cup fat in skillet.
Add chopped onion, celery, salt, and pepper to skillet and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring, until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in spinach, bread, cashews, butter, 1 cup stock, and bacon, then cool completely.
Roast onions:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Arrange onion shells, open sides up, in a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan, then add 1/2cup water and cover pan tightly with foil. Roast onions in middle of oven until tender but not falling apart, 25 to 30 minutes.
Stuff and bake onions:
Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
Transfer shells to a work surface and pour off water in pan. Fill shells with stuffing, mounding it, and return to pan. Reserve 5 to 7 cups stuffing for turkey cavity, then put remaining stuffing in a buttered shallow 3 1/2-quart baking dish and drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup stock. Bake stuffed onions and stuffing in dish in middle of oven, uncovered, until heated through, about 25 minutes.
~Matt and Heather and the Sparrow Arc Crew
In your box this week:
Full Shares:
-Mesclun
-Arugula
-Frisee
-Golden Beets
-Ailsa Craig Onions
-Summer Squash
-Scallions
-Arrowhead Cabbage
-French Breakfast Radishes
Half Shares
-Mesclun
-Arugula
-Ailsa Craig Onions
-Green Filet Beans
-Summer Squash
-Scallions
-Arrowhead Cabbage
-French Breakfast Radishes
Roasted Stuffed Onions
• 10 medium red and yellow onions (4 lb)
• 1 lb sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch-wide pieces
• 3 celery ribs, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 15 oz baby spinach, trimmed and coarsely chopped (14 cups)
• 1 (9-inch) round loaf country-style bread (1 1/4 lb), cut into 1/2-inch cubes (10 cups), lightly toasted
• 2 cups salted roasted cashews (10 oz), coarsely chopped
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/4 chicken or vegetable stock
Preparation
Make onion shells:
Cut a 1/2-inch-thick slice from tops of onions, discarding tops, and trim just enough from bottoms for onions to stand upright. Scoop out all but outer 2 or 3 layers from each using a small ice cream scoop or spoon (don't worry if you make a hole in the bottom), reserving scooped-out onion and onion shells separately.
Make stuffing:
Coarsely chop enough scooped-out onion to measure 3 cups.
Cook bacon in 2 batches in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp, about 10 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, reserving about 1/3 cup fat in skillet.
Add chopped onion, celery, salt, and pepper to skillet and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring, until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in spinach, bread, cashews, butter, 1 cup stock, and bacon, then cool completely.
Roast onions:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Arrange onion shells, open sides up, in a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan, then add 1/2cup water and cover pan tightly with foil. Roast onions in middle of oven until tender but not falling apart, 25 to 30 minutes.
Stuff and bake onions:
Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
Transfer shells to a work surface and pour off water in pan. Fill shells with stuffing, mounding it, and return to pan. Reserve 5 to 7 cups stuffing for turkey cavity, then put remaining stuffing in a buttered shallow 3 1/2-quart baking dish and drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup stock. Bake stuffed onions and stuffing in dish in middle of oven, uncovered, until heated through, about 25 minutes.
~Matt and Heather and the Sparrow Arc Crew
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