This Week’s Share
- Corn
- Cucumbers
- Garlic
- Lettuce
- Onions, Red Bull
- Parsley
- Potatoes, view video of potatoes being harvested at SIO work party
- Summer Squash
- Tomatoes, heirloom & slicing
On Rotation
Melons, eggplants and saucing tomatoes continue on rotation. Basil will be back on rotation next week for one last taste of summer.
Field Notes (by Tanya Murray)
September on the farm is one of my favorite months, especially when the days are as beautiful as they have been this week and last. These are the days when we truly experience the bounty of the season’s work. Our project list has shifted from seeding, planting, weeding, staking, trellising, tying to mostly, harvesting. It has been a late season for a few crops. I take comfort in hearing that other growers in the area have had the same experience. Tomatoes came on a few weeks late this year, but they are certainly abundant now. Solanums – which include tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant – are especially sensitive to cold. We wait to plant eggplants and peppers until the night temperatures are above 55 degrees. This year we waited to plant until after the summer solstice. Typically we plant one to two weeks earlier. It’s hard to remember the cold June we had after our mid-August heat wave and in these perfect days of late summer, but the peppers and eggplant are still catching up with us. I am happy to report that the eggplant harvest has begun, albeit slowly. We are sending them to pick ups on a rotation so that we don’t have to wait till we have enough for all 250 CSA shares in one week. So if you haven’t enjoyed them yet, there is eggplant in your future. The pepper plants have fruit on them that has not yet started to color and ripen. I spent my earlier farming days back east where peppers are truly a summer vegetable. On the East coast though the winters are colder and the summers are shorter, the summers nights (and days) are generally warmer. Alas, in the Pacific Northwest, where our climate is more moderate, I have had to reclassify the pepper as a late summer/fall vegetable. Baring a very early frost, we will be harvesting peppers well into October. We understand that being a CSA member and eating the bounty that our region brings at times requires patience, but oh how tasty each anticipated vegetable!
Recipes
Tomatoes Provencal
Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
4 medium firm, ripe tomatoes
3 to 4 garlic cloves to taste
1 cup parsley leaves
3 tablespoons chopped basil
¾ cup breadcrumbs made from day old bread
salt and freshly milled pepper
olive oil
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a gratin dish. Cut the tomatoes in half around their equators and gently remove the seeds with your fingertips. Chop the garlic, parsley and basil together, and then mix them with the bread crumbs and season well with salt and pepper. Lightly fill the tomatoes with this mixture, set them in the gratin dish, and thread olive oil generously over their tops. Bake for 30 minutes. They’ll be soft, so remove them carefully from the dish.
Stuffed Summer Squash
Adapted from Vegan Planet
4 medium sized squash, zucchini or yellow straight neck, halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ of a yellow onion, minced
2 garlic cloves
salt and ground black pepper
3 large, ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
1 cup fresh corn kernels
2 teaspoons brown sugar or other sweetener
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons chopped parsley (or basil)
1 cup grated cheese of your choice (optional)
Use a sharp knife or a melon baler to remove the flesh inside the summer squash, leaving a 1/3″ thick shell. Chop the flesh and set aside. Steam the squash shells, open end facing down over boiling water, for about 5 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool. Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, chopped squash flesh, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, corn, sugar, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of the herbs. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add ½ cup of the cheese. Stir and let cool. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spoon the stuffing mixture into the squash shells and arrange them on an oiled baking dish. Cover and bake until hot, about 30 minutes. Garnish with the remaining cheese, herbs, oil and black pepper on top, and let cool a few minutes before serving.
Parsley Dumplings
Adapted from epicurious.com
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
Spray bamboo steamer basket or large metal steamer rack with nonstick spray. Add enough water to large skillet to reach depth of 1 inch. Bring water to boil; reduce to simmer. Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking powder, and kosher salt in medium bowl to blend. Using fingertips, rub butter into dry ingredients until incorporated. Add milk and chopped parsley and stir just to blend. Drop small walnut-size mounds of dough into prepared steamer basket, spacing dumplings apart. Set steamer basket atop simmering water and cover tightly. Steam dumplings until cooked through, for about 10 minutes.
Melon Soup with Ginger-Cucumber Salsa
Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
1 melon
grated zest and juice of 2 limes
½ cup yogurt, sour cream, or buttermilk (optional)
salt
mint or basil sprigs
For the salsa
reserved wedge of melon, peeled
1/3 cucumber, peeled and seeded
grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon minced basil
1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and finely diced (or substitute dried pepper or hot sauce)
1 small knob of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
salt
Cut the melon into eighths and set one wedge aside. Seed, peel, and puree the rest. Stir in the lime zest and juice, yogurt, and a few pinches of salt. Cover and refrigerate.
Neatly and finely dice the melon and cucumber and combine with the lime zest and juice, basil, mint, and hot pepper. Force the ginger through the garlic press and add it to the salsa. Season with a pinch of salt and chill. Serve the soup very cold with the salsa spooned into the middle of each bowl and garnish with mint sprigs.
Tagliarini with Roasted Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Basil
Adapted from Fields of Greens
This recipe is for when you receive your San Marzano sauce tomatoes; it is a bit complicated, as it requires roasting the tomatoes and making the bread crumbs ahead of time, but should turn out delicious.
Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
Adapted from The Improvisational Cook
2lbs ripe or nearly ripe tomatoes (about 6 regular tomatoes)
Extra virgin olive oil
About ½ teaspoon sugar
About ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 325F. Slice Roma tomatoes in two lengthwise through the stem, larger tomatoes should be quartered through the stem. In a medium bowl, toss the tomatoes until coated in olive oil. Arrange cut side up on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper. Roast for 2 ½ -3 hours until they have lost most of their liquid and are just beginning to brown. Cool to room temperature. Store for up to one week in the refrigerator or in the freezer up to 2 months!
½ pound summer squash, chopped
1 pound San Marzano tomatoes, slow roasted (see recipe above)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
salt and pepper
¼ cup dry white wine
½ teaspoon hot pepper flakes
½ pound fresh tagliarini
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
15 to 20 fresh basil leaves, bundled and thinly sliced, about 1/3 cup
grated parmesan cheese
½ cup bread crumbs, roasted or pan fried with olive oil and garlic (optional)
Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Cut the roasted tomatoes in quarters and reserve their juice for the sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet and add the squash, garlic, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a few pinches of pepper. Sauté over medium high heat for about 2 to 3 minutes, just long enough to heat the squash through. Next add the wine and cook for another minute, until the pan is nearly dry. Add the remaining olive oil, the tomatoes and their juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, and the hot pepper flakes.
When the water is boiling, add 1 teaspoon salt. Add the tagliarini and cook until just tender. Before you drain the pasta, add ¼ cup of the cooking water to the sauté pan. Immediately drain the pasta, and then add it to the tomatoes and squash along with the pine nuts and basil. Reduce the heat, toss well, and add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bread crumbs and serve immediately.
Annual Potato Harvest Work Party Video
A big thank you to CSA member & Video Producer Michael Annus for creating a wonderful view into the farm. You can see first hand how the potatoes you are eating this week were harvested. Thanks again to all who participated.
Volunteer Opportunity at the Sauvie Island Center
Volunteer Field Trips Leaders are needed for the Sauvie Island Center. The Center is currently recruiting volunteer farm educators to assist in field trip leadership. Between September and November, 1st -5th grade classes will be visiting the Sauvie Island Center to learn about farms, the food they grow, and the landscape in which they exist. These students spend part of their time in the fields of Sauvie Island Organics
The field trip leader training is scheduled for Friday, September 19th on Sauvie Island from 8:45 am-2:00 pm. Field trips begin Friday, September 26th and run every Friday through October 31st.
The center increases food, farming, and environmental literacy in our community. This is an exciting learning opportunity for all parties involved! For more info visit the Center’s website or contact their Youth Education Coordinator Jennifer James at 503.341.8627