THE BEET : VOLUME 12, ISSUE 18--10.17.13

 THE BEET : VOLUME 12, ISSUE 18

CSA pickup times are, as always, Thursday, 5pm-7:30pm at PS 56 at Lewis and Gates

In this week’s BEET:

1. CSA Updates

2. Windflower Farm News

3. Recipes: Chiles!: Chile Sauce, Chile Oil and Drunken Noodles

CSA Updates

• PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Last October delivery changed to TUESDAY, October 29^th In order to avoid any conflict with Halloween activities on Thursday, the 31st, distribution has been moved that week to Tuesday, October 29th. The time and location will be the same. We will also be hosting our annual Halloween potluck. Are you a parent who is great at planning kids activities? Volunteers are needed for the CSA potluck on October 29th:
  • Volunteer to coordinate simple children's activities
  • Volunteer to coordinate the potluck

  Helping plan the potluck would fulfill your volunteer hours for the year. If you are interested, please contact information@clintonhillcsa.org.

• Invoicing update Final invoices will be sent out over the next couple of weeks. If you have not yet settled your bill, expect to receive an invoice shortly.
• Winter Share UpdateThe Winter CSA share will include four monthly deliveries of our organically grown greens and storage vegetables, along with fruits, maple syrup, apple cider and preserves from neighboring producers, packed to fit in a one-bushel box, for $178.00.
• Would you like to be a part of the Clinton Hill CSA next year? The first step is to complete your volunteer hours. Those members who do not complete their 4 required volunteer hours per household will not be able to sign up for the CSA next year. There are a number of shifts coming up that desperately need volunteers, especially in the 4pm-6pm shift. Please sign up for your hours here.
• Volunteer cancellation If you need to cancel your volunteer shift, please email the distribution manager directly if the cancellation is within 24 hours of your shift so that she can try to replace you: information@clintonhillcsa.org
• Lewis Waite Meat Share order deadline this Sunday For pickup Thursday, October 24.
• Milk Not Jails a la carte order pick-up this Thursday For those who ordered online by October 6th. Next order deadline: November 3rd for delivery November 14th.

WINDFLOWER FARM NEWS

Delivery #19, Week of October 14, 2013

This week’s share consists of two salad greens (lettuce and your choice of arugula or a salad mix) and two cooking greens (your choice of kale or Swiss chard and your choice of Yukina Savoy or bok choy). You’ll also get parsley or chiles. And you get sweet peppers, the very last of our tomatoes (keep them clean, dry and dark and they should turn red), a winter squash or two, bunches of radishes, carrots and leeks, and potatoes or onions, depending on your site. I hope you enjoy it. Next week’s share will be similar, with the exceptions that we’ll send garlic instead of herbs and daikons instead of radishes. We’ll also add spinach to the salad greens option. This week’s fruit is Jonagold apples.

Jan and I washed tubs yesterday. As you might imagine, we take food safety very seriously, and clean tubs are an important part of our food safety plan. Vegetables grow close to the earth, an environment teaming with insects, worms, bacteria, fungi and other creepy crawlies, and vegetable fields are visited by all kinds of creatures, including snakes, toads, mice, deer, woodchucks and Canadian geese, just to name a few. Moreover, vegetable farms are fertilized using compost, and, sometimes, barnyard manure, and they are irrigated oftentimes with surface water. There is no denying the potential for contamination, but, happily, it occurs very rarely. In an effort to prevent it from ever happening, we’ve developed a practical food safety plan. For example, we have excluded most, but not all, animals from our fields with our fence, effectively addressing what had been out greatest concern, contamination from dog, cat and deer feces. We use barnyard manures rarely, and only when an entire winter season will separate the manure application from the first harvest of any crop from that field, virtually eliminating the threat from E. coli. For the most part, we use compost, which is extremely low in potentially pathogenic microorganisms, and high in beneficials. Our harvesters and food packers wash their hands regularly, and employees don’t do any harvesting or packing when sick. Our irrigation and wash water comes from deep, very cold, potable well water. And we harvest into clean totes. In fact, we clearly segregate field totes (green), packing room totes (black) and the shipping tubs (mostly blue) we send to New York, and we wash all of them very well every week. As I mentioned, Jan and I washed tubs yesterday. It took us half a day to wash all the tubs that we send to New York last week. It used to take a day and a half, and a lot of elbow grease, but we built a tumbling tub washing rack and purchased a pressure washer, saving us time and physical effort, and producing cleaner tubs. We want you to know that we are serious about preventing the occurrence food contamination, and I thought you might like to know the steps we’ve taken to reach that goal.

Have a great week, Ted

Recipes

This week's recipes are all about Chiles and peppers

Basic Chili Sauce (From The Chinese Takeout Cookbook by Diana Kuan)

"I use the tiny bird's-eye chiliies, also called Thai chilies, but you can also use larger red chilies for a milder sauce."

Makes about 1 cup chili sauce

Ingredients 8 ounces fresh re bird's-eye chilies 2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry 2 teaspoons white rice vinegar 2 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon salt

Method 1. Finely chop the chilies in a food processor or by hand with gloves on, to avoid getting the chili oils on your hands. 2. Heat a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the peanut oil, carefully add the chopped chilies, and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Stir in the sugar and salt, making sure the sugar is completely dissolved. 3. Remove the chili sauce from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Transfer it to an airtight storage container. The chili sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 months.

Homemade Chili Oil (From The Chinese Takeout Cookbook by Diana Kuan)

"I use about 1/3 cup of crushed red pepper flakes, which makes a medium-spicy oil that takes a second for your tongue to register, but feel free to adjust the amount to your liking."

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients 3/4 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil 1/4 cup sesame oil 1/3 cup crushed red pepper flakes

Special equipment Instant-read thermometer Heavy-bottomed saucepan

Method 1. Heat the peanut oil and sesame oil in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan until it registers between 225°F and 250°F on an instant-read oil thermometer. Stir in the red pepper flakes (they should be foaming a little). Turn off the flame and remove the pan from the heat. Let sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or ideally overnight, for the chili flavors to infuse. 2. Strain the oil through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl and discard the solids. Store the chli oil in a clean bottle. The oil will keep for a few months if you store it in a cool, dark place.

Drunken Noodles (from Food and Wine)

This fast (and almost vegetarian) Thai rice noodle dish is dressed with a deliciously savory, spicy sauce and tossed with crispy tofu.

Total Time: 45 MIN                 Servings: 4

Ingredients

1. Vegetable oil
2. 7 ounces firm tofu, cubed and dried
3. 1/2 cup chicken stock
4. 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
5. 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
6. 1 1/2 teaspoons roasted red chile paste
7. 1 teaspoon black soy sauce or 3/4 teaspoon soy sauce sweetened with 1/4 teaspoon molasses
8. 1/2 teaspoon sugar
9. 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
10. 1/2 large jalapeño, seeded and sliced
11. 2 garlic cloves, minced
12. 1 red Thai bird chile, minced
13. 1/2 pound pad thai rice noodles, cooked and cut in half crosswise
14. Thai basil leaves
15. Lime wedges, for serving

Method

1. In a nonstick skillet, heat 1/4 inch of oil. Add the tofu and cook over moderately high heat, turning, until crisp, 5 minutes. Drain.
2. In a bowl, whisk the stock, oyster sauce, fish sauce, chile paste, soy sauce and sugar.
3. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the bell pepper, jalapeño, garlic and Thai chile and stir-fry over high heat until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add the noodles and stir-fry until browned, 4 minutes. Add the sauce and toss over moderately high heat, until absorbed. Fold in 1 cup of basil and the tofu. Garnish with more basil and serve with lime wedges.