THE BEET: VOLUME 17; WEEK 10

 

FULL SHARE & GREEN HALF SHARE

PICK UP TONIGHT

Pick up today: 5pm - 7:30pm at PS 56 on the corner of Gates and Downing

This Week's Share

  • ‘Magenta’ lettuce
  • Cabbage
  • Zucchinis or yellow squashes
  • Red bunched beets
  • Yellow onions
  • 'German Red' garlic
  • Sweet peppers
  • Tomatoes
  • Bunched 'Genovese' basil
  • Sweet corn or cucumbers
  • Fruit: organic cantaloupes
  • Flowers: lisianthus or mixed bouquets

Letter from Windflower Farm

Delivery #10, Week of August 6th, 2018

This week’s share

‘Magenta’ lettuce, cabbage, zucchinis or yellow squashes, red bunched beets, yellow onions, 'German Red' garlic, sweet peppers, tomatoes, bunched 'Genovese' basil and, depending on your site, sweet corn or cucumbers. Next week’s share will include more from this list along with freshly dug red potatoes. Your fruit will be our organic cantaloupes, and your flowers will be lisianthus or mixed bouquets, depending on your site.

What’s new on the farm

The farm staff has lunch together nearly every day, sitting at a large table and eating food often made from produce grown on the farm (but nearly as often made by a fast food chain or poured from a can). Everyone is responsible for their own lunch except on Wednesdays, when we eat potluck. We usually choose a theme for the meal, and it’s usually Mexican food, largely because we have several good cooks here who happen to be Mexican. And several others who prepare Mexican foods quite well. Although Candelaria makes excellent tamales, and committees from St. Anne’s Catholic church and the Village of Cambridge knock on her door regularly in hopes of including them among the food offerings at their various festivals, my favorite contributions to the Wednesday potluck are her brother Martin’s tostadas (I haven’t developed a taste for the lard that tamales seem to require). He coats his tostadas with a generous helping of mayonnaise and then adds layers of steamed potatoes and carrots and shredded cabbage. The whole concoction is topped off with fresh salsa and cilantro. Simple country Mexican. And, for me, a perfect lunch      

Open house on the farm

This year’s open house on the farm will take place on the weekend of August 25th and 26th. We invite you to join us and to see where your vegetables come from and to meet the staff! RSVP to tedblomgren@gmail.com. Camping on the farm is encouraged - all kinds of sites are available within an easy walk of the barns, running water, toilets and electricity. Airbnb.com has listings in nearby Cambridge and Greenwich if you’d rather not camp. Kids and leashed pets are welcome.  Please bring a dish to pass for the Saturday evening potluck. We won’t be able to make a stove or microwave available. Come prepared for mud and bugs and rain, just in case. Bring a tent and sleeping bag. The event will be held rain or shine. Below is a rough itinerary.

Saturday, August 25th:
CSA members are welcome to arrive any time after noon. 
12:00 pm and onward: Set up camp, meet other CSA members, visit the chickens and greenhouses
3:00 pm: Windflower Farm tour with Ted (tractor and wagon ride)
4:30 pm: Cheese and local wine tasting and cocktail hour (please BYOB)
6:00 pm: Potluck. Please bring a dish to share! 
Afterwards, bonfire and music
 
Sunday, August 26th:
8-10:00 am: Strong coffee, juices and a hearty farmers’ breakfast provided by the farm staff
11:00 am: Davis Family Farm tour: learn about raising pastured chickens for eggs
11:00 am: Windflower Farm tour with Ted for those who missed the Saturday tour
Noon and after: break camp and depart for other local sites or home (see below)
 
Visit other local attractions, such as the:
Washington County Fair: https://www.washingtoncountyfair.com/
Local wineries: http://upperhudsonvalleywinetrail.com/
Local breweries: http://hudsonvalleybounty.com/Brewery
Local cideries: http://www.saratogaapple.com/ 
Swimming holes, farmers’ markets, ice cream stands, hikes (directions will be provided)
Saratoga Race Track: http://www.saratogaracetrack.com/
 
Please RSVP to tedblomgren@gmail.com with the number in your party. I hope you can make it.
 
I hope you can join us! Ted

 

Coming Soon: Cookbook Swap

Got more cookbooks than you know what to do with? Stay tuned for the great CHCSA cookbook swap, coming your way in September!

We'll be running an exchange table at the weekly pick-up, where you can donate cookbooks you no longer want, and pick up new ones courtesy of your fellow CSA members...

More details to follow soon! 

Take it slaw this August...

In this midsummer heat, a refreshing, crunchy coleslaw really hits the spot. Here are 25 ideas for how to make it from Bon Appétit, and below is one standout recipe that cunningly uses three items from this week's veg haul! 

Tamarind-Cabbage Slaw with Crispy Onions
Serves 8

Ingredients

Crispy Onions
½ medium white onion, halved, thinly sliced
¼ cup buttermilk
¼ cup mayonnaise
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
Vegetable oil, (for frying; about 8 cups)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon chili powder

Slaw and Assembly
3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate
½ medium head of green cabbage, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 cup torn fresh basil leaves
1 cup torn fresh mint leaves
½ cup chopped salted, roasted peanuts

special equipment
A deep-fry thermometer

ingredient info
Tamarind concentrate, often labeled “concentrate cooking tamarind” can be found at Asian and Thai markets.


Method

Crispy Onions
Whisk buttermilk and mayonnaise in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Add onions and toss to coat; let sit 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, fit a large saucepan with thermometer; pour in oil to measure 2". Heat over medium-high heat until thermometer registers 375°.

Whisk flour and chili powder in a shallow dish; season with salt and pepper. Working in batches, remove onion from buttermilk, letting excess drip back into bowl, toss in seasoned flour, and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt.

Slaw and assembly

Whisk vinegar, oil, fish sauce, honey, and tamarind in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Add cabbage, scallions, basil, mint, and peanuts and toss to combine.

Serve slaw topped with crispy onions.

Contribute to The Beet


Get involved! If you have a local event to promote, a service to offer, or a recipe to share, get in touch via newsletter@clintonhillcsa.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

Veronica