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
 

This Week’s Share

• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Chard
• Cilantro
• Cucumber
• Garlic
• Lettuce
• Potatoes    

Share Notes…

Cucumbers make their debut in the share this week.  Just enough at first to slice on a salad or sandwich, but look forward to more in the coming weeks.  You’ll start to see summer squash in the share this week or next.  The summer squash is a little behind this year.  Our first planting was set back by symphylans – a very challenging soil pest that we are trying to learn to out smart.  Symphylans are small, white “centipede-like” soil arthropods that feed on the root hairs of plants.   Despite our efforts to help the plants grow through this root pruning, many of the summer squash plants in the first planting are the same size as when they were planted weeks ago.  As soon as we realized the first planting wasn’t going to amount to much, we planted an extra couple of beds in another field.  These squash should start producing soon and will provide the usual bounty.  Also on the vegetable horizon are more fresh onions, basil and parsley, and tomatoes.

Recipes

Pommes a l’Huile

Adapted from Vegetable Love

1 ½ lbs new potatoes

1 teaspoon salt

3 grinds black pepper

1 ½ tablespoons tarragon vinegar (or substitute white wine vinegar)

¼ cup olive oil

¼ teaspoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon stock

1 tablespoon chopped herbs of your choice

Boil the potatoes in their skins in salted water until they can be pierced with a toothpick.  Drain.  As soon as the potatoes can be handled, slip off the skins in slated water.  Slice into 1/8 inch thick slices and put into a glass or ceramic bowl.  Combine remaining ingredients except herbs and toss potatoes in this mixture.  Cool to room temperature.  Fold in chopped herbs.

Steamed Carrots with Sesame Vinegar and Cilantro

Adapted from Kitchen Garden

2 tsp finely chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger

½ tsp. sesame seeds toasted

½ cup rice wine vinegar

¼ cup orange juice

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Combine all the ingredients except the carrots and set aside.  Cut the carrots into ¼ inch slices.  Steam in a steaming basket over boiling water until just tender – about 10 minutes.  Remove from steamer and mix with vinegar mixture.  Serve hot or chilled.

Chard Omelet

Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced crosswise

1 bunch of chard, leaves only, chopped

Salt and freshly milled pepper

1 garlic clove, or equivalent amount of fresh garlic

6 to 8 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped basil

2 teaspoons chopped thyme

1 cup grated gruyere

2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 10 inch skillet, add the onion, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until completely soft but not colored, about 15 minutes.  Add the chard and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until all the moisture has cooked off and the chard is tender, about 15 minutes.  Season well with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, mash the garlic in a mortar with a few pinches of salt (or chop them finely together), then stir it into the eggs along with the herbs.  Combine the chard mixture with the eggs and stir in the gruyere and half the parmesan.

Preheat the broiler.  Heat the remaining oil in the skillet and, when it’s hot, add the eggs.  Give a stir and keep the heat at medium high for about a minute, then turn it to low.  Cook until the eggs are set but still a little moist on top, 10 to 15 minutes.  Add the remaining parmesan and broil 4 to 6 inches from the heat, until browned.

Serve in the pan or slide it onto a serving dish and cut it into wedges.  The gratineed top and the golden bottom are equally presentable.

Carrot and Cilantro Soup

Adapted from Chez Panisse Vegetables

1 onion

3 tablespoons butter

1 bunch of carrots

3 or 4 potatoes

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock

Peel and slice the onion and put it on to stew in the butter over low heat, covered.  Peel the carrots and potatoes and cut them in large chunks.  Once the onion is fairly soft, add the carrots and potatoes, salt generously and continue to stew, covered, for about 10 minutes more.  Add the stock to cover, and simmer until the vegetables are entirely cooked.  Take the pot off the heat. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor and strain through a medium sieve.  Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.  To serve the soup, bring back to a simmer, ladle into bowls.

This Week’s Share

• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Fennel
• Garlic Scapes
• Lettuce
• Mizuna
• Spinach
• Summer Savory

Summer Savory is in!
…..A new crop for the farm this year, we are still discovering ways to utilize this delicious herb. Savory leaves can be used fresh or dried in soups, eggs, vegetables, beans and lentils, poultry, pork, sausage, veal, turkey, tomato and cheese dishes. For tips on storage and other information on summer savory, click on this link.

Recipes

Very Simple Summer Savory Vinaigrette
Adapted from Simple Measures

1 part balsamic vinegar combined with 3 parts extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. Fresh Summer savory, minced

Whisk ingredients together and serve over salad.


Crepes with Savory
Adapted from Gardenweb.com

1 cup wholemeal plain flour
1 teaspoon ground savory
2 eggs
2 tablespoons oil
buttermilk, milk or water

Combine all ingredients, using enough liquid to make a thin creamy batter. Heat a frypan pan and grease lightly. Pour in enough batter to lightly coat the base of the pan. Cook until bubbles break on surface, turn over and cook for a few seconds on reverse side. Stack and keep warm. Serve with your choice of crepe fillings. A sauté of spinach and onions with a little cheese maybe?


Summer Savory and Mustard Marinade
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

2 Tbl Dijon mustard
1 Tbl red wine vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
3 Tbl finely chopped summer savory
1 Tbl water
Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together ingredients. Use as a marinade for your choice of grilled meat or vegetables. Marinade for 15 minutes.


Carrot Cumin Salad
adapted from Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka

1 clove garlic, smashed and peeled
1 pound carrots trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 1/8-inch slices (about 1 and 1/2 cups)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
1/8 teaspoon sugar
Kosher salt to taste
Olive oil to taste.

Fill a medium saucepan with water, add the garlic and bring to a boil. Add the carrots and cook until just barely tender. Drain, discard the garlic. Transfer the carrots to a bowl.
Mix together the spices, lemon juice and sugar. Salt to taste. Pour over the carrots. Chill.
Sprinkle with olive oil before serving. Makes 1 and 1/2 cups.


Braised Fennel
adapted from Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka

1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 fennel bulbs trimmed and cut through into 3 to 6 wedges. (Wedges should be about two inches wide at most)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup Basic chicken stock/Roasted Chicken Stock/Commercial chicken broth
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

In a medium pan, heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the fennel pieces and salt. Cook gently for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until the fennel is softened.
Add the lemon juice. Cook for 10 minutes. Pour in enough chicken stock to cover the fennel. Simmer gently, partially covered about 1 hour, until the fennel is very tender. The liquid should be reduced to a glaze. Taste; add pepper and more salt if desired. To serve, toss the fennel with the glaze to coat


Spinach Salad with Sesame Peanut Dressing
adapted from The Best of Bloodroot Volume One cookbook, by Selma Miriam and Noel Furie



In a food processor combine:

1/2 cup peanut butter (without added fats or sweeteners)
2 teaspoons agave nectar or honey
1 tablespoon white miso
1 tablespoon dark toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon mirin (if not available use rice vinegar)

Turn processor on, gradually adding 1 cup of water. Process until mixed well. Correct seasoning. Refrigerate. In a 300 degree oven brown 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds lightly. Set aside. Prepare a bed of well-washed spinach leaves. Ladle Dressing over spinach. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Hardboiled egg slices are an optional garnish.


Lentils with Spinach (quick tasty dinner solution)
adapted from Kanzeon in the Kitchen by The Dharma Rain Zen Center Sangha

Your share of Spinach chopped
1 large onion
2 Tablespoon olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
2 cups dried lentils picked over, washed and drained (small Spanish lentils are nice as they cook quickly)
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of ground cumin

Chop Onion. Heat oil in a pot (cast iron is best) over a medium flame. When hot, put in onion and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes. Now put in lentils along with two cups of water. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat and simmer about 25 minutes or until lentils are just tender. Add Spinach, salt, cumin. Stir gently to mix and bring to a simmer until heated through.
Makes 7 or 8 Servings

Field Notes by Tanya (SIO Farm Manager)

It’s been a while since I’ve stopped to reflect on where we are in season. The last couple of months have been full and busy with the arrival of this year’s apprentice crew in early May, the beginning of CSA harvests, and a full slate of plantings to get in the ground. Last Friday on field walk I could feel a clear shift in the season, right on schedule it seems with the official start of summer and the longest days of the year.


For one thing, the share is starting to gain a little weight and a few crops are making their debut this week. The return of carrots is always exciting. This year we have put much energy into our carrot crop in hope that we can out smart the carrot rust fly that caused damage to much of our 2007 crop. We have begun covering all our carrot beds with floating row cover before the carrot seeds germinate. This barrier keeps adult flies from laying eggs at the base of the carrot plants. The larvae that hatch from these eggs feed on the carrot root and caused the damage we experienced last year. Today’s harvest of Napoli carrots was free of any evidence of rust fly damage and tastes great. Also new this week is fennel, one of my favorite vegetables. I like to parboil it and then sauté in lots of butter until it’s really tender. We’ve included a lighter recipe in the blog for you to try too. Really, if you are only familiar with fennel seeds you must give the bulbs a try. And if you love them, know that there’s more coming in a couple weeks.


There are other crops just around the corner. Pods are developing on the fava plants with little beans tucked inside the fuzzy white pod. The flowers on the potato plants indicate that tuber formation has begun. Last week marked the beginning of garlic harvest, dictated by the number of wrappers on the garlic bulbs. The wrappers preserve the garlic bulb in storage, so having enough wrappers is important. Though much of our garlic is distributed to you within a relatively short time, we do save some for seed each year to replant in the fall. We look for 5-7 wrappers on a given variety to initiate harvest. We’ll be harvesting garlic over the next few weeks. You can expect to see it in your share soon.


By now we have most of our major plantings in the ground. The night time lows are hovering safely enough around 50° that we will plant our peppers and eggplant this week. Some of the crops that you won’t see in the share until October and November – Brussels sprouts and parsnips – to name a few – are already in the ground. Fall kale and collards are being seeded in the greenhouse now. The sweet corn field is planted – one full acre – decked out with mylar tape, an inflatable snake, and a scarecrow standing guard.


Fifteen hours of daylight means plants grow faster. Last week the crew commented on seeing the potato plants grow from one day to the next. Along with the vegetables, the weeds are taking full advantage of these hours of light. Now that the fields are mostly planted out, we’ll be transitioning our focus to keeping the weeds down, both with steel and hand.


The crew has started to get into a good rhythm and it is hard to imagine that we have only been working together for a couple of months. As satisfying as seeing the fruits on the tomatoes start to grow, swell, and sweeten is being witness to the camaraderie that grows in the fields over the work of planting, weeding, and harvesting. I hope its spirit infuses the harvest you share in.