Your CSA box this week: 12/7/22

We have one more week after this to enjoy the Fall 2022 CSA session. For this, our next to last box, we have:

GREENS

Skyphos Blush Head Lettuce, Arugula (Bunched, full grown), Lacinato Kale, Collard Greens

ROOTS

Carrots, Daikon Radish, Sweet Potatoes, Garlic

FRUIT

Winter Squash (Seminole)

A delicious recipe that uses your kale and garlic:

White beans and Tuscan (Lacinato) Kale:

https://leitesculinaria.com/343789/recipes-white-beans-tuscan-kale.html#recipe

The linked recipe uses dried white beans- I just use canned cannelini instead- then this recipe can be done much more quickly and is still very flavorful.

I love to eat orange vegetables with greens, tonight I made sweet potatoes with the kale recipe, but I would also recommend roasting the Seminole squash to eat with it.

If you are not familiar with Daikon radish you are in for a treat. Sweet, crunchy and great either raw or roasted. Also nutritious, with health benefits such as :

• Antioxidant activity
• Anticancer properties
• Anti-inflammatory properties
• Antimicrobial properties
• Antibacterial properties
• (WebMD) https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-are-health-benefits-daikon-radishes

Good Food: Orange and Green!

Here’s what is in the box:

Baby bok choy

Brazing mix, Cabbage, green, golden Acre

Winterbor Kale, Butternut squash

Cilantro, Sweet potatoes, Garlic 

Recipe: peel and cube squash and sweet potatoes. coat lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees.

Tear up kale into bit-sized pieces for a salad; add the roasted squash and sweet potatoes and dress with a fresh minced garlic/lemon juice and olive oil dressing.

Top with nuts of your choice; eat your vegetables!

What’s in the Box? (For Oct 12th pickup)

As the fall CSA kicks off, we hope everyone has been able to dive into their first box from this week, and is enjoying the last tastes of summer and the first flavors of fall!

Next week’s box can be picked up Wednesday, Oct 12th. The box will include:
– Arugula
– Baby Kale “Red Russian”
– Baby Mustard Greens “Ruby Streaks”
– Green Beans
– Garlic
– Carmen “Corno del Toro” Italian Frying Peppers
– Aji Dulce Sweet Peppers
– Sweet Potatoes

The sweet potatoes will be fresh & uncured, and that starchiness will make them perfect for whipping up some sweet potato fries!

Remember those bags! In case you missed it, here is our new pick up procedure:
– Boxes can be picked up any time on Wednesday after 2pm
– Your labeled box will be in clear tupperware in the glass front cooler
– Transfer the contents of the tupperware to your reusable bag (the tupperware stays on the farm)
– Enjoy your box!

Here’s an easy recipe for the week!

Sofrito From Scratch:
– 4 aji dulce peppers
– 9 medium cloves of peeled garlic
– 1 medium onion (chop into big chunks)
– 2 cubanelle peppers (or our corno del toro peps, remove stems & seeds, chop in large chunks)
– 1 bell pepper (remove seeds and roughly chop)
– 2 roma (or similar paste-type) tomatoes (cut into chunks)
– 1 bunch of cilantro (or add according to taste, wash and roughly chop)
– Kosher salt (add to taste)

Steps:
– Add onions and cubanelles into a food processor or blender, and blend until coarsely chopped
– Add remaining ingredients to the mix and blend until smooth. Add salt to taste.
– Store in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for later use. Makes ~ 2 cups.

Happy eating y’all!

CSA box from this week’s pickup!

By: Rio

A Bowl of Gratitude

All of this beauty came out this week’s CSA box! Carrots, baby ginger, watermelon radishes and bok choy. As I enjoyed this delicious meal I was filled with gratitude for all who made it possible: Farrell, the student farmers and farm volunteers . Thanks from the bottom of my heart (and bowl!) for showing up each week to plant, tend, harvest wash and pack so that we can all enjoy fresh and nutritious Student Organic Farm produce.

A quick serving suggestion: I made this as a brown rice bowl. In addition to the chopped and shredded veggies noted above and brown rice, I made a soy sauce/lemon juice and tahini dressing. Also sending out sincere thanks to our CSA members for their support!

posted by Robin

What came first, the popcorn or the grit?

Long before the New World was ‘discovered’, corn was known to many civilizations as maize. The Zuni Indians of New Mexico called it tawa. When translated, tawa means ‘old’. The term accurately expresses how old this cereal grain is, OLD! Throughout history corn was made into cakes, porridge and even beer. The Iroquois are given credit for popcorn, maize was mixed in receptacles that held hot sand and cooked slowly until the kernels burst. Thanks to the tenacity of our ancestors we are able to craft many of the corn dishes we love today.

And even still we are finding new ways to elevate corn in the kitchen. Creating grits from popcorn is not entirely a new concept. Many chefs have recreated popcorn grits. But I thought it creatively simple enough to share.

What type of popping corn can you use?

Any popping corn will do. This recipe will use the Dakota Black and Tom Thumb to highlight the varieties included in the CSA box. If you’re interested, the seeds for both varieties are available through High Mowing Seeds. I initially thought that the purple black seeds of the Dakota Black would impart their deep hue to the grits. Not quite, the color transfers only slightly. But there are interesting bits of purple shell visible throughout the finished product.

Why take perfectly good popping corn and make grits?

The corn flavor is intensified with the corn broth, created by boiling the popped kernels in water with butter. This dish is excellent because it avoids a major pitfall,  getting popcorn stuck in your teeth.

Final notes

The recipe does not yield a large amount of grits compared to the amount of popcorn used. A corn sheller would make removing the kernels easier but it’s possible to remove them by hand. When popping the corn, avoid the temptation to use high heat. The burnt popcorn taste will transfer to the finished bowl of grits. Low and slow is the best way to go.

Here is a link to a recipe with easy to follow instructions.

Two book sources used for this article are:

A History of Food by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat

The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg

 

Post by Shaquannah Faison

What’s in the Box

Hello everyone, in this week’s CSA box we have a selection of delicious fall vegetables. For your eating pleasure:

Baby Beets, Okra, Eggplant, Garlic, Sweet and Green Peppers, Hot and Extra Hot Peppers, Cukes.

What can we do with all this you ask?  Allow me to suggest…

Pickled beets! Ratatouille! and Hot Sauce!

Enjoy folks, and see you next week.

Chimichurri and other recipes for herbs

Recipes for using fresh herbs. Get out your food processor and peel lots of garlic cloves. The new fresh garlic you are getting in your box is good for these recipes, but it is a little milder than cured garlic so if you like garlic- use a little more.

Chimichurri: from Food.com

• 1 bunch  parsley
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • ³⁄₄ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¹⁄₄ cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 lemon wedge (juice of)
  • 1 tablespoon diced red onion
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Pulse parsley in processor to chop.
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend.
3. Separate sauce into equal parts.
4. (Use half for basting or marinade).
5. (Use other half for table service).

Traditionally for beef, however is great on poultry and fish as well- or grilled veggies.

Cilantro White bean dip

1 bunch cilantro

6 cloves garlic

olive oil

lemon juice

1 can of cannellini  or navy beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

Put cilantro and garlic in processor and pulse to chop

Start adding oil until it is a pesto-like consistency, keep blending and add juice of 1/2 lemon. Start adding beans slowly. Taste after adding 1/2 can. Add salt to taste and keep adding beans (or stop) depending on how strong an herb/garlic flavor you want. Serve with corn chips or pita bread, or on carrots or other veggie sticks.

Dill in salads

Add finely chopped dill to fresh egg salad or to tuna salad.

Chop fine and mix in plain goat cheese to serve on smoked salmon

September 17 CSA

The weather is cooling down and growing seasons are changing on the student farm. Our beds are being cleared and prepared for spring strawberries and cold weather crops have been planted. Now is a good time to see our rich soil that has been built up with organic practices and good soil management over the years.

Some changes are coming to the farm. We will be building onto the shed. Alas the apple tree will be cut down in a few weeks for this needed construction. So enjoy the apples in your CSA box this week. Our new orchard will be producing in the near future.

 

Items in your CSA box this week is,
White and purple eggplant
Variety of peppers
White and red potatoes
Okra
Garlic
Lemongrass

 

Grilled Eggplant
Linda E. Sampson Costa
East Bridgewater, MA

Makes 2 servings

Large sprig of fresh rosemary
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 small, homegrown eggplants

1. Mix together rosemary and olive oil. Let stand for 15 minutes
2. Cut the eggplant into ¼ slices.
3. Brush each slice with oil and grill for 3-5 minutes on each side, until nicely browned.

Lemon Grass Chicken
Louise Hyde
Port Murray, NJ

Makes 4-6 servings

1 lb. boneless chicken breast, cut into strips
2 stalks lemongrass, chopped
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
3 green onions, dices
1Tbsp. garlic, minced
2 red Chile peppers, sliced
½ cup chopped fresh basil or mint

1. Mix together all ingredients. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
2. Stir-fry chicken in hot skillet for 3-4 minutes or until done.
3. Serve over rice.

Variation: Add 2 Tbsp. apple vinegar to the marinade.