FALL CSA Week 7

Pick List:

BUTTERNUT SQUASH - BRUSSELS SPROUTS - TURNIPS - BEETS- POTATOES - CARROTS - PARSNIPS - SWEET POTATOES - SPICY GREENS MIX - LETTUCE - PARSLEY - CILANTRO - ONIONS - GARLIC - EGGS

KITCHEN LIST:

ZUCCHINI OR PUMPKIN BREAD

DILLY BEANS OR HOT SAUCE

SOUP: YOUR CHOICE OF THE FOLLOWING...

 chili, squash potage, borscht, tomato, or pumpkin black bean

It is 6am on Tuesday morning, November 21st -last day for CSA- and I am already so sad.  We started the season way back in the early Summer with a lighter (weight) share of Strawberries, radishes, scallions, greens, cucumbers, basil, and a couple veggies starts- and we end it heavy today with all the roots and eggs, and greens, and Em’s cooking (three cheers for the kitchen squad!).  Every year about this time I think back on the growing season through the food we eat.  The month of June is Strawberries, cucumbers, and greens, July is Summer Raspberries, carrots, and the first tomatoes, August becomes the month of every crop under the sun- think watermelon, sweet peppers, eggplant, sweet corn and so on and so forth.  I could go on here, but I assume you get the point.  Bottomline, now we are in mid-November, making this the time of year for storage crops and greens, and warming foods.  As we move through the winter I plan to hang on to every last winter squash and carrot and onion (not to mention the canned foods in pantry and fruit in the freezer) for as long as possible hoping to make it through to the next growing season (but do not be surprised if you see me come March at the COOP, Norwich Farmers Market or Windsor Price Chopper).  The growing season keeps all of us at Edgewater on our toes, and i can speak for everyone when I say that we all love what we do here (otherwise we would be nuts to do it because HELLO long days).  And while I am sad to see the 24 week season (17 weeks of summer + 7 Fall) come to a close, it will be nice and rejuvenating to focus on other things on the farm like COOP orders (yes you can still support our farm by purchasing our produce from the COOP SHELVES!), seed orders, clean up, art, and family (because my family up here in the North Country is all of Edgewater Farm).  

Lastly, I love you guys.  I really do.  I’ve said it before, and I will say it over and over- Yall are the best community to grow for and i feel so lucky that you chose to make our farm, your farm this 2017 Harvest Season.  

Happy Thanksgiving Yall!  (is it too early to say, I miss you already?).

 TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES:

Brussels sprouts are a part of the Brassica family of vegetables, also referred to as the Cruciferous family, which include 34 edibles such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, collards, and kale…all your favorites, right?

Most cruciferous vegetables, including brussels sprouts, are excellent sources of vitamin C (perfect for this time of year!), folic acid, vitamin A, potassium, fibre, and they even contain omega-3 essential fatty acids!

Brussels sprouts also contain the seemingly miraculous plant phytonutrients that enhance the activity of the body’s natural defense systems to protect against disease, including cancer. Scientists have found that sulforaphane, one of the powerful glucosinolate phytonutrients found in Brussels sprouts and other cruciferous vegetables, boosts the body’s detoxification enzymes, potentially by altering gene expression, thus helping to clear potentially carcinogenic substances more quickly.

Sulforaphane, which is formed when cruciferous vegetables such as Brussels sprouts are chopped or chewed, is already known to trigger the liver to produce enzymes that detoxify cancer-causing chemicals, inhibit chemically-induced breast cancers in animal studies, and induce colon cancer cells to commit suicide. A study published in the Journal of Nutrition also suggests that sulforaphane may help stop the proliferation of breast cancer cells, even in the later stages of their growth.

Brussels sprouts contain goitrogens, naturally occurring substances in certain foods that can interfere with the functioning of the thyroid gland. Individuals with already existing and untreated thyroid problems may want to avoid Brussels sprouts for this reason. Cooking may help to inactivate the goitrogenic compounds found in food. However, it is not clear from the research exactly what percent of goitrogenic compounds get inactivated by cooking, or exactly how much risk is involved with the consumption of Brussels sprouts by individuals with pre-existing and untreated thyroid problems.

Caramelized Tofu with Brussels Sprouts

7 – 8 ounces extra-firm tofu cut into thin 1-inch segments a couple pinches of fine-grain sea salt

a couple splashes of coconut or olive oil 2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

2 – 3 tablespoons Sucanat, (or the least processed organic cane sugar you can get your hands on)

1/2 lb. (or more!) brussels sprouts, washed and cut into halves or quarters (depending on their size)

1. Cook the tofu strips in large hot skillet (or pot) with a bit of salt and a splash of oil. Sauté until slightly golden, about 4 minutes.

2. Add the garlic and nuts, and cook for another minute. Stir in sugar. Cook for another couple of minutes until the sugar has melted. Scrape the tofu out onto a plate and set aside while you cook the brussels sprouts.

3. In the same pan (no need to wash), add a touch more oil, another pinch of salt, and dial the heat up to medium-high. When the pan is nice and hot stir in the shredded brussels sprouts. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring a couple times (but not too often) until you get some golden bits, and the rest of the sprouts are bright and delicious. Add the chopped cilantro, give a quick stir and serve immediately.

Tip: I liked this dish (all 5 times I’ve eaten it in the past week and half) served with quinoa or short grain brown rice. Eaten with a whole grain, this meal becomes very balanced and filling….and seriously addictive.

I never thought I would say it, but I’ve found a new love. It could be the health benefits, it could be how cute they look all in a row sitting on their stalk, but I think it is actually the taste that keeps me coming back for more. Bright, earthy and green, they sing in my mouth and keep my body dancing.

THE FOLLOWING RECIPE FROM MY DEAR FRIEND (AND CSAer) LANI, I YET TO TRY IT BUT SHE SWEARS BY IT: 

fall CSA week 5

Pick List:

BUTTERNUT SQUASH - SWEET POTATOES - TURNIPS - ARUGULA -

GINGER - HEIRLOOM POTATOES - CARROTS-  BRUSSELS SPROUTS -

ONION - SHALLOTS - LEMONGRASS - PARSLEY - EGGS

KITCHEN LIST: SOUP & olive bread    

On Monday, we said goodbye to Roy, Strong, Garnet, and Jasper for the 2017 growing season and i am a little heartbroken.  Every year about this time the Jamaican crew head home.  I’ve been through this for about 10 seasons now, but this is the year that made me unexpectedly weepy.  I blame Hobbes (our kid-o).  From May to November Ray and I share our home with Roy and Strong and as a result they become apart of our family.  We do a couple meals a week together, share laundry and bathroom space, drink beers post work, etc… On top of the normal ins-&-outs of sharing a home, they have both developed the sweetest relationship with our almost 2 year-old.  Hobbes lights up when they come into the kitchen.  He runs over, gives hugs, and totally forgets about the sweet potato and sausage waiting on his plate.  As a farmer and parent I am in a continual state of multi-tasking (aren’t we all?) and having Roy and Strong to lean on every now & then was so nice and like family,  it just felt natural.  Anyhow, our Summer Family of 5 is down to three and we are already looking forward to the next growing season when our home is back to full capacity.  

 Likewise, our field crew is experiencing the same loss (though i doubt anyone is weepy over it).  Our field crew of 9 is down to 4 (sometimes 5) and with all the late season harvesting due to the insanely nice weather, a lot of the typical Fall chores got pushed back.  Right now we are swimming in carrots and potatoes and a large list waiting to get crossed off.  So it goes.  

 Regardless, all the guys got back safely to their own farms and own families, and curried goat, and jerk chicken, and warm sunshine.  We miss them already.  

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES

THERE WILL NEVER BE A FALL CSA GO BY, THAT YOU WON’T GET THIS RECIPE FOR THE MOST AMAZING SALAD DRESSING…

This recipe yields 1 to 1 1/4 cups dressing.

The major changes I made to the recipe were to increase the miso and sesame oil because I like it when their flavors are noticeable. This recipe has a real bite to it from the fresh ginger and the shallot. The original recipe suggested a large one, I suggest a more thimble-like small one. If you don’t want as loud of a ginger bite, use one tablespoon instead of two. This will make a lot but I like salads best with a heavy helping of this. You’ll go through it faster than you’d expect.

 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped 1 small shallot, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh ginger 2 tablespoons white miso

2 tablespoons rice vinegar 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil

1/4 cup grape seed or another neutral oil 2 tablespoons water

• Make the dressing: Whiz the carrots, shallot and ginger in a blender or food processor until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides, then add the miso, vinegar and sesame oil. While the machine running, slowly drizzle in the grape seed oil and the water.

 

notes: Keep your eye on the shreds once they turn bright green! Overcooked brussels sprouts in any form are actually the worst. And if you don’t have smoked paprika, use the regular stuff! It will still be delicious.

1 tbsp grape seed or other neutral-flavour oil 1 shallot, halved and sliced thinly

1 garlic clove, smashed 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 lb (454g) of brussels sprouts, trimmed of tough outer leaves, halved and sliced fine/shredded up to the little cores

salt and pepper 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp maple syrup (or dark agave) 1/3 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the sliced shallot and smashed garlic clove. Stir around until fragrant. Add the smoked paprika. Stir the shallots here and there until they are quite soft, but not browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the shredded brussels sprouts and a splash of water. Stir and lift with tongs quickly until the shreds start to wilt just a bit and the colour has darkened. Season with salt and pepper. Add the apple cider vinegar and stir again. When the shreds are bright green and a bit limp (takes about 3 minutes), remove from the heat. Add the maple syrup and stir to combine.

Transfer warm mixture to a serving plate and garnish with chopped pecans.

 

BRUSSELS SPROUTS:  

don’t want to use them right away? No prob- leave them on their stalk in a cool place like your garage

fall csa week 4

posting a week late (oops!)

Pick List:

BEETS - CARROTS - PARSNIPS - SPAGHETTI SQUASH - ROSEMARY - RED CABBAGE - PEPPERS (AGAIN?!?) - FENNEL - LEEKS - BROCCOLI - CAULIFLOWER - KALE - EGGS

KITCHEN LIST: “ORANGE” SOUPS & OATMEAL BREAD    

For all those looking to ease up on their winter/holiday/thanksgiving meal prep, and jump right into the eating and drinking and good cheer,  Emily and the good folks in the kitchen got your back.  Em is in the process of slicing, dicing, roasting, and packaging all the necessary vegetables to make mouths water and impress all your friends/family.  As mentioned before, think Mrs. Doubtfire when she orders out and wins the heart of Sally Fields.  So, without any further adieu, here is your THANKSGIVING LINE-UP, click away:

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES

roasted parsnips + carrots + rice with zingy turmeric broth recipe

serves: 2

 4 medium carrots or parsnips or both, scrubbed + cut into 1 inch pieces

oil

fresh/dried thyme leaves (+ extra for the broth)

salt + pepper

sizeable knob of coconut oil/ghee

1 shallot, fine dice

2 clove of garlic, minced

2 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled + minced

2 tsp ground turmeric

2 cup filtered water

juice from 1 lemon

cooked brown/wild/whatever rice for serving (or another grain you like)

sprouts/shoots/small greens of some kind

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a small baking sheet with parchment.

Toss the carrots and parsnips with some thyme, oil, salt + pepper. Scatter them in a single layer on the baking sheet and slide them into the oven. Roast for about 20 minutes or until the carrots are browned in spots and soft.

Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the shallots. Stir them about and sauté them until translucent and soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and a sprig of thyme if you like (or a sprinkle of dried thyme leaves). Stir this mix about until it’s very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the turmeric to the pot and stir to incorporate. Keep stirring until the mix seems paste-like. You’re cooking the raw-ness out of the spice at this point, ideally for about 3 minutes (add more coconut oil if necessary). Slowly add the water and stir. Gently simmer the broth for 10 minutes or so. Add the lemon juice and stir at the end. Season the broth with salt and pepper.

Place the roasted carrots and rice in a bowl. Strain the turmeric broth if you like, then ladle it on top. Garnish the bowl with sprouts and sesame seeds if you like.

Japanese Vegetable Pancakes [Okonomiyaki] with Cabbage, Kale and Carrots

Yield: 4 large pancakes or I am really sorry, but I forgot to count, but I’d say at least 12, probably 14, smaller ones

Pancakes

1/2 small head cabbage, very thinly sliced (1 pound or 5 to 6 cups shreds) which will be easiest on a mandoline if you have one

4 medium carrots, peeled into ribbons with a vegetable peeler

5 kale leaves, ribs removed, leaves cut into thin ribbons

4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

6 large eggs, lightly beaten

Canola, safflower or peanut oil for frying

Tangy Sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (note: this is not vegetarian)

1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon rice cooking wine or sake

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey (use 2 if you like a sweeter sauce)

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Make the pancakes: Toss cabbage, carrot, kale, scallions and salt together in a large bowl. Toss mixture with flour so it coats all of the vegetables. Stir in the eggs. Heat a large heavy skillet on medium-high heat. Coat the bottom with oil and heat that too.

To make a large pancake, add 1/4 of the vegetable mixture to the skillet, pressing it out into a 1/2- to 3/4-inch pancake. Gently press the pancake down flat. Cook until the edges beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. 30 seconds to 1 minute later, flip the pancake with a large spatula. (If this is terrifying, you can first slide the pancake onto a plate, and, using potholders, reverse it back into the hot skillet.) Cook on the other side until the edges brown, and then again up to a minute more (you can peek to make sure the color is right underneath).

To make small pancakes, you can use tongs but I seriously find using my fingers and grabbing little piles, letting a little batter drip back into the bowl, and depositing them in piles on the skillet easier, to form 3 to 4 pancakes. Press down gently with a spatula to they flatten slightly, but no need to spread them much. Cook for 3 minutes, or until the edges brown. Flip the pancakes and cook them again until brown underneath.

Regardless of pancake size, you can keep them warm on a tray in the oven at 200 to 250 degrees until needed.

If desired, make okonomiyaki sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until smooth and thick.

Serve pancakes with sauce and any of the other fixings listed above, from Japanese mayo to scallions and toasted sesame seeds.

Do ahead: Extra pancakes will keep in the fridge for a couple days, or can be spread on a tray in the freezer until frozen, then combined in a freezer bag to be stored until needed. Reheat on a baking sheet in a hot oven until crisp again.

(easiest ever) Fennel beetroot slaw

by NIGEL SLATER

• 2 fennel bulbs, shredded

• ½ small red cabbage, shredded

• 4 beets, peeled and shredded

• 4 spring onions, chopped

• 6 tbsp soured cream

• 3 tbsp nigella seeds

1. Combine all the vegetables in a bowl with the soured cream and nigella seeds.

2. Stir and serve.

ROASTING VEGETABLES WITH FENNEL:

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. CHOP ALL YOUR ROASTING VEGETABLES INTO BITE SIZE PIECES (CARROTS- ONION- PARSNIPS-   POTATOES- WINTER SQUASH- FENNEL, ETC... )

3. Transfer all of the vegetables to a large bowl along with whole garlic cloves. Toss with ¼ CUP of olive oil and salt and pepper.

4. Arrange the vegetables on a large rimmed baking sheet and cover with foil.

5. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, stir the vegetables, then return to the oven. Turn the heat up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and let the vegetables cook for another 10 minutes, or until tender and browned.

FALL CSA WEEK

Pick List:

LEMONGRASS - GINGER - GARLIC - SPINACH - PINK or YELLOW TOMATO -

PEPPERS - BROCCOLI - CAULIFLOWER - BUTTERCUP SQUASH - LEEKS - ONION -

CILANTRO -  APPLES - EGGS - HALLOWEENY PUMPKIN!!

KITCHEN LIST: HORSERADISH & RYE BREAD    

Yall.  This is my very favorite week- the ginger week.  This is the week that we dig up a bushel of this root from the greenhouse (that we pretend is Hawaii all season long) and begin the annual ginger CSA dispersal.  Ginger is remarkable, and growing this beloved root ranks high on my list of crops we grow.  Normally we stick to growing it in the ground of a greenhouse but this year we experimented with growing it outside.  We still have yet to dig that patch up and see the results, but I am eager to find out how the planting fared compared to the stuff grown in the tunnel.  Also this week, we threw in lemongrass- another love of mine and another reminder of how awesome it is to be apart of a diversified farm that experiments and messes around with unusual (for New England) crops.  A lot of our crop inspiration comes from our good friends in Rhode Island at Wishing Stone Farm.  For more about Ginger see Tips, Tricks, & Recipes…

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES

FRESH Ginger… This stuff is amazing.  Brew it with hot water for tea.  Add to soups and stir-fries.  It is very important to keep it refrigerated and if not used by day 3, throw it in a zip-lock and put it in the freezer.  Use it at your own leisure, when you are ready to use, take it out and grate it into your meal.

Pumpkin and tomato laksa by NIGEL SLATER

(this is actually my favorite winter/fall recipe… confusing to throw in this week because of the still mild weather but worthy of the newsletter as it brings together so much of this week’s harvest and it is incredibly delicious, perfect for cold nights but still great mild nights).

1 ½ c. unpeeled weight winter squash

3 hot peppers

4 cloves garlic

a lump of ginger the size of your thumb

2 plump stalks of lemon grass

6 lime leaves

a little vegetable oil

2 c. chicken or vegetable stock

1 ½ c. coconut milk

3 CHOPPED tomatoes

2 tbsp nam pla (thai fish sauce)

the juice of a lime ½ c.

dried noodles

a large handful mint leaves

5 or 6 cilantro roots a large handful cilantro leaves

 Cut the pumpkin into large chunks and place in the top of a steamer. Or, steam it in a colander over a pan of boiling water. The pumpkin should be tender in 12-15 minutes. Remove from the heat.

To make the spice paste, chop the chillies, removing the seeds first if you wish. Peel the garlic and the ginger and chop roughly; put into the bowl of a food processor. Discard the outer leaves of the lemon grass then roughly chop the inner heart leaves, shred the lime leaves and add them to the chillies. Scrub the coriander roots and cut them off, putting them with the chillies, along with half the coriander leaves and stems. Blitz them to a pulp, adding a little oil if the mixture needs it to go round.

Place a fairly deep pan over a moderate heat, add half the spice paste (keep the other half in the fridge for tomorrow) and fry it, moving it round the pan so it does not scorch. Do this for a minute or two then pour in the stock and coconut milk and bring to the boil.

Cut the tomatoes in half, and add them with the nam pla and the lime juice. They will take seven to 10 minutes to cook. Add the chunks of pumpkin and continue cooking for a minute or two. Place a swirl of noodles in each of the four bowls, pour over the laksa and add the mint and remaining coriander leaves.

fire cider:

This week I want to introduce you to this amazing tonic that has the strength to give you that extra boost for your immune system when the weather turns and all the gunk you’ve ignored all Summer comes to hit you at once (does this happen to anyone else?) Also, my kid-o just started at a daycare, so our little family is all about giving our immune system a little extra love.  Your CSA share this week has some of the necessary ingredients to start your own batch.  The following is a write up of Fire Cider taken from mountainroseherbs.com:

“Fire Cider is a traditional remedy with deep roots in folk medicine. The tasty combination of vinegar infused with powerful anti-microbial, decongestant, and spicy circulatory movers makes this recipe especially pleasant and easy to incorporate into your daily diet to help boost natural immune system processes, stimulate digestion, and get you nice and warmed up on cold days.  Because this is a folk preparation, the ingredients can change from year to year depending on when you make it and what’s growing around you. The standard base ingredients are apple cider vinegar, garlic, onion, ginger, horseradish, and hot peppers, but there are plenty of other herbs that can be thrown in for added kick.  Fire Cider can be taken straight by the spoonful, added to organic veggie juice (throw in some olives and pickles and think non-alcoholic, health boosting bloody mary!), splashed in fried rice, or drizzled on a salad with good olive oil. You can also save the strained pulp and mix it with shredded veggies like carrots, cabbage, broccoli, and fresh herbs to make delicious and aromatic stir-fries and spring rolls! I like to take 1 tbsp each morning to help warm me up and rev the immune system, or 3 tbsp if I feel the sniffles coming on (me too).”

½ cup fresh grated organic ginger root ½ cup fresh grated organic horseradish root

1 medium organic onion, chopped

10 cloves of organic garlic, crushed or chopped

2 cayenne peppers, chopped

Zest and juice from 1 lemon

Several sprigs of fresh organic rosemary

1 tbsp organic turmeric powder

¼ tsp organic cayenne powder organic apple cider vinegar

local honey to taste

Directions

Prepare all of your roots, fruits, and herbs and place them in a quart sized jar. If you’ve never grated fresh horseradish, be prepared for a powerful sinus opening experience! Use a piece of natural parchment paper under the lid to keep the vinegar from touching the metal, or a plastic lid if you have one. Shake well! Store in a dark, cool place for one month and remember to shake daily.

After one month, use cheesecloth to strain out the pulp, pouring the vinegar into a clean jar. Be sure to squeeze as much of the liquid goodness as you can from the pulp while straining. Next, comes the honey! Add ¼ cup of honey and stir until incorporated. Taste your cider and add another ¼ cup until you reach the desired sweetness.

Jenny’s fire cider note:

You can use the processed horseradish in your fire cider but make sure to keep it in a cool place so it does not ferment (its got a little maple syrup in it and the sugars could cause it to go south- i wonder if you might keep it brewing in the fridge to be safe.  My Batch is still sitting out on our counter after 2 weeks and i believe the vinegar is helping it to maintain a good balance- but don’t blame me if it ends up turning into a science fair project gone bad.  Also, feel free to email me if you want to talk fire cider or other uses of all these veggies. jenny@edgewaterfarm.com

FALL CSA WEEK 2

Pick List:

TOMATOES - KALE - SWEET PEPPERS - LUNCH BOX PEPPERS - DRYING PEPPERS -

SWEET POTATOES - POTATOES - POBLANO PEPPERS - BROCCOLI - CAULIFLOWER -

LETTUCE - RASPBERRIES - ONION - APPLES - EGGS

KITCHEN LIST:

ANADAMA BREAD

ROASTED VEGGIES or GARLIC SCAPE & CILANTRO PESTO or ROASTED PEPPER SAUCE

BONUS LIST:  B.Y.O.Bouquet (build your own bouquet!)    

Yall- we got frosted.  It’s official.  Summer is over.  That said, before the 32 degree chill settled on River Road we picked a ton of peppers.  While you might be overwhelmed by them right now- i urge you to savor them as this will be the last you see of peppers for the rest of the season, so please enjoy.  See tips- tricks - recipes for info on all the peppers.

The following is a PSA on all the pre-made food overflowing from our farmstand kitchen:

CASSEROLES:  Hands down, the easiest “farm to table” meal you will feed your family this fall.  $12.99 a meal.  They are absolute comfort in a warm square dish.

SAUCES - DIPS - CONDIMENTS (this falls into my favorite food group: things that make it ok to eat a mostly cracker diet): horseradish, pesto, chimichurri, romesco, tomato pesto--- all great sauces and spreads that will sustain your need of summer bounty throughout the winter.  They also make great gifts, party tricks and housewarming treats!

For more ideas and questions as how to use these spreads email your favorite cook and mine, emily:emsedibles13@gmail.com

When you pick up your CSA share on Wednesday nights, know that everything in the coolers and freezers (casseroles, cookie, dough, spreads, and even chicken!) is available for purchase along with the Maple Syrup, bagged potatoes, etc…

Also, your Thanksgiving is about to get so easy.  Emily will put together a comprehensive list with prices of pre-made food to pre-order to ease your big meal anxiety/impress all your friends and family.  Simply, take food out of the container and display it as if you made it yourself- no one will ever know. Think, Mrs. Doubtfire when Robin Williams impresses his/her ex-wife with take-out.  

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES

Carmen (long orange) - Red Bell - Quart of lunch box:

 these are all sweet peppers!

POBLANO PEPPER:  

dark green, heart shape, thin walls- excellent for roasting and stuffing.  Mild heat here folks.  

Mole Pepper:  

long dark greenish brown pepper- this is not a hot pepper! It is ideal for drying and making sauce!! The MOLE sauce is the most magical sauce that comes from the most magical state of Oaxaca, Mexico (not kidding about either of these statements).  This sauce leans heavy on the mole and poblano pepper and typically goes with chicken.   

CAYENNE PEPPER:  HOT HOT HOT.  easy to dry and you can absolutely enjoy it all winter long.  Also, this pepper is insanely good for your immune system.  

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

» Several fresh peppers, each with a couple of inches of stem intact

» A length of heavyweight fishing line (ideally 25 lbs or higher)

» 2 sticks (foraged from outside is fine)

» 1 large-eyed needle

WHAT TO DO

Knot one end of your fishing line around one of your sticks (see photo at above). This will act as your anchor, keeping your chilies from sliding off the line. Then thread the other end of the line through the eye of your needle, just as you would if you were getting ready to sew. Using the needle, pierce your largest pepper through the widest part of its stem (see above). Pull the needle all the way through the stem and slide the pepper down to the end of the fishing line, until it hits your anchor.

Take your next largest pepper and repeat, piercing the stem and pulling the needle and line all the way through, then sliding the pepper down the line. Continue until you’ve strung all of your peppers, largest to smallest. Knot the end of the fishing line around another stick for stability and hang in a cool, dark, and relatively humidity-free spot. You don’t have to find a desert microclimate; a pantry or cabinet will work fine; too close to a steamy dishwasher or stove is less than ideal.

We’ve just strung the batch pictured up top, so timing is TBD, but we’re thinking we’ve got weeks to wait. In the case of poblanos, the peppers will be dry when they’re thoroughly brittle and have turned from forest green to red. We think we’ll be able to tell when they’re wrinkly enough.

 (make extra!  This recipe only calls for 2 sweet peppers but you can easily make more and adjust recipe accordingly- this is my weekend plan- it freezes beautifully to enjoy all winter- and yes, if you participated in the Summer CSA you have seen this recipe before because it is just that good).  

½ cup toasted sunflower seeds 2 roasted sweet peppers

2 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

pinch of cayenne 2 tablespoons sherry OR apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato paste small handful flat parsley leaves

sea salt and ground black pepper scant ½ cup virgin olive oil

Roasting peppers: Place the peppers cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.Roast the peppers in the pre-heated 450 degree oven for about 25 minutes; or until the skins are completely wrinkled and the peppers are charred, rotating the sheet if necessary for them to cook evenly.

Make the sunflower romesco: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the sunflower seeds, roasted red peppers, garlic, paprika, aleppo pepper, vinegar, tomato paste, parsley, salt, and pepper. Pulse the mixture until all ingredients are finely chopped and lightly pasty. Scrape the bowl down. Then, with the motor on low, drizzle the olive oil in through the feed tube until fully incorporated. Check the sauce for seasoning. Transfer sauce to a sealable jar, and set aside in the fridge until ready to use.

FALL CSA: week 1

Pick List:

POTATOES - TURNIPS - BEETS - GARLIC - BEST SPICY GREENS MIX - PLUM TOMATOES -

PEPPERS - CUCUMBERS - BROC or BRUSSELS or RADISH - GREEN ONION TOPS -

RASPBERRIES - CORN - GREEN BEANS - APPLES - EGGS

KITCHEN LIST:

BORSCHT & OATMEAL BREAD

BONUS LIST:  

B.Y.O.Bouquet (build your own bouquet!) & HOUSE PLANT    

On monday we wrapped up our farmstand season.  It feels nuts to close our doors with this on-going summer-like weather, however as we all know, in New England one can never get too comfortable with any weather pattern.  That said, the extended 10-day forecast looks frost clear for a bit so let’s keep wearing our shortest stone-washed-denim cut offs and pretend it is still August (wait, upon thursday revision and internet posting- the previous sentence is a complete fib and we are preparing for a frost tonite!).  Likewise, your share this week is an absolute ode to Summer- tomatoes, raspberries, peppers, corn, green beans, cucumbers, etc…  Please forgive me if you were expecting all things fall this week, but i swear you will thank me come the last week of Fall CSA in November when you are up to your ears in winter squash.  

A note on the corn:  it is a bonus this week- a little extra add on for the CSAer as the Co-op will no longer take it because we have worms- there, i said it!   The worms, called corn earworms, are one of our biggest battles in the corn-field next to birds.  Earworms are the larval form of an adult moth, which lays a single egg in the green silk of a corn stalk. The eggs hatch and the worm feeds on the silk of the corn for about two weeks.

As you shuck your corn, you will notice that they’ve been pre-checked.  However, you might find one of these little wormy devils, but the corn itself is fine to eat. Just discard the worm and cut off the affected section of the ear before using it.

Moving on from worms- you will all no doubt be delighted by the ongoing Fall Raspberry harvest, and my favorite addition this week- the BYOBouquet.  

 TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES

ingredients

4 or 5 beets or turnips, greens removed and saved for another use

Olive Oil 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar Salt and Pepper 1/2 cup walnuts, roasted

1 Tablespn chopped fresh dill or mint Feta or gorgonzola cheese (optional)

 Preheat oven to 400° F.  

Scrub roots and remove greens. Drizzle the roots with olive oil and season with salt and  pepper. Wrap the roots in aluminum foil and crimp the sides closed, put them on a baking tray and put it in the oven.  The foil isn’t absolutely necessary, but it will help to keep the roots moist.  Cook the beets or turnips until they are tender – 45 minutes or more, depending on the size of the roots.  Note that if you are using the oven for another purpose and the temperature isn’t 400°, the roots will still roast well, but the time in the oven will vary.

While the roots are in the oven, prepare a vinaigrette with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of red wine vinegar.  Add the dill and shake it up. This salad will be great without the dill. Another surprisingly good option is mint.

When the roots are cool enough to handle, you can slip their skins off by rubbing them with a paper towel.  This is step that isn’t absolutely necessary, but the skin can sometimes be a bit off flavor or bitter.  If the peel doesn’t come off easily after roasting, it may not really be necessary to take it off. Slice up the roots while they are still warm (they absorb the vinaigrette better when warm), and pour the vinaigrette over them.  Top with the walnuts and season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle the cheese, if you have it, over the salad right before serving.

Also noteworthy- this salad goes great on top of the spicy greens!!

 

Recipe adapted from Eating Local, by Janet Fletcher

Tomatoes in a variety of colors and sizes. Salt and black pepper

Red or white vinegar 4 thick slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

4 small handfuls of spicy greens mix

For the dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 onion, minced

2 teaspoons minced fresh dill, tarragon or basil 1 small garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar salt and pepper

Make your dressing.  Whisk together the  mayonnaise and the buttermilk, then whisk in the onion, herbs, and garlic.  Add vinegar to taste and season with salt and pepper.  Make the salad.  Slice the larger tomatoes and arrange them on a serving platter.  Season with salt, pepper and vinegar.  If you have some very small tomatoes, cut them in half and set them aside.  Put the bacon in a large cold skillet and set over moderately low heat.  Cook, turning often, until the pieces are crisp (about 8 minutes).  Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  Spoon the dressing over the tomatoes.  Top with arugula and scatter any small tomatoes over the top.  Sprinkle the bacon over the top and serve immediately!

Also, about your greens!  Do not feel like you have to eat them fresh like salad- i often thrown them into scrambled eggs, frittatas, soups, etc…

week 17 (end of summer CSA season)

Pick List:

POTATOES - WINTER SQUASH - BEETS - BEST SPICY GREENS MIX - PLUM TOMATOES - CHERRY TOMATOES - SWEET PEPPERS -CAYENNE PEPPERS - SPANISH ONION

      KITCHEN SHARE:      

Raspberry Sauce

Holy hell, it is week 17 of our 17 week CSA harvest season.  That went too quick.  That said, i can’t get too sentimental as our FALL CSA begins next Wednesday, so while it may seem like we are saying goodbye to an old friend, our more attractive friend that comes with eggs, fresh bread and ready made foods is about to come in town and we will call this friend FALL-TANYA.  (can you tell i am writing this at 5am?).

FALL-TANYA aside, let me tell you about this past week:  This week we began the shift into colder weather farming- making space in the pack shed for potatoes, chipping onions, picking up the rest of the winter squash, picking and washing an amazing amount of carrots, eating soups, and wearing so many layers that get strewn across the yard come 11am when the fog lifts.  Also noteworthy, we had a frost scare two nights in a row.  Thankfully (or not so thankfully depending on who you ask, ahem Pooh who is always ready for an early frost so he can go fishing) we were protected by the fog and nothing got hit.  To prepare for the frost, Mike was out the night prior picking literal bins upon bins of peppers- as peppers fare terribly when the weather dips too low.  Ray and the rest of field crew were picking up the rest of the pumpkins and winter squash, and i was putting a tired toddler to bed.  

Also this week, Willing Hands came by and picked what looked like 100’s of pounds of cherry tomatoes to be distributed to local food pantries.  As I’ve mentioned earlier, the good folks at Willing Hands come out to glean once a week- sometimes carrots, onions, green beans, etc… but this week seeing all of those cherry tomatoes go out was something special.  I am so pumped and proud to be apart of a farm that provides food throughout the ENTIRE growing season to less fortunate people and families.  

One more aside- the FARMSTAND CLOSES FOR THE SEASON on OCTOBER 9th (Indigenous Peoples Day).  

To ensure quality sustenance for you and your loved ones through the cold months consider the following:

1. Join the FALL CSA and hang out with me or Allie Wednesday Nights from 5-6pm  (have i mentioned this enough? I’m just super excited)

2. Load up on pre-packaged frozen fruit (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc..) and roasted vegetables and PESTO  from our Farmstand FREEZER

3. Buy and store unwashed potatoes and beets in bulk as well as washed and bagged carrots (they last longer this way).

4. Take home so many plum tomatoes for your own roasting and storing.

5. Shop at the Coop!!  We will continue to sell beets, potatoes, onions, carrots, winter squash, etc until we run out usually around the first of the year.   

 The list could go on but I will stop there because i need coffee asap.  Bottomline, I love being apart of this food-based-good-grown community.  I am so grateful to all the CSAers that came out this season and bought a share in our farm- I hope you enjoyed it- feel free to email me with any gripes that can be improved upon next year.  Lastly,  Thank you for making our farm, your farm- see you in 2018!!  

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES

serves: 4-5

notes: I steam the squash so that I can retain the clean shape of it, but you could make this with some leftover roasted squash if you have it on hand.

dressing:

juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup) 2 tbsp agave nectar salt and pepper

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

salad:

1 small butternut squash, peeled 1 cup green lentils, picked through and rinsed

5-6 handfuls greens mix 1/4-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

salt and pepper

Cook the lentils: combine the rinsed lentils with 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until lentils are just tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir here and there while they’re cooking. Set aside when done.

Steam the squash: fill a large pot with an inch or two of water and bring to a boil. Cut the peeled squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and slice both halves into 1/2 inch slices crosswise. Place slices on a steamer basket and drop into the pot of boiling water. Cover and steam for about 15-20 minutes or until squash is tender, but still has a little toothsome quality.

Make the dressing: combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and blend on high until combined. Set aside. You could whisk them all together too.

Assemble: toss the lentils and greens mix with 3/4 of the dressing. Season with salt and pepper.  Place this mixture onto your serving plate. Top with the cooked squash slices. Pour remaining dressing over top. Sprinkle the top with feta and serve.

Baked beetroot with goat's cheese and caraway seeds

(nigel slater- everything this guy makes is simple and perfect)

Winter salads seem to work best when they have a sweet earthiness to them. Beetroot provides the sweetness here, the goat's cheese introducing a certain piquancy - it's a refreshing marriage of flavours. Serves 4 as a light salad or as an accompaniment.

 6 medium-sized raw red or golden beetroot 250g goat's cheese

 for the dressing:

2 tbsp white wine vinegar half a tsp of Dijon mustard

5 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp of caraway seeds

slices of dark rye bread to serve

 Put the oven on at 200C/gas mark 6. Cut the leaves and stalks from the beetroots then wrap each one loosely in foil or baking parchment. Roast the beetroot for about an hour till tender right through. The only way to test is with a skewer - it should slide through without much pressure. Remove and unwrap the vegetables, peeling off their skins as soon as they are just cool enough to handle.

While the beets are cooling, pour the white wine vinegar into a mixing bowl, add the Dijon mustard, a grinding of salt and black pepper, then beat in the olive oil. Toast the caraway seeds lightly in a dry, non-stick frying pan then add them to the dressing.

Cut each warm, peeled beetroot into thick slices or segments, dropping them into the dressing as you go. Slice the goat's cheese thickly and toss it gently with the beetroots and their dressing.

Serve with dark rye bread.

week 16

pick-list:

plum tomatoes - cherry Tomatoes - carmen Peppers (3 varieties) - tomatillos - corn - jalapeno - potatoes - red onion - eggplant - summer squash - ZINNIAS & SNAP DRAGONS

KITCHEN SHARE:      tomato sauce

Everyone is tricked by the weather- I for one, am in love.  I get a real kick out of the rare heat blasts come Fall- one last chance at all the Summer feels.  That said, our crops are tricked and not all of them are so in love.  Our summer squash and zucchini are having a resurgence.  The field crew is picking bushels of this stuff but the calendar says late September and the majority of folks are over it because it’s Fall.  Please don’t curse me when you pick up your share and see this very mid summer crop.  I swear this will be the very last summer squash you will see until 2018.  Another crop that is seriously tricked is our fall raspberries.  They are having a tough time with the heat.  There is a ton of them in the field and they are getting cooked in the 90 degree weather.  It literally smells like raspberry jam in the fields.  However, raspberries, like many fruits and flowers need to get a good dead-head (pick) so they will continue to produce and we can continue to have fruit.   Bottomline, let’s go gleaning!

Join us this Wednesday and Thursday-

today and tomorrow afternoon for a pop-up-RASPBERRY-glean

WHO:  Open to the entire Edgewater Farm C.S.A. community

WHAT:  The purpose of the glean is to invite the C.S.A. community down to the farm to pick off extra berries for their own kitchen.  The gleaning will take place rain or shine (preferably shine).  The field will be sectioned off and whatever berries you find in your section are yours.  The berries are free & delicious.

WHERE:  park at the farmstand’s overflow parking (just south of the stand on 12A).  Look for a sign!

THE ADDRESS for all your googling:

246 NH Route 12A /Plainfield, NH 03781 (this is the farmstand address, remember, keep driving south until you see the overflow sign)

 WHEN: two afternoons of picking!!! Today and tomorrow only!!

Wednesday, September 27th and Thursday, September 28th 4-5:30pm

HOW: You pick.  Bring containers!! Note: i like to take an old plastic yogurt container- punch two holes in the sides and make a necklace to wear around my neck using any old string - though i like shoe laces- i think it maximizes comfort when picking your cup full.  

WHY: Because it's awesome, and the berries are free and delicious and there is still some really nice fruit out there.

WARNING:  As it has been so hot, you are likely to find moldy berries... good luck and enjoy!    

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES

Make Pico de Gallo!!!  Sadly, we have no cilantro right now- it is either to small to harvest or bolted because of the heat- so for all you cilantro haters, you finally win this moment.  

8 ounces combined tomatillos (husks removed, rinsed) + plum tomatoes all cut into ¼-inch pieces

¼ medium red onion, finely chopped 2 jalapeños, seeds removed, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely grated 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro (optional) 1 tablespoon finely chopped mint (optional)

Kosher salt

Preparation: Toss tomatillo + plum tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, and mint in a small bowl to combine; season with salt. Cover and chill 1 hour to allow flavors to come together.

 

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds eggplant; I prefer the long, thin variety here but any will do

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 cup (75 grams) dried couscous (optional)

• 1 garlic clove

• 1/4 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves

• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes

• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, plus more to taste

• Red pepper flakes

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Trim eggplants and cut in half lengthwise; season cut sides with salt and pepper. Coat a large roasting pan with olive oil (1 to 2 tablespoons). Arrange eggplants cut side down; sprinkle with more salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes on the first side, or until brown underneath then flip and roast 5 to 10 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, make couscous, if using it. Bring 3/4 cup water and a few pinches of salt to a simmer then pour it over dried couscous in a bowl. Cover with a lid or foil and let side for 5 minutes to absorb, then fluff with a fork.

Make tomato relish by pulsing garlic and parsley in a blender or food processor until finely chopped, then add tomatoes and pulse until they’re well chopped. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, vinegar, salt, freshly ground black pepper or a pinch or two of red pepper flakes and pulse to combine. No food process or blender? Not a problem at all; just mince the garlic and parsley well and finely chop the tomatoes; stir this together with the remaining ingredients. Both methods: taste for seasoning. We like this extra sharp and almost always add 1 more teaspoon vinegar and more salt. The longer it sits, the more potent it gets.

To assemble, schmear each eggplant half with a little yogurt. If you’re using couscous, sprinkle a little on top. Spoon tomato relish over and serve the rest of all the above on the side.

week 15

Pick List:

So Many Tomatoes (plums and other wise) - Cherry Tomatoes -

Carmen Peppers (3 varieties) - Peaches - Corn - Asian Greens -

Garlic - Red Onion - Carrots - ZINNIAS & SNAP DRAGONS

KITCHEN SHARE:      ROASTED CARROT HUMMUS

 

First a note from the FIELDS:

There is always a week every year that makes us all feel absolute dreamy about the place we live, i think that week is happening as I type- which is a shame because I am inside on a computer (but my kid-o is sleeping so computer work commences).  I should be picking cherry tomatoes with the field crew, turning my fingers a funny shade of green, and talking about the weekend.  Actually, peace out- I’m gonna go do that.

Alright, returning now back to the computer- all is dark outside so I don’t really feel like I’m missing much- there is too much to do during the precious daylight hours and every day i feel robbed as the light level changes, perhaps you feel the same?  I think I wrote last week of the push to put up food for the winter.  Even with the burst of warm weather we are having right now, that feels super important.  This week my goal is to tackle peaches.  I plan to pick and can as much as possible in two nights of work (i can’t be bothered with more than two nights of canning per week- such a mess).  So that is the personal end goal for the week- canning peaches along with all the other chores while making sure my tiny human is happy.

How is your winter prep going?  FALL CSA sign up is ongoing and with every tiny green leaf that sprouts from the greenhouse (arugula! Asian greens! spinach!)  i am already grateful for the food that will come when everything else feels dark and bare.    

In other news the concrete got poured for our brand-spanking-new pack house set to be in use of Spring 2018.  I am thrilled.  More on that later.

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES

Author Notes: This is the single most genius thing you can do to a tomato. They’re best and most outrageous when made with ripe Romas or other meaty types, but as Wizenberg points out, slow-roasting will bring out the tomato in even the pale and off-season, if you feel the need. Make a lot. They keep for a week in the fridge, and are just fine in the freezer. Adapted slightly from Orangette and A Homemade Life(Simon & Schuster, 2009). (less) —Genius Recipes

Makes as many tomatoes as you want to cook

• Ripe tomatoes, preferably Roma

• Olive oil

• Sea salt

• Ground coriander

1. Heat the oven to 200° F. Wash the tomatoes, cut out the dry scarred spot from the stem with the tip of a paring knife, and halve the tomatoes lengthwise. Pour a bit of olive oil into a small bowl, dip a pastry brush into it, and brush the tomato halves lightly with oil. Place them, skin side down, on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle them with sea salt and ground coriander—about a pinch of each for every four to six tomato halves.

2. Bake the tomatoes until they shrink to about 1/3 of their original size but are still soft and juicy, 4 to 6 hours. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature. Place them in an airtight container, and store them in the refrigerator.

The following is taken from the blog: http://www.readingmytealeaves.com/2012/10/fall-tomatoes.html, i am including her intro even though it reads like a story that i did not write, it all resonates and feels completetly relatable...

There is a chill in the air but there are still so many tomatoes and you can’t let tomatoes go to waste and so you make sauce.  You do not take the skins off, they are so thin anyway and you can’t be bothered.

you add a tablespoon of butter to your simmering tomatoes and then another. The sauce comes out orange. There were just so many colors. You are grateful that the blending of so many colors did not make like your nursery school pictures and turn a muddy purple. You realize that wouldn’t have been so bad either. You think about lycopene and how long the winter is and you are grateful to have an orange tomato sauce now.  You take pictures of the sauce after the sun has mostly left the apartment because that is when it is ready and because sometimes life can’t be dictated by picture-taking.  You slurp down the sauce on al dente spaghetti and you grin at your husband. you are thankful. times a million.

– – – – – – – –

a sort of recipe:

saute a yellow onion and four cloves of garlic in olive oil until they are golden.

add tomatoes, all cut up and still with their juices.

add a healthy dose of sea salt (i add enough to fill my palm) and the same amount of herbs de provence. think of your friends who are there. allow yourself to get lost in provincial reverie. add a tablespoon of sugar.

let the whole mess simmer for an hour or two, or as long as you need to finish whatever else you’re doing.

turn off the burner and let cool for a minute or five. pulse the sauce in a blender and return it to the pan.

add a heart pad of butter and simmer some more. taste. season. eat.

that is it. purists be damned.

week 14

picklist: 

Yellow Tomatoes - Cherry Tomatoes - Carmen Peppers (3 varieties) -

Corn - Kale - Celery - Yellow Onion - Beets - Carrots

KITCHEN SHARE:      TOMATO PESTO

First a note from our KITCHEN:

THE KITCHEN IS LOOKING TO FILL YOUR FREEZER!

Please email emily with the following information (emsedibles13@gmail.com)

Get your order in by Tuesday, September 25th for best selection on vacuum packed & roasted---

____   Tomatoes $5.99/# ($2.60/#)

____   Eggplant $1.99/#

____  Winter squash $1.99/#

____  Peppers $3.99/#

____  Beets $2.99/#

____  Carrots $2.99/#

CUSTOMER NAME: _______________________________

PHONE NUMBER:  ________________________________

TOTAL DUE AT PICK-UP: ________________________

Pick-up will be Tuesday, October 3rd.

Looking for recipes on how to use these great vegetables?  

With any luck we will get them out soon!

Second, a note from the FIELD::

This week we kept up with the tomato harvest- nearly every afternoon spent picking field tomatoes.  We also finished up with the Onion harvest and planted up some greenhouses for the colder months ahead.  These greenhouses become a place of respite for me.  When all the leaves have fallen from the trees and the earth is cold and bare it is absolute heaven to walk into one of these greenhouses and see rows of kale, asian greens, cilantro, arugula, etc… Also, come Fall CSA, you can find me and Allie here in the mornings, avoiding (what feels like) frost bit fingers and picking and bunching for the afternoon farmstand pick-up.  Bottomline, I’m feeling pretty good about our Fall-Winter food lineup.

Also noteworthy in future fall CSA happenings will be so much winter squash! Even though this Summer felt like the worst in weather- our winter squash and pumpkin harvest is looking so abundant- Roy says, “like sands in an hourglass, so are the winter squash in the field.”  Pure poetry.

In other news, while much of the ongoings in the world become a blur and I mostly spend the seeding-planting-harvest season with my head close to the ground and focused on only the tasks at hand, I need yall to know that I do pay attention to our greater community.  And now, while nourishing our bodies with good grown food, we also need to nourish our minds and have those extremely difficult conversations.  I am specifically talking about the kid-o in Claremont.  Bottomline, there is a group in the Upper Valley- SURJ (showing up for racial justice) it’s a safe place where people come together and talk and walk and moreover, if you don’t know what to do or how to do it, and you feel lost, it’s a good place to start.  Here is their email address: surjuvvtnh@gmail.com and i know they have a facebook page.  I believe they meet at least once a month- you can find me there in December.

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES

All day yesterday while picking celery, bunching carrots, and cleaning onions- Allie kept on talking about the beauty behind mirepoix (sounds like jamiroquai- remember, the 90’s musician with the big hat?).  Mirepoix is the the magical combination of carrot-onion-celery.  This as she explained, is the base of all things delicious- think sauce, stew, soup, stock, etc… These vegetables are diced, cooked for a long time in a fat of your choice on gentle heat without browning- the intention being to sweeten rather than carmelise.

Similar, is Creole version known as the Holy Trinity using onion, celery, and sweet peppers!  As we enter soup and sauce season- this seems holy trinity seems appropriate.  

Some recipes taking on the morepoix:

WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THOSE PEPPERS??

REMEMBER THE ROMESCO SAUCE FROM A FEW WEEKS AGO? HERE IS ANOTHER VERSION-

romesco sauce ingredients: 1 roasted red bell pepper, stems + seeds removed

1/2 cup blanched almonds 2 tbsp tomato paste

big splash of sherry vinegar 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

pinch of chili flakes 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt + pepper 1 garlic clove, peeled

Make the romesco: combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend on high for a minute or so, until a creamy consistency is achieved. Check the sauce for seasoning, adjust, and scrape into a sealable container. Pour a thin layer of olive oil on top to help preserve the sauce a bit more. Place in the fridge or set aside if you’re using it right away.

week 13

Pick List:

Yellow Tomatoes - Cherry Tomatoes - Carmen Pepper - Poblano - Peaches - Dill -

     Shishito & Cherry Pick Pepper Pints - Asian Eggplant Varieties - Corn - Green Beans

KITCHEN SHARE:      Homemade (of course) Hot- Sauce

This week the temps seriously shifted reminding everyone about the impending arrival of first frost.  Though a few of our neighbors across town got hit that one extra cold night last week in August, we remain in the clear.  This weather is pretty shocking to all of us, humans and crops alike.  Suddenly we are back to our slow ripening June predicament- remember when we were all waiting on strawberries?  But this cool weather does allow us to play catch up a bit with crops like eggplant, tomatoes, etc...

In other news, Anne’s cut flower field is bumping with flowers- especially zinnias.  In order to keep up with the harvest, and keep the plants producing, she cuts them back and as a result the CSA is gifted (this week) 3 zinnias per CSAer.  Proving a symbiotic relationship between CSAer and zinnia plant super mutualistic- everyone benefits.

But enough about weather and flowers and my personal anguish with these end of Summer temps and the bittersweet (mostly bitter) arrival of fall, let’s talk about food.

Consider this an extended  

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES

For one, hello Peppers!!!  In your share this week you have 5 different pepper varieties- all uniquely different, let’s break them down

1. SHISHITO (my new fave pepper): Holy smokes, these peppers are awesome. These are the green or red smallish crinkly peppers in the pints.  For the most part they are sweet peppers, but 1 in 50 are hot.  It’s a total crapshoot.  They have super thin walls which allow for quick frying, roasting, etc… here is what to do with them:

5-Minute Blistered Shishito Peppers Recipe

A hot cast iron pan creates the perfect char for this bite-sized pepper appetizer tossed with flavored salts.

8 ounces shisito peppers ½ lemon, sliced Extra virgin olive oil Kosher or flavored salts

Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat until the pan is hot. Add the peppers to the hot skillet and cook the peppers, turning occasionally then add a few slices of lemon. Cook until the peppers become fragrant and begin to blister, and the nudge the lemons so they don't stick, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil plus a squeeze more lemon then sprinkle with flavored salts. Serve immediately.

Otherwise, roast or straight grill the shishitos.  You will be so pumped.  just paint with olive oil and season with salt- so f”ing good.  

2) Cherry Pick: these are the little red balls- sweet as can be, great for stuffing

3) Poblano: Dark green pepper with mild heat- this pepper is excellent for frying or stuffing.  It is the pepper behind the classic Mexican dish, Chili Rellenos (google for details if you are unfamiliar).

4) Red Carmen:  by this point in the season, you should know and love this one, it comes in the shape of a bull’s horn and it is as sweet as can be.  I LOVE this pepper.

5)   Lunch Box Pepper:  This sweet pepper only made it into some of the pints.  It’s a mini sweet bell pepper- great for snacking.  

Moving on from peppers, DILLY BEANS!!

SEE DILLY BEAN RECIPE below

• Ignore, the wax beans suggested and use your 1# bag of green beans!  

• Substitute your red carmen pepper for the red bell.

• And throw in anything else in the box- most everything can be pickled, though i’ve never messed with pickled eggplant and i am not sure i want too…

Eggplant CHIPS:

- 1 eggplant - Olive oil - Salt

Step 1: Slice the eggplant into SUPER thin (maybe using a mandoline on its thinnest setting) disks and place them on a lined baking sheet.

Step 2: Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the slices with olive oil. Be sure to flip them to brush both sides.

Step 3: Sprinkle salt to taste.

Step 4: Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 400°F. Serve warm or store them in an airtight container to snack on later.

Alright I covered all the vegetables I wanted to highlight this week- off to pick dill!

week 12

Pick List:

Heirloom Tomatoes - Cherry Tomatoes - Orange Carmen - Red Carmen - Onion - Peaches! -

Zucchini - Summer Squash - Eggplant - Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper - Zinnias!!

KITCHEN SHARE:      Pesto

YALL- OUR FALL CSA IS FAST APPROACHING, AND IF YOU’VE DONE THIS BEFORE YOU KNOW IT IS THE ACTUAL BEST.  READ ON FOR MORE INFO:

WHO:  this CSA is open to all seasonal food lovers

WHAT:  FALL CSA... our most beloved CSA.  

This year we intend to include fresh bread - fresh eggs - prepared foods (think pesto, salsa, soup, sauce, etc...) - a treat of local apples - along with our abundance of fall vegetables (root veggies, winter squash, etc..) - newsletter + recipes.

WHERE:  at our FARM STAND up on 12A.

WHEN:  Wednesdays, 5-6 p.m (and one Tuesday 5-6pm before Thanksgiving)

Beginning October 11- November 21

With a special end of season Holiday Pick-up on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST

HOW:  We harvest, and prep, and bake- you arrive at the farmstand with a box or bag to collect your share.

WHY:  Though the farmstand closes for business around Indigenous Peoples Day, we still have so much food in the fields- let's dig it, pick it, cook it, and eat it!

HOW TO SIGN UP

You can sign up for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, or 7 weeks.

COST PER WEEK: $44      COST FOR 7 WEEKS: $285 (savings of $23)

Sign up at the stand- bring check or cash!

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES:

 (the following recipe is a bit more time consuming then i like to mess with this time of year- but I swear it is worth it)

STUFFED EGGPLANT WITH SUNFLOWER ROMESCO thefirstmess.com (Serves: 4)
Notes: If you want to keep this more traditional or “authentic” (not my fave word lol), use toasted almonds or even a mix of almonds and hazelnuts in place of the sunflower seeds.
-Romesco is good in a sealed jar in your refrigerator for 5-7 days. I dare you to even TRY making it last that long though. I love it with grilled/roasted vegetables, tossed with pasta and chickpeas and herbs, and swooped up with crusty bread.
-If you’re starting from scratch with this recipe and finishing it to the end, no need to wash the food processor out after you make the romesco. You’ll need it for the eggplant!

SUNFLOWER ROMESCO (makes extra):
½ cup toasted sunflower seeds 2 roasted sweet peppers (homemade or from a jar)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon aleppo pepper, or a pinch of cayenne 2 tablespoons sherry OR apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste small handful flat parsley leaves
sea salt and ground black pepper scant ½ cup virgin olive oil

STUFFED EGGPLANT:
2 medium eggplants olive oil
sea salt and ground black pepper 1 small shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped ¼ cup romesco
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons tahini
4 servings cooked grain of choice (I used quinoa) toasted sunflower seeds or dukkah, for topping
big handful of fresh and leafy herbs, chopped (I used cilantro, parsley & a bit of dill)


Make the sunflower romesco: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the sunflower seeds, roasted red peppers, garlic, paprika, aleppo pepper, vinegar, tomato paste, parsley, salt, and pepper. Pulse the mixture until all ingredients are finely chopped and lightly pasty. Scrape the bowl down. Then, with the motor on low, drizzle the olive oil in through the feed tube until fully incorporated. Check the sauce for seasoning. Transfer sauce to a sealable jar, and set aside in the fridge until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, right through the stem. Using a paring knife, carve into the eggplant flesh all the way around the perimeter. Pry the eggplant flesh out of the eggplant halves with your fingers or a spoon and set it aside. Place eggplant halves on a baking sheet, facing up. Brush the eggplant halves with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake eggplant for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and lightly tender.

Roughly chop the scooped out eggplant. Heat a bit of oil in a medium-large saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan and saute until fragrant and slightly soft, about 2 minutes. Add the chopped eggplant, and season with salt and pepper. Stir. Saute the eggplant, stirring occasionally, until tender, browned, and slightly reduced in size, about 4 minutes.

Carefully transfer eggplant to the food processor. Add the ¼ cup of romesco, lemon juice, and tahini to the food processor as well. Pulse the mixture until you have a chunky paste.

To serve, divide the warm eggplant filling evenly among the eggplant “boats.” Then, spoon your cooked grain of choice on top along with a sprinkle of chopped herbs. Garnish the tops of the stuffed eggplants with more romesco and toasted sunflower seeds or dukkah. Enjoy warm.

Pick List:

Heirloom Tomato - Yellow Carmen - Onion - Peaches! -

Melon - Corn - Basil - Cukes - Cayenne Pepper - Sunflower

         KITCHEN SHARE:      

ROSEMARY RHUBARB SAUCE- for toast or ice-cream or yogurt, etc..

The harvest is in serious full swing!  I feel like all the crops are coming on at once and I have zero time to process for winter  (i.e. can, freeze, dry, etc…).  During these times I am so grateful for our staggered plantings and all the 100’s of varieties of tomatoes intended to produce during different times of the season.  Please do not do as I do and put off your canning adventures until the day before the first frost- get on it hasta pronto.  If you are amped on winter storage, know that we sell vegetables in bulk for a discounted rate through our farmstand- most notable is our deal on tomato seconds.  Curious about that price?  See next week’s newsletter (mostly because it is Wednesday morning at 6am and i do not have that info on me)- you can also call the farmstand or email info@edgewaterfarm.com for any wholesale inquiries.   

 In other news, there is a cultural change of seasons happening over here.  School season is upon us and we are losing- what feels like- half of our staff.  One of the good folks heading back to school is Pete Jaarsma.  Pete has been working at the farm since he was a sophomore in high-school.  Pete is an absolute peach of a human and he has grown up so much since he arrived on River Road.  Best part about Pete?  His consistency- always shows up on time, always asks what more he can do, and always comes to the field with the sunniest of dispositions and a story to tell.  Also noteworthy, Jaarsma packs his lunch with a mason jar of milk.  He is heading into his Junior year of college at UNH, we miss him already.

 Much love to all the crew heading back to school and abroad! We really appreciate all the good energy they put into the season.

 TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES:

 

What you need:

3 peaches (2 diced, 1 sliced) 2 tablespoons butter, at room temp

1/2 – 3/4 cup maple syrup, according to taste (or ~1 cup sugar) 1 egg

1 cup of flour, sifted 1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

What to do:

+ Grease a square or round baking dish (the original recipe calls for a 9-inch pan, but an 11-inch dish worked just fine, too—just keep an eye on the time.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

+ Dice two peaches, removing the pit. For the topping, slice the third peach into thin slices and set aside.

+ In a large bowl, by hand or by mixer, beat softened butter and maple syrup or sugar. Add the egg and beat until well mixed.

+ In a different bowl (or if you’re as lazy as I am, right on top of the liquid ingredients), sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well. (If using maple syrup, the batter will be slightly runny, if using sugar, it will be quite thick. Both will turn out just fine after baking. Carry on.)

+ Mix diced peaches into the batter.

+ Spread batter into your pan.

+ Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and arrange peach slices in as pretty a spiral as you can manage.

+ Bake the cake until the edges pull away from the pan and it’s a rich golden brown (if you use syrup instead of sugar, your batter will be browner from the get-go, so account for that), about 60 minutes.

serves 6

notes: I opt for white balsamic vinegar because it doesn’t impart a dark colour onto the bread. Feel free to use the darker, regular balsamic vinegar if that’s what you have though. The flavour is quite similar.

croutons:

4-5 cups tore up pieces of bread 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

 salad:

1 big shallot, peeled and thinly sliced 4-5 cups chopped tomatoes

2 peaches, pitted and roughly chopped 1-2 cups of greens

2 big sprigs of basil, leaves finely sliced (reserve some whole leaves for garnish if you like)

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the tore up bread on a large, parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat bread evenly in the oil. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping croutons at the halfway point to promote even browning. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Place the chopped tomatoes, peaches, kale and basil in a large bowl. Drizzle the oil and white balsamic vinegar on top and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Add the cooled croutons and toss once more.

Let this mixture sit for 10 minutes or so so that the bread can soak up the juiciness from all the veggies and fruit. Serve with a big sprig of basil on top if you like.

week 10

PICK LIST:

Plum Tomatoes - Heirloom Tomato - Red Carmen - Yellow Carmen - Orange Carmen -

- Onion - Peaches! - Melon - Corn - Carrots - Basil - Sunflower!

This week we begin our two other CSA options- the donation box and the kitchen share.  Both these shares come at the last 8 weeks of the Summer CSA season when the harvest comes on so hard and we are completely overwhelmed with abundance.  This makes for the perfect opportunity to process (i.e. the kitchen share) and pick a little extra for those who need it the most (i.e. donation box).

For the kitchen share, Em and the good folks in the kitchen come together to process crops in mass quantity and pint them up for future eats.  For example, the kitchen share can expect sauces from tomatoes, jams from berries, etc.  This week I believe they are taking advantage of our amazing cilantro crop that is growing so beautifully this summer (cooler conditions slow down early bolting) and making my fave addition to literally everything (toast, meat, veggies, soup, etc…), chimichurri.

 For the donation share, we team up with Willing Hands.  Their mission, is to

“recover food in order to reduce waste, improve health, and provide reliable access to nutritious food for our neighbors in need.

Willing Hands distributes free, wholesome food to our neighbors in need. We pick up donated food, primarily fruits and vegetables, that might otherwise go to waste. We deliver this food to local human service organizations and collaborate with them to provide nutritional education.

Willing Hands is a non-profit, charitable organization operating throughout the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire.”

Throughout the season we donate thousands of pounds of produce to the organization through not only a weekly pickup of surplus crops at our pack shed, but also through weekly gleanings.  I think last week they picked beets from our field.  It’s a pretty remarkable team of humans behind willing-hands and i am so grateful they exist in our community.  The donation share is just another way that we are able to set aside that much more food for families that probably need it the most.  And in light of all the madness surfacing in America right now, Willing Hands is a reminder of actual community and support that keeps bellies full because access to food is a human right and no one should go HANGRY.    

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES:

Charred Corn Salad With Basil And Tomatoes

• 12 ears of corn, husked 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

• 1 cup thinly sliced red onion 2 large tomatoes, chopped

• 1 cup (loosely packed) fresh basil leaves, large leaves torn 1/3 cup (or more) fresh lime juice

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to high. Rub corn with 1 Tbsp. oil. Grill, turning frequently, until corn is charred and heated through, 10-12 minutes. Remove from grill; when cool enough to handle, cut kernels from cobs and transfer to a large bowl. DO AHEAD: Corn can be made 3 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Place onion in a strainer and rinse with cold water to mellow its flavor. Drain well. Mix onion, remaining 5 Tbsp. oil, tomatoes, basil, 1/3 cup lime juice, and thyme into corn. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more lime juice, if desired. DO AHEAD: Salad can be assembled 1 hour ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

RICE NOODLE AND CRISP PEACH SALAD

(this is basically another variation on my fave summer meal)

Those addictive Southeast Asian noodle salads usually star Asia’s crisp, sweet/tart green papaya or mango. So why not use our own summer peaches or nectarines? When they’re firm and slightly underripe but still fragrant, they’re ideal for salads like this.

Light, cool and refreshing, it’s perfect summertime food as not a lick of heat is needed to make it.

Make the dressing a couple of days ahead and refrigerate, but use it at room temperature. The salad can be assembled hours ahead and refrigerated, but dress it shortly before setting it out.

Dressing:

2 large garlic cloves, minced Generous pinch hot red pepper flakes (optional)1/3 cup Asian fish sauce 1/4 to 1/3 cup water

1/3 cup fresh lime juice 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar, or to taste

1/2 medium red onion, cut into thin strips

Salad:

• 2 to 3 medium to large slightly underripe peaches or nectarines, peeled and sliced into 3-inch by 1/2-inch sticks

• Juice of 1/2 lime

• 1/2 of a red cabbage, cut into 1/8-inch strips

• 1 small carrot, shaved with a vegetable peeler into strips

• 8 whole scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

• 1 to 2 fresh Serrano chiles, thinly sliced, or to taste

• 1/2 pound vermicelli (thin) rice noodles, soaked in very hot water to cover until soft (about 8 minutes), rinsed and drained

• 1/3 cup each coriander and spearmint leaves, torn

• 1/2 cup roasted cashews or peanuts

Instructions

1. Make the dressing. In a medium bowl, stir together the dressing ingredients, tasting for sweet-tart balance. Let the onions soak in the sauce.

2. Make the salad. In a large bowl, combine the peaches with the lime juice and the rest of the salad ingredients except the herbs and nuts. Chill until about 20 minutes before serving. Then toss the salad with the dressing and onions. Heap on a platter and scatter with the herbs and nuts.

week 9

Pick List:

Plum Tomatoes - Green Pepper - Xanthi (long orange sweet pepper) - Cucumber -

Peaches! - Melon - Eggplant - Corn - Lettuce - Garlic

First of all, this might be the best week so far- Peaches? Corn? Melon?  Big beautiful Eggplant? Dynamite harvest and a symbol of the abundance that August brings.  

Second of all, the blueberry glean…  Some might say it was a “wash” but for those that sat tight through the thunder and lightning got an hour of picking, and took home a good amount of blues.  I know that your free time is so sacred (i completely get this) and no one wants to be looking at a field full of blueberries from their car- but I thank all of you that played by the farm lighting rules- and moreover, now you know where we hang out in case of storms- cars, barns, somewhere other than a field.  It is still unknown if we will reschedule, as my dear friend Mrs. T is still out of town, and she would be the one to host for me.  Stay tuned- and check your email.

 If you have not been receiving emails, let me know!!!   jenny@edewaterfarm.com

 A note on the peaches:  Peaches are one crop at this farm that we completely ignore- because of our climate, to yield a worthy harvest, they take some messing around that none of us have time for, so for the most part, we let them grow wild.  I am in love with this crop and saw it as a huge selling point when I first arrived on River Road 10 years ago.  My father-in-law, Pooh feels the opposite and would like to see them turn into woodchips.  Regardless, this year, they produced an amazing amount of fruit!!!  Also noteworthy, their teeny-tiny size due to zero pruning, makes for the most adorable quarts- I see this as a win.  ALSO, if your peaches are hard let them sit out on your counter until ripe :)

 Lastly, boxes.  Farmstand CSAers, ignore the following message:  

Please return your boxes every week at the site where you pick up your share!!

To cut back on waste and because it just makes sense, we reuse them! Thankyou!  

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES:  

Israeli Couscous, Eggplant and Tomato Gratin, 6 servings

This is an eggplant Parmesan of sorts on top of a bed of Israeli couscous. If you’ve made fresh tomato sauce over the summer or you’re still getting wonderful tomatoes at the farmers’ market, use fresh tomato sauce; otherwise, use canned tomatoes for your marinara sauce. You can substitute cooked grains for the Israeli couscous; if you don’t tolerate gluten, try the recipe using cooked brown rice instead.

• 1 ½ pounds eggplant (2 medium globe eggplants or 4 to 6 smaller or Japanese eggplants), sliced into rounds, about 1/3 inch thick

• Salt to taste

• 3 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil(plus additional for oiling the foil and baking dish)

• 2 cups cooked Israeli couscous (see below). You can also use regular couscous or any other cooked grain.

• 2 cups fresh tomato sauce or marinara sauce made from canned tomatoes

• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup, tightly packed)

• Torn or slivered basil leaves for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat foil generously with olive oil. Toss eggplant slices with salt to taste and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Line baking sheet with the slices in a single layer (you may need 2 baking sheets, or do this in batches). Place in oven and roast for 15 minutes. Eggplant will look dry on surface but should be soft when pierced with a knife. Remove from oven and, wearing oven mitts, carefully fold the foil up in half over the eggplant and crimp edges to create a sealed packet. Allow eggplant to steam inside the packet for another 15 minutes (you can cook couscous during this time). Turn oven down to 375 degrees.

2. Oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish with olive oil. Place cooked Israeli couscous in a bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce. Spoon into baking dish in an even layer.

3. Remove eggplant slices from foil packet (they should be thoroughly tender), and layer on top of couscous, overlapping slices slightly. Cover with remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle on Parmesan cheese. Drizzle on remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Place in oven and bake 30 minutes, until browned and bubbling. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with torn or slivered basil leaves just before serving.

Tip:  Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add 1 cup Israeli couscous. Toast the couscous, shaking the pan or stirring often, until it colors very lightly and smells aromatic and toasty, a bit like popcorn. Immediately add 2 quarts water and salt to taste (be generous, as if you are cooking pasta) and boil 10 minutes, until the couscous is al dente; it should not be mushy and there should still be plenty of water in the pot. Drain through a strainer and rinse with cold water. Tap the strainer against the sink to drain well, then return the couscous to the pot, cover the pot with a kitchen towel, and return the lid. Let sit for 10 minutes. Measure out 2 cups and proceed with recipe.

 

Smoky Eggplant Spread (BABA GHANOUSH!!!)

about 2 cups

Essentially a delightful eggplant schmear to eat with warm pita triangles, this spread gets its pleasant smoky flavor from a deliberate charring of the eggplant skin. Whether over hot coals or under the broiler, the eggplant must be mercilessly blackened (the inner sweet flesh gets steamed to softness in the process). Tahini, olive oil, cumin, lemon and hot pepper take care of the rest.

3 medium eggplants, about 2 pounds Salt

¼ cup tahini paste ¼ cup lemon juice

4 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste 3 tablespoons olive oil ½ teaspoon cumin seed, toasted until fragrant and coarsely ground ½ teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley 1 tablespoon chopped mint

Pita or other flatbread, for serving (optional)

PREPARATION

1. Prepare a charcoal fire or heat the broiler. Pierce eggplants here and there with the point of a paring knife. Place eggplants 2 inches from heat source. Allow skins to blister and char, turning with tongs until entire surface is blackened and eggplants are completely soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

2. Slice eggplants in half lengthwise and lay skin side down on a cutting board. Carefully scrape away flesh with a knife and put it in a colander. Discard burned skins. Do not rinse eggplant flesh — a few bits of remaining char is fine. Salt flesh lightly and leave for 5 to 10 minutes, then squeeze into a ball to remove liquid.

3. Blitz eggplant, 1/2 teaspoon salt, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and cayenne in a food processor or blender to obtain a creamy purée. (For a more rustic spread, beat with a whisk instead.) Taste and adjust salt and lemon juice if necessary. Transfer mixture to a shallow serving bowl.

4. Just before serving, stir together cumin and olive oil, and spoon over the mixture’s surface. Sprinkle with paprika, parsley and mint. Serve with warm pita cut into triangles if desired.

 

WEEK 8

-pick list-

savoy cabbage - asian greens - plum tomatoes - green beans - blueberries - summer squash - zucchini - patty pan - peppers - hot pepper - cucumber

Alright team CSA,  Pop-up PYO Blueberry “glean” this Saturday Afternoon!  I put the glean in quotations, because it is not the end of the season by any means, and these berries are terrific- so it’s more like a PYO til your heart’s content (or until 5pm, whatever comes first).  Why are we doing this?  Because, why not- yall are great and tis the season to harvest!  I will tell you one thing about the selection of blueberry bushes set aside for you, though they are sweet and bare a heavy yield, these berries do not hold that well, so i encourage you to pick and eat fresh in the next few days or freeze or bake or jam or smoothie, etc…

 AND now, the details:

 WHO:  Open to the entire Edgewater Farm C.S.A. community

WHERE:  if you are coming from the North End of River Road, go past the Greenhouses and McNamara Dairy- turn at the Cemetery.  

 THE ADDRESS for all your googling: 355 River Road/ Plainfield, NH

 WHEN: This Saturday Afternoon!!!, August 5th.. 3-5 ;  rain or shine though we will cancel in case of thunder and lightning

HOW: You pick.  Bring your own containers, we will have zero supplies for you to pick into.

WHY: So many reasons, here are a few... because it's awesome, the berries are free and delicious, it's the beginning of August and this is what you do at the beginning of August pick and preserve!

OTHER NOTES: it is so hot- especially underneath the blueberry net- come prepared! Large brim hats and water bottles are strongly encouraged!!

 email me if you have any questions at all (jenny@edgewaterfarm.com)

Cheers!

 Also, as an important aside, our Kitchen is HIRING!  We are looking for an energetic person to work 3-4 days a week (including 1 weekend day) in our fast paced kitchen using some of the best summer ingredients the Upper Valley has to offer- tell your friends and have them email emsedibles13@gmail.com for more info.  

 

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES:  

Crushing and smashing green beans and cucumbers sounds crazy, but it creates nooks and crannies to soak up as much umami-rich miso sauce as possible. And this is a dressing you'll want a lot of.

1 cucumber Kosher salt

1 pound green beans, trimmed 1 1½-inch piece ginger, peeled, finely grated

1 serrano or Fresno chile, finely grated 1 garlic clove, finely grated

⅓ cup unseasoned rice vinegar ¼ cup white miso

¼ cup olive oil ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Toasted sesame seeds and sliced scallions  and chopped cilantro (for serving)

Lightly smash cucumbers with a rolling pin, then tear into bite-size pieces. Toss with a pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Let sit to allow salt to penetrate.

Meanwhile, place green beans in a large resealable plastic bag, seal, and smash with rolling pin until most of the beans are split open and bruised. Whisk ginger, chile, garlic, vinegar, miso, olive oil, and sesame oil in a medium bowl until smooth. Add dressing to beans and toss around in bag to coat; season with salt.

Drain cucumbers and add to bag with beans. Shake gently to combine. Transfer salad to a platter and top with sesame seeds and scallions.

 

3 large eggs 1 cup olive, vegetable oil or melted butter (I use a mix)

1 1/3 to 1 3/4 cups granulated or turbinado sugar (the latter is the original amount)

2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg 1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon fine sea or table salt

2 cups grated, packed zucchini (from about 10 ounces or 2 smallish zucchini)

3 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour

Heat your oven to 350°F. Generously grease and flour or (coat with a nonstick spray) two loaf pans (8×4 or 9×5; this doesn’t fill the pans so smaller is fine). Alternatively, you can grease 24 standard muffin cups or line them with paper liners.

Whisk eggs, oil or butter, sugar and vanilla in the bottom of a large bowl. Sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt over wet ingredients and whisk them in well. Stir in zucchini. Gently stir in flour, mixing only until flour disappears. Stir in any add-ins, from nuts to chocolate.

Divide between prepared pans and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. [Muffins will bake far more quickly, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.] You can let them cool for 10 minutes on a rack before inverting and removing cakes from pans, or just let them cool completely in pans. Store it wrapped in foil at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Olive oil (for brushing) 2 cups yellow and green pattypan squash (halved)

Zucchini and Summer Squash halved lengthwise tomatoes, halved through cores

Prepare barbecue (high heat). Brush grill rack with oil. Brush pattypan squash, zucchini, and tomatoes with olive oil; sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Grill until vegetables are blistered and slightly charred, about 10-12 minutes for squash and zucchini, turning occasionally, and about 6 minutes for tomatoes, shifting occasionally. Transfer to platter.

 

 

week 7

-pick list-

KALE - BEANS - BLUEBERRIES - SUMMER SQUASH - BEETS - POTATOES -

PEPPER - HOT PEPPER - CUCUMBERS - EGGPLANT - PARSLEY - SNAP DRAGONS :)

Vital Communities and Edgewater Farm are in cahoots making rad things happen for kids.  Below you will read a little blurb written by Lauren of Vital Communities, bottomline- it’s an opportunity to engage kids on eating local seasonal food in a seriously interactive way.  For example, last week the POP folks were somehow able to get kids excited about Kol-Rabi- KOL F’ing RABI, one of the most undesirable vegetables out there.  read on!

 Families: bring the kiddos to the farm stand for our POP Club!

POP Clubs Help Kids Learn About and Eat Local Produce

Kids can get a taste of local fruits and vegetables this summer—plus their very own money to spend on fresh, local produce— with our new Power of Produce (POP) Club, happening every Wednesday from 11am-1pm right here at the farm stand, through August 16th !

Power of Produce Clubs are simple, fun, and free. Children sign up at the POP table and start the day’s activity—a farm stand scavenger hunt, a vegetable quiz, an art project, or another produce-related activity. Once they complete the activity, they return to the POP table to receive their POP Bucks: $3 tokens just for kids to spend on local fruits and vegetables here at the farm stand. Kids ages 5-12 can participate once or all summer. So bring the kids and get a taste for POP! They just might start shopping for their own vegetables. Every Wednesday this summer from 11-2.

Vital Communities is supporting our POP Club this summer, as well as another at the Newport Farmers’

Market in Newport, N.H., with funding from the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and

Food, HNH Foundation and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.

In other news, I am writing this newsletter at 6 am next to my woodstove, dreaming about lighting a little fire in it to stay warm and it’s July 25th- For all of you wondering when the tomatoes will be rolling in, please take a second and have a conversation with the sun- ask her to stick around for awhile, because, C’MON!

 TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES:  

Turn on your grill.  Especially for the summer squash, eggplant, beets, peppers, and wax beans!

KALE: an actual superhero vegetable rich in antioxidants.  According to Greek myth, “the first crucifers sprang from beads of sweat on the brow of the god Zeus.”  While, the family of crucifers includes not only kale, but also cabbage, broccoli, radish, mustard greens, etc- I believe that if any of those vegetables acted as beads of sweat springing from Zeus’ brow, it was undoubtedly the kale plant. More than myth,  the kale plant is packed with glucosinolates- a cancer fighting compound.  Bottomline, embrace these leafy green powerhouses.  

Ideas for kale:

Smoothie: A serious staple in our family… chop up small, and throw in a smoothie- the kale haters will never know!!!  I swear- It’s been tested.  I usually do one kale leaf chopped teeny tiny and thrown into a mix of berries, bananas, yogurt, nutbutter- immersion blend, and enjoy.

Eggs: Again, a staple in my family.  Without fail, every morning for the past 2 months we’ve been eating this breakfast with zero complaints (thankfully, one of the eaters is an easily impressionable toddler). Chop and sautee the kale in your favorite oil of choice - we like coconut- once slightly browned, throw in the eggs, grated cheddar, scramble and serve.  

KALE CHIPS:  If you are feeling up for turning on your oven… do this!  These little chips are awesome.

Baked Kale Chips:  www.smittenkitchen.com

1 bunch 1 tablespoon olive oil Sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 300°F. Rinse and dry the kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs. Cut into large pieces, toss with olive oil in a bowl then sprinkle with salt. Arrange leaves in a single layer on a large baking sheet (I needed two because mine are tiny; I also lined mine with parchment for easy clean-up but there’s no reason that you must). Bake for 20 minutes, or until crisp. Place baking sheet on a rack to cool.

Kale-Dusted Popcorn If you’re making the chips with the intention to grind them up for popcorn, I’d use less oil — perhaps half — so they grind without the “powder” clumping. I ground a handful of my chips (about half) in a mortar and pestle (well, actually the “pestle” was MIA so I used the handle of an OXO reamer, not that anyone asked) and sprinkled it over popcorn (1/4 cup popcorn kernels I’d cooked in a covered pot with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over medium heat, shaking it about with potholders frequently). I seasoned the popcorn with salt. I liked this snack, but I think Parmesan and Kale-Dusted Popcorn would be even more delicious. Next time!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups packed tender young basil leaves ¼ cup pine nuts

1 teaspoon salt 2 plump garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with flat of a knife

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more to taste ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, or more to taste

Salt to taste ½ #  small potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/4-inch thick

¼ pound wax/green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths 1 pound trenette, or other long, thin pasta

1. Make pesto (see last week’s share!!!): in bowl of food processor, add basil, pine nuts, salt and garlic. Pulse until mixture is coarse and grainy. With motor running, add oil in slow, steady stream. Add cheese; process just enough to mix well. If sauce is too dry, add a little more oil. Taste; add more cheese or salt, if desired.

2. Bring 6 quarts water to rolling boil. Add at least 2 tablespoons salt and the potato slices. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until potatoes have started to soften but are not cooked through. Add green beans, and continue boiling another 5 minutes.

3. Add pasta, and stir. Start testing pasta at 5 minutes. When it is done, and when potatoes and beans are tender, drain and turn pasta and vegetables immediately into preheated bowl. Add pesto, and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately.

Week 6

PICK LIST:

Carrots - Green Beans - Cucumbers - Bok Choy - Basil -Garlic - Arugula - Cabbage - Dill - Pepper

I am going to make this newsletter the short and the sweetest because the sun was too hot today while cleaning carrots for what feels like actual hours and now my brain is fried- but before I completely check out…

Let's celebrate the beginning of BLUEBERRY season down in Cornish Town with a double feature! We will eat seasonal treats, (some sort of out-of-sight Blueberry baked good) and enjoy the warm summer nights while we still got'em-

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Double Feature this Friday Night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6:15 MOANA                           8:15 POINT BREAK

All are welcome!

BYOB... AND B AND C....

BRING YOUR OWN BLANKET AND CHAIRS FOR SITTING and beer for drinking.

and cash for snacks

Address for your googling: 949 NH Route 12A/ Cornish NH

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES:  

CUCUMBERS: enough for your favorite pickle recipe (yes you can pickle slicers!) or you can try my family’s favorite summer-time soup:

------TANGY CUCUMBER SOUP------

2 cucumbers, halved lengthwise, and chopped 1/2 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 small garlic cloves

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish 1 tablespoon chopped dill

Kosher salt Pepper

In a blender, puree the cucumbers, yogurt, lemon juice and garlic. With the machine on, gradually add the 1/2 cup of oil until incorporated. Transfer to a bowl, stir in the chopped dill and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, 30 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and dill sprigs.  The soup can be refrigerated overnight.  

KIMCHI:  (because fermented foods are amazing for too many reasons to list right here.. More on that later)

Baechu (Cabbage) Kimchi (taken from Sandor Katz's Wild Fermentation) Makes 1 quart

sea salt 1 pound mix of bok choy and cabbage

1-­3 carrots 1-­2 onions, leeks, a few scallions, or shallots

3-­4 cloves of garlic 3 tablspn fresh grated gingerroot

3-­4 hot red chilies, depending on how hot you like your food, or any form of hot pepper, fresh, dried, or in a sauce

Mix a brine of 4 cups water and 4 tablespoons of salt. The brine should taste good and salty. Coarsely chop the cabbage, slice the carrots, and let the vegetables soak in the brine, covered by a plate or other weight to keep the vegetables submerged until soft. This can take a few hours or overnight is even better. Add other vegetables to the brine such as snow peas, seaweeds, Jerusalem artichokes, anything you like. Prepare the spices: grate the ginger, chop the garlic and onion, remove seeds from the chilies and chop or crush, or throw them in whole. Kimchi can absorb a lot of spice. Mix spices into a paste. You can add fish sauce to the spice paste, just make sure it has no chemical preservatives which function to inhibit microorganisms. Drain brine of vegetables after soaking. Reserve the brine. Taste the vegetables for saltiness. You want them salty but not unpleasantly so. If they are too salty, rinse them. If you cannot taste the salt, sprinkle a couple teaspoons and mix. Mix the vegetables with the ginger-­chili-­onion-­garlic paste. Mix everything together and stuff it into a clean quart size jar. Pack it lightly, pressing down until brine rises. If necessary, add a little of the reserved, vegetable­ soaking brine to the submerged vegetables. Weigh them down with a small jar, or a zip­lock bag filled with some brine. If you remember, you can just push them down with your fingers. Cover with a dish towel over the jar to keep our dust and flies. Ferment in your kitchen or other warm place. Taste it every day. After about a week, when it tastes ripe, move it to the refrigerator or cool storage space like a root cellar or a hole in the ground.

Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe Yield: Makes 1 cup

Basil pesto darkens when exposed to air, so to store, cover tightly with plastic wrap making sure the plastic is touching the top of the pesto and not allowing the pesto to have contact with air. The pesto will stay greener longer that way.

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed (can sub half the basil leaves with baby spinach)

• 1/2 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan-Reggiano cheese (about 2 ounces)

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1/3 cup pine nuts (can sub chopped walnuts)

• 3 garlic cloves, minced (about 3 teaspoons)

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 Place the basil leaves and pine nuts into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a several times.

Add the garlic and Parmesan or Romano cheese and pulse several times more. Scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula.

2 While the food processor is running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady small stream. Adding the olive oil slowly, while the processor is running, will help it emulsify and help keep the olive oil from separating. Occasionally stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor.

Stir in some salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Toss with pasta for a quick sauce, dollop over baked potatoes, or spread onto crackers or toasted slices of bread.

WEEK 5! (better late then never, right??)

THE PICK LIST:

STRAWBERRIES - LETTUCE - ZUCCHINI - PATTY PAN - CUCUMBERS - SWISS CHARD - BROCCOLI - CAULIFLOWER - DILL - CILANTRO - PEPPERS

I think i’m in real denial about strawberry season.  Right now we are in our 4th week of picking and I feel like we should have at least another 2 weeks to go… but the berries are getting soft due to the hot July sun mixed with the constant rain.  Today, the COOP sent back 14 Flats claiming them unsellable.  This put a little gloom in the day knowing that the berries are no match for this unrelenting Summer of terrible weather.  As a result, many of the folks on field crew got to take home flats of berries to process and freeze for their own chest freezer.  Last night Ray and I put up 6 flats feeling grateful to not pick any more berries for the day, but a little sad as we analyzed nearly every berry while we halved and bagged them.  We are not upset with the COOP, we understand their reasoning- this happens with our flats every year towards the end of berry season (particularly when we pick in the rain which we did yesterday morning), but we did not anticipate it happening so soon…  If you do not understand what I mean by soft berry, see your quart- sweet tasting, but soft so quick to mold.  

That said, there is still a ton of fruit in the field- I’m not kidding- people are still walking away from our PYO patch grinning ear-to-ear over their harvest- but it is unknown how much longer we will keep the Pick Your Own Patch open.

So, just to be on the safe side- let’s all go glean some berries!    

Join us Sunday Night for the annual CSA pop-up Strawberry Glean

Pick all you want, for free and enjoy this New England past-time.

WHO:  Open to the entire Edgewater Farm C.S.A. community

WHAT:  A Strawberry Gleaning takes place towards the end of a crop's productive season.  The purpose of the glean is to invite the C.S.A. community down to the farm to pick off any extra berries for their own kitchen.  The gleaning will take place rain or shine (preferably shine).  The field is yours to pick through and whatever berries you can find are yours.  The berries are free- and the experience is priceless.

WHERE:  at Edgewater South (the old Putnam Farm in Cornish, NH)

 THE ADDRESS for all your googling: 949 NH Route 12A/ Cornish, NH

WHEN: This Sunday Night, July 16th... 5:15 pm- 7:00pm

HOW: You pick.  Bring containers!!

WHY: Because it's awesome, and the berries are free and delicious and there is still some really nice fruit out there.

 WARNING:  As it is the end of the season, you are likely to find rot... good luck and enjoy!    

 SEE YALL SUNDAY!!!

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES:  

Dear CSAers, I swear I’m not trying to be the CSA that loads you up with zucchini week after week- it’s just been a hard summer and crops are slow to ripen… but the zucchini crop is coming in hot… so, get together all your zucchini recipes- breads, on the grill, fried, etc… and let’s be thankful for this one crop that just won’t quit.  

Zucchini SWISS CHARD Fritters

Yield: About 10 2 1/2 inch fritters

1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini 1 teaspoon coarse or Kosher salt, plus extra to taste

2 scallions, split lengthwise and sliced thin 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder Olive or another oil of your choice, for frying

½ bunch of swiss chard leaves chopped

 To serve (optional)

1 cup sour cream or plain, full-fat yogurt 1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest Pinches of salt

1 small minced or crushed clove of garlic fresh dill!!!

 Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Have a baking sheet ready.

Trim ends off zucchini and grate them either on the large holes of a box grater or, if you have one, using the shredding blade of a food processor. The latter is my favorite as I’m convinced it creates the coarsest and most rope-like strands and frankly, I like my fritters to look like mops.

In a large bowl, toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Wring out the zucchini in one of the following ways: pressing it against the holes of a colander with a wooden spoon to extract the water, squeezing out small handfuls at a time, or wrapping it up in a clean dishtowel or piece of cheese cloth and wringing away. You’ll be shocked (I was!) by the amount of liquid you’ll lose, but this is a good thing as it will save the fritters from sogginess.

Return deflated mass of zucchini shreds to bowl. Taste and if you think it could benefit from more salt (most rinses down the drain), add a little bit more; we found 1/4 teaspoon more just right. Stir in scallions, chard, egg and some freshly ground black pepper. In a tiny dish, stir together flour and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter.

In a large heavy skillet — cast iron is dreamy here — heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop small bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet only a few at a time so they don’t become crowded and lightly nudge them flatter with the back of your spatula. Cook the fritters over moderately high heat until the edges underneath are golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. If you find this happening too quickly, reduce the heat to medium. Flip the fritters and fry them on the other side until browned underneath again, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Drain briefly on paper towels then transfer to baking sheet and then into the warm oven until needed. Repeat process, keeping the pan well-oiled, with remaining batter. I like to make sure that the fritters have at least 10 minutes in the oven to finish setting and getting extra crisp.

For the topping, if using, stir together the sour cream, lemon juice, zest, dill, salt and garlic and adjust the flavors to your taste. Dollop on each fritter before serving. These fritters are also delicious with a poached or fried egg on top, trust me.

Do ahead: These fritters keep well, either chilled in the fridge for the better part of a week and or frozen in a well-sealed package for months. When you’re ready to use them, simply spread them out on a tray in a 325 degree oven until they’re hot and crisp again.