THE BEET: Volume 12, Issue 5

 THE BEET : VOLUME 12, ISSUE 5

In this week’s BEET:

1. CSA FYIs
2. Windflower Farm News -- Letter from Farmer Ted
3. Recipes for this week's share: Pickled Hakurei Turnips (Courtesy of Farmer Ted), Peperonata

CSA FYIs

CSA Pickup Today 5-7:30pm at PS 56 at Gates and Downing (enter on Downing)

• CHCSA Core meeting today, Thursday, July 18th, 6:30pm The CHCSA Core will be meeting to discuss planning for this season. All are welcome to attend and have a hand in running the CSA. The meeting will be in the gym at PS 56 where we pick up our vegetables.
• Volunteer Shift Times Changing To better facilitate the transition of volunteers during Thursday pickups, the second volunteer shift will begin at 5:45 instead of 6pm.
• Sign up here for a shift! Every household must volunteer for four hours each season.
• Reminder: Due to school regulations, children are not allowed in the PS 56 courtyard and please, no dogs in the school.

 NEWS FROM WINDFLOWER FARM

Delivery #6, Week of July 16th, 2013

We’ve just had our annual payroll audit and workers’ compensation insurance assessment.  Like having house guests, the audit provides motivation to get our house in order. I can report that our payroll reporting is now completely up-to-date and that our taxes have all been paid. Such a small farm and so much paperwork! Over the course of the audit all kinds of questions were raised about the farm staff. Who performs the work, how are workers compensated, etc? It crossed my mind that you, too, as CSA members of our farm enterprise, might be interested in some of the answers to these questions. It might surprise you to learn, for instance, that there are 21 of us working on the farm this year, including Don, the driver, and his assistant, although, if we each worked a full 40 hours/week, then eight or nine of us would have to find work elsewhere.

Most of the staff works part-time, but a few of us clock in 60 hours a week. Those choosing not to work six ten-hour days/week will tell you they have better things to do than to spend every waking minute at Windflower Farm. One is a homesteader who works with us four days/week and who makes jams and raises chickens and goats. Three are artists, two of whom work two days/week. They are a painter, a pen and ink illustrator and a photographer. One works on another vegetable farm two days a week. Although she can’t get enough of farming, it appears she gets enough of our farm in just four days. In addition, she is a part-time librarian and runs her own medicinal herb business. One is building his own house and is also homesteading. He works with us four days/week. Two women – a mother and daughter – share a full-time slot. Three are minors who currently work two days each week and who will be leaving us altogether once classes resume.

Our full-timers include three couples – all originally from Mexico. With the exception of our minors, everyone has been with us for at least five years, and a few for many more. The exceptions to the rule are the spouse of a long-time employee who joined us this year following the retirement of her father-in-law, and my oldest son Nate, who, having recently completed high school, took the slot vacated by my nephew who left to start his own farm this spring. Our pay scale is simple.  Minors (our three high schoolers) earn $9/hour, which might be too much. Adults earn $12/hour, which I know is too little, but it’s all I can afford. Join us at our farm open house at the end of August (24^th and 25^th, details to follow) and you can meet all of them.

This week’s share will include cucumbers and summer squashes, Hukurei turnips, green onions, leafy lettuce, Winterbor kale, an herb, and either tomatoes or Italian frying peppers (both are just starting). Your fruit share will consist of blueberries. Next week you’ll be getting more of the same, along with beets.  New red potatoes will begin coming soon, and this week’s heat and sunshine should help our tomatoes turn red.

Have a great week,

Ted

Pickled Hakurei Turnips (from a recipe by Early Morning Farm CSA)

Hakurei Turnips are not your run-of-the-mill average turnip! These turnips are great raw – sweet and mild, or cooked lightly in stir-fries and soups. They are not spicy and bitter like the standard purple top turnips. In fact, Kids love Hakurei Turnips raw on a salad plate! The greens are also very much edible, just wash, chop and steam or stir fry.

In Japan they are often pickled, you can make a quick pickle by adding a teaspoon of vinegar (rice or white wine) and several pinches of salt to a bowl of sliced turnips.

For each quart jar:

1 cup warm as it will come out of the tap water ½ cup rice vinegar (white wine vinegar could be substituted) 6 Tablespoons sugar 2 ¼ teaspoons salt

Dissolve sugar and salt in the warm water, and add vinegar.

For the pickles we sliced up about 6 Hakurei Turnips, chopped some Scallion Greens, and threw in some Red Pepper flakes for some spice.  If you were making these in the fall you might still have some fresh hot peppers coming in your CSA boxes that could be used. You could also try adding Carrots or Radishes for color and another flavor.

Next we packed our jar fairly tightly with the mixed ingredients and poured the liquid mixture over the top.  A day in the refrigerator and… Pickles!

Peperonata Recipe (courtesy of Simply Recipes)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded, sliced into 2 1/2 to 3-inch long strips
• 2 yellow bell peppers, seeded, sliced into 2 1/2 to 3-inch long strips
• 2 orange or green bell peppers, seeded, sliced into 2 1/2 to 3-inch long strips
• 1 large onion, sliced into half-moons
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4-5 Roma or other plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, leaves torn roughly
• Lemon juice

Method

1 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add the onions. Sprinkle with a little salt and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until the onions just begin to color.

2 Add the peppers and stir well to combine with the onions. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. The peppers should be al dente—cooked, but with a little crunch left in them.

3 Add the garlic, and sauté another 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle a little more salt over everything and add the sugar and dried oregano. Cook 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes, and cook just one minute further.

4 Turn off the heat and mix in the torn basil. Grind some black pepper over everything. Right before serving squeeze a little lemon juice over the dish.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6.