CSA Members 2009: Newsletter Archive

Summer Delivery #8

Dear CSA Members,

Thank you to everyone who attended our Open House! The weather cooled down just enough to enjoy the shade of the apple trees, eat delicious snacks (if I may say so myself) and listen to the talent of Southern Skies. We are now looking forward to our final event of the season: the Second Annual Barn Stomp! Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets.

These hot temperatures have really kicked our Summer vegetables into high gear, so this week's box is a reflection of that abundance. If you are overwhelmed by the amount of produce you're receiving today, please think of it as a great opportunity to share with the neighbors who have been talking about joining the farm…and tell them that we're still accepting new members!

You will also notice that you're receiving twice the usual amount of flowers. Many of our lilies matured in the last two weeks, making our cooler into a tangled jungle of stems and stacks. We are sharing this abundance with you to ease the cooler squeeze and to brighten your homes with the sweet fragrance of lilies.

Today's harvest brings the first sweet onions of the season. Grown from Walla Walla seed, this renowned variety of onions may better be called Boistfort onions, given their distance from the fields of Walla Walla. Their excellent flavor brings us to grow them year after year, and they are an early season staple, much before the yellow and red onions of Autumn.

More Summer squash today, and along with it, our excellent Zucchini bread recipe. Use a mix of squash or just zucchini-it's easy and tasty no matter what. We have also included a variety of fresh beans. They're perfect just eaten raw as a snack, sautéed with the Summer savory and Walla Walla onion, or combined for a salad. I have included easy instructions below to blanch and freeze them for Winter meals. Also, a second round of apricots from Sunnyslope Ranch is included today. Leave them on your counter for a day or two to maximize flavor and let them soften a bit.

Cucumbers also make an appearance, and much earlier than usual! The yellow cucumber is called Boothby's Blonde. It's an heirloom variety that we stumbled upon in the Fedco seed catalog, and we much prefer it over the lemon cucumbers we once grew. It's sweet and crunchy, and produces an abundance of fat yellow cucumbers.

Freezing Green Beans

See complete directions at: pickyourown.org/beansfreezing.htm.

Clean and trim both ends of beans. Submerge in boiling water for 3 minutes, then scoop out beans carefully and dunk into icy cold water immediately. Drain well and pack into vacuum seal or freezer bags. Beans will last several months in the freezer-longer with the vacuum seal bags.

Chard and Feta Pie

Big Bunches of Chard All Baked Into a Pie
(Passed on by our local farms coordinator at the Olympia Food Co-op)

ingredients

• 1 pie crust
• 4 cups chopped chard
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4+ cloves garlic, chopped
• basil, rosemary, and thyme, to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• a splash of balsamic vinaigrette
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups feta cheese

procedure

Prepare 1 pie crust, or use a frozen one. Sauté onions, garlic, and spices. Add greens to sauté and cook until you see a color change. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar. Mix sauté, egg, and 3/4 cup feta in a large bowl, then spread out into the pie shell. Crumble remaining feta on top and bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes.

from CSA Eating Locally, Cooking Seasonally Cookbook, recipe by Tal Shatz, Sauk Mountain Farm

Zucchini Bread

Makes two large loaves and freezes really well.

ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1-3/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup light vegetable oil
• 2-1/2 cups peeled, grated zucchini
• 2-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 c walnut or hazelnut oil

procedure

Beat the eggs, then add sugar, mixing well. Add the oil, zucchini and vanilla, mix well. Sift the dry ingredients and slowly add to the sugar mixture. Stir until well blended. Add the nut oil and stir.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 55-60 minutes in two greased (9x5x3) loaf pans.

Cool on wire racks and refrigerate or freeze. May be served with cream cheese frosting as a cake.

Adapted from One United Harvest, by Julie Sochacki