CSA Newsletter - August 15, 2020

Our first tractor: 1954 Ford Golden Jubilee
Now in retirement among the flowers
(No we didn't purchase in 1954!
Thanks to neighbor Tom for the photo tip)

WHAT'S IN YOUR SHARE:

CELERY - NEW!

Celery is a great source of vitamin C, potassium and dietary fiber

DAIKON RADISH - NEW!

Pronounced "dye-kon" and means "big, or important, radish" in Japanese

PAK CHOI

Graceful and tasteful; also known as Bok Choy

CARROTS

Just finished digging the first patch and starting to harvest the second.
Finished weeding the third!

BEANS

This pretty bug hitched a ride to market on a green bean. 
That's a clean, but hard-weeding finger!

 
 TOMATOES:

Don't worry, the tomatoes in your share are red but we are still seeing lots of slow-ripening
 green specimens. Bracing ourselves for the avalanche when they finally all ripen!

BASIL:

Next winter you will be glad you made pesto!

POTATOES 

LEEKS

STORAGE TIPS:

Celery: Where the tops start to get leafy, cut straight across. Rinse, drain, and store the stalks in the fridge in a plastic or veggie-keeper bag. Dry the leaves at low heat in the oven to make nice celery-flavored additions to winter soups. Carrots, daikon: separate greens from roots. Rinse, drain, and store the roots in the fridge in a plastic or veggie-keeper bag. Greens are edible and nutritious; google for recipes or check previous newsletter. Beans, Bok Choy, Zucchini/Summer Squash, Leeks, Basil: Rinse, drain, and store in the fridge in a plastic or veggie-keeper bag. Tomatoes: On the counter for up to seven days.

RECIPE TIPS:

Now that you are past the half-way mark in the CSA, you're ready for some advanced items in your share. Although some of you will no doubt welcome that large white root veggie thing reclining in your share box, many of you will no doubt be scratching your heads. How can this be a radish!? Daikon Radish is a widely used root vegetable in Japanese cooking. It has a crunchy texture along with a light peppery flavor with sweet undertones. It is much milder than the small round radishes we are more familiar with.

Daikon is popular in many types of Asian cooking and grated or pickled Daikon is often served with deep-fried dishes and heavier meals. It is believed to help eliminate fats and excess toxins, as well containing enzymes that stimulate digestion and improve blood circulation. Low in calories but high in fiber, Daikon is a good veggie friend to know!

So what did we do with Daikon? We basically took the first four items listed above, (Celery, Daikon, Pac Choi/Bok Choy, Carrots), as well as onions and garlic, and made a delicious stir-fry, chopping the carrots into matchsticks so they didn't take a lot longer to cook than the less dense veggies. We seasoned the dish with ginger, tamari, toasted sesame oil, and a little cayenne. Delicious!

Or if you prefer, you can go for Spicy Roasted Daikon Radish French Fries. We haven't tried this yet but it looks fantastic. 

Or just add raw Daikon to a salad like you would any radish. Lots of ways to use this versatile veggie - if it's new to you, have fun exploring!

Maan, our Lebanese neighbor who likes to cook for the crew and has been waiting for the beans and tomatoes to coincide, made us his famous Lubiye Green Bean Stew this week, p. 61 in the Frog Holler Recipe Book. If you look at the recipe you'll see that it's geared for feeding a farm crew; you can easily adapt it for smaller servings. Yes, he cooks it a long time and yes it melts in your mouth! Here's a recipe from the internet for Loubyeh b'zeit (green beans in olive oil) which is slightly different from Maan's but very easy and  does remind us to soak up the juices with some good Lebanese bread. Maan usually supplies Pita bread with the dishes he brings over for just that purpose - lucky us!

                                                Loubyeh b'zeit - thanks Maan!

We also made our Simple Summer Squash Sauté this week, our go-to dish for speedy, summery, satisfying fare! P. 69 in the Frog Holler Recipe Book and uses the zucchini/summer squash and basil in your share.

Now according to "Growing Produce", the Vegetable Industry newsletter that we peruse occasionally, green beans are "TRENDING UP". Four years ago 44% of commercial industry farms reported growing green beans but for the past two years, 52% are now growing the lowly bean. So if you prepare Maan's classic Lebanese green bean dish, you can be traditional AND trending!

And why don't we let Thoreau have the last word on beans? This excerpt from Chapter Seven of Walden, was found by crew member Milan, obviously inspired by the many hours spent in the bean rows. At least we didn't plant seven miles of rows!

MEANWHILE MY beans, the length of whose rows, added together, was seven miles already planted, were impatient to be hoed, for the earliest had grown considerably before the latest were in the ground; indeed they were not easily to be put off. What was the meaning of this so steady and self-respecting, this small Herculean labor, I knew not. I came to love my rows, my beans, though so many more than I wanted. They attached me to the earth, and so I got strength like Antaeus. But why should I raise them? Only Heaven knows.This was my curious labor all summer- to make this portion of the earth's surface, which had yielded only cinquefoil, blackberries, johnswort, and the like, before, sweet wild fruits and pleasant flowers, produce instead this pulse. What shall I learn of beans or beans of me? I cherish them, I hoe them, early and late I have an eye to them; and this is my day's work. It is a fine broad leaf to look on. My auxiliaries are the dews and rains which water this dry soil, and what fertility is in the soil itself, which for the most part is lean and effete. My enemies are worms, cool days, and most of all woodchucks. The last have nibbled for me a quarter of an acre clean. But what right had I to oust johnswort and the rest, and break up their ancient herb garden? Soon, however, the remaining beans will be too tough for them, and go forward to meet new foes.

Thank you for the gentle inspiration, Mr Thoreau!

AND FINALLY!  Since we are heading past the half-way mark of this season's CSA, it's time for a Mid-term Crossword Puzzle Exam! You will find the answers in past CSA Newsletters (or a simple Google). It was tried on the crew who assured us it was diabolically difficult and asked if they could please go back to weeding. What do you think?  Prizes and glory to the puzzler who completes and sends a screenshot or confirmation of completion. Hope you enjoy looking back at the season through the puzzle!

Crew giving up on puzzle - probably a smart move

Have a good week everyone - and don't throw your computer!