July 27, 2013 - Share # 3

WHAT'S IN THE BOX:

Lettuce - "French Romaine," a smaller, tender version of Romaine - grows well in hot weather. Rinse leaves, pat dry or spin, store in fridge in plastic bag 

Kale -  curly variety. Good for saute, soup and kale chips!Store in plastic bag in fridge

Gadzooks - lots of cukes!

Beets - Classic Red  Beets will keep for a long time in the fridge if you remove the greens.

Zucchini/Summer Squash - We grow a distinct variety of summer squash called Zephyr; it look like the ends were dipped in green. Very tender and creamy! Store in plastic bag in fridge

Carrots - Store in plastic bag in fridge

Green Beans - Store in plastic bag in fridge

Slicing Cukes - Long, dark green

 Pickling Cukes - Stubby, light green. Good for snacking and salad as well as pickling.

Garlic - freshly picked, not cured for long-term storage

Purslane! - Each year we try to  distribute this nutrition-packed "wild plant" (weed to some) at least once. Recipes follow!

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

Your fall lettuce - can you see it?

 This time of year, we seem to meet ourselves coming and going. We are busy with the summer harvest, deep into weeding and maintaining the crops yet to be harvested, and preparing ground to plant for the later harvest!

The "lettuce patch" in the picture rested under a cover crop until it was recently tilled. The land will be smoothed out for seeding sometime this week. Your share reflects the lettuce we are harvesting now and we just finished thinning and weeding the next lettuce patch. It doesn't always work perfectly, but that's how we try to keep the veggies coming!



NOTES FROM THE FROG HOLLER RECIPE BOX:

Hey hey hey  - new (uncured) garlic made the NY Times this week! Check out the article as you sit back and enjoy being a trending CSA member!

Kind of like a mini-jade plant, but tasty!

Okay, purslane. Hopefully you have identified it in your share. Some of you will be happy; some of you will be scratching your heads. But if you Google it, you will find a wealth of information about this nutritional powerhouse,  with a long history throughout the world, and even in America. This NY Times article is a great introduction to purslane appreciation!

A recipe for purslane was even discovered in Martha Washington's recipe book; if George Washington ate purslane, we can too!

Try this cucumber-purslane salad for a refreshing and crunchy side dish. You can substitute other herbs, although the trio mentioned in the recipe gives that traditional Middle Eastern flavor.

Many folks seem to pickle purslane, and here is a quick and tasty Chinese pickle recipe.

At Frog Holler, we include purslane in potato salad, egg salad, or tofu egg salad - it gives a nice crunch and sprightly flavor, especially when celery isn't ready to be harvested.

Speaking of pickles, we had a pickle extravaganza this week thanks to Bretton and thanks to oodles of pickling cukes. We canned the pickles and are looking forward to trying them after they sit for a while, but here is a way to get some quick pickles, and you can use many of the veggies in your share -  beans would be good!

Maan Abdul-Baki, chef extraordinaire!

And speaking of beans, we are fortunate to have a  neighbor, Maan, who loves to cook and loves to feed the hard-working crew at the farm! This week he dropped off a big pot of Lebanese-style green beans. Maan doesn't cook from a recipe and probably wouldn't reveal it if he did :-), but you might want to try this Lebanese green bean dish and approximate one of the delicious dishes we were lucky to enjoy this week!






MEET THE INTERNS - MIA O'BRIEN-COMBS

Mia with garlic!

Mia comes to us from Chicago, where she grew up in nearby Cicero. Mia attended Northern Illinois University and added several life experiences before graduating with a major in English. Mia enjoyed study abroad for a semester in Argentina, worked with the Minnesota Literacy Corps one summer,   and spent additional pre-graduation time in another Americorps position where she helped young people gain life skills in transitioning out of foster care. After graduation, Mia headed to Colombia where she polished her Spanish and enjoyed time with the friends she had made on her first South American visit. Returning to the States, a third Americorps position brought Mia back to Chicago where she worked with the Red Cross in a "Safe Families" outreach program.

During her stay in Chicago, Mia became involved in a community garden in her neighborhood, and that's how she found her way to Frog Holler! She not only enjoyed growing vegetables, but especially appreciated the community-building aspects of the neighborhood garden; she served on the garden's operating committee and participated in the post weeding-day potlucks. She was interested in a farm internship so that she could learn through immersion, and has enjoyed living seasonally and understanding, through the lifestyle, where the food comes from.

After growing up in the city, Mia has also enjoyed the "Tom Sawyer" nature of this summer on the farm. She loves the peaceful setting, the natural sounds, and being dirty with good clean dirt! She is also a super good sport because along with all that nature has come about ten zillion bug bites!

Fittingly, Mia will be coordinating the volunteer team at Holler Fest. Someone who has done so much service knows first hand the value and joy of helping out. Mia encourages all CSA members to get to know Holler Fest from the inside; it will double your fun!

Mia is no slouch as a cook, and recently made a festive sandwich buffet. A combination of veggies were roasted at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Mia then whipped up this tasty Aioli spread and the feasting began!

Vegan Aioli Sauce

1 cup Vegan mayo

2 tablespoons lemon juice

4-6 cloves of garlic (depending on your level of garlic love and/or evening plans)

Salt and pepper to taste

Blend together in a food processor until smooth. 

Assemble sandwich with sauce, roasted veggies, Frog Holler tomatoes (soon to come!), and arugula. Enjoy! 

Roasted veggies, aioli sauce, Mia's homemade bread, sliced Frog Holler tomatoes (just a few early ones!)

 

With a mother who is an English teacher, and a father who studied philosophy, Mia feels that "education is her first love." She plans to pursue a Masters Degree in Public Health where a focus on Community Health would embrace all of her interests: the desire to do health education, to create programs that focus on urban greening to address violence, and to use community gardens as a platform to build community.

We are happy to be part of the "portfolio" that this dedicated young woman is creating and we know that she will take all of these experiences and design a compassionate and purposeful life!


Have a great week everyone and thanks for bringing your boxes back!