WEEK 7, AUGUST 21/22 2009
In our last newsletter we mentioned that we are members of Think
Local Umpqua, a coalition of farmers, business owners, & community
supporters. The mission is to support local farms & independent
businesses in Douglas County by encouraging our community members to
“Think Local First” when selecting goods & ser-vices. The
organization is governed by an Advisory Board that is chosen from
its membership, and the work is facilitated by Umpqua Community
Development Corporation. Please pick up a free booklet ‘Think Local
Umpqua 2009 Local Pages’, a guide to local food & independent
business, when you come to the farm. We have plenty on hand if you
want to give some out to people you know. Think Local Umpqua has
developed the following ‘Reasons to Think Local’:
In this week's box:
Please keep in mind that we have no control over weather conditions. The July heat wave was very hard on many garden items. Sunburn shows up in a variety of forms...brown/ yellow on cauliflower & broccoli, white or transparent blisters on tomatoes, etc. We do our best to sort through everything before put-ting it into your CSA box. We will give you imperfect looking produce from time to time if we are confident the flavor is okay.
Swiss Chard, also known as Silverbeet, Perpetual Spinach, Spinach Beet, Crab Beet, & Seakale Beet, is a leafy vegetable. Although the leaves are eaten, it is in the same species as the garden beet which is usually grown primarily for its edible roots. The word Swiss was used to distinguish chard from French spinach varieties by 19th century seed catalog publishers. Swiss Chard is very popular among Mediterranean cooks. The first varieties have been traced back to Sicily. Both the leaves & stalk of Swiss Chard are edible, although the stems vary in texture with the white ones being the most tender.
Swiss Chard is an excellent source of Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin
C, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, Vitamin E & dietary fiber.
If vegetables got grades for nutrients alone, Swiss chard would be one of the vegetable valedictorians! Storing: Place unwashed Swiss Chard in the refrigerator in a plastic bag. It will keep fresh for several days. If you have large batches of Swiss Chard, you can blanch the leaves & then freeze them. Wash Swiss Chard well to remove any sand or soil that may be hidden in the leaves. Trim the bottom end of the stalk. Since the stalks are thicker in texture, they will take longer to cook than the leaves, so their cooking should be started a few minutes earlier.
AUGUST EVENTS OSU Master Food Preservers will be at the farm on Friday, August 28, from 10:00 a.m.— 2:00 p.m. They will answer your canning questions & have printed materials available. Also you can bring your pres-sure canner gauge for free testing. This is very important so you will know that your canning pressure is accurate.
Pesto Ingredients 1-1/2 cups packed fresh basil leaves 3 cloves garlic, peeled 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 cup pine nuts Salt & pepper to taste
Preparation
Serves 6 I ngredients & Preparation:3 medium size tomatoes 1 pound fresh Mozzarella cheese Extra-virgin olive oil Salt & pepper Fresh basil leaves Slice tomatoes & Mozzarella into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange on a platter, alternating a slice of tomato, cheese & basil leaf until platter is full. Sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with fresh basil. (You can also brush olive oil on slices of a baguette & toast under the broiler. Layer tomato, Mozzarella & basil on top of toast. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Drizzle a little olive oil & balsamic vinegar over the top. This is a great appetizer.) Cranberry Apple Crisp
Jennifer Coalwell Ingredients Filling: 5-6 Apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick 1-(16 oz.) can whole cranberry sauce 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon flour Topping: 3/4 cup flour 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional) 3/4 rolled oats 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 cup butter, melted Preparation
Preheat oven to 350˚ In a large bowl, stir together filling
ingredients & transfer to a 9x13 pan. In the same bowl, stir
together all topping ingredients, adding melted butter last.
Crumble over filling to cover fruit. Sesame-Soy Vinaigrette
Ingredients
1/4 cup dark sesame oil 3 tablespoons chunky peanut butter 2 tablespoons lime juice 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
Preparation
Creamy Soy Dressing
Ingredients 3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 clove peeled & minced garlic 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional) 1 cup mayonnaise
In a small bowl combine first 7 ingredients. Whisk until sugar dissolves. Gradually whisk in mayonnaise, stirring until blended.
Roasted Salmon Wrapped in Swiss Chard
Ingredients 2 tablespoons soft unsalted butter 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon lemon zest & juice from 1 lemon 4 Swiss Chard leaves, stalks trimmed
4 (6-8 oz. each) skinless salmon filets Do You Know About GMOs?
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism
whose genetic material has been altered using genetic
engineering techniques. These techniques use DNA molecules
from different sources (sometimes from different species),
which are combined into one molecule to create a new set of
genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving
it modified or novel genes. This does not occur naturally;
rather it is produced in a laboratory. There is a lot of
controversy surrounding GMO applications to agricultural
products. One example of how widespread GMO crops have
become is this: U.S. corn farmers planted more than 17
million acres of GMO corn in 2007. It is estimated that the
product could be planted on 45 to 50 million acres by 2010.
Here at Norm Lehne Garden & Orchards we do not plant any GMO
crops. We just aren’t sure that applying this new technology
to food crops is a good thing. However, we do use hybrid
seeds, but this is not the same as GMO. Hybrids are the
off-spring resulting from cross-breeding of different plants
(within the same family.) We wanted to let you know our
position on GMO crops. We’ve given you some unusual
vegetables so far in your CSA Harvest boxes, like bright
yellow or vivid purple cauliflower. The yellow cauliflower
occurred as a natural mutant in a cauliflower field in
Canada. The purple color is caused by the presence of the
antioxidant group anthocyanin, which can also be found in
red cabbage.
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FOR OTHER 2009 CSA NEWSLETTERS - click on links below 7/10-7/11 7/17-7/18 7/24-7/25 7/31-8/1 8/7-8/8 8/14-8/15 8/21-8/22 8/28-8/29 9/4-9/5 9/11-9/12 9/18-9/19 9/25-9/26 |
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