CSA Newsletter - June 19, 2012 - Week #2

photo by Donya Kiana

What is wrong with this picture?? The rainbow isn't wrong - and it's even a double one if you look closely. And the rainbow means we got some rain so that is definitely not wrong. The rainbow is arching over our front gardens and framing Freya, the Maremma farm pup. That's not wrong! And there's a cute little goat loose in the background - wait, that is definitely wrong! 

Our two farm goats, the coyote tricksters of the animal world, happened to escape their pen right in the middle of last Friday's storm, when we were trying to finish the harvest, load the truck, stash the seedlings, and close windows. The goats made a beeline for the house where they proceeded to nose around on the porch, climb on shelves, and generally cause chaos. We took them back to their paddock on the hill and there haven't been any escapes since then.

WHAT'S IN YOUR SHARE: Or maybe it should be "what might be in your share." How do you like how the Chard and Beets we mentioned in the newsletter turned into Strawberries last week? No one relinquished their berries to exchange for Chard, so it was probably okay. :-) And the Curly Kale somehow morphed into Tuscan Kale - also called Dinosaur Kale. That's the adventure of a CSA - thanks for your willingness to go with the flow!

So this week we're almost positive you will find two beautiful heads of lettuce in your share - possibly Romaine and Red Bibb.

You will receive a bunch of Kale - either Curly or Tuscan.

We do have Beets for you this week - and last week we encouraged you to cook the greens as well - they are loaded with nutrients. Here's a nice simple recipe for cooking your beets and greens. Roasting beets, as this recipe suggests, seems to concentrate the flavor and the sweetness. We also sometimes simmer the beets and greens in orange juice. And Feta Cheese is a natural beet pairing - especially with a cool beet salad. This Beet Salad with Feta looks delicious, but we are shaking our finger at the suggestion to discard the greens! Remember to remove the greens from the beets and store separately if you're going to keep them for a while.

Garlic Scapes make another appearance. Garlic Scape Pesto  is a popular way to beat the basil season and still have the flavorful, creamy sauce known as "pesto". If you make it, be sure to chop the scapes first before going in your food processor.

Oh yes, and Strawberries! No recipes needed!

But here is an excellent recipe from the farm cook Donya for dressing that beautiful lettuce:

Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing

3/4 cup Bragg nutritional yeast (can use Parmesan instead to make vegetarian)

3 large cloves of garlic

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup water

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tsp yellow mustard

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tablespoon ume plum vinegar (can be omitted, but highly recommend!)


Optional: Half a fresh lemon, juiced


Put all ingredients into a large mason jar and blend with an immersion blender (if you don’t have one, then make sure you finally chop the garlic, and shake dressing thoroughly. - or - use a regular blender)

This delicious dressing is a farm staple, but it makes a lot1 You can reduce the measurements or just keep it in the fridge until you have used it up!

Enjoy your "salad days"

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