Denison Farm C.S.A. -- DenisonFarm.com

2010-03-09T05:05:00.001-05:00

Monday March 8, 2010

Greetings Saratoga CSA Members,

The Greenhouse has been fired up and already the beets, collards, shallots, and broccoli are sprouting! I love it when I am inside there and can feel the March sun pouring in, warming us as if it were the middle of July. I am writing with a “Last Call” to all of you who have kept the agreement form buried in your desk pile. We have a bit more time and room this season. Please tell your friends and co-workers to contact us if they are interested in joining for the 2010 season. I expect that by April 1^st, we will be full.

I want to thank all of you who have already signed up and offer a special note of appreciation to those who have donated towards the low-income shares. I encourage you to talk up the low-income share to those who are facing financial challenges.

As always, thank you for your past support. CSA membership sustains us as local, organic farmers in ways that other marketing techniques cannot. You provide us with a stable partnership and as a result, we can more efficiently manage and provide for the harvest. Neither restaurant/wholesale markets nor Farmers’ Markets have those capabilities.

So, thank you. Brian and I are truly grateful for all of you. You have brought us much nourishment with your work at the farm and markets and with your thoughtful and kind words.

Take good care - Justin

Winter Greetings from Denison Farm

2010-01-20T17:40:00.001-05:00

2009-11-03T07:45:00.003-05:00

Hello CSA Members - If you are interested in recycling your CSA box(es), please bring them to your pick-up site by Thursday (11/5/09) Noon of this week. We will come by to retrieve them. Thank you again for your support this season. It is not too late to order your Winter Boxes - just email or call me!

All the Best - Justine

2009-10-27T20:59:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

Thunder boomed on Saturday while I stood, hopping from one foot to the other, attempting to stay dry while standing out in the pouring rain at the Farmers’ Market and yesterday, the frost was so thick that I served tea to keep everyone happy before battling the cold greens out in the fields. But the sun broke through the fog and the day proved to be beautiful. This is the final week for the 2009 CSA season. Brian and I hope that you have enjoyed your shares each week and will want to join back up again for the 2010 season. I will send you all a memo and membership agreement form within the next few weeks to update you about next season.

We will still be very busy harvesting the rest of the potatoes, beets, leeks, and greens so that we can meet you in Troy, Saratoga, or at the farm for the Winter Vegetable Boxes. All of the information is on our website including the order form. I have attached the information as well as the order form to this email. We will also be at the Troy and Saratoga Markets for at least the next few months. When the snow starts to fall heavily, we will be heading inside to the office, starting on the paper work of creating crop plans, placing a plethora of orders for seeds, nutrients, compost, potting mixes, parts, and perhaps deciding on a new tractor!

Brian and I thank you so very much for the support, encouragement, and the feedback with which you have provided us. Your kind words and gestures help make a long, hard day that much easier. We are looking forward to providing you in the Spring with another 22-week season of vegetables. Until then, stay warm and take good care. Enjoy one last poem from Mary Oliver.

Song For Autumn

In the deep fall
don’t you imagine the leaves think how
comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of the air and the endless
freshets of wind? And don’t you think
the trees themselves, especially those with mossy,
warm caves, begin to think
of the birds that will come – six, a dozen – to sleep
inside their bodies? And don’t you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye,
the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
vanishes, and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its
bellows. And at evening especially,
the piled firewood shifts a little,
longing to be on its way.

Enjoy your share this week - Justine

In your share, you will most likely find: Potatoes, Leeks, Brussels Sprouts or Cabbage, Fennel or Celeriac, Broccoli Raab or Bok Choi or Chinese Cabbage, Lettuce or Spinach, and a bag of Carrots, Radishes, and Beets.

Cornmeal Crust Pizza with Greens and Ricotta

Crust:
1 package (1 1/4 ounces) active dry yeast (1 scant tablespoon)
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons milk
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups stone-ground cornmeal, plus more for pan

Toppings:
1 bunch (12 ounces) Broccoli Raab, Bok Choi, Chard, or Chinese Cabbage
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

To make crust: Combine yeast with 1/2 cup warm water; stir with a wooden spoon until dissolved. Stir in 1 cup flour (mixture will become thick and stiff). Cover with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Add oil, milk, salt and 1 cup warm water. Slowly add remaining flour and cornmeal. Mix into a soft dough. Knead 15 minutes, until sticky.

Form dough into a ball. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Punch down dough, knead a few times and reshape into a ball. Return to bowl, cover and let sit until nearly doubled, about 40 minutes. Divide into 4 balls; reserve 2 for later use.

To make toppings: Chop stems, tear leaves; set aside, separated. Sauté in olive oil the garlic. Cook until golden, 2–3 minutes. Add greens and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 450°. Using your hands, stretch a ball of dough into a disk; using a rolling pin, roll into a thin 10-inch circle. Transfer to a heavy baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Repeat with other ball of dough. Divide greens evenly between the 2 pizzas, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Crumble ricotta over the top. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until brown and bubbly, about 15 minutes, rotating pans halfway through cooking. Sprinkle with sea salt and red pepper flakes before serving.

Risotto with Fennel and Leeks

2 ½ cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth
2 Tbl Olive Oil
2 c Thinly Sliced Leeks, well washed
2 c Chopped Fennel Bulb
6 oz Arborio Rice
1/2 c Dry White Wine, (4 Oz)
2-3 Tbl. Parmesan Cheese
1-2 tsp. Butter
Freshly Ground Black Pepper,

In medium saucepan, bring broth to a boil; reduce heat and keep at a simmer. Place another medium saucepan over medium heat 30 seconds. Add leeks and fennel and cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes, until softened. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes, to coat rice thoroughly. Add wine and 1/2 C broth; cook, stirring constantly, until liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1/2 C at a time, stirring constantly until each addition is absorbed before adding more broth. Risotto is done when creamy and tender.

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts (101cookbooks.com)

“This is the only way to eat brussels sprouts: cut in half and cooked until deliciously tender inside and perfectly brown and crusted on the outside.

Using brussels sprouts that are on the small size and tightly closed work best. You can finish these with many different types of cheese but I tend to go for Parmesan when the weather is good. I trade that in for heavier cheeses like Gruyere or Gouda in colder weather. I finished them off with some toasted hazelnuts the other night - delicious!” (Heidi)

24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
Fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil)..

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don't overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they're tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately. Serves 4.

Pasta with Leeks and Raab (Any Cooking Green could be used as well)

1 lb. penne or other pasta
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 leeks, halved and cut 1/2" crosswise slices
1 bunch broccoli raab, stems trimmed and chopped in 1/2" pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 c. Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated

Boil large pot of water and add salt. When it reaches a rolling boil, add 1 lb. penne pasta.
In deep sauté or frying pan, sauté garlic and leeks in olive oil. When leeks start to wilt, add raab and sauté till stems are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
When pasta is al dente, drain and put in serving bowl. Top with vegetables, sprinkle with some of the cheese and serve the remainder alongside.

Learn to lacto-ferment your veggies!

2009-10-21T20:30:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone,

A while back I posted a entry on how to preserve your veggies. In that post, I mentioned my favorite method, lacto-fermentation, and listed some resources to get you started. If you would like to learn about this easy, wonderful, delicious and nutritious method of preservation you have a wonderful series of opportunities coming up. Below is a re-posting of a notice from the Regional Farm & Food Project for an upcoming workshop in lacto-fermentation. If you can't make it to this date, you might still want to contact them because additional workshops are taking place at other dates. Bonus: they are using Denison Farm veggies in these hands-on workshops.

This is the time of year that I really get into making my fermented veggies. I made a batch of green beans and onions at the end of summer, just finished a batch of curry kraut and just tonight, I started some ginger carrots. I encourage you to give it a try!

Happy fermenting!

The Art of Lacto Fermentation With Louise Frazier - Part 1

When:
Saturday, November 14, 2009 from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM (ET)

Where:
Triform Hall
160 Water Street Rd
Hudson, NY 12534

Hosted By:
Regional Farm and Food Project

The Regional Farm & Food Project is a member supported, farmer focused, non-profit serving the greater Hudson-Mohawk Valley food shed of New York State.

Register for this event now at :
http://regionalfarmandfoodfermentation-rss.eventbrite.com

Event Details:

We are very lucky indeed to have Louise Frazier, one of the country’s leading authorities on Lacto Fermentation, living in our region and teaching this workshop at the Phoenix Center on the beautiful farm/campus of Triform. This method of food preservation is used all over the world and is almost as old as the practice of agriculture, it can be a significant component of healthy longevity.

The Art of Lacto Fermentation workshop can be taken individually or in combination with Simple & Good Whole Grain Cookery. Each class stands alone, Part 1 will focus on tradition fermentation techniques, Part 2 will incorporate what was covered in Part 1 but will focus on the seasonal use of food with an emphasis on delicious whole grains. in combination with lactofermented vegetables. We have deeply discounted the ticket in the hopes that you will be able to attend both.

Louise Frazier, Author of LOUISE'S LEAVES, Around the Calendar With Local Garden Vegetables, a vegetable-herb + whole grain cookery chart, conducts cookery workshops emphasizing seasonal vegetables, complementary herbs, and whole grains. She operated a vegetarian restaurant in Cologne, Germany, then helped develop Sunways CSA Farm in Massachusetts, and in 1990 traveled to Sweden on a grant from the Biodynamic Association of America to learn first-hand the art of Lactic-acid fermentation of vegetables.

Additional directions: Turn into campus/farm on Triform Rd, take the first right and follow to end, bear left, look for Phoenix Center. Click here for a campus map: http://triform.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/triformmap.jpg.

***********************************************************************************************

These workshops are deliberately designed to be low tech and home-scale and emphasize hands-on-learning so that you can easily incorporate these kitchen arts into your daily or weekly routines. All food demonstrations will send you home with lots of information and samples, when possible. Please peruse the entire schedule - you may want to take more than one!

Annual RFFP membership is $50 and will discount all upcoming events and classes. Discounts are offered for farmers, students and seniors of $30 and $60 for both, please use the info email to inquire. We are trying to keep these events as affordable as possible without compromising our teaching staff or materials. We are keeping these classes small and they will be filled on a first come, first served basis. Any questions, please contact info@farmandfood.org.

2009-10-20T18:25:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

This week I have plans to fill this CSA Memo with recipes and not stories. However, I was given a great quotation with which I will leave you as food for thought. I hope you have a lovely and warm week. I know that our crew is delighted to have fingers that actually function as they bag the vegetables for you!

Take good care - Justine

World Food Day - Organic Is the Answer to Food Security

"Organic agriculture puts the needs of rural people and the sustainable use of natural resources at the centre of the farming system. Locally adapted technologies create employment opportunities and income. Low external inputs minimize risk of indebtedness and intoxication of the environment. It increases harvests through practices that favor the optimization of biological processes and local resources over expensive, toxic and climate damaging agro-chemicals...in response to a frequently asked question: Yes, the world can be fed by the worldwide adoption of Organic agriculture. The slightly lower yields of Organic agriculture in favorable, temperate zones are compensated with approximately 10-20% higher yields in difficult environments such as arid areas."

-International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements World Food Day, October 12, 2009

This week in your share, you will most likely receive: Lettuce, Shallots, Butternut Squash, Braising Greens, Bunched Turnips or Potatoes, A Bag of Beets, Carrots, and Radish, Sage, and Sweet Potatoes..

Baked Butternut Squash Fluff

Cut squash in half longways and scoop out seeds (you can roast these w/ salt, pepper and cayenne). Roast in the oven until soft, let cool slightly and scoop out the meat into a bowl. Add one or two eggs (depending on how much egg you like), some milk (not too much), a touch of ground/grated ginger, cinnamon and honey (2 T). Mix with a hand mixer to "fluff", spread in a small (no bigger than 9x13) baking dish and top with walnuts and a touch of brown sugar (for a nice crunch). Bake until nuts begin to brown. You can also add grated coconut to the topping - yum.

Radish Butter
1 bunch radishes
1/4 softened butter
Salt, to taste
Grate radishes and stir into softened butter.

This is delicious spread on bread and eaten as is, or be adventurous with other toppings.

Baby White Turnip Salad With Toasted Pecans And Bacon

4 small white turnips with their greens attached
1/4 c. pecan halves or pieces
3 oz. bacon
2-4 scallions, sliced on the bias
Salt and pepper, to taste
1-2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Remove the greens from the turnips. Tear the leaves with your hands into medium to large pieces and set aside.
3. Slice turnips as thin as possible (use a mandoline if you have one). Put into a bowl of iced water.
4. Toast the pecans in the oven just until they start to brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.
5. In a non-stick pan, sauté the bacon until crunchy on the outside. Remove from the pan and set aside, reserving the fat.
6. Prepare a simple vinaigrette: combine vinegar with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in about 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil. Set aside.
7. Heat the bacon fat in the same pan. Once hot, add the scallions and sauté until tender. Add greens to the pan, season with salt and just a splash of balsamic vinegar and cook until they are wilted.
8. Remove the sliced turnips from the iced water bath; dry them with a kitchen towel and toss with the vinaigrette.
9. Arrange the turnip slices and their greens in a mound and sprinkle bacon and pecans on top.

Sweet Potatoes, Apples, and Braising Greens

3-4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise into quarters, then cut crosswise into 1/8-inch slices
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 3 tablespoons melted
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 medium baking apples, such as Northern Spy or Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and cut into quarters
6 cups loosely packed braising greens, stems removed and torn into 2-inch strips
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 400°F.

On foil-lined baking sheet, toss potato slices with 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bake until cooked through and slightly caramelized, about 20 minutes. Keep warm.

In heavy medium skillet over moderate heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Add apples and sauté until tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Keep warm.

In heavy large pot over moderate heat, combine remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons water. Add greens and sauté, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 5 minutes. Lower heat to moderately low and add sweet potatoes and apples. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until warmed through, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in parsley, remaining 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Serve hot.

Carrot Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Icing

(Bon Appétit | September 1999)

Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil
4 large eggs
3 cups grated peeled carrots
1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons minced peeled ginger

Icing

10 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
12 walnut halves (for garnish) – Arrange walnut halves around the top edge of the cake.

For cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans. Line bottom of pans with waxed paper. Butter and flour paper; tap out excess flour. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl to blend. Whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots, walnuts and ginger. Divide batter between prepared pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes. Turn out onto racks. Peel off waxed paper; cool cakes completely.

For icing:

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat at low speed until well blended. Beat in maple syrup. Chill until just firm enough to spread, 30 minutes.

Butternut Squash with Shallots and Sage

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 shallots, halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (3/4 cup)
1 (1 3/4-lb) butternut squash, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and
cut into 1/2-inch cubes (4 cups)
1/2 cup chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook shallots and squash, stirring, until shallots are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add broth, brown sugar, sage, and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar, pepper, and salt to taste.

2009-10-13T20:17:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

Well, we arrived at another milestone for the season this week – the first major frost. This first frost seemed to be celebrated by the crew. Walter was playing Reggae as he sharpened knives, Jeannine baked a ginger cake, and each member of our hearty crew was able to pull the covers up over their heads for an extra 2 hours while the ice thawed into huge droplets of dew, glittering under the yellowing leaves.

Enjoy your share this week and stay warm - Justine

In your share, you will most likely find: Potatoes, Broccoli, Leeks, Bok Choi, Celeriac, Lettuce or Lettuce Mix, Cabbage, and Cilantro.

Greet celeriac, the unsung frog prince of winter vegetables.

Pare off its warty exterior and you'll uncover the royal vegetable within: a perfect, ivory-fleshed, winter alternative to potatoes and other starches.

It is surprising that a vegetable that is so delicious, wonderfully hearty and eminently storable -- and makes such a boldly verdant show in the garden -- is practically unrecognized in the try-anything United States.

In Europe, however, celeriac is a historic favorite. The vegetable's most classic employment is in the cold French salad celerie remoulade, in which the root is peeled, grated, "cooked" in lemon juice (or blanched briefly in acidulated water) to lose a bit of its rawness, then dressed with a mustardy mayonnaise.

Celeriac is cousin to anise, carrots, parsley and parsnips, some of which are bred for their edible stalks and tops, others for their edible roots. Celeriac is a celery variety refined over time to produce an increasingly large, solid, globular root just below the soil surface.

Also known as celery root, knob celery and turnip-rooted celery, celeriac developed from the same wild species as did stalk celery. It had medicinal and religious uses in many early civilizations, including those of Egypt, Greece and Italy.

Above ground, celeriac is a gorgeously symmetrical crown of green, celery-like growth radiating from the central knob to about 12 inches. However, pull up this pretty green crown and what you unearth looks like a troll's orb of warts and roots.

Do not be dissuaded. When peeled, celery root's creamy white flesh resembles that of a turnip and tastes like a subtle blend of celery and parsley. Additionally, half a cup contains only 30 calories, no fat and provides an excellent source of dietary fiber.

This time of year, celeriac can be a perfect non-starch substitute for potatoes in a warming meal, and can be prepared in a similar way. Mashed, shaped into batons and boiled, or even French fried, celery root can provide a winning accompaniment to a fresh green vegetable or salad and anything roasted or grilled.

I find a paring knife, rather than a peeler, works best for peeling the root. Shave downward with the blade in broad strokes to remove the thick skin. Drop the peeled bits into a bowl of acidulated water (water into which some lemon juice has been squeezed) immediately after cutting to prevent discoloration. Even if you are planning to fry or bake the celeriac later, parboiling it first for 5 or 10 minutes in acidulated water will soften its raw edge.

When peeled and cooked, this ugly duckling vegetable will become a true culinary swan.

Potato, Leek, Celeriac, and Greens Soup

1 Bunch Leeks (approx. 3-4)
6 Large Potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
1/3 – 1/2 Celeriac Root – washed and peeled
1/2 lb. Cooking Greens, washed and cut into small pieces – Bok Choi will be perfect!
5-6 cloves Garlic, minced
2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2-3 Tablespoons Butter
4-6 cups Water (enough to cover the potatoes and leeks)
¼cup cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat Oil and Butter in the bottom of a large soup pot. Slice thinly the leeks, add to the heating oil and butter and cook until tender and translucent. Add the potatoes and garlic and sauté until the potatoes begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. Add a bit more oil, if needed.

Add the water and grate the celeriac into the potato/leek mixture. Cook over medium heat for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Either hand mash or puree mixture in a blender (I prefer some chunks, so I use a hand masher). Add the greens (Bok Choi, for example) and cook for another 15 minutes. Add more water if needed.

Just before serving, add the cream, salt and pepper.

White Pizza With Potatoes and Leeks

Pizza Dough:

1 cup warm water
Pinch of sugar
1 package active dry yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour (1 cup of which can be whole wheat)
2 tsp. Kosher Salt
2 Tbl. Olive Oil

Pour water into a medium size bowl. Add sugar and sprinkle yeast over the top. Let sit in a warm spot until the mixture is bubbly and active, about 8 minutes.

Combine flour and salt and then add to yeast mixture. Add olive oil and mix until blended. Transfer onto lightly floured board and knead 10 to 12 times or until dough is smooth and elastic. Add additional flour if mixture is too sticky. Shape the dough into a ball. Transfer dough to a greased bowl. Turn dough to coat. Cover with a towel and leave in a warm place until dough has doubled in size – approx. 1 hour.

Punch dough down and knead 3-4 times. Form one large ball, ready to use for cookie sheet.

Pizza:

1 large ball of pizza dough
6 oz. Mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
3 oz. Parmesan cheese, coarsely grated
1-2 medium potatoes, very thinly sliced
1-2 leeks, rinsed and thinly sliced
2 tsp. Rosemary
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Tbl. Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.. Roll out pizza dough on a lightly floured surface to form an 11-inch square. Transfer to a cookie sheet or pizza pan, lightly dusted with cornmeal.

Arrange the mozzarella over the dough. Scatter half of the Parmesan cheese over the pizza. Arrange the potato slices in overlapping rows over the cheese. Scatter the leeks over top. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and rosemary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; drizzle with olive oil.

Bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly – 16-18 minutes. Transfer to cutting board; slice immediately and serve hot.

Irish Potato and Cabbage Stew

Serves: 4

3 medium sized potatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 cups of chopped cabbage
2 tbsp. of flour
6 cups of water
1⁄2 tsp. of salt
1⁄2 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 cup of chopped parsley

Dice the potato, onion, celery, and carrot.
Chop the cabbage.
Add the water, celery, onion, cabbage, potato, and carrot to a pot.
Bring the water and veggies to a simmer and allow this to cook for 30 minutes.
Put the flour in a mixing bowl.
Take 1⁄4 cup of the liquid from the pot and combine it thoroughly with the flour.
Stir this flour mix back into the pot.
Allow this to simmer for another 10 minutes.
Chop the parsley. Remove the stew from the heat. Add in the salt, pepper, and parsley.

2009-10-06T19:37:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

Including this week’s delivery, we have 4 weeks remaining in the 2009 CSA season. It is difficult for me to believe that those long dark nights and cold wintry mornings are within our reach – seems a bit too soon, wouldn’t you agree? We will offer a winter Vegetable Box this season. Pick-ups will be at the Troy Market and at the Farm on the following dates: 11/7, 11/21 and 12/5, 12/19. The order form will be on the website by October 20th. Please contact me if you have any specific questions. But for this week, there is no goat story or weather to be reported. You are in luck. Eileen Hebert (A Massage Therapist and farm crew member) has beautifully written a piece for your reading pleasure. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I arrive at the farm on this overcast October day with the cobwebs of sleep still hanging in my brain. Ruby, the Denison’s Australian Shepard, comes bounding over to greet me, barking a hello, as she wiggles with excitement. Today is Wednesday, and this morning will be devoted to the CSA pack-up, an event that I have participated in for over a year, and still thoroughly enjoy. Today the “crew” will be counting, bagging, sorting, washing, and eventually packing the vegetables and fruits that we’ve harvested over the last few days on the farm. We will be weighing and measuring exact quantities, carefully calculating parts per person; tying bags, lugging totes and bins, checking and rechecking allotments; assigning packers to corn, broccoli, or cabbage; forming assembly lines, pulling and pushing boxes down the line, and performing final inspections before closing, labeling, taping, hoisting, and loading each box.

On occasion, the members of our farm crew increase in number, like during the summer when Brian hires on extras from the ranks of college students set free from the halls of academia for the summer. This summer, for example, our staff included Sara, Lauren, Holly, Wes, Elena, and the Denison’s daughter, Maggie. All, except Holly, who elected to stay on part-time until November, have returned to school now. Sometimes, CSA members who have bought “working shares” will be available to help pack the CSA boxes on Wednesdays. This is a special treat for us, as we get to meet some of the individuals who help to support the farm. And inevitably, these members come away with a new appreciation for the amount of work that goes into orchestrating CSA packing and distribution. Somehow, being part of that work, even for a day, lends a sense of accomplishment and meaning that enhances their share that week.

Today, there will be twelve of us, Brian, Rebeca, Eric R., Ben, Eric O., Bonnie, Julie, Fidelia, Errol, Walter, Tim and myself assembling in the barn to perform the myriad tasks associated with CSA packing. For many of us, it is a routine we know well, and we are, for the most part, efficient and accurate, all hands working at a pace and rhythm that resembles a colony of worker drones, each one performing a specific task and handing it off to the next in line. We are typically well synchronized and coordinated, but there is never a sense of boredom or drudgery. Our tasks, though menial in nature, are never relegated to the realm of the merely perfunctory, or subject to militaristic regimentation. Instead, we often crack jokes, tease and mildly harass one another, share stories and opinions, sing and dance, and otherwise keep the mood and our spirits light. While we are packing, I like to think about our interconnectedness with the plants and the earth, and the members whose bodies and minds we nourish. I like to think that we infuse the produce in each box with our spirits and this sense of interconnectedness, and that this infused essence is released upon cooking and consuming the contents.. A little “something extra” that we pack each Wednesday morning to be delivered to the CSA members of Denison Farm. (Eileen Hebert)

Have a great week – Justine

This week in your share, you will most likely find: Butternut Squash, Broccoli or Cauliflower, Mesclun or Lettuce, Tomatoes or Tomatillos, Chinese Cabbage or Broccoli Raab, Sweet Potatoes, Bunched Turnips or Red Onions, Scallions, and Cilantro or Parsley.

Chinese Cabbage/Broccoli Raab, Carrot and Broccoli/Cauliflower Stir-Fry

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 1/2 teaspoon peanut oil

1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger

1/2 cup thinly sliced Chinese cabbage

1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots

1/2 cup broccoli florets, blanched and cut into small pieces

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1. Heat a skillet or wok large enough to accommodate all the ingredients over medium-high heat.

2. Add the garlic, peanut oil and ginger, and stir quickly for 30 seconds.

3. Raise the heat to medium-high/high. Add the cabbage, then the carrots, then the broccoli, stirring quickly after each addition. Season with pepper.

4. Add the soy sauce and cook until the vegetables are slightly tender.

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup (looks delicious, but I haven’t tried this – send me your comments)

1 butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped

1 yam or sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped

2 pears (bosc works well), cored and roughly chopped (not overly ripe)

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup coconut milk

6.5 cups vegetable broth

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 to 1 inch ginger root, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

1. Combine squash, sweet potato, cinnamon stick, and ginger in a soup pot. Add 6 cups vegetable broth (save 1/2 cup for later), bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

2. While vegetables are simmering in soup pot, cook onions in olive oil in a pan over medium heat - about 5 minutes or until caramelized.

3. Add chopped pears and 1/2 cup vegetable broth to onions. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until broth is reduced; then add pears and onions to soup pot..

4. When squash and sweet potatoes are tender (takes about 25 - 30 minutes), add coconut milk. Remove from heat and take out cinnamon stick.

5. Use a food processor, strong blender, or a hand-held blender to blend all ingredients together until smooth. If you use a food processor or blender, you may have to do this in batches.

6. Add sea salt and pepper, to taste..

Salsa de Tomate Verde (Green Salsa)

1-2 Jalapeno peppers

½- ¾ pound Tomatillos

1 -2 cloves Garlic

1 Tablespoon Vinegar

1 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup chopped Cilantro

1/3 cup chopped Onion

1 Avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed (optional)

Place the Jalapenos in a large saucepan of boiling water. After 5 minutes, add the tomatillos.

After about 3 minutes, remove the jalapenos and tomatillos and drain.

Puree the jalapenos, tomatillos, garlic, and vinegar in a blender.

Add the salt and cilantro and blend for 2 short cycles.

In a bowl, combine the puree, avocado, and onion.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

2009-10-01T20:51:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,
Oh my gosh - I would have given you all a heads up if I had known that you would be receiving tomatillos. If you want a good Salsa Verde recipe, go to our website:
www.denisonfarm.com
and click on recipes - scroll down to T and you will find a few recipes for tomatillos. My daughter Maggie says that you can just eat a tomatillo as you would an apple. I prefer to throw them into a stir-fry or make a sauce with them to marinate chicken.
Have fun - Justine

2009-09-29T18:29:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

Thunder and Lightning surprised us Sunday evening, bringing strong winds that scared poor Ruby (our sweet dog) half to death. The storms were at least five miles away (as we counted one Mississippi, two Mississippi….), but the booming thunder rattled our windows and caused lights to flicker. Much needed rain fell and how different the mood feels today from the weekend when we were biting our fingernails, anticipating a bad frost. We discovered patches of frost scattered about the fields Saturday morning, but we managed to avoid iced pepper plants and frozen summer squash. The Kale and Brussels Sprouts were singing: Bring it on! But we know that those hearty vegetables just get sweeter with a few 32-degree nights. In fact, I think that the spinach is more delicious in the Fall than at any other time of year. And so with that in mind and thanks to Rebeca, I am offering several recipes for Beets. I used to think that beets were absolutely the worst idea for a vegetable. Just give me those wonderful salad mixes or creamy butternut squash. But one evening when Brian roasted beets, onions, butternut squash, and potatoes for dinner, what stood out without a doubt were the beets. I now think that the very best way to win over the disparaging and sneering beet critic is to serve him or her beets roasted with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. In fact, we provided vegetables to a group of freshmen students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in August for an iron chef competition. And the group with beets won hands down with their feta and beet crostini. So, if you have not yet developed a taste for beets, give them a try!

Enjoy your share this week – Justine

This week in your share, you will most likely receive: Swiss Chard, a bag with Beets, Carrots, and Radish, Lettuce, Onions, Tomatoes, Rosemary, Cilantro, or Thyme, and some combination of the following: Green Beans, Corn, Cauliflower, Broccoli, and Sweet Peppers.

***Pot-luck is this Sunday October 4th from 3-6:00***

Vegetable Curry (submitted by Julie Niles, longtime CSA Member)

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch chunks

1 small (or 1/2 large) head of cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces

1 onion, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 Tbsp canola oil

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp grated ginger

2-3 Tbsp chopped cilantro

2 Tbsp curry powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cup peas (optional)

Toss the sweet potato, cauliflower and onion with the oil and salt, and then spread in a single layer in a shallow roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.

Whisk together the ginger, cilantro, curry, salt and milk until smooth. Stir in the tomatoes and peas. After the vegetables are roasted, pour the liquid mixture evenly over the veggies. Roast for about 5 minutes more. Serve with rice, raisins, cashews and plain yogurt.

Basic Roasted Beets

1. To prepare the beets, wash but do not peel them or cut off the root. Cover with water in a large pot and boil for 15-20 minutes until the skin loosens. Remove from pot and let them cool enough that they can be handled. Rub the skin off with rubber gloves or, if the skin doesn’t slip off easily, scrape it off with a butter knife or spoon.

2. Small beets can be roasted whole. Cut larger beets in halves or quarters. Toss in a bowl with olive oil to coat, add salt and pepper. Roast in oven at 350 F, for 30-45 minutes, turning occasionally so that they do not burn.

3. Alternatively, beets that have been half-cooked in boiling water and skinned can be cut into thick slices and pan roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper, in a cast iron skillet on low heat for 10 or 15 minutes.

4. Roasted beets can be eaten hot out of the pan or oven, either by themselves or tossed with beet greens that have been quickly stir-fried with olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar. They are even better stored in the refrigerator for several days and used in salads or on an antipasto platter.

NOTE: Beets can be roasted with the skin on and then peeled. But I prefer to peel them first so that they caramelize on the outside as they cook.

Beet and Apple Sauté

6 medium beets, boiled or roasted until tender

3 tablespoons butter

3 shallots, minced

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tart green apples, peeled, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

½cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

1. Cook the minced shallots in the butter in a skillet for 2 minutes. Add apple, sugar, salt and pepper and vinegar. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes or until apples are tender.

2. Slice cooked beets ¼ inch thick and add to skillet, cooking for about 3 more minutes. Sprinkle with walnuts and serve.

Roasted Beet Salad

1 pound baby beets, stems trimmed to 1 inch

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

½teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 head Bibb (Boston) lettuce, leaves separated

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse beets. Wrap beets in foil, making a single layer, and roast in middle of oven 30-45 minutes, or until tender. Cool. Cut off stem and root and peel beets. Halve lengthwise.

2. Whisk together shallot, juices, zest, and mustard. Whisk in oil until emulsified and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle lettuce with 3/4 of dressing. Sprinkle with beets and drizzle with remaining dressing.

Roasted Beet Raita

1 cup yogurt

1 medium-sized beet, roasted

¼cup toasted walnuts

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cut beet into slivers or small cubes, mix with yoghurt and chopped walnuts. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Red Beet Relish

2 cooked red beets, peeled and chopped

¼Golden Delicious apple, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon mayonnaise

Pinch ground allspice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a food processor, combine the beets, apple, vinegar and sugar and pulse until the apples and beets are finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and combine with the mayonnaise and allspice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Chocolate Beet Brownies

Vegetable Oil

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 cup boiling water

1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

½cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½teaspoon baking soda

¾cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

½cup unsweetened applesauce

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg white

1 whole egg

6 oz. yogurt

¼teaspoon salt

1 cup peeled raw beets, shredded in food processor

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch pan with oil. Dust pan with flour and shake off excess. In small bowl, whisk cocoa and boiling water until smooth. Set aside to cool. In medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, soda and salt. In large bowl, combine sugar, applesauce, oil, butter and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed 1 minute. Beat in eggs, then yogurt. On high speed, beat until fluffy, 2 minutes, scraping bowl with rubber spatula.

2. On low speed, beat in half of dry ingredients. Increase speed to medium and beat for 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and beat in half of cocoa mixture. Add remaining dry ingredients, and then add remaining cocoa mixture, beating until smooth. With large spoon, gently fold beets into mixture evenly.

3. Add batter to pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 30 minutes, until skewer inserted in center comes out clean, but brownies are still moist. Let cool in pan and then cut into squares.

2009-09-26T18:32:00.001-04:00

POT LUCK POSTPONED UNTIL Sunday, October 4 from 3:00 - 6:00
Greetings CSA Members –

Due to the prediction for an all day rain tomorrow, we are postponing tomorrow's potluck until next Sunday October 4th from 3-6:00, weather permitting. Hope to see you then. Best- Justine

2009-09-22T18:57:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

****Remember the annual CSA potluck is this Sunday September 27th

from 3:00 – 6:00.

Please bring with you:

blanket or chairs to sit on

eating utensils and plates

potluck dish or drink to share and serving utensils, if needed

Children must be supervised, especially around the animals & equipment.

Please leave your pets at home – Many thanks.

We had a rather crazy day yesterday on the farm – the chickens were loose, a restaurant closed that was to host a major event in the area at which several farms, Denison Farm included, were to be highlighted, the goats were howling all day for attention, a ninth grade class arrived to take soil samples in order to analyze and thus create ways for us to improve the quality of our topsoil, and the temperature at 7:30 yesterday morning was 37 degrees. But the harvest will go on - your boxes will be packed and ready for delivery to you for tomorrow. This week I am going to include an online article about tomatoes. Hope you find it interesting.

Tomatoes: 8 worthwhile facts to know

Whether you say Tom-eh-to or you say Tom-ah-to, you can be sure that this sweet little fruit is going to do your body good. As we come full-swing into Tomato season, here are a few fun and interesting facts about the popular ingredient:

1. It is a fruit. Although many people believe that tomatoes are vegetables, they are actually fruits.

2. Italian in Origin. Not so Much. Although popular as an ingredient in Italian cuisine, tomatoes are originally native to the western side of South America. However, it was first cultivated in Mexico; and it was through Columbus that seeds were first introduced to Europe.

3. Antioxidant Powerhouse. Tomatoes are a great source of lycopene, Vitamin C, and Vitamin A. They are antioxidants that are instrumental in neutralizing free radicals known to potentially damage cells, which can increase inflammation and the progression or severity of disease. Diets high in these antioxidants have been shown to help reduce the risk or severity of all of these illnesses. Lycopene, especially, helps protect cells from oxygen damage and heart disease.

4. Prostate, Colon and Pancreas. Although tomatoes are great cancer fighters in general, they are specifically known to promote prostate and colon health. Further, a study published in The Journal of Nutrition showed that those consuming a diet high in lycopene had a diminished risk for pancreatic cancer.

5. Organic Matters. In tomatoes, research has shown that organic tomatoes and organic tomato products provide a much greater dose of lycopene than non-organic.

6. Fiber Factor. Tomatoes are a great source of fiber, which helps to regulate blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

7. Canned isn’t so bad. Although I’m a fan of “au natural” – or right off the plant – when it comes to eating fruits and vegetables…I can get behind canned tomato products. As a matter of fact, some believe that canned products are better than fresh whole tomatoes because the nutrients are higher in concentration than the fresh fruit.

8. Every Color of the Rainbow. Tomatoes come in every color except for blue! You can find them in red, orange, yellow, green and even purple!

Ways to enjoy tomatoes: Tomatoes are very versatile.

* Dishes: Gazpacho, Salads, Tomato and Avocado Salad, Minestrone Soups, Chili

* Sauces: Tomato based sauces, salsas, ketchup, cocktail sauce

* Drinks: Tomato Juice, Bloody Marys

Do you like tomatoes? Do you incorporate them into your diet daily? Any favorite recipes?

Have a great week - Justine

This week in your share, you will most likely receive: Carrots, Butternut Squash, Leeks, Lettuce, Bok Choi or Chinese Cabbage, Tomatoes, Basil, Potatoes, either Broccoli or Cauliflower, and perhaps Sweet Peppers or Corn. Check the white board to be sure, for the harvest isn’t complete as I write this to you.

Salmon with Leeks & Bok Choi/Chinese Cabbage

This recipe uses only the greens leaves of the bok choi, but there really is no need to discard the stems. Just roughly chop or slice the stems and then add them to the pan along with the leek. They will add a nice crunch to the dish.

1 leek

2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil

1 pinch red pepper flakes, crushed

1 pound bok choi

4 salmon fillets

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Heat broiler and line baking sheet with foil.

Split Leek down the middle and clean under faucet, having removed root and tough green ends. Slice leek across the grain into thin strips (white portion only).

Heat butter or vegetable oil in large skillet. Add red pepper flakes and stir over medium low heat. Add leek and sauté until soft, 10 minutes. Meanwhile, slice bok choi crosswise into 1/4- inch strips, discarding stems. Set aside.

Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet. Broil until golden orange on top but still rare in middle, about 8 minutes. After the leeks have cooked, add the bok choi, vinegar, and lemon zest. Season with salt. Cover and wilt for 2 minutes, stirring once.

Serve vegetables and their juice in shallow soup bowls and top with salmon. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serves 4.

Basil-Broccoli Penne

1/4 lb penne pasta

1/2 lb broccoli florets

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Place a large saucepan filled with water on to boil. When water is rapidly boiling, add pasta and boil for 5 minutes. Add broccoli florets and continue to boil for 3 minutes. The pasta should be cooked al dente. Drain, leaving about 2 tbsp water in the saucepan.

Add the oil to the water and return the pasta and broccoli to the saucepan. Add the basil and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Toss well.

2009-09-15T18:45:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

*** Denison Farm CSA Potluck September 27th from 3:00-6:00***

This week you are in for a real treat from Jeannine Laverty – her piece entitled: End of Season Work Has Begun. Enjoy!

End of season work has begun. We hurled ourselves at our first celeriac on September 4. The bulbs will grow for at least another month, so they will get significantly larger. Today they smell and look wonderful but almost as if they come from another farm, they are so far from traditional Denison oversize. To a new crew member we happily explain the many ways celeriac is delicious. He has never seen such an ugly, gnarly vegetable, but we envision for him a grated fresh salad with a remoulade sauce, as side dish mashed with potatoes, a rich Basque stew with tomatoes. We caution him that OUR celeriac is so large that even now, in its early incarnation, only half to a third of the number of heads that any recipe calls for should be used.

Later the same day we said a fond farewell to the melons. The melon season always seems shorter than we wish it to be, and this year the excess rain took a toll on them, as it did on almost everything. Many rotted before they could ripen. The fond farewell consists of both, “Oh, no the last ones already?” and “Finally, an end to working in that terrible smell!” The melons are grown on plastic to decrease their contact with wet earth and give them extra heat for growth and ripening. Much of the plastic used to cover beds on the Denison Farm is biodegradable, but the melon plastic is not, so we pull it up and make great efforts to get every little eternally lasting piece out of the field.

In spring, a machine lays the plastic neat and tight before the baby plants are transplanted into it from the greenhouse, but plastic removal is full of the rot and decay that accompany many end-of-season jobs. There’s something strangely satisfying about this task, once you give in to it. It seems such a short time ago that we were covering the young melon transplants with row cover against the spring’s cold nights and mornings. Everything was clean, fresh, full of hope and faith in the season’s blossoming. When it was finally reliably warm enough, we had taken off the row cover and exclaimed over the flowers already appearing in the vines, happy for the work of the pollinators as they found sweetness. Now we rescue the few fruits that were weed-hidden in the last picking. Full of customer concern and late morning thirst, we hack our way into the smallest ones to determine if they are good enough for market. Some sure are, some definitely aren’t, but the sweet flavors and dripping juices banish our more disreputable coatings.

After we pull and wrap the irrigation tape—more mud and dirt on arms and shirts—Brian can go over this field with the flail mower and till in the wretched remains. Once in the ground, they are transformed into rich fertilizer for the cover crop to be sown that same afternoon, which will in turn give its nourishment to next year’s planting, whatever it will be. We head into lunch looking back on another field ready for winter, appreciating its rich production, knowing the soil has been replenished as it waits to hold whatever food will rotate into that spot for you next spring. So life gives way to death gives way to life. I am so grateful for this work.

This week in your share, you will most likely receive: Tomatoes, Lettuce, Rose Gold Potatoes or Laratte Fingerlings, Yellow Cooking Onions, Spinach or Tat Soi, Green Beans, Cilantro, and then some configuration of the following: Broccoli, Summer Squash/ Zucchini. Sweet Peppers, or Cucumbers. Check the white board at your site for the accurate list.

Say good-bye to some of the summer vegetables, for this may be the last week for receiving eggplant, cucumbers, or zucchini. Autumn is a-comin’ in.

Take care - Justine

Pickled Dilly Beans

2 lbs. fresh green snap beans

4 sm. garlic cloves

4 heads dill or 4 tsp. dry dill seeds

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 1/2 c. white vinegar

2 1/2 c. water

2 tbsp. kosher salt

Wash beans and break off stem ends. Peel garlic. In 4 sterilized jars (pint size) put 1 clove garlic, 1 head or 1 tsp. dill seeds and a pinch of red pepper. Fit beans in jar, allowing 1/2 inch head room at top of each jar. (Trim beans if necessary).

Bring vinegar, water and salt to a boil. Pour over beans, filling to within 1/4 inch of rim. Fasten jar tops according to manufacturer's directions and place in a boiling water bath, covering lids with 2 inches of water. Process at a hard boil for 5 minutes. Remove and cool.

Spinach and Broccoli Enchiladas with Spanish Rice

1 medium Onion, chopped

1 t. olive oil

¾- 1 lb. Spinach

1 c. finely chopped Broccoli

1 cup picante sauce, divided (Use thick, spicy, chunky salsa or picante sauce)

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. ground cumin

1 c. (8 oz.) cottage cheese

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided

8 flour tortillas (8-inch)

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook and stir onion in oil until tender. Add the spinach, broccoli, 1/3 c. picante sauce, garlic powder and cumin; heat through.

Remove from the heat; stir in cottage cheese and half of cheddar cheese. Right in the skillet, divide the mixture into 8 parts. Spoon each part onto a tortilla, fold, and lay seam down in a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon remaining picante sauce over the top.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees or until heated through. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Child-approved Broccoli Mashed Potatoes

2-1/2 lbs. potatoes (Yukon or Rose Gold works great)

1 bunch broccoli

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup whole milk

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper

Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch chunks. Place in a large, heavy saucepan or pot. Cover with water by two inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Let potatoes boil for 6-7 minutes.

Add broccoli to the pot. Let broccoli and potatoes boil until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, 5-8 minutes. Drain vegetables. Transfer to a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Mash. Serve immediately.

2009-09-08T17:43:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

I don’t often give time in the CSA newsletter to my goats, for Denison Farm is a vegetable farm and my goats are my pets. However, this foggy morning as I tiptoed through the heavy dew to the barn, clanging my milking pots, I thought that these girls could use a little time in the spotlight.

Milking the two Mama goats is often a meditative opportunity for me – except for the moment when the grain runs out and the kicking begins… At present, the barn is filling up with the crops that need ripening and curing. The bins of shallots, the trays of tomatoes, the wooden boxes of melons, and the plastic totes of potatoes and winter squash are scattered throughout the bays of our three-sided barn. Each morning, Spritz bolts for the shallots and her new discovery, Brian’s winter rye seed for green manures and cover cropping. With seed pouring out of both sides of her mouth, I drag her back to the milking stanchion. I think that she is fastened safely in when one of the baby goats, Lizzie, leaps completely over the top of the four-foot fence, clearing it gracefully as an Olympic high jumper. She too heads for the rye seed, then takes a bite from a handful of rose gold potatoes, and moves on towards the tomatoes. Now I can’t leave Spritz in the milking stanchion and chase after Lizzie. So I decide to shake the grain can to entice Lizzie back over to the pen. Well, that’s all a bit too much for the other baby who wailing at the top of her little goat lungs attempts to leap the fence. She is not so lucky, but while she is down, Lizzie’s mother decides that she will begin butting her. So now we have, Spritz kicking on the stand, Lizzie knocking the tomatoes to the ground, Peggy bullying Lily, and Lily wailing and moaning for both her mother and for whatever treats she thinks her pal is enjoying. To add to this cacophony, I start yelling and growling with frustration, for I know not what to do first. I shake the grain can again and Lizzie comes running. I throw her back into the pen, grain and all. So for two minutes, Lizzie and Lily are nearly inhaling the grain while Peggy yowls for her turn on the milking stand. Spritz has settled down to a big bowl of grain and I begin to milk. That meditative calm did not come easily this morning. And so, I leave you with a favorite poem by Wendell Berry.

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair grows in me

and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting for their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

All The Best - Justine

This week in your share, you will most likely receive: Tomatoes, Summer Squash/ Zucchini, Beets and Radishes, Lettuce, Kale, Garlic, and some combination of the following: Edamame, Broccoli, Eggplant, and Sweet Peppers. Check the white board at your pick-up site for the most accurate list.

Roasted Beet and Poached Apple Salad with Curry Vinaigrette

1 pound beets (4 medium)

1 cup unsweetened apple juice

1 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon sugar

Salt

2 medium/large summer or tart apples—peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon curry powder

3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts

2 tablespoons golden raisins

2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Put the beets in a small roasting pan, cover with foil and bake for about 1 hour, or until tender. Peel the beets, then slice them 1/4 inch thick.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the apple juice and wine with the sugar and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Strain in a fine strainer and return to the saucepan. Bring back to a boil and add the apples. Simmer over moderate heat for 3 minutes, or until the apples are crisp-tender. Drain the apples and discard the liquid.

3. In a small skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Add the curry powder, remove the skillet from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, along with the vinegar, pine nuts and raisins; season the dressing with salt.

4. In a medium bowl, toss the apples with half of the dressing and arrange on a serving platter. Put the beets in the bowl and toss with the remaining dressing. Arrange the beets on the platter, garnish with the parsley and serve.

Sweet Pepper Pasta Toss with Kale

1 (8 ounce) package uncooked farfalle (bow tie) pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 cup roughly chopped kale

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pinch dried basil

1 pinch ground cayenne pepper

salt and ground black pepper to taste

8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in red pepper, yellow pepper, kale and garlic. Season with basil, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender.

In a large bowl, toss cooked pasta with skillet mixture. Sprinkle with feta cheese to serve.

2009-09-01T17:27:00.000-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

**Denison Farm Pot-Luck Sunday September 27th from 3:00-6:00 **

(More to come in the following weeks, both in the newsletter and on our website.)

** Working Members – Please email or give a call if you can work at the Farmers’ Markets within the next two months.

I can finally say – What a glorious day! And it looks like we will have decent weather all week. But let’s keep it a secret so Mother Nature doesn’t decide to change her mind. Several years ago, I included in a newsletter a reader editorial from one of our favorite magazines entitled Farming. I recently came across it and thought that I would share it with you once again.

“I was thinking about the word ‘organic’ while thinning radishes this morning. Such a humble task takes little brain power, and so I spent my time in the garden listing the many aspects of ‘organic’ that are important to me: Healthy, tasty, safe, fair to farm workers, enriching communities, constantly improving soil, and respecting plants, soil, animals, and people. Whew! In my mind, there’s no single word that can replace ‘organic’ for all those meanings. However, the government and corporations have taken over this word and it no longer includes these values…. When large corporations claimed ’organic’, organic as we knew it died. So, what do we do now? I think we have no choice but to begin again. It seems to me the place to begin is educating ourselves and the consumer. The first thing that comes to mind is that most food labeled ‘organic’ uses an immense amount of fossil fuel to produce, process, transport, and prepare. Can organic be good for us when it’s killing our planet? Additionally, to survive transportation, most food is harvested before it’s ripe and never has the vitamin content of locally grown, ripe produce… By this time the radishes were thinned and I was on to the turnips. Actually, I was thinking about the USDA’s suggestion that non-organic additives be permitted in organic-labeled foods if the additives are not available organically…I want to find a way to communicate all the positives we want our food to represent: food safety, flavor, good nutrition, social concerns, and protecting our soil for the future. I see that Eliot Coleman uses ‘Authentic Food’ and Joel Salatin coined ‘Beyond Organic’. Perhaps one of these good phrases will be what the next wave of informed consumers can seek out. I think that the signs and phrases we use for our produce can be educational in themselves. For starters, I’m using Locally Grown and No Chemicals…We want our concept of how to raise food to again include good health for people, animals, soil, and community.”

We receive our organic certification from a local (New Paltz, NY) organization called “Certified Naturally Grown”. I am very grateful to the CSA Farmer, Ron Khosla, who developed an affordable system for us. Not only do we produce and give you locally-grown produce, but we are certified by a local agency as well. If you are interested in learning more about this organization, here is a link to their website:

www.naturallygrown.org

However you wish to define organic and local, I hope that this and every remaining week this CSA season, you enjoy your share.

All The Best - Justine

This week in your share, you will most likely receive: Salem (all-purpose) Potatoes, Tomatoes, Basil, Edamame, Sweet Peppers, Scallions, and some combination of the following: Mesclun, Cucumbers, Bok Choi, Broccoli Raab, Broccoli, Fairytale/Italian Eggplant, Summer Squash/Zucchini, Watermelon, and possibly Collard Greens.

EDAMAME (BEANS ON A BRANCH)

These sweet, nutty-flavored, green vegetable soybeans are similar in flavor to sweet peas and lima beans. They can be eaten as a snack or incorporated in many recipes that call for beans or peas. Edamame are rich in nutrients and per half cup serving, they provide 11 grams of high-quality protein.

Strip the beans from the branches and then boil for 5-10 minutes in salted water. Drain the beans and add a bit more salt or soy sauce. Strip the beans from the pod either with your teeth or by hand and eat either hot or cold. Edamame is a great snack food and is eaten in Japan like beer nuts. Put them in your children’s lunch boxes or serve as an appetizer.

Try:

Edamame with penne pasta, goat cheese and basil

Vegetable chili with black beans, edamame, and corn

Summer vegetable soup with wild rice and edamame

Sautéed spinach with edamame and sesame seeds

Pasta with swiss chard and edamame

Miso soup with edamame, shiitake mushrooms, red pepper, and tofu

Cream of Garlic Edamame Soup

2 T. Olive Oil

1 bulb of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled

2 bay leaves

3 cups shelled edamame

3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Salt and pepper to taste

1-cup heavy cream

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and bay leaves and cook for 10 minutes or until softened and golden. Add the edamame and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover, and simmer for 35 minutes, or until tender. Remove and discard the bay leaves. In a blender, blend in small batches until smooth. Return the soup to saucepan. Stir in the cream. Heat the soup over medium-low heat until heated through. Serves 6.

Edamame Succotash Salad

(Real Food For Healthy Kids - July 2008)

Make this salad for lunch but serve it hot at dinner first. To give kids extra protein at lunch, add 1/2 cup finely chopped cold cooked chicken and round it out with a small whole-wheat roll and an apple.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped (or use 1 bunch chopped scallions)

1 pound shelled edamame (soybeans)

1 pound frozen corn, thawed, or 3 cups fresh-cut corn kernels (from about 4 ears)

2 large ripe tomatoes, diced

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup minced fresh chives or basil

1. Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion or scallions and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes.

2. Add the edamame and corn and cook, turning often, until heated through, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomato, salt and pepper. Let cool and then chill if packing in a lunch box. When ready to serve, stir in the chives or basil.

Edamame and Carrot Salad with Rice Vinegar Dressing

Bon Appétit - January 2001

Serves 6

1 1/2 cups shelled cooked edamame beans (from about 20 ounces of pods)

4 medium carrots (about 12 ounces), peeled, coarsely grated

1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 garlic clove, minced

Combine first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Whisk vinegar, lemon juice, oil and garlic in small bowl to blend. Add to edamame mixture; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 3 hours ahead. Cover and chill.)

Try adding yellow wax or green beans, cooked, to either of these salads.

And here is a recipe from long-standing Troy CSA Members Nan and Tom Carroll.

Amber Onions

What is the story behind this recipe? This recipe comes from a cookbook put together by my mother’s mother and her friends for my mom’s wedding. My mom’s family is from the Midwest and the recipes including this one reflect that culture and taste. Grandma served these regularly and I still cook them occasionally to a round of applause from Tom.

Ingredients:

6 Onions (Bermuda or Spanish)

1 Tbs. Paprika

4 Tbs. Butter

1 cup honey

1 cup tomato soup (straight out of a can)

Preparation Instructions:

Peel onions, cut in half crosswise, and place in a casserole. Blend remaining ingredients together and pour over onions. Cover and bake one hour at 350 F.

Yield: This serves 2 – 12 people depending on whether or not they’re willing to share.

Preparation Time:

About 15 minutes

2009-08-25T19:25:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

Seen any good movies lately? I think that if I begin another newsletter with a reference to the weather, I might go mad. However, I do need to report that we experienced two severe thunderstorms last week. The one that hit last Tuesday came up so quickly that no one had a chance to prepare for it. The wind gusts reached close to 50 mph and all I wanted to do was head for the basement! We lost the latest corn and spinach planting along with tomato trellises and peppers that were blown and left broken on the ground due to the wind damage. Of course, the copious amount of rain that fell also has left a lasting impression. And did I forget to say that on both days during both storms we experienced hail once again. However, the good news is that not more than an hour and a half prior to the first downpour, the mighty crew that works here managed to haul out of the ground and into the barn this year’s onion crop. Hope you like onions!

To create a garden is to search for a better world.

In our effort to improve on nature, we are guided by a

Vision of paradise. Whether the result is a horticultural

Masterpiece or only a modest vegetable patch,

It is based on the expectation of a glorious future.

This hope for the future is at the heart of all gardening. (Marina Schinz)

And so with the hope that Brian’s boots begin to dry out after 6 days, I wish for both you and for us a great week of sunshine ahead.

This week in your share, you will most likely find: Sweet Onions, Slicing Cucumbers, Green Peppers, Tomato, Broccoli, Melon, Green Beans, Mesclun, Thyme, and Summer Squash/Zucchini.

Take good care – Justine

The following 2 recipes are recipes are suggestions from Rebeca. Recipes 3 and 4 use Thyme - Enjoy.

Summer Melon And Arugula Salad

(makes 6 servings)

For the vinaigrette:

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup canola or other light vegetable oil

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

For the salad:

1 medium (about 3 cups) cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch slices

3 cups seedless watermelon, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

2 bunches (about 3 cups, unpacked) arugula, washed and dried

1 medium red onion, peeled and shaved paper-thin

6 paper-thin slices of parmesan, for garnish (optional)

1. Make the vinaigrette: Place the lemon juice in a small bowl and add the canola or vegetable oil and the olive oil in a steady stream, whisking vigorously. Add salt and pepper to taste; set aside.

2. Make the salad: In a medium bowl, combine the cantaloupe, watermelon, arugula and red onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette and combine until lightly coated.

3. To serve, place half of the melon on individual plates, then layer each with a mound of arugula and the remaining melon. Top with thin slices of parmesan and drizzle the remaining vinaigrette around the plates, if desired. Serve immediately.

GRILLED PEPPER & TOMATO SALAD RECIPE

Bell and Hot Peppers

Tomatoes

Garlic & kosher salt

Onion - chopped into thin lengths

Red wine vinegar

Good olive oil

Plenty of kosher salt

PEPPERS & TOMATOES Trim the peppers (use a mixture of bell peppers and hot peppers (poblanos, jalapenos, or serranos) and remove the seeds and membranes to discard. Cut into quarter or halves, press with the back of your hand to flatten. Grill the peppers and tomatoes skin-sides down until the skins blacken and blister all over. Leave the skins on (they provide great flavor) and let cool. (Stop here if prepping ahead.) Chop both the tomatoes and peppers into rough pieces, one-inch pieces or lengths for a side dish, or into tiny bites for a salsa.

SALAD Mash the garlic and salt into a paste by chopping the garlic as fine as possible with a knife, then mashing the pieces into the salt with the side of a knife; stir into the peppers and tomatoes. Gently splash the vegetables with equivalent volumes of vinegar and olive oil. Now get salty -- stir in salt, tasting after each addition. It should taste a little salty for later when the juices flow from the peppers and tomatoes. If the peppers and tomatoes don't taste that good, it's likely because the dish needs more salt.

KITCHEN NOTES

I'm not giving quantities because this salad so easily adapts to small and large quantities. Still, some guidance may be helpful. For a dozen large tomatoes and 5 large peppers, I used 1/2 a white onion, 3 large garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons (yes, tablespoons - "It should taste like a salted tomato" and suggest 2 - 3 tablespoons) of kosher salt, 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar.

You'll want roughly equivalent amounts of tomatoes and peppers.

Lemon Orzo Primavera

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 medium zucchini, shredded

1 medium carrot, shredded

1 (14 ounce) can vegetable broth (or use Vegetable bouillon cubes)

1 lemon, zested

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Stir in orzo, and cook 2 minutes, until golden. Stir in garlic, zucchini, and carrot, and cook 2 minutes. Pour in the broth and mix in lemon zest. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes, or until liquid has been absorbed and orzo is tender. Season with thyme and top with Parmesan to serve.

Baked Onions with Thyme

6 medium red or white onions (3 1/2 lb)

3 tablespoons fine-quality extra-virgin olive oil (preferably Tuscan)

10 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Fine sea salt to taste

1/2 cup Chianti or other dry red wine

1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut a slice from both ends of each onion, then halve onions crosswise. Discard outer layers from onions, leaving about a 2 1/2-inch diameter.

Arrange onions, trimmed ends down, in an oiled 13- by 9-inch baking pan. Drizzle with oil.

Remove leaves from 2 thyme sprigs and sprinkle over onions. Season with sea salt and pepper, then scatter remaining 8 sprigs over onions. Pour wine over onions.

Bake, uncovered, in middle of oven, basting with pan juices twice during baking, 40 minutes. Add water to pan and bake until onions are browned and tender, about 50 minutes more. Serve hot or at room temperature.

2009-08-18T15:02:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,
I just finished re-reading Barbara Kingsolver’s chapter 13-August in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (If you have not read her book, hop on your bike to your nearest library, and dive in. Don’t forget to try her zucchini chocolate cookies and her cucumber yogurt soup!) Tomatoes are exploding and filling up every counter in her kitchen. Canning and freezing, ratatouille and stews all filling your nostrils with summer fragrance as you turn the pages. I wonder how she would write this chapter this season with the onset of what I like to term the “Big-box Store Blight”? As this chapter continues, she expands upon the issue of local tomato growers and their plight with the California growers whose prices undercut the local, organic farmers. I think that so much of what B. Kingsolver describes throughout her book is absolutely wonderful and eye opening for both farmers and consumers. She really brings home so many of the difficulties and the joys that become mixed into the cooking pot of knowing your food, your farmer, and your community. Even here in upstate NY we experience the price conflicts. Conventional growers offer homegrown, natural, we’re-your-neighbor-and-thus-you-can-trust-us produce at a price the consumer can’t seem to refuse. When a customer who comes to our stand at the Farmers’ Market but quickly leaves silently (having checked out all of our prices), I watch to see where he or she goes next. Often that customer does go right next door to a conventional grower to buy corn or potatoes that are much less expensive. I bite my tongue and then begin creating my list of ideas for new bumper stickers: Got pesticides, we don’t or Ask your farmer what they spray or Taste the difference. And instead of giving any response, I take to heart what Dan Pratt (Massachusetts Market Farmer) stated in the latest Growing For Market Magazine:
“Farmers may love to complain, but no one really wants to hear your woes. Even in the worst of seasons it is better to showcase your resilience and character, than to complain. ‘Yes, it has been a tough year for tomatoes, but the onions have totally loved all that rain!”
And as Brian often sings – Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side; keep on the sunny side of life.

Enjoy your week of heat – Justine

This week in your share, you will most likely find: Swiss Chard, Lettuce, Sweet Onions, Summer Squash/Zucchini, Cucumbers, Green Peppers, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Basil, Melon, Italian or Fairytale Eggplant.

*** Please remember your payment installment.
*** Please remember to tell anyone picking up your share for you how the process works. We are often short eggs or fruit. I think sometimes the newcomers just take everything offered.
Thank you!

Ratatouille (This recipe serves 10-12. I suggest cutting the recipe in half and serve it over rice.)

2 1/2 lb tomatoes (4 large)
8 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
20 fresh basil leaves, torn in half
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 lb eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 large onions (1 1/2 lb total), quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
3 assorted bell peppers (green, red, and/or yellow; 1 1/2 lb total), cut into 1-inch pieces
4 medium zucchini (2 lb), quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick pieces
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Garnish: Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings and fresh basil

Cut an X in bottom of each tomato with a sharp paring knife and blanch together in a 4-quart pot of boiling water 1 minute. Transfer tomatoes with a slotted spoon to a cutting board and, when cool enough to handle, peel off skin, beginning from scored end, with paring knife.

Coarsely chop tomatoes and transfer to a 5-quart heavy pot with garlic, parsley, basil, and 1/3 cup oil. Simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes break down and sauce is slightly thickened, about 30 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, toss eggplant with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large colander and let stand in sink 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook onions in 3 tablespoons oil with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer onions with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, then add 3 tablespoons oil to skillet and cook bell peppers with 1/4 teaspoon salt over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer peppers with slotted spoon to bowl with onions. Add 3 tablespoons oil to skillet and cook zucchini with 1/4 teaspoon salt over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer zucchini with slotted spoon to bowl with other vegetables.

While zucchini are cooking, pat eggplant dry with paper towels. Add remaining oil (about 1/4 cup) to skillet and cook eggplant over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 10 to12 minutes.

Add vegetables, remaining teaspoon salt, and black pepper to tomato sauce and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender, about 1 hour. Cool, uncovered, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Baked Polenta with Swiss Chard and Cheese

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large white onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 pound Swiss chard, thick stems and ribs removed, leaves cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips
3 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal) or yellow cornmeal
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
2 cups coarsely grated low-fat mozzarella cheese (about 8 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil 2-quart glass baking dish. Heat oil in heavy large deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion. Sauté until tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in garlic and crushed red pepper, then chard; cover and cook until chard is tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Uncover; stir until any excess liquid in skillet evaporates. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring 3 1/2 cups water and salt to boil in heavy large saucepan. Gradually stir polenta into boiling water. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until polenta is very thick, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Whisk ricotta and eggs in bowl; whisk in 1cup hot polenta. Stir ricotta mixture into polenta in saucepan. Spread half of polenta mixture in baking dish. Spread half of chard mixture over. Sprinkle with half of mozzarella. Repeat layering with remaining polenta, chard, and cheese. Bake until puffed and brown on top, about 45 minutes. Cool 30 minutes.

Watermelon Mint Smoothie

1 to 2 cups seedless watermelon chunks
1 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, or to taste
1 cup lemon yogurt
Dash cinnamon

Puree watermelon, honey, and mint in a blender or food processor quickly–do not over blend. Pulse in the yogurt and cinnamon just until smooth.

Serves 1 or 2.

2009-08-11T18:05:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

The time has come to inform you that the raccoons and red-winged blackbirds are in the corn, the mosquitoes are buzzing thickly around our heads, the goats are panting, and the slugs are plentiful. The good news is that cantaloupes and watermelons are ripening. Funny how we have so quickly slid from cool July days into steamy, muggy, almost slimy August. Brian is diligently keeping watch over the plethora of diseases attempting to make their way into our fields. If I could, I would act as a bouncer and inform those nasty fungi with a swift kick that they were no longer welcome here at Denison Farm. I am continually in awe of how wonderful the quality and taste of these organic vegetables is even with the most extreme and difficult conditions this season. For me, this is a huge difference between conventional and organic practices. When we grew vegetables back in Maine on a wholesale and conventional level, we were able to spray all of the wonder fungicides on the market, but the quality of the vegetables seemed to decline in my opinion or perhaps it was the taste. Brian takes a large amount of time researching and refining the soil conditions, the nutritional balance, and the organic matter so that the greatest fertility can be achieved. I believe that quality is what you all taste. Here is a quotation from The Biological Farmer by Gary Zimmer:
“The initial results of what we call the conventional system of farming seemed good. Crop yields and animal production skyrocketed – we were awash in surpluses. But what about the long-term effects – the hard, dead soil, the poisoned groundwater, the increasing pest problems? And what about the ‘minor details’? – the fact that today’s food is so lacking in vitamins and minerals that we have to give our livestock costly ration supplements and take vitamin and mineral pills ourselves. Or the fact that most fruits and vegetables grown commercially have to be rushed to market before they spoil. What ever happened to quality? ...This (other) system of agriculture (organic or biological) relies on cooperation, working with nature, not against it. It could be called the way of give, not get. When we give the soil the right materials so an amazing array of soil organisms can do their jobs, we receive an abundance of nutritious, high-quality food – without even thinking about getting. Certain natural organisms and mechanisms protect against diseases and pests automatically. We only have to encourage them and get out of their way.” (Pages8-9)
I am grateful every day that I can pick a head of lettuce or a pluck a fairytale eggplant and know that it has been well-fed – for it sure feeds me well.

This week in your share, you will most likely find: Lettuce, Onions, Beets, Carrots, Red Gold Potatoes, Green Beans, Parsley, and then some combination of the following - Fairytale or Italian Eggplant, Tomatoes, Melon, Cucumbers and Green Peppers.

Enjoy your share – Justine

(I have not tried either of these eggplant recipes, but they looked very good! Both the fairytale and the Italian eggplant can be used in these recipes. When you cook your eggplant dish, put on a pot of rice, add a 1/2 cup more water than usual, and throw the onions and green beans in about 10-15 minutes before the rice has finished cooking - easy and tasty).

Fairytale Eggplant in Ginger-Garlic Sauce

3-5 fairy tale eggplant, sliced in half lengthwise
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch knob fresh ginger, minced
Cornstarch
Sugar

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the eggplant, cut side down. Add the water and cover.. Cook about 2-3 minutes or until the eggplant is softened but not fully cooked. Meanwhile, whisk together the soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sake and pinch of cornstarch and a pinch of sugar. Pour over the eggplant and recover. Cook about 5 minutes or until the eggplant is soft.

Eggplant Rules:

1. Eggplant does not like to be refrigerated, so if you don’t have a cool place to store it at about 50 degrees (your fridge is usually about 40 degrees), prepare it the day you buy it.
(Justine’s note: I have found that it lasts for 2-3 days on my counter)

2. Eggplant should be firm, without wrinkles or indents and have a lustrous shine.

3. Eggplant soaks up whatever liquid touches it.. Bad news if you steam or boil it since it gets soggy, mealy and tasteless.. Great news if you use good quality olive oil or a flavorful braising liquid like in Chinese, Thai or Indian cuisine.

Basil Eggplant

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 bunch basil, leaves picked from the stem
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce or Soy Sauce
2-4 eggplants
2 chili peppers (optional)

Slice the eggplants into irregular shapes for easy turning in the pan. When it is sliced into a small disk, it tends to stick to the bottom of the pan and makes it difficult to flip or turn.

Chop garlic and slice chili peppers. Pick the leaves from the stem of the basil.

Heat a pan or wok over high or medium high. Add oil, chili peppers and garlic. Stir until the garlic turn golden brown. Add eggplant and stir. Add a cup of water and cover the pan or wok with a lid. Keep the lid closed until the eggplant is cooked. It should take about 5-7 minutes before the eggplant is done. The eggplant turns from white to translucent when it is done. Almost all of the water should have been evaporated at this point. If the eggplant is still not cooked, add a little bit more water and keep lid closed until the eggplant is ready. Add fish sauce and sugar and stir. Add basil and quickly stir to heat the basil. Turn off heat immediately.
Serve hot with rice.

Carrot and Beet Salad with Ginger Vinaigrette

1/4 cup minced shallot (onions will work as well)
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar (available at Asian markets and some supermarkets)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 cup olive oil
4 cups finely shredded carrots
4 cups finely shredded peeled raw beets (about 3/4 pound)
spinach or lettuce leaves, washed thoroughly, for garnish if desired

In a blender purée shallot, ginger, and garlic with rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. With motor running add olive oil in a stream and blend until smooth.

In separate bowls toss carrots with half of the dressing and beets with remaining half. Divide carrot salad and beet salad among 4 plates and garnish with spinach or lettuce leaves.

Cantaloupe Salsa (adapted from Gourmet)
Makes about 2 cups of salsa

This would be great over grilled fish or chicken, not that ours ever got that far. It is equally good with tortilla chips. It occurred to me after the fact that this would be fun with a mix of honeydew and cantaloupe, for color and a bigger range of flavors.

2 cups diced (1/4 inch) cantaloupe (from a 2 1/4-lb piece)
1/4 cup diced (1/4 inch) sweet onion (such as Vidalia) or red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or cilantro
1 (2-inch-long) fresh hot red or green chile (skip the seeds if you want to dim the heat), minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix everything and eat immediately.

2009-08-06T20:32:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

Farmers always have something to complain or fuss about. However, this season truly gives us pause. We have received an abundance of rain, some of which would have brought tears of joy to our eyes in a droughty summer. This amount of rain, however, has hurt us and I am very sorry to say that now we do have Late Blight – the plague of the Irish potato famine. We are diligently doing all we can to prevent the rapid spread of this disease, but with each passing shower, we know that the blight is taking hold in new places on the farm. The potatoes seem to be hurt more at this point than the tomatoes. We shall see and I will of course keep you updated with any new developments and how they may impact your weekly share. Here is a link to find out more information about Late Blight:
http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/publications/blight/

And as I promised last week, here is an excerpt about potato planting from Jeannine. I hope you enjoy it along with two recipes that honor the potato.

This week in your share, you will most likely receive: Mesclun, Onions, Green Beans, Lettuce, Kale, Potatoes, Tomato or Eggplant or Green Peppers or Cucumbers, and Basil

All The Best – Justine

Mashed-Potato Cakes with Onions and Kale

12 cups water
1 bunch kale, trimmed (about 4 ounces)
3 cups cubed red potatoes (about 1 pound)
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups diced onion
2 tablespoons chopped Basil or Sage
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring water to a boil in a large pot; add kale. Cover and cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until tender. Remove kale with a slotted spoon, reserving cooking liquid. Chop kale and set aside.

Add potato to reserved cooking liquid in pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until tender. Drain; partially mash potatoes. Stir in kale and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Preheat oven to 400°.

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, diced onion, and chopped sage/basil. Cook 12 minutes or until browned. Combine potato mixture, onion mixture, green onions, and pepper. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Divide potato mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Place patties on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.

Preheat broiler.
Broil patties for 5 minutes or until browned. Garnish with additional basil or sage, if desired.

Kale and Olive Oil Mashed Potato Recipe
(Serves 6)
3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
Sea salt
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, large stems stripped and discarded, leaves chopped
1/2+ cup warm milk or cream
Freshly ground black pepper
5 scallions, white and tender green parts, chopped
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, for garnish

Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Add a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a boil and continue boiling for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, chopped kale, a big pinch of salt, and sauté just until tender - about a minute. Set aside.

Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or fork. Slowly stir in the milk a few big splashes at a time. You are after a thick, creamy texture; so if your potatoes are on the dry side, keep adding milk until the texture is right. Season with salt and pepper.

Dump the kale on top of the potatoes and give a quick stir. Transfer to a serving bowl, make a well in the center of the potatoes and pour the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with the scallions and Parmesan cheese.

The Potato Giant at Work, Almost May 2009

Imagine yourself an employed giant sitting in cramped conditions. One leg doubled nearly under your chin, the other stretched around obstructions, you are looking down on a Ferris wheel not much bigger than your head. You’re not much smarter than the Cyclops that challenged Odysseus but you do notice the special design of this apparently well-worn ride. Instead of one wheel, two turn creakily, their green paint dulled and partly peeled away. Two wheels, yes, but not just a double Ferris wheel like those the humans like at their fairs. These two wheels are set at an angle to one another so that the five small red seats—they look like tiny tabs to your weak giant eyes--on each wheel mesh perfectly just once during each revolution. It’s at the moment of meshing that you must drop a boulder. You don’t hurl it, lacking the ancient giant’s hatred. You’re not really trying to hurt the riders or destroy their seats, your job is just to heighten the thrill of the riders’ turning. You have been instructed to provide something for them to dread or look forward to during the downward part of the passage when their airy view is giving way to darkness.
Your aim is not any better than most giants’ either. It’s not just your eyes. Sometimes you let go too soon, sometimes too late. Sometimes your toss is weak, causing the boulder to hit the wheel’s foundation and roll harmlessly too late into the pit below it. Sometimes the smallness of your giant’s brain causes you to forget to feel the shape of the boulder so that you neglect to turn it properly in your hand and it gets caught before the occupants of the seats even see it coming. Practice. Breathe. Enjoy the game but don’t waste any boulders. Get ’em all in the ground, all in the row.
In case you’re wondering what this is about, I’ll tell you in my human voice. I always ride the Ferris wheel at the Washington County Fair. I have told stories about the invention of the Great Wheel as the technological centerpiece of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and about Polyphemous’s trying to swamp Odysseus’s ship, but I had perched, legs crinkled to avoid machine or compañera entanglement, on the left seat of the potato planter for probably twenty of the thirty-one 300-ft. rows of potatoes being planted on the Denison Farm before the giant’s image hurled itself into my mind. Only then did my mind have spare time to turn from the task of getting those potatoes in the ground properly.
Three of us had spent two days cutting up the potatoes into the right size pieces for planting and making sure each piece had at least one eye. Each variety--Dark Red Norland, Rose Gold, Desiree, Romanze, Satina, Red Cloud, Adirondack Blue. LaRatte—has a different configuration and number of eyes per potato, and some are denser, juicier, more prone even now to rot. Such characteristics alter the cutting task, slowing it or speeding it up and requiring continued vigilance from a cutter. So even before leaving the barn, we’d given 48 hours of intense-focused work to the potatoes that would, with grace, feed customers at two farmers’ markets, diners at five corporate restaurants, and 470-plus CSA families. Two days of planting would finish the potatoes.
“Finish!” Brian Denison responds, when we anticipate pouring the last totes into the pods in front of our seats on the planter. “We’ve hardly begun! Then there’s the cultivating and the hilling and the digging and the washing…” We’ve all chimed in by this time. “And the driving of them to storage in Vermont, and the driving of them back.” “And carrying them into market, and carrying them out again.” We’re all laughing.
Right now, in the early spring, only three of us are working for Brian and Justine at the farm, all returnees. We’ve been through the year’s growing cycle several times, and we come back because we are nurtured by it, but lugging bags of potatoes is unforgettably heavy work, even in playful memory. Brian has told us all that we shouldn’t farm unless we absolutely can’t stand to do anything else. (I had a fine pastor who gave the same advice to those considering going into the ministry.) “We could have saved ourselves a lot of work by not even starting with these potatoes,” he says as he climbs back on the tractor. We head for the trailer to pick up those last totes. Three workers, three pods holding on the planter the potatoes we giants reach for, six totes of potatoes: one into each pod, and three to wait and ride on tractor fenders and top until we need to refill for the journey back to the starting end of the field.
By the time we head back to the barn, the field flutters with small white plastic flags marking where each variety begins and ends, centered and plunged low enough keep them from being torn out by the iron shoes of the next visitor— the cultivator.

Postscript: On July 17, after Brian had completed the cultivating and the hilling, and the rains had kept them under water almost too long, our now-full size crew dug the first of the Dark Red Norlands, washed their tender skins carefully and carried them into the next day’s market in Troy and Saratoga Springs. We didn’t carry them home again, though!

2009-07-28T15:58:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

We dodged several storms yesterday, but not the one that arrived in full force, filling the window sashes to overflowing. The sheets of rain appeared to be coming in every tiny crack or crevice. But luckily, just as quickly as this storm came up, it vanished. The sun rays became strong in the late afternoon as if it were mid-day. And once again our devoted crew splashed back into the fields to prune the tomatoes and cut strawberry runners! Next week I plan to talk about Late Blight possibility on the farm and share a fabulous piece from Jeannine, one of the long-standing crew leaders and CSA member, whose strength at 55+ outshines most of the newcomers on the Denison Farm block! But this week I will leave you with a wonderful prose/poem composed by Mary Oliver (Many of you already know how much I admire her).

Tiger Lilies

They blew in the wind softly, this way,
that way. They were not disappointed
when they saw the scissors, rather they
braced themselves sweetly and shone
with willingness. They were on tall and
tender poles, with wheels of leaves.
They were soft as the ears of kittens.
They felt warm in recognition of the
summer day. A dozen was plenty. I held
them in my arms. They were silent the
way the deepest water is silent. If they
wondered where they were going they
didn’t show it, as they sprinkled freely
over my shirt and my hands their
precious gold dust.

This week in your share you will most likely find: Spinach, Radish, Onions, Sage, Green Beans or Cucumbers, Fennel, Tomatoes or Eggplant or Sweet Peppers, and Lettuce.
** Keep your fingers crossed that the raccoons don’t eat all of your corn! **

Have a great week - Justine

Tips for Using and Storing Sage
(Peggy Trowbridge Filippone)

Wrap sage leaves in paper towels and store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Use within 4 to 5 days.

Fresh leaves may be covered in olive oil and stored in the refrigerator up to 2 months. Use the flavored oil for sautéing or in salad dressings.

To freeze fresh sage leaves, wash and pat dry, remove leaves from the stems, and pack loosely in freezer bags. Freeze up to 1 year. Be aware that freezing will intensify the flavor of the herb and adjust accordingly.

Alternate sage leaves with cubes of meat and vegetables on skewers when making shish kabobs.

Heat 1/2 stick of butter in a skillet and add two tablespoons chopped sage and toss to cover. Warm through and serve over pasta or mixed into rice.

Slide a few sprigs of sage under the skin of chickens and turkeys top be roasted. Put a few in the cavity, as well.

Combine two tablespoons chopped sage with 8-ounces of cream cheese and three or four tablespoons white wine as a light spread or dip.

When frying or sautéing onions, a few sage leaves added to the pan intensifies the richness of the onion flavor.

Mince a couple tablespoons sage leaves and add to bean pots near the end of cooking - likewise add to chili and other hearty soups and stews.

Add two or three tablespoons finely chopped sage to a cup of flour for coating chicken for frying or baking.

Mix two tablespoons finely chopped sage to one stick of butter and whip through. Roll in wax paper or plastic wrap and chill. Slice off small "coins" and put on steaks or chicken pieces immediately.

Fried Polenta, Eggs, and Sage
(Martha Stewart)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
8 pieces set polenta (about 1/3 batch) Basic Polenta (Soft or Set)
8 fresh sage leaves
4 large eggs
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Heat half the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the polenta, and cook, without flipping, until bottom is golden brown and polenta can be moved without tearing, 9 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, flip polenta, and move to edges of skillet.

Add half the sage and 2 eggs to center of skillet, and cook, spooning oil over sage and eggs, until polenta is crisp on bottom and egg whites are set, about 4 minutes. (Add up to 2 teaspoons more oil if needed.) Season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Spinach Salad With Tomato and Onion

½- ¾ lb Spinach
4 tsp. lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 red or white onion (thinly sliced)
1 clove garlic (peeled and split in half)
4 tsp. Olive Oil
1-2 Tomatoes (cut in wedges)

Wash the spinach well and discard the tough stems.. Drain spinach leaves (chill in a damp cloth – optional). Tear into bite sized pieces. Rub bottom of salad bowl with garlic. Add lemon juice and oil. Chill the seasoned bowl. Just before serving, add spinach leaves and sprinkle with pepper. Garnish with tomato wedges and onion rings.

Salad with Fennel and Orange

Dressing:
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herb (Basil, Parsley, or Mint)
3 tablespoons olive oil

Salad:
1 head of Lettuce or ½ -3/4 lb Spinach
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 orange, peeled and segmented
1/2 red or white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Whisk together the sugar, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, herb, and olive oil in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves; set aside. Toss the salad greens, sliced fennel, orange, onion, almonds, and cranberries in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to serve.

2009-07-21T18:41:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

I can’t be happier with this cool, puffy-cloud July we are enjoying. I am reminded of Maine weather and am so appreciative. Not so the melons and hot peppers, however. But nonetheless, this week you will be receiving green peppers and green beans – a sure sign of Summer. This week I am including a wonderful excerpt from Rebeca Torres-Rose, our once CSA Member who now runs the show in the barn and at the Farmers’ Market in Troy. She has been gathering her thoughts and doing her research about Herbs. Hope that you find her tips useful.

This week in your share you will most likely find: Green Beans, Garlic, Lettuce or a bag of Arugula, Some delicious Cooking Green – Sauté as you would Bok Choi or Braising Greens), An Herb, Cucumbers, Mesclun, Green Peppers, and Carrots.

**Please check the white board when you pick up tomorrow for what herb and cooking green you actually are receiving – Thanks. **

Have a great week - Justine

“I have a fantasy of one day having (and using) a beautifully laid out herb garden outside my kitchen. I love the diverse smells and flavors of herbs and am intrigued by their medicinal properties. In preparation for this day when my herb garden comes to be, I have made a conscious effort to start using more herbs in my cooking. Since you will often receive herbs as part of your CSA share and some of you may be at a loss as to what to do with them, I thought I would share some of the ways in which I have been using or plan to experiment with them.
We grow some herbs in the garden at my husband’s parents’ farm, but I get most of my herbs here at Denison Farm. This year we are growing basil, cilantro, flat and curly parsley, dill, fennel (we grow it for the bulbs, but the fronds can be used as an herb), sage, thyme and rosemary. We also have delicious wild mint growing by the lettuce beds that we have been harvesting.
I try to use up the fresh herbs in my daily cooking. This is easy for me with basil, cilantro and parsley as many recipes in my repertoire call for them. Even if a recipe does not call for herbs, I’ll finish it of with a chiffonade of basil, or chopped cilantro or parsley. I love the bright color and taste they add to dishes. Herb additions work especially well in green, pasta, bean or grain salads (try a mixed herb tabouli) and with roasted or stir-fried dishes. Favorite pairings for dill are with green beans, beets or salmon. I add fresh herbs to marinades for veggies, tofu or meat (when I think ahead enough to marinate!). I also like to use fresh herbs to make infusions to drink hot or cold. My latest favorite is a sage-mint herb tea with lemon and honey as a late-day caffeine-free pick-me-up.
When I have an over abundance of herbs, I save them for future use by either drying or freezing them. Basil, cilantro, parsley, and dill all freeze really well, either whole in a freezer bag, or finely chopped and mixed with just a bit of water and then frozen in ice-cube trays (and then placed in a labeled bag) for convenient tablespoon-ish portions to plop into dishes. I have dried basil, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme by hanging them on the stem on a rack in a dark spot or in my oven (which has a pilot light to help along the drying). I then store these in airtight jars out of the light and heat.
This year I want to experiment with herb butters, oils and vinegars. Here are some basic instructions that you might want to try out too.”

Herb Butter - Delicious on warm breads, on broiled meats, veggies (especially corn on the cob!), fish or with eggs.

1-2 Tbsp well packed fresh herbs or 1-2 tsp dry ones, finely chopped
¼cup (half a stick) butter, salted or unsalted
Squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

Soften butter and cream in herbs. Add lemon juice, if desired. Shape into a log in parchment paper of plastic wrap and place in freezer to re-solidify.

Herb Oil – For salad dressings, marinades and sautéing.

4 Tbsp (1/3 cup) herbs
2 cups olive oil

Remove herb leaves from stalks and pound lightly in a mortar. Add oil a bit at a time and continue to pound leaves to release the flavor. Pour oil/herb mix into a wide-mouth jar and seal tightly. Place on a sunny windowsill and shake it every other day.. After two weeks, strain the oil and label, adding a fresh stalk or two of the herb for decorative purposes if desired.

Herb Vinegar – For salad dressings, marinades, soups, gravies and sauces.

10 Tbsp herbs
2 cups white wine or cider vinegar (feel free to experiment with other vinegars but distilled vinegar may be too harsh)

Pound leaves lightly in a mortar to bruise. Heat half the vinegar until warm, but not boiling and pour over the herbs in the mortar. Pound a bit more. Cool mixture and then add remaining vinegar before transferring to a wide-mouth jar and seal tightly. Place on a sunny windowsill and shake it every other day. After two weeks, strain the vinegar and label, adding a fresh stalk or two of the herb for decorative purposes if desired.

Tuscan Carrot Top Soup (another great CSA member’s recipe)

3 T Olive Oil
1 Medium onion, diced
2 Carrots, diced
1 Stalk celery, diced
3 Cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
6 Cups vegetable broth
1/4 Cup rice uncooked
1 1/2 Cups carrot tops, chopped
1/4 Cup parmesan cheese

Sauté onion, carrots, celery and garlic in oil approx 5 min. Add broth, salt, pepper and rice and let simmer 15 min until rice is tender. Add carrot tops and let simmer 5 minutes. Add cheese and serve.

Quinoa Pilaf
(Pronounced Keen-wah - a delicious gluten-free grain, similar to couscous)

1 cup Quinoa
2 cups Water
2 Tbl. Olive Oil
2 tsp. minced Garlic
½- 1 lb. Green Beans, ends snipped and beans cut or snapped)
3 Carrots, sliced thinly
2 Tbl. sliced Thyme leaves (Basil will work as well)
2 Tbl. Lemon Juice

Rinse Quinoa and then add water and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 15 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed.
While Quinoa is simmering, heat olive oil and sauté garlic, green beans, and carrots until tender.
Add remaining ingredients. Add the Quinoa last and serve..

2009-07-15T12:13:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

No pity-party today, for the sun is shining magnificently and the leaves on all of the plants are drying out nicely. Dry leaves don’t invite many insects or disease. Thank goodness! However, due to the abundant rainfall, Brian has been pacing the floor trying to figure out the best box to send your way this week. Lots of vegetables are not quite mature and some were lost. So this week, my listing is not very clear. I do know that you will receive green beans. But there are a few holes in the list for right now. By tomorrow, be assured that there will be a full box delivered. Check the white board for the most accurate list.. An additional piece of business - It has come to my attention that the delivery sites are in need of organization so that they can remain neat and tidy. Please remember to flatten your recycled box and pile in an appropriate place. If no pile has been started, please create one. Remind those picking up for you what the process is. And finally, please remember your third installment due in July. Thank you all so very much.
I have just finished reading a humorous gardening piece (written by John Hershey and published in a magazine called GreenPrints) that I thought that I would share with you all.
So here you go – enjoy:
“To help us cope with our harvest, newspapers and magazines publish many recipes at this time of year. The recipes all sound great, but I never follow any of them. They aren’t really useful for gardeners, because, in addition to my vegetable, they always call for some strange ingredient I don’t have – shallots or caciocavallo cheese or ostrich steaks or whatever. I know there are gardeners out there growing Belgian endive, Portobello mushrooms, and so forth. But for most of us this time of year brings a superabundance of a few basic crops. I need a recipe where the only ingredients are three quarts of cherry tomatoes and 15 cayenne peppers.
You know what would be a useful recipe for me right now? Roasted medallions of zucchini in a tangy zucchini sauce over a bed of zucchini-stuffed zucchinis topped with a caramelized zucchini glaze. As a side dish, perhaps a nice zucchini-spear salad with our house dressing, a zesty zucchini-infused vinaigrette. For dessert, may I suggest the positively decadent triple-zucchini cake? And don’t forget to try our signature cocktail, the crisp, refreshing zucchini-tini…
Despite my gourmet ambitions, here’s the only recipe I ever use: Pick everything that’s ready in the garden, throw it all in a big pot with some olive oil and garlic, and cook on low heat until it turns into some sort of pasta or pizza sauce… Sure, toss it in! Just about anything you dig up in your garden can be blended into the sauce with hardly a trace, its taste and color cleverly concealed by the flavorful, bright-red tomatoes. And, of course, no pizza sauce would be complete without the frappe’d remains of a two-foot-long zucchini.
While that simmers, I need to head back out for a few more baskets of tomatoes to start the next batch. If my boss calls, tell him I’m in the garden with my zucchini-tini.
Make it a double.”

This week in your share, you will most likely find: Green Beans, a bag of Salad mix or Spinach, Cucumbers, Lettuce, Basil, Carrots, Radishes………..

Have a great week – Justine

To accompany this week’s excerpt, here is a killer Zucchini Chocolate Cake Recipe

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 ½ cups all purpose-flour
½cup cocoa
2½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
¾cup soft butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
½cup milk
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Glaze (directions to follow)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.
With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel and zucchini.
Alternately stir the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition.
Pour the batter into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes (test at 45) or until a wooded pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in a pan 15 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool thoroughly.
Drizzle glaze over cake.
Glaze: Mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tbls milk and 1 tsp vanilla. Beat until smooth.

And now a recipe selected and tried by Rebecca!

Pan Fried Cucumber with Perilla (Basil would be an excellent substitute)

2 Large Slicing Cucumbers, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise, seeded, and cut crosswise into 1/4" slices
3-4 Cloves of garlic chopped
2 tsp Premium quality light soy sauce
1-2 tsp Clear Chinese Rice vinegar
1/2 tsp white sugar
2 dried chilies de seeded
1 Tb Chili Oil w/flakes
1/3 Cup of perilla leaves, cut into a chiffonade (shredded or finely cut leaves)
1 tsp Sesame Oil
3 Tb peanut oil
- Heat wok over high heat until smoking
- Add oil and swirl around wok. Add dried chilies and scald, but do not burn.
- Add the cucumber slices in a single layer around the wok and fry until the cucumber slices start turning golden brown
- Turn cucumber slices as necessary.
- Once slices start developing color, add sugar, garlic, and chili oil, and stir fry.
- When dish becomes fragrant, splash in soy sauce and vinegar, and mix well.
- Remove from heat and mix in perilla leaves. Stir in sesame oil and serve.

2009-07-07T15:49:00.001-04:00

Tuesday July 7, 2009

Greetings Saratoga CSA Members,

Remember I began last week's memo with this:
"Once again this year, the heavy rains and hail in Columbia, Washington, and Rensselaer County have drastically diminished the perishable berries and leafy greens. Big Box stores have brought Late Blight into the area with the tomato plants they sell. Farming is risky enough, but producing such delicate fruit crops takes courage. This is precisely why we stick to vegetables. But lettuce and all of the baby greens can be demolished within a 10-second hailstorm."
I spoke too soon and unfortunately last Wednesday that is just what happened. It could not have been more than 15 seconds and the hail was in the form of little chips. But Brian reported to me the next morning that the latest spinach planting was destroyed, much of the lettuce was mush, and some of the baby greens were shredded. As those who pick up at the farm know already, a massive amount of rain continued to pour from the skies for approximately 4 hours. Route 40 was closed and Ruby (our sweet dog) suffered terribly with over 3 hours of thunder and lightning. The potatoes were under water and everywhere we could spot where those icy hail chips had sliced through leaves. The leaves of the eggplant and pepper plants show signs with numerous holes and bruises, but the fruits are not yet formed and so the plants will more than likely all rally once again. It always amazes me how resilient plants are. Corn can be almost knocked down to the ground and within a day or two, up those stalks rise towards the sun again - so keep your fingers crossed that within the next few days, we are all spared any more damage.

****With regard to the fruit share, please remember that only those members who paid for a fruit share are able to take it. Several members whose names were on the list did not receive their fruit share last week. Please let me know ASAP if your name was not listed on the fruit share sign-in sheet.

**** Please remember to tell those friends or relatives who are picking up your share for you when you are unable to exactly what they need to pick up. There has been confusion at the sites when someone unfamiliar with the process has picked up without having the information or instructions. They can always email me with questions. Thank you so much.

This week in your share, you will most likely find: Cucumbers, Carrots, Lettuce, Parsley, Beets, Mesclun, Swiss Chard or Kale, and one additional vegetable not yet determined.

Enjoy your share this week - Justine

Swiss Chard Side Dish (Serves 2)
("It will seem like a ton of swiss chard, but it shrinks a lot during cooking" says Elinor Brook)

1 Lb swiss chard (1 bunch)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp heavy cream
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F.
Wash chard leaves in several changes of cold water.

Pull the stems out of each leaf and cut stems into 1/2 inch chunks. Dry the leaves on paper towels or spin in a salad spinner.
Put the stems in a 2 inch deep baking dish that is large enough to accommodate all the chard leaves later (I use an 8 by 8 pyrex). Drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and mix well. Roast in the middle of the oven until the stems are tender and golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Pile the leaves on top of the stems. Drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil. Toss with tongs and return to the oven. Roast until the greens wilt, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the cream, taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Sprinkle with parmesan and return to the oven until cream is bubbly and parmesan is melted.

Another long-time CSA Member recommends the following:

"Slow Roasted Beets are a sweet yummy treat, great for lunch boxes. 300 degree oven, covered baking dish w/ a small amount of water, baking time varies on size of the beet, check with after 40 minutes. Allow to cool and then peel and dice. Dress w/ a bit of balsamic or cider vinegar, a drop or two a maple syrup, a dash of sea salt and a bit of olive oil. Yummy!"

Cucumber-Carrot Pinwheels

* whole cucumbers, unpeeled
* whole carrots, peeled

Cut cucumber in 3" lengths. Hollow out seeded middle section. Push a carrot into the hollowed out center of the cucumber. Slice the cucumber/carrot wheels into 1/2-inch slices. You end up with a cucumber slice with a carrot center. Try scoring the cucumber skin before using them in this recipe: run a fork lengthwise down the cucumber skin all around the cucumber. Actually, this method makes pretty cucumber slices with or without skin.

Cucumber Lemonade (Agua de Pepino)

* 1 cucumber, peeled and cubed
* 1 lemon
* 5 c water
* Sugar to taste

Add cucumber and water to a blender and puree. Strain. Add juice of lemon and sugar to taste. Serve over ice. Or grate the cucumber into the pitcher of lemonade. Stir well. Garnish glasses with a thin cucumber slice or very thin slices of both cucumber and lemon slit and placed on the rim.

2009-06-30T05:48:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,
The Fruit Share begins this week! Once again this year, the heavy rains and hail in Columbia County have drastically diminished the perishable berries and cherries. Farming is risky enough, but producing such delicate crops as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries, and tender stone fruit takes courage. This is precisely why we stick to vegetables. But lettuce and all of the baby greens can be demolished within a 5-second hailstorm. So keep your fingers crossed that within the next few days, we are all spared.
This week you are receiving Fennel in your box. Before you give it to your neighbor or the chef at your favorite restaurant, read the piece from NPR I have included here. And perhaps if I can twist your arm just a bit, try a bite or two from one of the recipes. You might be surprised at the taste.
This week in your share you will most likely find: Fennel, Lettuce, Cilantro, Cucumbers, Spinach, Mesclun, Scallions, and a surprise (I hope) that begins with “S” – sorry, it is not strawberries.

Enjoy your share - Justine

Apple and Fennel Salad

5 oz. Pasta (fettuccine style) – cooked
½lb. Spinach
1 Small – Medium fennel bulb, sliced
2 Medium tart apples, peeled and cubed
1 Small, red onion, sliced – Scallions would make a good substitute as well

Thoroughly wash spinach, removing fibrous stems.
Dry and place in salad bowl.
Add fennel, apples and onions.
Toss with Vinaigrette. Trim with fennel tops.

Justine’s Favorite Vinaigrette

1 1/2 Tablespoons Mustard
2 Tablespoons Tamari
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar
½-2/3 cup Olive Oil

(Maggie, my daughter, prefers using Apple Cider Vinegar and she also adds shallots)

FENNEL
(from NPR)

If you've never cooked with fennel, you're not alone. For years, I avoided the bulbous green and white vegetable labeled "sweet anise" because I associated it with black licorice. Who in their right mind would want to taste black licorice at the dinner table?

But then I learned anise and "sweet anise" are two very different things. Anise is a pungent pint-sized herb, while "sweet anise" — or fennel — is a hearty vegetable with a thick, bulbous base and celery-like stems that grow upward to 5 feet tall. It has a sweeter, more delicate flavor than anise.

Fennel's subtle flavor works just fine on its own, but does wonders when combined with other foods. Indeed, fennel's strength may be its power to blend and enhance other flavors. Tuna tastes more tuna-like when cooked with fennel. A simple salad of oranges, red onion and lemon vinaigrette has more zing with the addition of crunchy, raw fennel. Grilled sea bass becomes emblematic of Mediterranean cuisine when stuffed with lemon slices and fennel fronds.

The fennel in the produce section of a grocery store is Florence fennel, or finocchio. On top are fragrant emerald fronds that look much like dill. Below are stout stalks that resemble celery and shoot upward like fingers being counted. The edible white "bulb" is actually not a bulb at all, but tightly stacked leaves that unpack like the base of a celery stalk.

Though all parts of the Florence fennel are edible, the stalks tend to be fibrous, like celery, while the fronds can have an anise intensity that might turn off some people. The thick white leaves of the base offer the most versatile use. When cooked, the leaves become supple, the same way onions lose their firmness, and retain only a faint hint of anise.

If you have never tried fennel as a vegetable, you've almost certainly tasted it in its other form: a spice. The greenish-brown seeds from the variety called common fennel are used to season Italian sausages, meaty stews and rustic breads. When ground up, the spice is used in rubs for fish, pork and lamb dishes and in other spice mixes. Fennel spice also is a key ingredient in Indian curries and is one of the five essential spices in Chinese five-spice powder.

And if all this isn't enough, this versatile vegetable has been used throughout history to cure stomach ailments, freshen breath and help fight weight gain. It also is high in vitamin C.

So if, like me, you've passed fennel by in the produce section, take a second look.

Spicy Crusted Tuna Steaks with Braised Fennel
Makes 2 servings

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon crushed black pepper
2 tuna steaks (5 to 6 ounces, 2 to 3 inches thick)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place medium-sized pan on medium-high heat and add oil to pan.

Using a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle, crush fennel seeds into a powder. Place in a shallow bowl, add crushed pepper and mix until well incorporated.

Pat tuna steaks dry with paper towel. Season steaks liberally on both sides with salt and pepper.
Press fennel-pepper mix onto tuna steaks on one or both sides, depending on your preference.
Carefully place tuna steak, mix-side down, into the heated pan.
Cook on each side for 2 to 3 minutes until pink in the middle.
Serve on bed of braised fennel (below).

Braised Fennel

1 medium fennel bulb
1 yellow or red bell pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup water
1 clove garlic, crushed

Remove stems and base from fennel bulb. Cut fennel into 1/4-inch slices.
Chop bell pepper into 1/4-inch slices.
Heat oil in saucepan and saute fennel, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden brown.
Add bell pepper and garlic and saute for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Add wine and water, and cover. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, until fennel is fork-tender. Remove cover to reduce liquid for last few minutes.

Fennel and Pomegranate Salad
Makes 4 to 6 servings

2 medium fennel bulbs
1 medium red onion
Juice of 1 large lemon
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1 11-ounce can mandarin oranges
Shavings of Pecorino or Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice fennel and red onion as thinly as possible, being careful to remove the tough root of the fennel bulb.

Toss gently in large bowl with lemon juice and olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
Before serving, toss again, add pomegranate seeds and mandarin oranges.
Add cheese, and salt and pepper, if desired.

Fennel and Sausage Pasta
Makes 4 to 6 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 links of hot Italian sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 bulb fennel, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 tablespoon lightly crushed fennel seeds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 16-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and smashed with hands
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Salt and pepper

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add sausage until cooked through. Drain excess fat from pan.

Add remaining tablespoon olive oil to skillet, and add fennel slices and fennel seeds. Cook 4 to 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic, tomatoes and crushed red pepper.
Cover skillet, reduce heat and simmer an additional 6 to 8 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with fresh-cooked rotini pasta or spaghetti.

2009-06-23T18:07:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members.

What wonderful tips and recipes have come my way since last week’s newsletter – many thanks for sharing your “real food” family experiences with me. I think that I will slowly infuse the newsletter with your ideas. Let me start with this email:

“This is absolutely not true of my kids. They turn their noses at crappy food and much prefer real food, they love veggies and fruit. I think your strawberries are their top favorite. We love to mash sweet potatoes with some rosemary (finely chopped) with some plain whole milk yogurt and a hint of maple syrup and give it to kids who are not crazy about veggies... they all seem to like it.

Another way we love veggies is to chop them small and add them to pasta with cheese, or with vinaigrette. Carrots and peas and chopped green beans get gobbled up this way.

For picky kids, veggies can be pureed and added to tomato sauce and used as a base for pizza or over spaghetti.

Radishes marinated in Drew's Orange Ginger Dressing are also a big hit.

Steam any veggie: Broccoli, Carrots, Parsnips, Squash and make a yummy dipping sauce or a ranch like dressing and let them dip away. Yum!

These may be to general but they are ways to honor the veggie and not hide it too much with other flavors.”

I have also received requests from CSA members regarding how to store and freeze the vegetables coming to you each week. Rebeca is planning to enter techniques for preparation, storage, and freezing on the blog. Here are a few links to websites that also might be helpful.
www.gardenguides.com/how-to/tipstechniques/vegetables/freezing.asp

http://vegetablegardens.suite101.com/article.cfm/vegetable_food_preservation

http://www.growveggies.net/storing/freezing_vegetables_a_to_z/

And finally I will quote from Bottomline Health Magazine:

“Leave fruits and vegetables in their whole, unwashed state until shortly before eating them. Keep tomatoes and winter squash at room temperature on your counter – but refrigerate after cooking or cutting. To slow the ripening process, you can store most fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator. Crisper drawers are best for celery, carrots, radishes, peppers, ripe fruits, summer squash and leafy vegetables. You can leave strawberries in their boxes, but transfer blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries to shallow bowls lined with paper towels. Keeping berries dry can prevent them from getting moldy. Store dried beans, root vegetables and tubers (garlic, onions, potatoes, and rutabagas) in a dark pantry. Refrigerate them after they have been peeled, cut, or cooked.”

I hope that all or even just some of this information comes in handy.

This week in your share, you will most likely find: Strawberries, Lettuce, Beets, Turnips, Mesclun, Basil, and Cucumbers.

Enjoy your share - Justine

I can keep basil for a very long time on my kitchen counter in a vase after I have trimmed the bottom of the stems. Last summer I managed to keep one bunch of basil from August until October!

I think that turnips are best mashed - alone or with potatoes, sautéed with white wine and garlic in a little olive oil, or grated raw on top of a green salad – but with that said, I couldn’t resist giving you this recipe.

Mashed Potatoes and Turnips with Roasted Pear Purée
Makes 8 servings

* 1/4 cup honey
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
* 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
* 4 Bosc pears, peeled, quartered, cored

* 2-3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
* 1-2 pounds white turnips, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
* 1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine honey, lemon juice, and melted butter in large bowl. Add pears; toss to coat. Arrange pears in single layer on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast pears 30 minutes. Turn pears to coat with juices and roast until very tender, about 35 minutes longer. Transfer pears and caramelized liquids to food processor; blend until smooth. (Pear puree can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Cook potatoes and turnips in separate large pots of generously salted water until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain well. Transfer turnips to processor; puree until smooth. Mash potatoes with room-temperature butter in large bowl until smooth. Stir in pureed turnips. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm in microwave before continuing.)

Rewarm pear puree. Place potato-turnip mixture in large serving bowl. Swirl in pear puree and serve.

Beets in Orange Sauce
Serves 4

* 4 large beets, trimmed
* 1 cup orange juice
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
* 1 tablespoon minced orange peel (orange part only)
* 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap 2 beets together in foil. Repeat with remaining beets. Place on baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool. Peel beets. Cut each into 8 wedges.

Combine beets and remaining ingredients in medium non-aluminum saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until sauce is syrupy, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

(Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Re-warm over low heat, stirring often.) Serve hot.

2009-06-17T09:48:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

Exactly three months ago, I read in a Vermont newspaper the following headline –
“Tips on Parenting the ‘Picky Eater’”. Knowing full well that I was indeed the world’s pickiest eater as a child, I dropped everything to read what this author had to say. And I quote:

“ If kids could have their druthers, most would love to eat candy for breakfast, candy for lunch and pizza for dinner, with candy for dessert… But just because Mom and Dad choose the menu, that doesn’t mean son or daughter have to like it. In fact, parents can attest, kids are often picky about what they eat, and that can be problematic for parents.”

The light bulb instantly went on in my head and I thought what a great CSA theme for this season. But more importantly, I hope that many of you were as fired up and perhaps angered by the premise in this article as I was. In addition to being a farmers’ wife, many of you know that I am a pre-school teacher. I have seen lots of children who crave only the crackers served along with the many children who eat everything put in front of them. And so, here is the challenge dear CSA Members. Let’s prove this article wrong! Thus, I am asking for recipes and tips from all of you to support the premise that children do choose vegetables, fruit, dulse, quinoa, and other healthy foods to eat (and prepare). Please either post on the blog or send directly to me any proven recipes that you and your children have loved so that I may share them with our CSA members. I am certain that we will be victorious in this challenge!

Before I tell you what is in your share this week, I want to respond to the many emails I received after last week’s delivery with regard to what is in your box. Each week Brian works up a list the evening before the Tuesday harvest along with developing the picking list for the crew of 10 to work from out in the fields. I start the newsletter during the day even before the harvest is finished. Sometimes what Brian thinks will be enough to fill the shares is not accurate and thus we have to make some adjustments. And so each week I will write something like the following:

This week in your share you will most likely find: Strawberries, Broccoli, Swiss Chard, Chinese Cabbage or Bok Choi, Scallions, Basil or Sage, a head of lettuce, and Summer Squash/Zucchini.

I do know of a farmer who writes in his newsletter: “My best guess is the following…”

So whatever is in your box, I hope you enjoy it and have a great week - Justine

Creamy Lettuce Soup
(6-8 servings)
2 T. butter 3 c. chicken broth
1⁄2 c. chopped scallions 1/8 t. white pepper
15 cups chopped lettuce 6 ounces cream cheese
(redleaf, boston, greenleaf, or romaine)

In a large pot melt the butter and sauté the scallions and lettuce
until the lettuce is limp 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and
pepper and simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Add a
dash of lemon juice if desired.

Cool the soup slightly and puree in a food processor, blender or
with an immersion blender. Return the soup to the pot and reheat.
Dice the cream cheese and add to the soup. Heat until melted and serve hot. Sprinkle with a few minced herbs and croutons.

Pink Radish Spread

Good on crackers or served as a dip with raw vegetables
1 T. butter 1⁄2 c. mayonnaise
11⁄2 c. diced onions 1⁄2 c. plain yogurt
4 c. sliced radishes 1 t. lemon juice

Melt the butter and sauté the onions and radishes until both are
translucent and wilted, 4-6 minutes

Transfer to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

Cool to room temperature and add the remaining ingredients.
Allow the spread to sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.

(A recipe suggestion from Rebeca Torres-Rose)

Chard Stuffed with Lemon Rice
(Serves 8 as a side dish or 4 as a main course)

Salt
8 large chard leaves, stems cut away at the bottom
1 C arborio rice
1 large egg yolk
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 tbsp. lemon juice
(preparation tip: remember to zest the lemon before you juice it!! – Debbie)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
16 large sage or basil leaves

Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Add 2 tsp. salt and the chard leaves. Cook just until chard is tender, about 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, carefully transfer chard to a clean kitchen towel. Lay chard flat and blot dry. Cool completely. Add rice to pot with boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, about 15 minutes (water will not be all absorbed). While rice is cooking, whisk egg yolk, cheese, lemon zest and juice together in a small bowl. When rice is tender, drain and return to pot. Stir in egg mixture until rice is evenly coated. Add 1 tbsp. butter, stir to melt/distribute, and add salt to taste. Cool rice mixture for several minutes. Place 1/3 C rice mixture in center of each chard leaf. Fold edges over to seal and make neat bundles. Heat remaining 3 tbsp. butter and sage (or Basil) in a large skillet over medium heat. When sage/basil leaves are lightly crisped, use a fork to transfer them to a small plate. Add chard bundles to empty pan, seam side down, and sauté, turning once, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer chard bundles to a serving platter, and garnish with fried sage/basil leaves.
Serve immediately.

From A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen, by Jack Bishop

Freezing the bounty (and other forms of preservation)

2009-06-10T18:32:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone! We have had some questions about freezing items in your weekly share for future consumption. Resources abound with information on preserving the harvest and your shares will include a wide variety of produce, so rather than go into detail on ways of freezing (or drying, fermenting, or pickling) the varied surplus items in your CSA share, I will point you to a useful site and a couple of books where you can find lots of information to get you started.

Web

National Center for Home Food Preservation. It has very useful information on freezing with instructions by vegetable. Also has info on drying, curing/smoking, fermenting, pickling and "jamming" fruits and veggies.

Books

Ball Blue Book of Preserving. (Jarden Home Brands, editor) A classic with many different editions. I refer to it all the time for a variety of recipes. Available in local libraries, book stores and supermarkets.
Making Sauerkraut and Pickled Vegetables at Home. (by Klaus Kaufmann and Annelies Schoneck) A terrific primer on my favorite method of preserving many of the veggies you will receive: lacto-fermentation. I purchased my copy at the Honest Weigh Food Coop in Albany.

I hope these provide you with a starting point. Many all-purpose cookbooks (older editions of the Joy of Cooking, for example) also include a section on food preservation and the library system is full of tomes on the subject. Do keep in mind that older books may not follow current standards in safe food preservation.

Happy preserving!

2009-06-09T19:03:00.001-04:00

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Greetings CSA Members,

Though I had to tug and pull each goat out of the pen to escort them to the milking stanchion this morning, the plants were lapping up each delicious drop of rain. The crew worked late into the evening yesterday anticipating this rain and was delighted to be inside beginning the process of washing and packing and bagging for the boxes. After the harvesting, there is much to do in the barn before the boxes are loaded onto the truck tomorrow morning. Brian is a systems farmer. He loves to have his farm crew and entire operation moving along like a well-oiled machine. My favorite moment each week comes when we all line up in the barn, each one of us at our own station, poised with broccoli or Chinese cabbage or bag of spinach in hand, ready to pack into the box as we roll it along the conveyor to the next smiling worker bee.. At the beginning of the line is Walter, the world’s fastest Jamaican to assemble boxes, and we finish with Errol or Ali in the truck, meticulously counting and re-counting by distribution site until he or she is pushed out of the truck as it becomes filled to capacity. The greatest satisfaction occurs when all 406 boxes are packed, in the trucks, and the clock reads 11:00. Now mind you, we are only on week two of the CSA, and so we have not yet achieved our Olympic time or pace. But this year our team is well seasoned and in great physical shape. Neither the rain nor mud nor snakes nor hot sun makes this strong crew flinch. But we have the mosquitoes yet to come. That is the moment when I run quickly inside to all of the paperwork and emails.
I want to thank everyone who wrote with feedback about the herb idea. We will be making adjustments to remedy this situation. I would like to make one request. I hope to also remedy my email dilemma, but at present I am asking that if you are splitting a share with another family that one party be the recipient of the newsletter. If you could then forward it on to the others in your group, it would help me tremendously. Thank you so much for your assistance and your understanding.

This week in your share, you will most likely find:
A bag of Garlic Scapes and Radish, a head of Lettuce, Scallions, Strawberries, Broccoli, Chinese Cabbage, Zucchini and/or Summer Squash.

Enjoy your share - Justine

Broccoli Almondine

1 1/2 pounds broccoli, stems sliced thinly, then head cut into 2-inch-wide spears
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Cook broccoli in a steamer rack over boiling water in a large wide pot, covered, until stems are just tender when pierced with a knife, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove steamer from pot and discard cooking water. Cool broccoli 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat butter in pot over medium heat until foam subsides, then cook almonds, stirring, until butter and nuts are golden and have a nutty aroma, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add broccoli and toss.

Vegetable Stir-Fry

3 tablespoons vegetable broth
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 -2 crowns of Broccoli
2-3 Summer Squash and /or Zucchini, sliced very thinly
1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, thinly sliced
1 Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
2 large garlic cloves, minced or 4 garlic scapes cut thinly
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 scallions, thinly sliced

In a small bowl stir together broth, rice wine, sugar, cornstarch, and salt until smooth. Set aside.

Heat a wok or skillet over high heat until hot. Add vegetable and sesame oil and heat until it just begins to smoke. Add mushrooms, cabbage, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry 2 minutes, or until tender. Add broth mixture to vegetables.. Stir-fry vegetables an additional minute to coat. Add scallions and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

2009-06-02T21:28:00.002-04:00

June 2, 2009

Greetings CSA Members,

Welcome to the 2009 CSA Season! Each week I will post on the website both the newsletter and a recipe to support you in your adventures in this CSA. In this letter I hope to supply you with some guidelines and practical details to help make the CSA as smooth as possible. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions, however, for I am sure that I will have missed some pertinent information. One of the most important concerns is the respect and consideration of the distribution site. Please leave the distribution site clean and tidy for both the next member picking up and for the host who has volunteered their home for the CSA. At each site there will be a sign-in sheet on a clipboard along with a white board listing what is in your share.
If you cannot pick up your share on a particular week, we suggest that you ask a friend or neighbor to pick up for or instead of you. Just have that person sign in under your name. Bring your own bags if you can.
This year we are trying a new idea with the Herbs. They will be in bulk and in a tote. They will not be included in your box. Please take what you need and remember that there will be other members choosing from the selection after you. Your feedback is greatly appreciated as to the success or problems with this new system.

•Please remember your 2nd and 3rd installments, if you are using a payment plan.
•Check the website for updates and newsletters.- - www.denisonfarm.com
•Working Members should give a call a few days before they want to come and work. I will be sending out requests every now and then.
•Rebeca Torres-Rose, my CSA right arm, has volunteered to keep an eye on the new blog on our website – posting ways to use your share and chatting about recipes.
•CSA Member Handbook that you can download is on the website. Please read through it and enjoy Ali Farrell’s beautiful cover page.
•For those of you who are splitting your share, if you want to split up your share at the site, please remember to bring your own bags. Some of you might want to re-pack your share into your own bags for your convenience. Please remember to flatten your boxes and pile neatly.
•Remember that the boxes should be recycled from week to week. Please leave them neatly at your distribution site, flattened and stacked.
•Please be forgiving if we have made a mistake on this first pick-up!
•Please contact us if you have any questions.

Brian and I are very happy to provide you with a healthy share each week, but we are always subject to and working with the weather and Mother Nature. As much as we intend to provide you with bountiful shares week after week, please know that there may be hailstorms or blight on the tomatoes or raccoons in the corn. This is the moment where you our members step in and know that being part of a CSA means accepting some risks

Thank you all for your support this season. We are grateful for this partnership so that we can all eat locally and organically. Thank you for your part in this endeavor.

Looking forward to a bountiful season – Justine and Brian

Recipes and Tips on using the Greens

This week you will most likely find in your boxed share: A bag of Spinach, A bag of Garlic Scapes and Radishes, Turnips or Bok Choi, a head of Lettuce, and a bunch of Curly or Lacinato Kale or Collard Greens.

June marks the Greens time of year and that is what you will see for the most part in your shares for the next few weeks. The shares are light in weight and variety. But that all changes as the season progresses. By the end of September, the pendulum will swing and you will find a very abundant share. So please have patience with both the season and with us.

Spinach and Bok Choi are great for a quick stir-fry over rice. Try sautéing them with white beans or with your favorite sausage. We put Spinach and/or Bok Choi into our Sunday morning omelet!!

The turnips are great raw as well as cooked. I mash them alone or with potatoes, roast them, or I use them raw by grating them into a green salad.

And here is a great recipe for those curly garlic scapes. They can be eaten raw, but I prefer to chop them up and use them as I would use garlic, scallions, or onions in cooking. I love their refined garlic flavor.

“Scapes are the flower stalks found on members of the Allium family (onions, leeks, chives, and garlic). Garlic Scapes, which only appear on the finest hardneck varieties, curl upwards as they grow, ultimately straighten, and then grow little seed-like bulbs. When the garlic scapes are still in full curl, they are tender and delicious.” Mary Jane Butters

Kale and Scape Frittata

3 Tbsp. olive oil
10 eggs
1 cup (1/2 lb) chopped and cooked Kale (Collard Greens are a great substitute)
½cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. chopped Parsley, Cilantro or Basil
½cup finely chopped garlic scapes
½cup chopped scallions (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except the oil, scapes, and scallions.. Heat oil in a 10” ovenproof skillet on the stove. Add the scapes and scallions and sauté until tender on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Pour egg mixture in skillet with scapes and scallions and cook over low heat for 3 minutes. Place in oven and bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until top is set. Cut into wedges and serve.

Stir-Fried Bok Choi with Roasted Peanuts
1-2 bunches bok choi
2 T peanut oil
3 T raw peanuts
2 tsp. roasted peanut oil
4 garlic cloves, minced – scapes will
¼tsp red pepper flakes
Salt work as well
4 tsp minced ginger
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 3 T water
1 tsp roasted peanut oil

Fry the peanuts in 2 tsp peanut oil until golden. Chop with the pepper flakes and a few pinches of salt and set aside.

Chop the bok choi stalks, but leave the leaves whole. Stir-fry the ginger and garlic in a hot skillet for about 1 minute.. Add bok choi and stir-fry until wilted. Add the soy sauce and cornstarch mixture and stir-fry for an additional 1-2 minutes until the leaves are shiny. Add the peanuts, toss, and serve. Serves 2-4

Quick Turnip Pickles

2 med. turnips
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs lime juice
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Peel turnips. Slice into thin rounds, then cut in half.
Toss turnips in bowl with salt and lime juice. Cover and
let marinate for 2-4 hours at room temp.
Shortly before serving, combine cumin and cayenne, and then add to the pickles.

*** Remember that the Turnip Greens can be eaten as well. They are great steamed or sautéed with olive oil and garlic (or garlic scapes)***

2009-02-19T14:32:00.001-05:00

19 February 2009

Greetings 2008 Saratoga CSA Members,

I hope you are wintering well. This February sunlight always renews my spirit and puts a little skip back into my step. January through March on the farm is a surprisingly busy time for us. We have crop plans to create, supplies and seeds to order, last year's bookkeeping to put to bed, conferences to attend, equipment to repair, and long discussions to immerse ourselves in about which direction the farm should be moving. Weekly we have been going to the Saratoga (in January) and the Troy Farmers' Market. By the beginning of March, the greenhouse will be fired up and seeds planted.
We hope you will join the farm again for the 2009 season if you have not yet signed up. The CSA is very important to us both personally and as a major component of our farm business, for we value greatly the partnership and commitment we all share in creating a workable and sustainable system. This season we are excited to offer 2 distributions in Saratoga – one on Wednesday at a gracious CSA Member's home on Warren Street (near to East and York) from 4-8:00 and the other distribution is at the Saratoga Farmers' Market on Saturday from 9-1:00. All shares are boxed and at the Wednesday pick-up, in addition to the vegetable share, we will be able to offer both the egg and fruit shares. We expect to have the available shares filled by mid-March and so I am encouraging you to sign back up soon. If you have friends or neighbors who may be interested, please give them our website address or have them call.
The simplest way to join for the 2009 season is to go to our website:
www.denisonfarm.com

Click on "Join the CSA". Fill out the membership agreement form online, print, and send it to us with your full or partial payment.
And to all who have already signed back up for another season, both Brian and I are very grateful.

Thank you and take good care - Justine

2008-10-28T21:44:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

   We have arrived at the final distribution for the 2008 season without too many calamities and with this the final share of the season, we want to say thank you for your on-going support and to send our warmest wishes for a cozy winter ahead. We will still be very busy harvesting the rest of the potatoes, beets, leeks, and greens so that we can meet you in Troy or at the farm for your Winter Boxes. Remember to look on our website for an order form. We will also be at the Troy and Saratoga Markets for at least the next few months. When the snow starts to fall heavily, we will be heading inside to the office, starting on the paper work of creating crop plans, placing a plethora of orders for seeds, nutrients, compost, potting mixes, parts, and perhaps deciding on a new tractor!
   Brian and I thank you so very much for the support, encouragement, and the feedback with which you have provided us. Your kind words and gestures help make a long, hard day that much easier. We are looking forward to providing you in the Spring with another 22-week season of vegetables. Until then, stay warm and take good care. Enjoy one last poem from Mary Oliver.

   Song For Autumn

   In the deep fall
        don’t you imagine the leaves think how
   comfortable it will be to touch
       the earth instead of the
   nothingness of the air and the endless
       freshets of wind? And don’t you think
   the trees themselves, especially those with mossy,
       warm caves, begin to think

   of the birds that will come – six, a dozen – to sleep
       inside their bodies? And don’t you hear
   the goldenrod whispering goodbye,
       the everlasting being crowned with the first
   tuffets of snow? The pond
       vanishes, and the white field over which
   the fox runs so quickly brings out
       its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its
   bellows. And at evening especially,
       the piled firewood shifts a little,
   longing to be on its way.

This week in your share, you will most likely find some combination of the following:

Celeriac, Cabbage, Fingerling Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Beets and Carrots, Collard Greens or Kale, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatoes, and Lettuce Mix

Thank you for enjoying this wonderful season with us - Justine

Greet celeriac, the unsung frog prince of winter vegetables. Pare off its warty exterior and you'll uncover the royal vegetable within: a perfect, ivory-fleshed, winter alternative to potatoes and other starches. It is surprising that a vegetable that is so delicious, wonderfully hearty and eminently storable -- and makes such a boldly verdant show in the garden -- is practically unrecognized in the try-anything United States.
In Europe, however, celeriac is a historic favorite. The vegetable's most classic employment is in the cold French salad celerie remoulade, in which the root is peeled, grated, "cooked" in lemon juice (or blanched briefly in acidulated water) to lose a bit of its rawness, then dressed with a mustardy mayonnaise. Celeriac is cousin to anise, carrots, parsley and parsnips, some of which are bred for their edible stalks and tops, others for their edible roots. Celeriac is a celery variety refined over time to produce an increasingly large, solid, globular root just below the soil surface.
Also known as celery root, knob celery and turnip-rooted celery, celeriac developed from the same wild species as did stalk celery. It had medicinal and religious uses in many early civilizations, including those of Egypt, Greece and Italy. While what the early Greeks called selinon is mentioned in Homer's Odyssey in 800 B.C., celeriac did not become an important vegetable until the Middle Ages. It was first recorded as a food plant in France in 1623, and was commonly cultivated in most of Europe by the end of the 17th century.
Admittedly, celeriac does have a couple of slight drawbacks. If you are going to grow it, it is a rather long-season plant, clocking in at about 112 days from seeding. It's also rather odd-looking. Aboveground is a gorgeously symmetrical crown of green, celery-like growth radiating from the central knob to about 12 inches. However, pull up this pretty green crown and what you unearth looks like a troll's orb of warts and roots.
Do not be dissuaded. When peeled, celery root's creamy white flesh resembles that of a turnip and tastes like a subtle blend of celery and parsley. Additionally, half a cup contains only 30 calories, no fat and provides an excellent source of dietary fiber. This time of year, celeriac can be a perfect non-starch substitute for potatoes in a warming meal, and can be prepared in a similar way. Mashed, shaped into batons and boiled, or even French fried, celery root can provide a winning accompaniment to a fresh green vegetable or salad and anything roasted or grilled.
I find a paring knife, rather than a peeler, works best for peeling the root. Shave downward with the blade in broad strokes to remove the thick skin. Drop the peeled bits into a bowl of acidulated water (water into which some lemon juice has been squeezed) immediately after cutting to prevent discoloration. Even if you are planning to fry or bake the celeriac later, parboiling it first for 5 or 10 minutes in acidulated water will soften its raw edge.

Boiled Celeriac with Butter and Herbs

1-2 large celery roots, peeled
Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus extra for acidulating water
4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick) and salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped parsley, chives, tarragon, mint, lemon balm or basil (you can pick one or use two in a savory combination)
Fill large bowl with water and add lemon juice. Add celery root as it is peeled. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut peeled celery root into three or four thick slices, then cut each slice into three or four fat sticks, returning them to their bowl of acidulated water after each step.
Shape the sticks into "batons" by shaving off the square "corners" and pointing the ends (like sharpening a fat pencil) with a paring knife. Place the batons in the boiling water. Add juice of half a lemon. Bring water back to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until batons are soft but not mushy, about 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly and return to the pot. Add butter, herbs of choice, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat through before serving.

French-Fried Celeriac

3 large celery roots, peeled
Juice of 1/2 lemon    and   3 cups vegetable oil
Juice 1/2 lemon into a big pot of water and put it on to boil. Peel the roots, cut them into 1/4-inch slices, then into 1/4-inch sticks, and put them in a bowl of acidulated water. Add celeriac to the pot of boiling water and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain and dry well. In the same pot or a deep-fryer, heat the vegetable oil until smoking (about 350 degrees) and start deep frying in batches until golden. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Reheat in the oven before serving.

Ginger Beef and Kale (Collard Greens will work just as well)

1 lb of fillet mignon slices thin.
2 tablespoons of finely grated ginger.
4 garlic cloves (minced)
1 medium onion grated
1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika
2 dried chilies (crumbled)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil.
1 bunch kale (or 1 1/2 lbs).
1/2 cup beef stock
1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Mix beef with ginger, garlic, onion, paprika, chilies and salt. Heat oil in skillet over med-high heat , add beef and other things, and cook until light brown (2-3 minutes).
Stir in kale and cover, lower heat. Cook until wilted.
Raise heat to med-high again and add beef stock and cook for one minute, add pepper and serve.

2008-10-21T17:28:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

   Well, at 22 degrees, it is very difficult to motivate myself to go out to the barn to start the milking these past few mornings. I always feel so dreadful putting my freezing, cold hands on the udders of my sweet girls. But they hardly flinch and then my hands warm a bit and all is well with the world again. The beets and potatoes are slowly making their way into storage within the inner chambers of the barns and greenhouse. Brian has once again built a straw bale storage house for the butternut squash and the sweet potatoes are curing at 85 degrees in the heated greenhouse for this their first week out of the ground. The greatest strife this week is the dam-in-process, thanks to the family of beavers who have decided that the ford would be the perfect location for their latest construction project. We are nearing the problem stage as the water is backing up directly where the tractor, trailer, and truck cross. If you can do some telepathic communication, please send your messages soon to these tail-slapping friends!

This week in your share, you will most likely find:

Cabbage, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, German Butterball Potatoes (Yellow-fleshed, very creamy and buttery – makes great mashed potatoes), Leeks, Sweet Peppers (for the last time), and Braising Greens
Braising Greens are best stir-fried with white beans, sausage, or tofu. I find that if I chop them up well before cooking, they tend to be less stringy. Once they are well chopped, I use them in soups and egg dishes or over pasta.

Nest week is the final CSA distribution for the season. We have truly enjoyed being able to provide you with these vegetables. Thank you all for participating and supporting us.

Please look on our website for information regarding the Winter Vegetable Box. We will be offering a 30-35 lb box for 4 pick-ups at either the farm or at the Troy Farmers’ Market in November and December. Within the next few weeks, we will have next year’s membership agreement form up on the site as well. As I stated in a previous newsletter, I will not be taking new members until after January 1st in order to give this year’s CSA members the opportunity in November and December to sign back up for next season.

With many thanks for all of your kind words, feedback, and on-going support - Justine

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Pistachios
    Bon Appétit     Makes 4 to 6 servings

3 tablespoons oil (grapeseed oil is recommended)
1 tablespoon minced shallot (onion would work also)
12 brussels sprouts (about 1 1/2 pounds), trimmed, leaves separated from cores
     (about 6-8 cups), cores discarded
3/4 cup shelled unsalted natural pistachios
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and stir 20 seconds. Add Brussels sprout leaves and pistachios, and sauté until leaves begin to soften but are still bright green, about 3 minutes. Drizzle lemon juice over. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

Braising Greens with Currants and Feta

½ - ¾ lb Braising Greens, chopped well
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons dried currants
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 oz feta, crumbled (1/3 cup)

Cook garlic in oil in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add currants and water and cook, stirring, until plump, about 1 minute. Add braising greens and increase heat to moderate, then cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until greens are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in feta.

Cabbage and Apple Slaw with Butter-toasted Pecans

1 large tart apple
1/2 small head cabbage
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup pecans
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon chopped chives (I suggest scallions or parsley as substitutes)

Cut apple into 1/2-inch cubes and very thinly slice enough cabbage to measure 3 cups. In a bowl toss together apple, cabbage, lemon juice, and salt to taste.
Chop pecans. In a small skillet toast pecans in butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Sprinkle sugar and salt to taste over pecans and cook, stirring frequently, until pecans are coated, about 1 minute. Remove skillet from heat and cool pecans slightly. Add pecans with butter in skillet and chives to cabbage mixture and toss to combine well. Season slaw with salt.

2008-10-20T20:49:00.005-04:00

WINTER VEGETABLE BOX ORDER FORM

Enclosed is my order for the Winter Vegetable Box, which includes some or all of the following (approximately 30-35 lbs.):

Carrots - Kale - Rutabaga - Leeks

Potatoes - Onion - Garlic and Shallots

Beets - Sweet Potatoes - Cabbage

Celeriac - Winter Squash - Brussels Sprouts

November 8 Box: Site:______ #of Boxes ______

November 22 Box: Site:______ #of Boxes ______

December 6 Box: Site:______ #of Boxes ______

December 20 Box: Site:_____ #of Boxes ______

At $45 per Box, Total enclosed: ____________

Make check payable to Denison Farm

Send to:

Denison Farm

333 Buttermilk Falls Road

Schaghticoke, NY 12154

Name:

Address:

Home Phone:

E-Mail:

The Vegetable Box will be available at the farm for pick-up on Saturdays November 8 and 22and December 6 and 20 from 10:00–3:00 or can be picked up at the Troy Farmers’ Market from 10:00–2:00.

Please order both the November and the December Boxes by November 5^th

For more information, please call: 664-2510

2008-10-15T19:39:00.001-04:00

Denison Farm Update

Check back next week for the weekly Newsletter and Recipes

Next week is the final Fruit Share

Two more weeks for the Vegetable Share

Coming next week…

Information on the Winter Vegetable Box

2008-10-07T20:56:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

   “We have avoided serious frosts thus far and this week in your share, some of you may even see eggplants and peppers. Lucky for both of us, we are enjoying a good, long Fall.” Finally, a few words from a tired Farmer Brian! I know for a fact when there is no sunlight with which to rise at 5:30 AM, it is very hard to pull off those covers and step onto the cold floor. October may have both the summer and winter vegetables as its advantage, but it sure is a disadvantage when we are worrying about covering the crops quickly before a potentially killing frost as the light dwindles early in the evening. My three goats are indicating that winter is soon to arrive as their milk supply is also diminishing. The chickens are beginning to molt and become a little more ornery, thus only giving a few eggs per week now. Maybe I am wrong and it is Wall Street that has impacted their moods! Nonetheless, the hearty crew we have working here arrives each day with smiles on their faces and many layers of clothing on their backs. And there is nothing more satisfying than to see the little green shoots of winter rye popping up through the rich brown earth, laying a lovely blanket on the soil before the white one falls and carpets the ground for the cold season ahead.
   We are planning to offer a Winter Vegetable Box in November and December. We will have more detailed information and the order form on our website by the end of next week. There will be 4 dates the boxes will be offered – 11/8, 11/22, 12/6, and 12/20. You will be able to purchase one or more boxes for all or just one of those days. The Winter Vegetable Box is available to anyone interested – not just CSA Members. The pick-up sites are at the farm and at the Troy Farmers’ Market.
   Several of you have inquired about next year’s sign-up. I hope to send membership agreement forms to each site on the last pick-up date - Wednesday October 29th. By that point, the website will be set up with the necessary information to fill out, print, and then send along to us. I am not planning on accepting any new members until after January 1, 2009 so that I can give you all November and December to sign back up with us if you wish to do so. Please email me with any questions that you might have.

   This week in your share, you will most likely find:
Salem Potatoes (white, all-purpose), Leeks, Broccoli, Lettuce, Cabbage, Shallots, and some combination of the following: Fairytale Eggplant, Bok Choi, Fennel, and/or Peppers
   Fruit Share: Organic Liberty Apples from Pleasant Valley Farm in Argyle

Take good care – Justine

Denison Farm’s Potato-Leek-Greens Soup

1 bunch Leeks                                  3 T. Oil and 2 T. Butter
4-5 Potatoes, cut into small cubes                   8-9 cups of water
1 bunch Kale (de-stemmed) or Broccoli (cut into small pieces)
Salt, Pepper, and 1 T. Soy Sauce

In the bottom of a stock pot, sauté leeks in the oil and butter. When leeks are translucent, add potatoes and continue to sauté until they stick to bottom of pan. Add water and greens (or broccoli). Add enough water to cover the vegetables and cook covered until potatoes fall apart. Either mash in pot by hand or take out in small batches to be pureed in food processor. Season to taste.

Shallot Vinaigrette

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red-wine or champagne vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil or safflower oil

Whisk together shallots, mustard, and vinegar. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified, and season with salt and pepper.
Just before serving, toss salad greens with just enough dressing to coat.

Caramelized-Shallot Mashed Potatoes
    Bon Appétit
Makes 6 servings

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, divided
2 cups sliced shallots
3/4 cup whole milk
2 pounds large Salem or Rose Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add sliced shallots and cook until tender and brown, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Transfer shallots to small bowl. Add milk to skillet. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place quartered potatoes in large saucepan. Add enough cold water to pan to cover potatoes by 1 1/2 inches. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain. Return potatoes to pan and stir over medium heat until dry, about 1 minute. Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Bring milk in skillet to simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Add hot milk to potatoes. Mash potatoes. Stir in caramelized shallots and season to taste with salt and pepper.

BUTTERED CABBAGE
Irish Traditional Cooking - Makes 6 to 8 servings

1 lb fresh cabbage
2 to 4 tablespoons butter
salt and freshly ground pepper
an extra knob of butter

Remove all the tough outer leaves from the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into four, remove the stalk and then cut each quarter into fine shreds, working across the grain. Put 2 or 3 tablespoons of water into a wide saucepan, together with the butter and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, add the cabbage and toss over a high heat, then cover the saucepan and cook for a few minutes. Toss again and add some salt, freshly ground pepper and the knob of butter. Serve immediately.

2008-09-30T17:11:00.000-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

      Now that it is officially Autumn, Fall’s presence is becoming quite noticeable on the farm. The colors both on the leaves of the various crops along with the leaves on the surrounding trees contrast beautifully to the gray sky and quickly-moving clouds overhead. Brian is tilling up the earth to plant clover, winter rye, and vetch to nourish the soil throughout the winter – our harvest gift to the earth that has fed us all so well this season. The butternut squash has all been harvested and is curing in the lean to and heated greenhouses. This morning Fidelia, Joanna, and Ali were all happily breaking apart the garlic for us to plant very soon for next season’s harvest.
     With regard to next season, within the next few weeks, we will let you know when and how to sign back up. I have emails almost daily from people whom you have referred or who have seen you with your weekly box of vegetables wondering how soon they can sign up. And so, I want to make sure that I reserve a time just for you 2008 members to sign up before opening the CSA up to new members.
     But before summer slips away, I would like to give you one last glimpse from Annie, who is now married and living in Chicago. I can finally state this fact without tears forming, for I miss her so. Annie delivered the weekly boxes, worked at the Saratoga Market on Saturdays, and kept the crew going with her enthusiasm and sparkly zeal for all that came across her path. We wish her years of happiness ahead.

This week in your share, you will most likely find:
Onions, Garlic, Butternut Squash, Curly Kale, Carrots, Beets, Edamame, Mesclun, Radish, Tomatillos, and Broccoli

Take good care and enjoy the peak of the bounty - Justine

Words from a fresh farmer
Hello, all - Annie here. I am one of the newer members on Brian and Justine's crew, having just joined the team at the beginning of May. I hadn't had much farm experience before - a little volunteering on my roommate's smaller-scale organic farm in college - but thought I'd like the work, and decided to give it a shot.

The past two and a half months have been wonderful for me, very educational for both mind and body. I spent the past year working a desk job in Chicago, and the first week at the Denisons' was quite a shock on the ol' muscles, but I was so relieved to be outside that I hardly minded a bit - and I sleep so much better after a day of planting, weeding, and harvesting! Now, my body has gotten accustomed to the work, and I can pay closer attention to the day-to-day processes that make the farm tick.

This week was quite exciting - I am always happy when a new crop is ready, and this week we picked the first carrots, green beans, and eggplant. I learned that in Jamaica, they call eggplants "Garden eggs," which I think sounds very poetic, particularly with a Jamaican accent. Although I suppose the French (and also British and Canadian) term "aubergine" is also quite poetic. We've already got two kinds showing their fruits in the field - the Fairytale and the standard dark-purple kind. If you've never seen eggplant fruits still on the plant, it is worth a trip to the farm. I think they're the most beautiful crop, particularly very early in the morning when the dew is still on. The fruits hang down like Christmas ornaments, and the leaves have a sort of velvety purple-y look to them that makes them seem far more exotic than the name "eggplant" would imply.

In any case, I'm hoping that another cold front comes through - ninety degrees with high humidity makes it a bit tough to pick vegetables expeditiously, although the zucchinis seem to love it. I'm going to sign off now, with my best wishes to you and your most recent bunch of chard - there are many vegetables that I love, but chard is particularly high on the list. The colors, the flavor, the speed of stir-frying, the nutrition ... so, enjoy!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH CHOWDER WITH PEARS AND GINGER
Southwestern Vegetarian
Makes 6 servings.

2 Bartlett or Bosc pears, peeled, cored, and diced
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup peeled and diced onion
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon peeled minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced (about 3 cups)
1 potato, peeled and diced
5 cups Vegetable Broth
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt to taste

Place the pears in a bowl with the lemon juice, cover with water, and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over high heat until lightly smoking. Add the onion, celery, and carrot, and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute longer, stirring constantly. Add the white wine and reduce the liquid until the pan is almost dry, about 3 minutes.

Drain half of the pears, reserving the other half in the lemon water for garnish. Add the drained pears to the pan with the squash, potato, and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Transfer half of the soup in batches to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve back into the saucepan with the unpureed mixture. Add the orange juice, lemon juice, cream, salt, and the reserved pears and gently warm the chowder through (do not boil). The chowder can be made 1 day ahead.

BROWN-BUTTER CREAMED WINTER GREENS
    Gourmet – Serves 6

3/4 stick unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 bay leaf
6 black peppercorns
1 large bunch of Kale or Collard Greens
6 ounces bacon or bacon-substitute, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
1 tablespoon cider vinegar, or to taste

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, then add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add milk in a stream, whisking, then add shallot, bay leaf, and peppercorns and bring to a boil, whisking. Simmer, whisking occasionally, 5 minutes. Strain béchamel sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids, and cover surface with parchment or wax paper.

Discard stems and center ribs from greens, then coarsely chop leaves.

Cook bacon in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden-brown but not crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain, then pour off fat from pot and wipe clean.

Heat remaining 1/2 stick butter in pot over medium-low heat until browned and fragrant, about 2 minutes, then cook onion, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high, then stir in greens, 1 handful at a time, letting each handful wilt before adding next. Add béchamel, cream, garlic, red-pepper flakes, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and boil, uncovered, stirring, until sauce coats greens and greens are tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in bacon, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

2008-09-24T05:57:00.000-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

As we were setting up tables, cutting flowers, stirring chili, piling bales of straw onto the wagon, the CSA volunteers, Errol and Walter (our 2 wonderful Jamaican crew members, returning for yet another season), and Brian and I were all wiping the sweat from our brow. Then by the time 3:30 rolled around, we all put on fleece jackets and went shivering across the river on the wagon ride. The beet ice cream was a smashing success (for some!) and the cake, beautifully decorated with exquisite marzipan vegetables, leaves, and chickens, tasted delicious – as did all of the potluck dishes brought to our annual gathering. We danced to the music of John and Vonnie Estes while Paul Rosenberg called several circle and contra dances for young and old alike. Thank you to one and all who helped make this year’s event so lovely. Here is another of Mary Oliver’s poems from her collection entitled: New and Selected Poems – Volume 2. Hope you enjoy it.

Take good care – Justine

This week in your share, you will most likely find:
Leeks, Braising Greens, Shallots, Nicola Potatoes (yellow-fleshed, all purpose), Green Beans, and then some mixture of: Chinese Cabbage, Broccoli, Bok Choi, and/or Turnips

                  Beans
They’re not like peaches or squash.
plumpness isn’t for them. They like
being lean, as if for the narrow
path. The beans themselves sit quietly
inside their green pods. In-
stinctively one picks with care,
never tearing down the fine vine,
never not noticing their crisp bod-
ies, or feeling their willingness for
the pot, for the fire.

I have thought sometimes that
something ---I can’t name it ---
watches as I walk the rows, accept-
ing the gift of their lives to assist
mine.

I know what you think: this is fool-
ishness. They’re only vegetables.
Even the blossoms with which they
begin are small and pale, hardly sig-
nificant. Our hands, or minds, our
feet, hold more intelligence. With
this I have no quarrel.

But, what about virtue?

Potato Leek Soup

3 tablespoons butter
2-3 leeks, carefully cleaned and thinly sliced
1 medium or large onion, chopped (shallots would be an excellent substitute)
5-7 potatoes, thinly sliced
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (or enough to barely cover potatoes)
1/2 cup cream (I use goat’s milk, cream or nothing at all, depending upon how creamy the potatoes were)
Salt and pepper to taste

1) Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat then add onions and leeks. Cook, stirring, until onions are limp and just slightly brown.
2) Add sliced potatoes to saucepan then pour in enough broth to just barely cover the potatoes. Continue cooking over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Using a potato masher, mash and stir potatoes until desired consistency is reached. As you mash the potatoes and the soup thickens, turn down heat and stir frequently with a large spoon to prevent scorching on the bottom.
3) Add one cup of heavy cream (or more if you desire) and salt and black pepper to taste. Cook 15 minutes more over low heat, stirring frequently, then remove from heat and serve.

**Make sure to clean leeks thoroughly and slice only the white and light green part of the leeks.
**You don’t need to peel the potatoes as the peels add to the rustic texture of the soup. But make sure to scrub them thoroughly and remove any obvious blemishes before slicing.
** Before adding the cream, you can add braising greens (cleaned and chopped) to the potato mixture to cook.

Sweet Potatoes, Apples, and Braising Greens
    Traci Des Jardins (Jardiniere)
Makes 10 servings

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise into quarters, then cut crosswise into 1/8-inch slices
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 3 tablespoons melted
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut into quarters
3-5 cups loosely packed braising greens - stems removed and chopped
     (Kale, Collard Greens, Swiss Chard, or spinach work as well)
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 400°F.
On foil-lined baking sheet, toss potato slices with 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bake until cooked through and slightly caramelized, about 20 minutes. Keep warm.
In heavy medium skillet over moderate heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Add apples and sauté until tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Keep warm.
In heavy large pot over moderate heat, combine remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons water. Add greens and sauté, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 5 minutes. Lower heat to moderately low and add sweet potatoes and apples. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until warmed through, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in parsley, remaining 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Serve hot.
(I found this recipe online and thought that I might try it with either Rose Gold or Nicola Potatoes. Winter Squash might be a good substitute for the sweet potatoes as well.)

2008-09-16T19:49:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

Though Ike was a powerful force in the South, it sure ushered in magnificent Fall weather here on the Farm. We just waved good-bye to a 9th grade class from Tech Valley High in Troy. 40 students arrived for a tour and to separate into groups to collect soil samples for testing. There were some great questions and comments – my favorite: “Why is a greenhouse called a greenhouse when it is clear?” Usually I can go into Teacher mode and throw the question right back at the group, but there in front of me was a sea of quiet and pensive faces all awaiting the response. Well, luckily Brian was climbing off of the tractor and answered before I even had time to think. I’d love to know how you might have responded – any suggestions?

**Remember the annual CSA potluck is this Sunday September 21st from 3:30 – 5:30. Please bring with you:
blanket or chairs to sit on
eating utensils and plates
potluck dish or drink to share and serving utensils, if needed
Children must be supervised, especially around the animals & equipment.
Please leave your pets at home – Many thanks.

If you cannot come on Sunday or if you prefer a more family or child oriented event, I invite you all to come on the Schaghticoke Farm Tour – Saturday September 27th from 10-3:00. A bus will be leaving from the Troy Farmers’ Market to take you to 5 different farms in Schaghticoke. Denison Farm is on the tour. We will have a chef preparing dishes for you to sample and we will also be providing some children’s activities. To find out all about the Schaghticoke Farm Tour, please go to: www.agstewardship.org

This week in your share you will most likely find:

Tomatoes, Broccoli, Sweet Peppers, Mesclun, Green Beans, Edamame, Tomatillos, and Sweet Dumpling Winter Squash (the best of all squashes!!)

Have a great week and see you on Sunday - Justine

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Gourmet Makes about 3 cups.

1 lb fresh tomatillos
5 fresh serrano chiles
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons coarse salt

Preheat broiler. If using fresh tomatillos, remove husks and rinse under warm water to remove stickiness. Broil chiles, garlic, and fresh tomatillos on rack of a broiler pan 1 to 2 inches from heat, turning once, until tomatillos are softened and slightly charred, about 7 minutes.
Peel garlic and pull off tops of chiles. Purée all ingredients in a blender.

Salad Greens and Roasted Red Pepper Salad
Gourmet - Serves 6

3-4 sweet (any color) peppers
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound lettuce, arugula, mesclun, or fresh spinach

Quick-roast and peel pepper. Cut roasted peppers into 1/2-inch-wide strips. In a small bowl whisk together honey, mustard, and vinegar. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified, and season with salt and black pepper. Roasted peppers and vinaigrette may be prepared 2 days ahead and chilled separately, covered.
In a large bowl toss roasted peppers and spinach with vinaigrette and salt and black pepper to taste.

Brown Rice and Chicken Stir-fry with Edamame and Walnuts
Makes 6 servings.

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
4 tablespoons tamari soy sauce or low-sodium soy sauce
2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced crosswise
1 teaspoon honey
4 teaspoons oriental sesame oil
4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups short-grain brown rice, cooked according to package directions, cooled
1-2 cups shelled cooked edamame beans
2/3 cup chopped green onions

Stir walnuts in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Drizzle 2 tablespoons tamari over walnuts; stir until tamari coats walnuts, about 45 seconds. Cool. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Store at room temperature in airtight container.)

Combine chicken, 2 tablespoons tamari and honey in medium bowl; toss to coat. Let stand 15 minutes.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add chicken and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and stir-fry 30 seconds. Add cooked rice and edamame; reduce heat to medium and stir-fry until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Divide rice mixture among plates. Sprinkle with green onions and walnuts.

2008-09-09T20:09:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

It has been quite a week. Two farm vehicles are not running, the washing machine has a very serious squeal, my pre-school classroom was flooded by a burst pipe across the hall, and yesterday we lost power for most of the afternoon. Of course, we need both electricity and water to wash and pack the vegetables and we had neither. Nonetheless, we made it through and the boxes were packed for our members in Purchase, NY. This crew of ours is amazing. With that in mind I thought that I would share the writing of Rebeca Torres this week – in her honor, for on Saturday, she is to be married. Rebeca oversees both the blog on our website and the Troy Farmers’ Market booth. She is the captain in the barn on Wednesday mornings when we pack up the 275 boxes for the local CSA members. Rebeca has been part of the farm for the past 4 years, starting out as an interested CSA member, committed to local and organic food. I hope that you enjoy what she has to say. Take care - Justine

This week in your share, you will most likely find:
Tomatoes, Parsley, Swiss Chard, Lettuce, Eggplant or Broccoli, Onion, Carrots, Beets, and Bok Choi
Fruit Share: Plums and Peaches

I have shared before that I started out as a working CSA member. Back then I picked out my share at the Troy Waterfront Farmers' Market, and we didn't even pack individual boxes for the drop-off sites, we counted out items into totes for members to pick out themselves. Since joining the crew, I have helped seed, transplant, weed, harvest, pack and sell the wonderful produce we grow. Since returning to the farm after my hiatus, I have helped Justine with CSA office work, written up CSA site boards, counted out shares, managed the share box assembly line and helped pack the boxes into the truck. Until this week, however, I had never seen what happens once the yellow truck (which the crew affectionately calls the Sunshine Van) rolls out the driveway with Ann at the wheel.

When Ann announced that she was taking a week or so off for vacation, I quickly offered myself up for the job of driving the van so I could finally see that missing piece of the Denison CSA puzzle I have been participating in for the past five years. Brian was a bit hesitant to have me do the job, because I'm usually still coordinating barn activities and ready for the Saratoga market when Ann leaves, and I had never done the run before. Still, he gave me the go ahead and the week before Ann left I rode along with her to become familiar with the route and all that is entailed in making the share drop-off go smoothly. Ann was detailed in her instruction and I dutifully took notes and helped out, already having fun seeing this new-to-me side of the CSA operation. Places that had just been names and numbers to me, now had an image to go along with them in my head. The reasons Ann frets when we switch box sizes or change the contents of the boxes from location to location -- reasons that seemed reasonable but remained somewhat abstract to me -- became crystal clear as we made our drop-offs. And Ann, who I enjoy working with on my mini-crew on harvest days even when she pokes fun at my "mom voice," when I want things done just so, was impressively on top of things. I felt a new appreciation for the site hosts who extend their porches and garages for us all to use. I was excited to do my run the following week.

Of course, nothing went as smoothly when it was my turn. We started out the day having to replace the intended green beans for the share due to the continuous rain we've been "enjoying." You see, you can't pick green beans when the plants are wet or they develop rust. So instead we picked and bunched flowers and kale on Wednesday morning when we would have normally been packing boxes. Then we rushed to set up the assembly line and pack the boxes, only to have to re-pack several of them when the heavy melons threatened to fall through some of the older boxes and the small cukes kept falling out the opening on the bottom. Then a lettuce miscount resulted in my having to unpack the entire cooler to get to the corner where the market lettuce had been stacked and pull from there to complete the boxes -- all while keeping the assembly line going. Meanwhile, Maggie, was recruited to write up the site boards as we packed. Finally the boxes were done, part of the crew left to finish picking for market and we began to pack the shares, fruit and eggs into the truck. The directions I'd scribbled the week before mostly made sense and deliveries, while later than usual, went relatively smoothly. Some members arrived before the scheduled pick up time, so it was great to see the faces of the people we help feed and we even had some help unloading boxes.. As more members kept arriving, they also joined the unpacking line and we were set up in no time. Talk about putting the "C" in CSA (that's "C" for community). It was truly heart-warming and I want to thank those members who selflessly helped us out. The puzzle was now complete. Well, almost. You see, I don't know what happens when you get your boxes and open them, whether you read the newsletter, what you think of it, what you do with the veggies, how the CSA fits into the rest of your lives. And I am curious. So I second Justine's request that you share your CSA stories and recipes with us to put in the newsletter and/or the blog and continue to build the community that we have all chosen to be a part of and I am so proud to belong to.

Swiss Chard with Beets, Goat Cheese, and Raisins
Bon Appétit

1 1/2 pounds red beets (about 3 large)
1 large bunch of Swiss chard
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large red or yellow onion, halved lengthwise, cut thinly crosswise
3/4 cup sliced green onions (about 3)
5 garlic cloves, chopped
2 jalapeño chiles, thinly sliced crosswise with seeds
3 -5 diced tomatoes
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons golden raisins
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 51/2-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons pine nuts

Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap beets individually in foil. Roast until beets are tender, about 1 hour. Cool. Peel beets, then cut into 1/2-inch cubes. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead) Or just roast in oven on an oiled pan until tender – peeling optional.

Fold Swiss chard leaves in half lengthwise and cut stalks away from leaves. Cut leaves coarsely into 1-inch pieces. Slice stalks thinly crosswise. Reserve stalks and leaves separately. Cook chopped leaves in large pot of boiling salted water or steam until just tender. Drain and reserve.

Heat oil in heavy large pot over high heat. Add sliced stalks; sauté until starting to soften, about 8 minutes. Add onion and next 3 ingredients; sauté 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and 1 cup raisins. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Add chard leaves to pot; stir to heat through. Remove from heat; add lime juice and stir to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer chard mixture to large platter. Sprinkle with beets, goat cheese, pine nuts, and remaining 2 tablespoons raisins. Serve warm or at room temperature.

2008-09-02T21:32:00.000-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

******* Fall CSA Pot-Luck at Denison Farm September 21st from 3:30-5:30 *******

Each year we host a pot-luck Autumn celebration at the farm where we pile families onto our field trailer and Brian tours the farm, we all enjoy delicious food, and we are fortunate to set up in our driveway for a contra dance, called by a wonderful musician and former director of the Saratoga Dance Flurry, Paul Rosenberg. The live music is played by John and Vonnie Estes, fabulous local hammer dulcimer and keyboard players. I invite you all to come if you can.
The farm has been at peak production during the past few weeks, the weeds are growing furiously, and the copious amount of rain we received earlier in the season has finally revealed its damaging effect. As a result, we are forced to harvest the winter squash earlier than anticipated, for it has been heavily impacted by downy mildew. This disease appears as a white dust on the leaves, almost as if the grey ash from a volcano had been sprinkled on them. The cucumbers, tomatoes, and summer squash were also impacted, but because the fruit had already developed before the disease struck, the plants were able to produce. As soon as the squash and cucumbers were harvested, however, Brian plowed them all under so that the spread of disease throughout the farm could be arrested. In other fields on the farm, we continue transplanting the lettuces into the ground and this week we will transplant the strawberry seedlings that we started, cut from the runners of the strawberry plants you ate from earlier in the season. Brian is also preparing beds (raised soil beds in which we put seeds directly into the ground along with the transplants) for rest during the winter, beds for garlic planting within the next two months, and beds for cover crops which will replenish the soil after all the bounty has been harvested.
Once Labor Day arrives, many customers at the Farmers’ Market ask what we do now that summer is over. With a tired grin, I inform them that we are only just beginning!! The final share of the 2008 season is still 9 weeks away. I hope that you enjoy this week’s summer offering and that this transition into Autumn is a smooth and graceful ride.

This week in your share, you will most likely receive all or most of the following:
Tomato, Potato, Turnips, Sweet Peppers, Lettuce, Garlic, Broccoli,
and a Spicy Salad Greens Mix

Take good care – Justine

Quick Turnip Pickles

2 med. turnips
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs lime juice
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Peel turnips. Slice into thin rounds, then cut in half.
Toss turnips in bowl with salt and lime juice.
Cover and let marinate for 2-4 hours at room temp.
Shortly before serving, combine cumin and cayenne, then add to the pickles.

Broccoli Potato Soup with Parmesan Croutons
Gourmet
Makes about 8 cups. Serves 4

1 3/4 pounds potatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
7 cups water
2 cups 1/2-inch cubes Italian bread, toasted lightly
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 pound broccoli, coarse stems discarded, cut into 1-inch floweret and remaining stems peeled and sliced thin

Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. In a 4-quart saucepan boil potatoes, garlic, and water, skimming froth, until potatoes, are very tender, about 15 minutes.

Set broiler rack about 1 inch from heat and preheat broiler.

While potatoes are boiling, in a bowl sprinkle bread with oil and salt to taste and toss. On a baking sheet arrange bread in one layer as close together as possible and sprinkle with half of Parmesan. Broil bread until Parmesan is melted, about 1 minute.

Transfer potatoes with a slotted spoon to a bowl, reserving cooking liquid in pan, and with a potato masher mash coarse. Stir potatoes and broccoli into reserved cooking liquid and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in remaining Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. Serve soup with croutons.

Mashed Potatoes and Turnips with Roasted Pear Puree
Makes 16 servings

1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
8 Bosc pears, peeled, quartered, cored

5 pounds potatoes, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 pounds white turnips, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine honey, lemon juice, and melted butter in large bowl. Add pears; toss to coat. Arrange pears in single layer on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast pears 30 minutes. Turn pears to coat with juices and roast until very tender, about 35 minutes longer. Transfer pears and caramelized liquids to food processor; blend until smooth. (Pear puree can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Cook potatoes and turnips in separate large pots of generously salted water until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain well. Transfer turnips to processor; puree until smooth. Mash potatoes with room-temperature butter in large bowl until smooth. Stir in pureed turnips. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm before continuing.) Rewarm pear puree. Place potato-turnip mixture in large serving bowl. Swirl in pear puree and serve.

2008-08-27T07:40:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

   It is hard to believe that we are approaching Labor Day weekend. But when I look into the barn and see the explosion of produce out in the fields, I know that we will soon be seeing the last of the summer squash and the first of the fall broccoli. We have had a good year for both melons and tomatoes – not always the case in the past. And every hard-working member of the field crew still has a smile on his or her face each morning. Leslie Snipes, an artist who at one time taught Drawing at Wesleyan, now works for us. We are extremely fortunate to have Leslie here, both in the fields and at the Farmers’ Markets where she really shines. Here is a piece of her writing about the farm. I think that she really sums up the field experience well and it always makes me cringe, for I know that I am protected from bugs, heavy lifting, high heat and humidity while I write to you.

07.11.08
Today I finished my second week on the farm—my first week of full, 10 hour days that begin at 5:15 am and don't end until 5pm. I've been exhausted and sore all the hot week, and have gained a new respect for farmers and farm hands. The work is hard. That's an understatement, especially when the weather is hot, humid, and/or wet. My idyllic view of planting, tending, and harvesting was replaced with numbers, calculations, efficiency, quick judgment in a constant stream of a constellation of factors, speed, heavy lifting, back bending, bugs, heat, sweat, dirt in my eye, exhaustion, hunger, muddy pants, and wet shoes. The rhythm of the days is usually the same, beginning at 7am: a big morning push in the fields across the river—reached on the back of a trailer behind a tractor which ride is the last bit of peace and reflection before work—to harvest, bunch, count, and lift totes for 5-6 hours, and get back to the barn near noon for lunch. Then, the calmer afternoon washing and a few nearby harvests, the careful packing, stock-taking, and storing or boxing. All us hands start the morning a little sleepy but full of talk, jokes, and energy. After lunch, that energy persists awhile, but then the barn gets quiet, and we all begin to look worn and our movements slow—totes feel heavier, feet and backs hurt, thinking slows. And then we go home exhausted, go to bed early and sleep well, and get up at 5am the next morning to begin again.

But here's where all that group effort and weariness transforms and I know I'm involved in something profound that's worth all that hard work: I made a salad tonight with produce gleaned from market leftovers and some seconds I'd picked up in the fields. I was eating away thoughtlessly as usual when a wave of emotion overtook me as I became aware of all our hard work blossoming into a heroic effort. I realized 'hey, I pulled this turnip out of the ground', and 'I bent over and found and pulled these snap peas at the end of a hot morning after 4 hours of harvesting other vegetables', and 'I packed this romaine in the field as my coworkers cut lettuce, and then I washed it in the barn and pulled off damaged leaves and carefully repacked it for market', and 'I probably cut this greenhouse cucumber with Wally, the Jamaican portrait photographer, who was teaching me which ones were ready to pick'. I had done limited gardening before this, but nothing compared to the satisfaction I felt eating that salad, knowing the kind of group labor and care that went into it. On this Saturday night, after my second week on the farm, it all came together for me: the reason why I quit my art professorship and sought this more elemental job that directly contributes to my ideals for society and the environment. When I go back to work on Monday, I'll have a whole new perspective on my work and that of the farm.

I think you’ll agree that she is pretty special, but so are all of the wonderful folks who have decided to work here.

   This week you will find in your share:
Tomatoes, Onion, Corn, Watermelon, Sunflowers, Carrots, Green Peppers, Green Beans, and Edamame
         Fruit Share: Plums and Peaches

           ****CSA Farm Pot-luck: Sunday September 21 from 3:30-5:30 ****

Enjoy your share - Justine

EDAMAME    (BEANS ON A BRANCH)

These sweet, nutty-flavored, green vegetable soybeans are similar in flavor to sweet peas and lima beans. They can be eaten as a snack or incorporated in many recipes that call for beans or peas. Edamame are rich in nutrients and per half cup serving, they provide 11 grams of high-quality protein.
Strip the beans from the branches and then boil for 5-10 minutes in salted water. Drain the beans and add a bit more salt or soy sauce. Strip the beans from the pod either with your teeth or by hand and eat either hot or cold. Edamame is a great snack food and is eaten in Japan like beer nuts. Put them in your children’s lunch boxes or serve as an appetizer.
Try:
Edamame with penne pasta, goat cheese and basil
Vegetable chili with black beans, edamame, and corn
Summer vegetable soup with wild rice and edamame
Sautéed spinach with edamame and sesame seeds
Pasta with swiss chard and edamame
Miso soup with edamame, shiitake mushrooms, red pepper, and tofu

Cream of Garlic Edamame Soup
2 T. Olive Oil
1 bulb of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
2 bay leaves
3 cups shelled edamame
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
Salt and pepper to taste
1-cup heavy cream

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and bay leaves and cook for 10 minutes or until softened and golden. Add the edamame and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover, and simmer for 35 minutes, or until tender. Remove and discard the bay leaves. In a blender, blend in small batches until smooth. Return the soup to saucepan. Stir in the cream. Heat the soup over medium-low heat until heated through.   Serves 6.

Edamame Succotash Salad
(Real Food For Healthy Kids - July 2008)
Make this salad for lunch but serve it hot at dinner first. To give kids extra protein at lunch, add 1/2 cup finely chopped cold cooked chicken and round it out with a small whole-wheat roll and an apple.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (or use 1 bunch chopped scallions)
1 pound shelled edamame (soybeans)
1 pound frozen corn, thawed, or 3 cups fresh-cut corn kernels (from about 4 ears)
2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh chives or basil

1. Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion or scallions and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes.

2. Add the edamame and corn and cook, turning often, until heated through, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomato, salt and pepper. Let cool and then chill if packing in a lunch box. When ready to serve, stir in the chives or basil.

Edamame and Carrot Salad with Rice Vinegar Dressing
    Bon Appétit - January 2001

Serves 6
1 1/2 cups shelled cooked edamame beans (from about 20 ounces of pods)
4 medium carrots (about 12 ounces), peeled, coarsely grated
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced

Combine first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Whisk vinegar, lemon juice, oil and garlic in small bowl to blend. Add to edamame mixture; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 3 hours ahead. Cover and chill.)

* Try adding yellow wax or green beans, cooked, to either of these salads.

2008-08-20T06:58:00.001-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

This week I am happy to share with you another delightful piece of writing from a hard-working member of the Denison Farm Crew who will be sorely missed as she turns her focus back to college life at Syracuse University. In addition to her contribution, I have included this week two recipes and some general information about a new vegetable in your box – Tomatillos. If you are already an experienced tomatillo chef, please send me your recipes and cooking tips as I am certain many members would appreciate it. Brian just peeked his head in the door and reminded me that he enjoys eating tomatillos raw – “ peel off the outside and just eat as if you are munching on a plum!”

This week in your share, you will most likely find:
          Tomatoes, Melon, Corn, Fairytale Eggplant (Just slice and grill – no peeling    necessary), Tomatillos, Lettuce, Onions, and Beets

    “Today, as in Wednesday August 13th, we had a change of pace on the farm. Instead of picking vegetables this morning, we, the ladies of the farm, ventured off to what Brian calls the
“Little Little Field” to arrange flower bunches. The sunflowers were pointing straight towards their beloved sun that they have missed for the past week or two. Only a few have bloomed, but we have an entire field of them to look forward to. Hopefully some of you will travel to the farm to see them when they blossom. We predominantly picked globe amaranths and zinnias for a group of CSA members. The cosmos are beetle bitten, but that’s what you get on an organic farm, as we all should know by now. Fidelia, Ali, Leslie, Rebeca, Jeannine, and I all sat between the rows of flowers and made the morning pass fast as we discussed, joked, and complained about our hunger pains, for picking flowers is a lot different than picking vegetables for three hours straight. As it is my last week on the farm before returning to the ugly city of Syracuse, NY (no offense Syracusians), I brought along a camera to document my time on the farm. Instead of struggling to create literary imagery, I wish to share my photos with all of you and leave my memories open to interpretation. Thank you to all members who I’ve met! The past two summers on the farm have helped me to learn a lot about myself, and I hope that you all continue to educate community members and those you love about eating and living local. I will create a photo album through the Denison farm blog and possibly have some of the photos appear on the farm website.    Peace and Love - Andrea LaMothe

Enjoy your share and have a great week - Justine

Tomatillo

The tomatillo (toe-ma-tea-o) is of Mexican origin and has been introduced into the United States. It now grows everywhere in the Western Hemisphere and is common in Texas gardens. The husk tomato plant produces an edible fruit enclosed in a thick husk. The husk is brown and the fruit yellowish-green when it is ripe. The plants will grow to a height of three to four feet.

The condition of the "husk" is a good indication of the freshness of the fruit. The husk should be light brown and fresh looking, not shriveled and dried. Fruit should be firm and free of defects. Fresh ripe husk tomatoes will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks. If longer storage is desired, remove husks and place ripe fruit in sealed plastic bags and place in refrigerator. They may also be frozen whole or sliced.

Tomatillos are a good source of vitamin C.

Remove husks and wash tomatillos. Remove skins if desired. Cook tomatillos either whole or cut in small pieces. Either way, steam them in a small amount of water in a covered saucepan for just about five to seven minutes. The result will be almost a sauce consistency, with the tiny seeds and bits of skin giving texture. Either add to other dishes or season with salt and pepper and hot chilies to taste and serve as a relish side dish.

Salsa de Tomate Verde

5 Jalapeno peppers
¾ -1 lb. Tomatillos
1-2 cloves Garlic
1 Tbl Vinegar
1 tsp Salt
½ cup chopped Cilantro
1/3 cup chopped Onion
1 Avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed (optional)

Place the Jalapenos in a large saucepan of boiling water. After 5 minutes, add the tomatillos. After about 3 minutes, remove the jalapenos and tomatillos and drain.
Puree the jalapenos, tomatillos, garlic, and vinegar in a blender. Add the salt and cilantro and blend for 2 short cycles.
In a bowl, combine the puree, avocado, onion.
Makes about 1 ½ cups.

Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce

Sauce:

1 1/4 lb Fresh Tomatillos
1 - 2 Jalapeno Peppers
1 small Onion peeled and finely chopped
1 medium Garlic clove - peeled and minced
1 Tbl Vegetable oil
2 c Low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp Salt

Enchilada:

2 Whole chicken breasts - boneless and skinless
2 Tbl Minced onion
1/3 c Sour cream
1/4 tsp Salt
1/3 c Vegetable oil
1 c Sharp cheddar cheese - coarsely grated
1/2 c Crumbled asiago cheese or substitute additional cheddar or jack cheese

To make the sauce:
Husk and wash the tomatillos. Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the tomatillos and jalapeno peppers and time for 10 minutes. Drain and remove the stem ends of the peppers. Put the
tomatillos, peppers, onion and garlic in a food processor and process to a coarse puree. In a large pan heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the vegetable puree and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in the broth and salt; simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

To make the enchiladas:
Place the chicken in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring just to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the water and cool slightly. Shred the chicken and set aside. Combine the cooled, shredded chicken with the minced onion, sour cream, and salt. Stir in 1/4 cup of the tomatillo sauce. Set aside.
In a 9- to 10-inch frying pan heat the oil over medium-high heat. Put 1 tortilla at a time in the hot oil and fry about 30 seconds on each side. Drain on paper towels. Cool slightly.
Spread a little of the sauce in a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Spoon some of the filling down the center of each tortilla and roll. Place in the baking dish; it will be a tight fit. Spoon the sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the cheddar and asiago cheeses.
Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven 25 minutes.   Cool 5 minutes before serving.

2008-08-13T10:14:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Greetings CSA Members,

Yesterday was an “obnoxiously buggy” day out in the fields (quote from one hearty member of the Denison Farm Crew). I can attest to that fact as well. Each morning I try to take the goats out for a little jaunt after milking them. They leap and jump, butt heads, and trample down the sumac trees. They are terribly cute! But they could hardly recognize me yesterday because I had tied the hood of my sweatshirt so tightly around my face that only my eyes were showing. The goats could recognize my voice but had no idea who I was. They were uncertain whether to follow me or run away! As we rambled back to the barn, away from the creek, my three sweet girls were greatly relieved (once I shook off my hood) to see my face once again. And then later in the afternoon as I began to compose this week’s newsletter, the entire crew was sitting in my kitchen waiting out the latest thunderstorm and the torrential rain falling from the sky. We wondered how the raging river would look on Tuesday. After a few more minutes had passed and everyone was restlessly sitting and drumming their fingertips on the table, we called it a day!

This week in your share, you will most likely receive:
Lettuce, Melon, Onions, Carrots, Green Beans (only if it doesn't rain), Tomatoes,
Summer Squash, Cucumbers, and one more item yet to be determined
once we get over the river !!

Enjoy your share – Justine

A quotation from a member of Angelic Organics (1000 member CSA outside of Chicago) regarding Green Beans:
“Green Beans used to bore me. They come into season at the same time as more assertive vegetables like tomatoes and sweet corn. It was easy to overlook the mild-mannered beans on the side of my plate. A friend has since introduced me to lightly steaming them and serving them dressed with toasted sesame oil and tamari (soy sauce). Now I can’t get enough.”

Green Beans Braised with Tomatoes and Basil
Bon Appétit

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup finely chopped white onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
2 large tomatoes, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup water

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion softens slightly, about 5 minutes. Add green beans, tomatoes, basil leaves, and 1/2 cup water. Cook until beans are crisp-tender, stirring and tossing occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.
Makes 6 servings.

Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad
Olive Trees and Honey

Carrot salads are a relatively new dish, especially raw ones. Until well into the twentieth century, most Europeans ate only cooked carrots, primarily in stews and soups. In the Middle East, people also used them as a component of cooked dishes, but sometimes added grated or minced raw carrots as a minor ingredient to various salads. It was in northwestern Africa that carrots, both cooked and raw, became the featured component of salads — typically an accompaniment to couscous or part of an assortment of salads.

Moroccans brought carrot salads to Israel in the 1940s, and they quickly became ubiquitous. These salads are a traditional Rosh Hashanah dish in Israel, a symbol of a sweet and fruitful year to come. At many Israeli restaurants, cooked carrot salad automatically appears on the table with the bread, pickles, and hummus. The carrots are usually flavored with charmoula, a characteristic Moroccan marinade of oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, and salt. Most cooks add heat with chilies, sometimes in dangerous proportions. For fancy presentation, Israelis serve raw carrot salad, commonly called gezer chai ("live carrots"), in quartered avocados or on a bed of lettuce leaves, garnished with a sprig of mint.

Servings: Makes 5 to 6 servings.
1 pound carrots, coarsely grated (about 4 cups)
1/4 cup vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil
3 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
2 to 4 cloves garlic, mashed or minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin or 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Pinch of salt
About 1/2 teaspoon harissa (Northwest African chili paste), 1 tablespoon minced green chilies, or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days to allow the flavors to meld and permeate the carrots. Served chilled or at room temperature.

VARIATIONS
Moroccan Cooked Carrot Salad (Shlata Chizo Metbucha): Do not grate the carrots, but cut them on a diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cook in gently boiling water until crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again. Toss with the dressing as above.

Moroccan Carrot-Orange Salad (Shlata Chizo): Omit the cumin and add 1 1/2 teaspoons orange blossom water or 1/2 cup fresh orange juice, 1/4 cup chopped fresh spearmint, and, if desired, 1 tablespoon sugar or honey.

Turkish Carrot Salad with Yogurt (Havuc Salatasi): Substitute 1 cup plain yogurt for the lemon juice.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Newsletter

2008-08-05T15:31:00.002-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

Raccoons are in the corn, an otter glided down the creek, the butterflies flap gently on blades of grass to dry their new wings. Life is good on the farm this week. The farmers are tired though. I think that the phrase, the dog days of August, applies directly to us! Brian has almost completed his Fall plantings and the greenhouse looks abandoned. Nonetheless, the fields appear to be in good shape after all of the rain and the weeds and leafhoppers are in abundant supply. Too bad we can’t market them. I thought that this week I would leave you with a prose-poem by Mary Oliver. Hope you enjoy it.

How Would You Live Then?

What if a hundred rose-breasted grosbeaks
flew in circles around your head? What if
the mockingbird came into the house with you and
became your advisor? What if
the bees filled your walls with honey and all
you needed to do was ask them and they would fill
the bowl? What if the brook slid downhill just
past your bedroom window so you could listen
to its slow prayers as you fell asleep? What if
the stars began to shout their names, or to run
this way and that way above the clouds? What if
you painted a picture of a tree, and the leaves
began to rustle, and a bird cheerfully sang
from its painted branches? What if you suddenly saw
that the silver of water was brighter than the silver
of money? What if you finally saw
that the sunflowers, turning toward the sun all day
and every day – who knows how, but they do it – were
more precious, more meaningful than gold?

This week in your share, you will most likely find:
Slicing Cucumbers, Corn or Onions, Green Beans, Satina Potatoes, Summer Squash, Bunch Beets, Green Peppers, and a Melon

Fruit share – Bag of Plums

Have a great week - Justine

Chilled Buttermilk-Beet Borscht
(from the Moosewood Cookbook)

4 large, fresh Beets
4 cups Water
1 tsp. Salt
1 medium Cucumber
½ cup finely-minced Scallions
2 cups Buttermilk
1 Tbl. Fresh chopped Dill (or ½ tsp. dried dill weed)

Peel the beets and quarter them. Place in a saucepan with the water and salt, and cook, covered for 15 minutes over medium heat. Cool the beets. Remove them with a slotted spoon, coarsely grate them and return them to the cooking water. Add all remaining ingredients, except for the buttermilk. Mix well. Chill until very cold.

Whisk the buttermilk in before serving. Beet Borscht is traditionally garnished with a spoonful of sour cream. Other condiments are chunks of cold boiled potato and chopped hard-cooked egg.

Potato Salad With Green Beans, Roquefort and Walnuts
Serves 4

2 pounds potatoes, quartered
8 tablespoons Mustard Vinaigrette
2/3 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed
1/3 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped

Preheat oven to 450°F. Mix potatoes and 3 tablespoons vinaigrette in large baking dish. Roast 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. and continue roasting until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 50 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and cool slightly. Mix in 3 tablespoons vinaigrette and 1/3 cup Roquefort cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook green beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water to cool; drain well. Transfer to medium bowl. Mix in 3 tablespoons cheese, 2 tablespoons vinaigrette and walnuts. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange beans on platter. Mound potatoes in center of platter atop beans. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Mustard Vinaigrette
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
2/3 cup chopped shallots or onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

Mix mustard and vinegar in bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Mix in shallots and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover, chill. Bring to room temperature, mix before using.)

CSA Cookbook !

2008-08-01T12:38:00.003-04:00

Dear CSA Members:
We are in the process of creating a Denison Farm Cookbook. This idea was inspired by the many wonderful dishes brought to the Denison Farm potluck dinner last summer, as well as by the recipes shared via email. At this time, we are asking for recipes, basic preparation ideas and storage suggestions.

Specifically, here are the things we would like you to share with us:

1. Recipes that use one or more of the vegetables that you receive from your CSA share
2. Successful ways to clean and store the vegetables from your share
3. Basic preparation ideas (similar to recipes, but using just the single ingredient (example: roast beets for 1 hour at 375).

Please send emails to: elana@nycap.rr.com. All sources will be cited, so please include your full name and contact information, if you wish your citation to appear in the finished book.

Thank you all for your participation in this project!

Sincerely,
Justine Denison and Elana Kamenir

Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Newsletter

2008-07-30T07:04:00.003-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

Since last Wednesday we have had 5” of rainfall at the farm. The Tomhannock Creek (which normally at this time of year is a dribble) is raging. We still cannot cross at our usual spot, the ford, and are forced to walk over the wobbly footbridge to harvest most of the vegetables. Thus life is just a bit stressful here at the farm this week. Most of the lettuce and especially the spinach have melted into the water-drenched fields. We are fortunate to have working on the farm part-time a wonderful woman who at nearly 10 years older than myself can run circles around me out in the fields. She presently is enrolled at Green Mountain College in Vermont in a Sustainable Agriculture Graduate program. We are lucky to have Jeannine as a friend. Her account of the rainy workweek tells it best.
“I work Wednesday through Friday, so my first day last week was the first of the downpour days. Wednesday is our CSA delivery day, when we are usually in the packing barn for a couple of hours in the morning boxing 247 shares Ford-assembly-line style. That went as planned, except for about 15 minutes when Brian herded us into the house, worried that the barn was not a safe place if lightning should strike.
We usually spend the rest of Wednesday and Thursday weeding and transplanting. Because we
knew the forecast, and because the majority of the farm is across a river that we usually ford with the tractor and wagon, we harvested Wednesday afternoon instead of weeding. Outfitted in yellow overall-and-jacket slickers the Denisons provide, we pulled and dug and picked up all the heavy veggies--carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, potatoes--anticipating not being able to get across the river on Friday, our usual day for harvesting for the markets and the remaining CSA shares. We usually sort out discards and bunch in the field, but in the rain and mud, we filled our totes as quickly and full as possible, knowing we'd be better able to tell good from bad when these crops were washed.
Thursday, I was at a farm conference in Vermont, which worked out well, as some of the commuting workers went home at 1 pm. There is only so much inside work--washing the vegetables we had harvested the day before, cleaning the three greenhouses, lifting the tomato and cucumber trellises higher and weeding in two of them.
Friday morning was beautiful with no rain and a sky rinsed shiny clean, but the river ford was impassable, the water flowing fast and about 6 feet deep. We could finish the harvest in our tall boots--no hot slickers needed. We carried empty totes across a wide and springy (!) footbridge and brought them back full of the lighter crops--chard, bok choi, kale, herbs, baby greens, arugula. Three totes came over lashed with bungee cords to a hand truck, but the rest we carried on shoulders and heads. Walter, from Jamaica, loves to record special circumstances, so he photographed it all. We looked like the Denison Farm was in the rainforest, all of us bearing our burdens high as we walked into the glistening wet and green.
After washing and packing everything for the fewer CSA members that pickup Saturday and the large clientele at the Troy and Saratoga Markets, we went back over the footbridge to pick green beans at the end of the day. Those plants need to be as dry as possible for picking, so we don't risk damaging the vines. Don't I work for a smart farmer? It seems like our challenges almost always leave us feeling triumphant and exhilarated, and definitely raise our crew spirit.”

In your share this week, you will most likely receive:
Sweet Onions, Bok Choi, Pickling Cucumbers, Cilantro, Green Beans,
Carrots, Melon, and Green Peppers or Eggplant

Enjoy and take good care - Justine

Chilled Cucumber Soup

1 large or 3-4 pickling cucumbers
1 clove garlic
1 quart buttermilk
1 knife tip ground cumin
1 Tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Dark bread

Peel the cucumbers. Cut slices in finger-thick chunks. Put in blender with other ingredients except dark bread. Blend. Refrigerate at least 1/2 hour before serving. Cut dark bread into cubes. Toast to croutons in a thick pan. Blend soup again before serving. Add croutons when serving.

Green Beans with Garlic, Lemon, and Parsley

1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Place beans in bowl of ice water to cool. Drain well.

Melt butter with oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; stir 30 seconds. Add beans; sauté until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and lemon peel. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving dish.

Gingery Sweet Pickled Vegetables
The Joy of Pickling | October 1999

1/2 pound 2- to 3-inch pickling cucumbers
1 teaspoon pickling salt
1/2 cup peeled, thin-sliced fresh ginger
2 small dried chile peppers
1 1/2 cups rice vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups diagonal carrot slices (1/2 inch thick)
1 large bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
3/4 pounds onions (1 large or 2 medium), cut into 1-inch chunks

Gently wash the cucumbers, and cut them into 1-inch lengths, discarding a thin slice from each end. Toss the cucumbers with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Let the cucumbers stand for 1 to 2 hours.

In a large nonreactive saucepan, bring to a boil the ginger, chile peppers, vinegar, water, sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Remove the pot from the heat, and add the carrots. Let the mixture cool.

Drain and rinse the cucumbers, and drain them again. Add the cucumbers, pepper, and onion to the saucepan. Mix well, then transfer the vegetables and liquid to a 2-quart jar. Cover the jar with a nonreactive cap, and refrigerate it.

The pickles will be ready to eat after about 3 days. Refrigerated, they will keep for at least 2 months.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Newsletter

2008-07-27T20:20:00.003-04:00

Tuesday July 22, 2008

Greetings CSA Members,
What an amusing sight I was Sunday evening, attempting to milk the goats in between the thunderstorms. Each time I thought the coast was clear, I would head out to the barn. Once I had a goat in the stanchion and I was beginning to milk, it would start to thunder. Frantically I would milk as fast as I could, yank the goat back into the pen, and run for the house. Now this happened three times and by 9:00, as a teary-eyed farm wife, I was absolutely pathetic! So there you have it - true confessions from a CSA Farmer. And so now it is your turn. I would love to share in a newsletter some “True Confessions From a CSA Member”. For example, one week, a lovely CSA member approached me and whispered that she identifies the various vegetables each week by process of elimination. I informed her that she was not alone and that no question was ever too small or too foolish. So if you have an embarrassing moment that you would be willing to share as you have discovered what is and what is not in your weekly share or how you created some wonderful new dish such as Strawberry-Swiss Chard Pie (thinking that the Swiss Chard was rhubarb), please send me your anecdote via email.
I am also including a piece that Rebeca shared with me from Cook’s Illustrated and I thought would be valuable.

WHICH VEGETABLES SHOULD BE STORED WHERE

BEST in the FRONT of the FRIDGE: corn (after wrapping in a wet paper bag placed inside a plastic bag) and peas

BEST in the CRISPER: artichokes, asparagus (after trimming the ends and placing upright in shallow cool water, then covering with plastic), beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chiles, cucumbers, eggplant, fresh herbs, green beans, leafy greens, leeks, lettuce (after washing and drying, rolling loosely in a clean kitchen towel inside an unzipped zip-lock bag), mushrooms, peppers, radishes, scallions, summer squash, turnips, zucchini

BEST on the COUNTER: tomatoes (stored upside down)

BEST in the PANTRY (where it's both dark and cool): garlic, onions, potatoes, shallots, sweet potatoes, and winter squash

WHEN to WASH VEGETABLES: just before using them since moisture encourages mold which encourages spoilage; if you do wash beforehand, dry before putting into the fridge

ORIGINAL PACKAGING: Cook's Illustrated suggests storing produce in their original containers that have often been especially designed to keep the produce fresher. (Note: Their story does seem to be oriented to supermarket vegetables that have been bred for long shelf lives under certain conditions.)

This week in your share, you will most likely find:
Lettuce, Red Gold Potatoes, Onions, Green Beans, Fairytale Eggplant, Cucumbers, Summer Squash/Zucchini, and Basil

Enjoy your share - Justine

Zucchini Bread

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 2 eggs, slightly beaten
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
* 1 cup shredded zucchini
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, ginger, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add oil, eggs, lemon juice and peel, shredded zucchini, and chopped walnuts. Stir to blend. Do not over mix.

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool zucchini bread in pan on wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes.

Turn zucchini bread out of pan and cool completely on rack.

Zucchini in Pecan Brown Butter (Gourmet Magazine)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup pecans (1 oz), coarsely chopped
1 lb zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch-thick matchsticks
1/2 cup parmesan curls (shaved with a vegetable peeler from a piece of parmesan)

Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, then cook pecans, stirring, until golden brown and butter is browned.

Add zucchini with salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring frequently, until just tender, about 10 minutes.

Serve zucchini topped with parmesan curls.

New Potato and Cucumber Salad (with fresh herbs)

2 pounds red-gold potatoes
2 medium cucumbers, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped salad onion
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
6 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
4 teaspoons chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons minced garlic

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes; cool. Cut into 3/4-inch cubes and place in large bowl. Add cucumbers and onion. Whisk all remaining ingredients in small bowl. Add to potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 8 hours ahead; chill.)

Squash Souffle
* 2 pounds sliced yellow summer squash and or zucchini
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup milk
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 3 tablespoons melted butter
* 3 tablespoons flour
* 8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
* seasoned salt and pepper, to taste
* buttered bread crumbs

Combine squash, onion, and salt in a large saucepan; cover with water and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and mash well. Stir in milk, eggs, melted butter, flour and cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake in a buttered 1 1/2-quart casserole for about 30 minutes. Top with buttered bread crumbs and bake for about 10 minutes longer. Serves 4.

What to do with a pint of blueberries

2008-07-24T16:04:00.002-04:00

Justine received a recipe from CSA Member Amy Hahn that she used with her fruit share blueberries. Just in case any other fruit share members have any blueberries left, we are posting it here for you to enjoy. Thanks, Amy!

Blueberry Maple Parfait

1 pint blueberries, washed and drained

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon light brown sugar

2 cups vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup real maple syrup

1/2 cup granola cereal (or broken up granola bars)

Mix blueberries with cinnamon and brown sugar. Layer blueberries with vanilla yogurt, maple syrup and granola in each of 4 - 6 small wine glasses. You want 2 layers of each ingredient in each glass. After layering, freeze glasses about 35 minutes before serving. (or just eat it right away) Makes 4 - 6 servings.

Don't knock it 'til you've tried it

2008-07-23T21:04:00.006-04:00

"Tried what?" you say? Beet ice-cream! Yes, really, BEET ICE-CREAM.

I love beets and I love ice-cream, so I was very intrigued when I read about it in CSA member Leslie's blog, Fluff & Nonsense, where, among other things, she writes about and photo-documents her CSA experience. I wrote to Leslie that I would love to meet her and hear how the ice-cream turned out. To my great surprise and delight, this past Saturday, Leslie, her husband Chris, and her two beautiful and charming children, Avery and Mitchell came to the Denison Farm stand at the Troy Farmers' Market and introduced themselves to us. Leslie told me the ice-cream turned out pretty good, better if you already like beets, but not to Mitchell's liking. I was excited to try my hand at the recipe and glad to have met them and went back to work. To my delight -- and that of Justine, Maggie, Stella, Molly and Leslie (a different Leslie) who were all also working at the stand -- Leslie and family returned a while later with a small cooler full of beet ice-cream samples for us to try! We ALL loved it -- thank you, Leslie!

I have not stopped talking about it since -- just ask the rest of the crew who was not there on Saturday. The color is gorgeous, the lemony flavor and beety sweetness a surprisingly delightful combination. I heartily recommend you all give it a shot too. At least read about Leslie's experience in her blog, a link to which is now on the list of our favorite blogs.

I'm soooo going to try a veggie ice-cream really soon. I'm thinking about a sweet cream base with zucchini flecks in it and the spices usually associated with zucchini bread. After all, we have to do something with all those zucchini that aren't good enough for CSA or market but we just can't bear to toss in the compost. Any other suggestions?

Words from a fresh farmer

2008-07-19T20:11:00.005-04:00

Hello, all - Annie here. I am one of the newer members on Brian and Justine's crew, having just joined the team at the beginning of May. I hadn't had much farm experience before - a little volunteering on my roommate's smaller-scale organic farm in college - but thought I'd like the work, and decided to give it a shot.

The past two and a half months have been wonderful for me, very educational for both mind and body. I spent the past year working a desk job in Chicago, and the first week at the Denisons' was quite a shock on the ol' muscles, but I was so relieved to be outside that I hardly minded a bit - and I sleep so much better after a day of planting, weeding, and harvesting! Now, my body has gotten accustomed to the work, and I can pay closer attention to the day-to-day processes that make the farm tick.

This week was quite exciting - I am always happy when a new crop is ready, and this week we picked the first carrots, green beans, and eggplant. I learned that in Jamaica, they call eggplants "Garden eggs," which I think sounds very poetic, particularly with a Jamaican accent. Although I suppose the French (and also British and Canadian) term "aubergine" is also quite poetic. We've already got two kinds showing their fruits in the field - the Fairytale and the standard dark-purple kind. If you've never seen eggplant fruits still on the plant, it is worth a trip to the farm. I think they're the most beautiful crop, particularly very early in the morning when the dew is still on. The fruits hang down like Christmas ornaments, and the leaves have a sort of velvety purple-y look to them that makes them seem far more exotic than the name "eggplant" would imply.

In any case, I'm hoping that another cold front comes through - ninety degrees with high humidity makes it a bit tough to pick vegetables expeditiously, although the zucchinis seem to love it. I'm going to sign off now, with my best wishes to you and your most recent bunch of chard - there are many vegetables that I love, but chard is particularly high on the list. The colors, the flavor, the speed of stir-frying, the nutrition ... so, enjoy!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 Newsletter

2008-07-15T13:12:00.003-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,
This week I am sending an abbreviated newsletter due to a visit to our farm by a CSA Member and illness. I have not been feeling 100 % and so am trying to take care of myself by slowing down a bit. So please forgive me for not painting a farm picture for you this week.
But I just waved good-bye to a carload of wonderful children and Mother as they all left the farm to return to Connecticut from which they had begun their day. Anna Hangartner, a CSA Member picking up in Purchase, NY each week, decided to show our farm to three visiting children from Switzerland. Anna speaks French, German, English, and Swiss-German and joyfully translated all of the information and stories both Brian and I shared. We had a lovely time touring the farm and comparing similar and differing farm styles. We munched on radishes and watched the washing and packing of all the vegetables into the boxes bound for Purchase this morning, patted the goats’ heads and guessed what the herbs were in the herb garden. I once again realized how lucky I am to be able to live this life and share these vegetables with you.

This week in your share, you will most likely find:
Cilantro, Swiss Chard, Snow Peas, Sweet Onions, Fennel, Lettuce, Radishes, and Cucumbers
“It is the individual farmer who must weave the greater part of the rug on which America stands. Shall he weave into it only the sober yarns which warm the feet, or also the colors which warm the eye and heart?”
- Aldo Leopold, The Farmer as Conservationist

Have a great week – Justine

Anna Hangartner’s Fennel Salad

1 bulb Fennel
2-3 TBL Olive oil
Lemon Juice, squeezed from a real lemon, add enough for your own individual preference
Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Slice the fennel paper-thin.
In a separate bowl, combine the olive oil and lemon juice. Pour olive oil and lemon juice over the fennel and toss.
Grate or shave the Parmesan cheese on top of the fennel salad and serve.

Swiss Chard and Potato Enchiladas ( from Suzanna Denison)

1 bunch Swiss Chard
2 Tbl Olive Oil
1 tsp Salt
5 medium potatoes, sliced thinly
1 medium Onion
2 tsp minced Garlic
Fresh Ground Pepper
4 oz. grated cheese (Cheddar and Monterey Jack worked well for us)
8 corn tortillas
Tomatillo Salsa – 2 jars (or make your own)

In a large skillet, sauté the potatoes in the olive oil – about 10 minutes over a medium-low heat. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper-towel lined plate. Add onion and garlic to skillet and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the swiss chard leaves and cook until softened. Add the potatoes back to the skillet and combine all with ½ cup cheese.
Soften the tortillas in a toaster oven or oven. Pour ½ cup tomatillo salsa into the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch baking dish. Put 2 heaping Tbl of swiss chard/potato/cheese mixture into the center of each tortilla and roll each one up. Place the filled tortillas seams side down on the salsa, laying them snuggly next to one another. Spoon the remaining salsa over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until the enchiladas are heated through and the cheese is softened, about 15-20 minutes. Serve with sour cream or yogurt.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008 Newsletter

2008-07-08T17:42:00.004-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

I can always tell when summer is almost at its peak – the lightning bugs are plentiful, lighting up the hazy pink, evening sky. Last night as Brian rescued one escapee-chicken, I looked out at the winter squash. I reminded myself how quickly this season seems to evaporate. Soon the garlic and onions will be mature enough to harvest and then the storage beets, carrots, and potatoes start filling the cooler as well. But thankfully, not quite yet. We still have tomatoes and green beans and corn and watermelons well on their way to your boxes within the near future. The goats are panting this noon with the high heat and humidity. They won’t like it, but Brian will spray them with the hose later this afternoon. They kick and snort and complain bitterly. And the chickens are no less pitiable. They sit under the bushes with their little beaks open, panting (if that is what you can call it) and squawking or clucking with a whiny tone. Compared to any one of these chickens, a hot and tired two-year old looks like a cool and calm Roger Federer.

This week you will be receiving quite a diversity of vegetables – another sign of the bounty of the summer season. The Red Norland potatoes are really a treat, for they are delicious just boiled and eaten with butter and parsley. And if it is too hot to cook at your home, the sugar snaps, zucchini/summer squash, spinach, and turnips (grated) can all be eaten raw in a salad. The beets are also delicious eaten as a salad, cooked, chilled and then mixed with orange slices, almonds, and light vinaigrette dressing. It’s time for the annual chocolate zucchini cake recipe (from a CSA member) – a real crowd pleaser.

Your share will most likely include:
Summer Squash/Zucchini/Cucumbers, Sugar Snap Peas, Beets, Curly Kale, Parsley, Red Norland Potatoes, Spinach, Turnips

Enjoy your share and take good care - Justine

Kale and Mushrooms with Creamy Polenta
(Bon Appétit )

1 lb or I bunch kale, stemmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cups whole milk
3 1/2 cups water
2 cups polenta
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 ounces mushrooms (such as crimini, oyster, and stemmed shiitake), sliced
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup low-salt chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook kale in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 6 minutes. Drain.

Bring milk, water, polenta, salt, and pepper to boil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thick, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook mushrooms and 2 tablespoons oil in skillet. Sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in kale. Add garlic and broth; simmer until broth is slightly reduced, about 6 minutes. Stir in thyme, lemon peel, and 2 tablespoons oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Whisk butter and Parmesan into polenta and divide among plates. Top with kale mixture.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 ½ cups all purpose-flour 2 cups sugar
½ cup cocoa 3 eggs
2½ tsp. baking powder 2 tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp. baking soda 2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
1 tsp. salt 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. cinnamon 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
¾ cup soft butter

Glaze (directions to follow)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.
With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel and zucchini.
Alternately stir the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition.
Pour the batter into a greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes (test at 45) or until a wooded pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in a pan 15 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool thoroughly.
Drizzle glaze over cake.
Glaze: Mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 Tbl milk and 1 tsp vanilla. Beat until smooth.

* 7/23/08 update: This is how CSA Member Leslie's zucchini cake turned out. Yummy!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 Newsletter

2008-07-01T20:31:00.003-04:00

Greetings CSA Members,

This week I have asked Mimi Marstaller, Maggie's (our daughter) dear friend to share her experiences working and living on the farm. Even though Maggie is off touring with a world music singing camp, Mimi has persevered here on the farm. I hope you enjoy her tale as much as we enjoy having her with us.

This week in your box, you will most likely find:

Lettuce, Spinach, Sugar Snap Peas, Bok Choi, Basil, Braising Greens,
Broccoli or Beets, and Cucumbers or Summer Squash/Zucchini

Have a wonderful week – Justine

Mimi, tell us your thoughts about your work last summer and now:

“The general job description was the same, involving working outside with plants, weeding, maintaining, some heavy lifting, and working with a crew. Why, then, do I feel so differently about my work this summer than that of last summer? The answer is relatively simple, and almost entirely psychological. Last year I weeded and planted for a landscaping company in Part City, Utah. The conservationist in me screamed as we planted garden after garden—in the middle of the desert. Having had no rain for a month and a half, the city posted signs encouraging water conservation, but my co-workers and I continued to install water-thirsty plants and sprinkler systems. I felt as though the city and its SUV-revving residents were living on borrowed time until Park City’s trademark ski trails would turn into sand dunes.
But no one working on the crew at Denison Farm has a conscience aching from his environmentally destructive day job. I sleep quite well, actually, knowing that I have participated in a system that brings organically grown, local food to conscientious consumers. Ahhh, just writing it makes me feel relieved. One of the things I find so promising about the local food movement is how amenable it is to growth on a personal level. When I started working at the Denison’s farm stand at the Troy farmers market four years ago, I had never experienced the community that surrounds a local food economy, and since that fated day the local movement has excited me to the point that I have made its promotion my career path. I know that my story is not singular—there are countless people who have been changed as they have changed the way they shop. Working on the farm has enlightened me to another way in which the local food movement fosters community: the excitement that I share with the other members of the crew over the appearance of the summer’s first new potatoes trumps any camaraderie I felt with my Park City crew over a fried columbine plant that the sprinkler didn’t reach that day.
Thank you for being part of the community network that is the local food movement. And please convince your Park City friends to keep cactus gardens.”

Broccoli with Ginger
1-2 lb broccoli
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cut florets into 2-inch-wide pieces. Trim stems and peel with a knife, then slice crosswise 1/4 inch thick. Cook broccoli in a large pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes, then drain.
Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté ginger, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add broccoli and salt and sauté , stirring, until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes

Easy Braising Greens
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
6-8 cups Braising Greens, alone or combined with any green such as Bok Choi, Spinach, Swiss Chard, and/or Kale, washed and coarsely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/8 cup water or vegetable broth
Salt to taste
Optional flavorings: Sesame oil, ume plum vinegar, tamari
Optional toppings: sesame seeds, chopped almonds or walnuts, toasted pumpkin seeds

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add greens and garlic, stirring to coat with oil. Stir occasionally until greens are barely wilted, just a few minutes.
2. Add vegetable broth or water and stir, allowing greens to steam until barely tender. Salt to taste.
3. Add flavorings and toppings as desired and serve.
Serves 4.

Summer Greens Pasta with Garlicky Mustard Butter
1 stick organic butter or to taste (some folks find this amount to be too much)
2 tablespoons Dijon or country-style mustard
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons parsley, finely minced
2 tablespoons finely snipped chives or minced scallions
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3/4 pound pasta of your choice
4 cups assorted fresh greens, well-washed, and coarsely chopped. These may include Braising Greens, Swiss Chard, Spinach, Turnip Greens, Bok Choi, Collards, or whatever is fresh.

1. Allow the butter to soften, then blend with mustard.
2. Remove skin from garlic, chop coarsely, and pulverize in a mortar with a pinch of salt. Add parsley and chives and continue to pulverize for a little while to allow flavors to be released.
3. Combine garlic-chive mixture with mustard butter and add a few grinds of pepper.
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and add pasta. Cook according to package directions and in the last couple of minutes of cooking, add the greens. When done, drain pasta and greens in a colander, then place in a large heavy-bottomed skillet.
5. Heat pasta and greens over medium heat with the prepared butter, tossing until well-coated. Be sure not to allow the butter to brown. Serve hot.

Beets in Vinaigrette (taken from Gourmet Magazine)
1 1/2 pounds medium beets (about 4; 2 1/2 pounds with greens), trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stems attached
2 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Cover beets generously with water in a heavy medium saucepan and simmer until tender when pierced in center with a knife, 30 to 45 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool to warm, then slip off skins. Cut beets into 1/4-inch slices.
Meanwhile, whisk together vinegar, onion, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking, then add warm beets and parsley and toss. Season with additional sugar and salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: Beets can be roasted and sliced 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before tossing with vinaigrette and parsley.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Newsletter

2008-06-25T05:52:00.002-04:00

Hello CSA Members,
Sunday afternoon at 5:30PM I was contemplating what this week’s newsletter would look like. A funnel cloud had been spotted 6 miles East of Mechanicville, NY and near to Schaghticoke Hill. Well, that location is precisely where our farm is located. We headed for the basement and fretted about hail and wind damage to crops and greenhouses. I am very happy to report that neither occurred. And though the winds, lightning, and rain were like nothing I had ever witnessed, we escaped with very little damage. I must admit; neither Ruby (our sweet dog) nor I have fully recovered!! We do have a lot of water in the fields and the lettuce which does not like to sit in that much water is showing some signs of stress. We are trying to harvest it quickly so that we can save as much as possible. We do have friends that have suffered tremendous damage from hail last week and are basically starting over with transplants and new seeds. They are luckier than the fruit growers who were also hit by the hail and have lost cherries and apples that will not grow back for this season. Due to the stress on the Fruit Farmers, we are not starting this week with the fruit share. I will keep you updated via email.
This week in your share you will most likely find:
Lettuce, Arugula, Broccoli or Beets, Summer Squash/Zucchini, Scallions, Cucumbers, and Sage

Enjoy your share this week - Justine

** I had great success pleasing my daughter and her three teenage friends taking some leftover brown rice, sautéed scallions, summer squash and zucchini, tomatoes sauce and grated cheese. Put the rice into the bottom of a baking dish and then scoop the sautéed vegetables over the rice. Next pour the tomato sauce over the rice and veggies and sprinkle with grated cheese (we used sharp cheddar). Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes at 350 or until the cheese has melted and is bubbling.

** Sage may be used more as a winter herb, but it is great for drying and for making tea. Here is what Deborah Madison has to say:
“Fresh sage leaves enhance many foods that we tend to associate more with herbs like basil and marjoram, such as asparagus, corn, and peas. It also has a striking affinity for winter squash and pumpkin. Fresh sage leaves, used alone or mixed with chamomile, make a soothing, minty tea. Float morsels of crisp, fried sage leaves in soups – especially white bean or crumble them over roasted summer squash and onion dishes, or insert a few into a grilled Swiss or Fontina cheese sandwich.”

Spinach Fettuccine with Arugula, Walnuts, and Feta

1 lb Fettuccine

¼ - ½ lb Arugula
4 T Olive oil

½ cup toasted walnuts (toast lightly in toaster oven)
3 cloves, garlic – chopped

Feta Cheese as desired
Several pinches of red pepper flakes

Drop the pasta into plenty of salted, boiling water and cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet, add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook over medium heat until the garlic turns light gold.

Add the Arugula, season with a pinch or two of salt, and sauté until wilted. Stir in the walnuts and turn off the heat.

When the fettuccine is done, add it directly to the skillet. Toss well and serve with a bit of olive oil drizzled over the top and sprinkled with Feta.

Summer Squash Soup With Pesto

2 T Olive Oil or Butter

¼ cup chopped parsley
1 lb Zucchini/ Summer Squash

1 Onion, chopped
1 bunch Scallions, chopped

6 cups chicken broth or vegetable stock
3 T Brown Rice, raw

1/3 cup Pesto
Salt and Pepper

Heat the oil in the soup pot and add the vegetables, rice, and parsley.
Stir to coat with the oil, then add ½ cup of the stock, cover, and stew for 15 minutes over medium heat.

Add the remaining stock and 1 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat right away and simmer, partially covered for 25 minutes.

If you want to at this point, puree. If you prefer a chunkier texture, leave the soup as it is. Just before serving, stir in the pesto

Farm Maintenance

2008-06-19T20:08:00.004-04:00

Thursdays are often what I call "farm maintenance" days. At this time in the season, we have been weeding crops, pruning and stringing up (in the greenhouse)or staking (in the field) tomatoes, weeding crops, did I mention weeding crops yet?

Yes, weeding is huge at this time of year. We need to stay ahead of the weeds while we have time to pay attention to them. Brian usually drives over the bed in question with the cultivator and then the crew comes along with an assortment of hoes, nimble fingers and strong biceps and slices, pulls and/or pinches weeds as necessary.

The first time I weeded carrots I was a CSA member in my first year with the Denisons. Carrots need to be weeded before at such an early stage that the untrained eye takes time to learn to identify the weed from the carrot seedling. As I carefully plucked the weeds between the carrots, I remember thinking that carrots should be worth their weight in gold!

Weeding is often thought of as a tedious chore and, sure, sometimes it can be. More often than not, however, it is a very rewarding task and one that can attain meditative qualities as you get a rhythm going and your mind clears. Brian often join us when the crew is weeding and complains about having to do all the boring tractor work while we get all the fun jobs like weeding. He loves it! Maggie has also been known to get home after a crazy day at school and head out to do some weeding to decompress. Ruby sometimes joins us too, lying down in the wheel track and periodically getting up to follow us and lie down again as we move along the row. Today we started the day by weeding onions and squash by hand and hoe and some of us finished by weeding leeks and beets.

Today we also uncovered the eggplant beds and removed the hoops that had been holding up the row cover. (The plants look beautiful and there are already some tiny fruits coming!) After that we pruned tomatoes and set up stakes. Brian wanted to try a new method of staking the tomatoes. He is always thinking hard about something or other and coming up with ways to do things better on the farm. He runs ideas by us and listens to our feedback. He is hoping this new way of staking the tomatoes will allow more free flow of air between the plants and thus reduce disease which is always a concern on an organic farm. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Before I log off, I want to respond to some of the comments that have been left in response to our posts. First, I want to thank everyone for interacting with us in this new way. We love all the positive feedback! Thanks for the offers for help (so far, so good). There was a question about sharing recipes. I'm still looking into this as I play with layout ideas and such and don't have a definite answer. For the time being, you could try posting the recipes in the comments. While the comments don't show on the home page of the blog, if you click on the post title it takes you to that post's page and all the comments are then visible. I would like to find a way to archive posts with recipes together at some point, though.

So that's it for this week. Hope you're all enjoying your shares!

Rebeca

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 Newsletter

2008-06-17T21:17:00.005-04:00

Dear CSA members,

A gentle thunderstorm brought much needed rain to our crops. I am always so grateful when there is neither pounding rain nor hail. So I sat contentedly as the rain fell. Ever since I read the following article in Farming Magazine, written by a young woman who is attending Kenyon College in Ohio, I couldn’t wait to share it with all of you. Hope you enjoy it.

“In today’s so-called ‘global community’, the inconvenient truth is that the personal is often political, whether we want it to be or not. Each purchase we make presents us with a daunting array of considerations: does this company treat its workers fairly? What are their environmental policies? Does it endorse a repressive regime in some distant developing country? Is this food healthy? Is it genetically modified? What about animal abuse? Can I afford anything else?

Our purchases become political statements. We vote with our money.

So here’s another consideration: the distance a product travels between the plane where it’s produced to the place where it’s sold. For the average supermarket item, this will be anywhere between one and two thousand miles. To prevent it from spoiling during the trip, it is often treated with preservatives or color enhancers. In addition, the commercial farms that sell their products over long distances tend to use more pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics in the first place. When we buy locally we have the chance to choose farms that use fewer chemicals – good for soil and water, good for us.

It also takes an enormous amount of energy to transport products such long distances; after basic production comes packaging, preserving, shipping, distributing, and retailing. If we are to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels for political and environmental reasons, it is in our best interest to begin eliminating unnecessary energy consumption.

Local food also tastes better. It’s fresher; vegetables will be harvested when they’re ripe, not picked prematurely and left to ripen in storage. A big reason to buy local food, however, is to support the farmer a few miles down the road. He or she is competing against larger farms that sell to major retailers in an economy increasingly geared toward mass production and mass retail. It’s hard, after all, to compete when superstores offer combined advantages of price and convenience. But when independent local businesses are healthy, so are communities and the people who make them function. It’s the difference between buying a tomato at the supermarket that says “certified organic” by swiping it through self-check and buying a tomato from your neighbor and stopping to talk for a few minutes, knowing that it’s something they would feed to their own family.

A student’s time in college is short; our existences are transient. Often, I think, we limit our lives to the campus and never allow ourselves to become part of the villages, towns, and counties that surround us… Strengthening ties between the college and the area around it is something that would benefit everyone, and food is one way to do that. That’s why local food programs are so important; they fill in that void between the origins of what we eat and the finished product. They reconnect us with the land that supports us, “rooting” us with an awareness of place, a sense of belonging.

Knowing that we are active players in a global economy and, increasingly, a global society behooves us to be conscious of how personal decisions affect other people. Know what you buy. Know where it comes from. If you can, know the person who raised it or grew it. Local food isn’t really about food, after all; it’s about investing in the lives of people around us.”

This week in your share, you will most likely find:

Baby Lettuce, Swiss Chard, Scallions, Garlic Scapes, Broccoli, Sugar Snap Peas (string them and then eat the pods and all), Parsley, and Strawberries

Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm. Our lives are enriched because of you.

Take good care - Justine

Broccoli and Scallion Puree

1 Bay leaf

2 T Butter

Salt and Pepper

Pinch of Nutmeg

1 lb Broccoli

2 tsp. Lemon Juice

I bunch Scallions

2 T Cream, optional

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil with the bay leaf in a saucepan. Add 1 tsp. salt, then the broccoli and scallions. Cook until the stems are tender, 4-6 minutes. Scoop out the vegetables, discard the bay leaf, and reserve the water.

Puree in a food processor leaving a little texture. Add a little of the cooking water if needed to loosen the mixture. Stir in the butter and season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Stir in the cream if using.

Use it over rice or pasta. Eat it as a side-dish puree or make it into soup by

thinning with more water or cream, if needed. Try adding more vegetables for different textures (the garlic scapes, kale, and sugar snap peas would be mighty tasty) in both the puree and /or soup form.

Sugar Snap Peas

Sugar Snaps are “plump-podded peas that resemble shelling peas, but the pods themselves are sweet, tender, and crisp. They are cooked and eaten whole.” (Deborah Madison)

I think that they are terrific, once they are rinsed and strung, in a salad. Eat them as a snack and pack them (strung) into your children’s lunches. They are also very tasty gently stir-fried with shrimp and cashews and tossed with soy sauce.

Good Partners with Sugar Snap Peas:

Butter, dill, mint, basil, garlic, parsley, scallions, and turnips

Sugar Snap Peas With Scallions and Dill

1 pint sugar snaps, washed and strung

4-6 scallions, finely chopped (cut off both ends and wash first)

Salt and pepper

1 T. butter or olive oil

2 T. chopped dill (Basil will work very nicely as well)

Put the peas in a skillet with the scallions, a few pinches of salt, the butter, and enough water to cover the bottom. Cook until bright green and tender, for a minute or two (taste one to be sure). If using olive oil, add a little to the pan now. Season with salt and pepper. Then add the dill or basil.