TANTRÉ FARM CSA NEWSLETTER
“Extended Fall CSA Share”
WEEK 1
Oct. 15-19, 2013
If needed, please contact Richard Andres & Deb Lentz at 2510 Hayes Rd. Chelsea, MI 48118 e-mail: tantrefarm@hotmail.com phone: 734-475-4323 website: www.tantrefarm.com
We usually try to give you a pretty accurate listing of the produce in your box, but since the newsletter is published before the harvest, sometimes we may substitute some vegetables for others.
We also try to keep the formatted newsletter to 2-pages, which means that we don’t list all the share items’ descriptions every week, but refer you to previous newsletters for information on items that have already appeared in your shares. Keep in mind the internet is overflowing with information, including pictures of almost everything that we grow.
**Also, if you’re having trouble identifying any unfamiliar produce, please look for “Veggie ID” with additional information on our website under CSA INFO or under RECIPES.
THIS WEEK’S SHARE
ARUGULA & SPICY GREENS MIX: You will receive a mixed bag of baby Arugula (an aromatic, bright salad green with a peppery mustard flavor) and Spicy Greens (a blend of arugula, Kyona/Mizuna, and red and green mustards).
-How to use: especially good in salads, but also added to soups, and sautéed as vegetable dishes
-How to store: very perishable, so use up quickly; store in plastic bag with a paper towel in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
FRESH SHELLING BEANS (Tongue of Fire): round, ivory-tanned, red-streaked Italian heirloom shelling beans. Makes a great hummus.
-How to use: Fresh, shelled beans are good in soups, stews, and casseroles, but also delicious simply boiled until tender, and served with a little butter or olive oil, salt/pepper or herbs.
-How to store: refrigerate fresh beans in a tightly covered container for up to 5 days.
BROCCOLI: deep emerald green, tiny buds that are clustered on top of stout, edible stems; high in vitamins A, C, calcium, potassium, and iron; known as an anti-cancer vegetable.
-How to use: use raw, steamed, sautéed, stir-fried, in casseroles, soups, pizzas, etc., roasted
-How to store: store loosely in plastic bag for up to a week
CAULIFLOWER, ROMANESCO: lime green, spiraled heads with pointed, spiraled pinnacles; crisp and mild; exceptional roasted
-How to use: Raw for salads and dips, steamed, sautéed, or roasted.
-How to store: Sweetest and best when used within a week when stored in the refrigerator, but can last up to 2 weeks.
CELERY: tall, crisp, glossy green stalks and leaves with a strong, celery flavor; contains vitamins A, C, B-complex, and E with some other minerals; also high in fiber and sodium; *Organic celery tends to be a darker green, since it’s unblanched like commercial celery. The darker green color indicates more minerals and vitamins, but also is a bit stronger, so you may want to use a little less than you normally would.
-How to use: typically eaten raw and used in salads; ribs and leaves can be added to casseroles, soups, stews, and stir-fries.
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag for up to 2 weeks; can be frozen in slices on a cookie sheet and then packed into freezer bags; celery leaves can be dehydrated and added to soups or stews.
GARLIC: a bulb of several papery white cloves.
-How to use: minced raw in salad dressings, sautéed and added to stir-fries, meats, vegetables
-How to store: fresh garlic can be stored in an open, breathable basket in a cool, dark place for many months
KALE (Red Russian): the stems are purple, and leaves are deep gray-green, purple-veined, flat, non-curled, and tooth-edged.
-How to use: for salads, soups, and light cooking
-How to store: keep in plastic bag or damp towel in refrigerator for up to 1 week
POBLANO CHILI PEPPERS: known as “poblanos” when black-green; popular in Southwestern recipes; heart-shaped fruit, which is mildly pungent with a lightly sweet, medium-hot flavor..
-How to use: often roasted, chopped, and used to season corn bread and cheese dishes; good for stuffed appetizers, jams, & salsa.
-How to store: For fresh peppers, store in refrigerator. For drying peppers, place string through the stems and hang in cool, dry, well-ventilated spot.
SWEET PEPPERS: You will receive Carmen (6 inch long, tapered fruit that ripens from green to a deep “carmine” red; sweet taste in salads and when roasted and fully red-ripe) or Sweet Sunrise (medium-large, blocky, yellow-orange pepper; fruity, sweet flavor), or Red Knight Bell (big, blocky, thick-walled, green-to-red pepper with sweet flesh).
-How to use: can be added to soups, stews, omelets, quiches, stir-fries, etc.; excellent stuffed.
-How to store: refrigerate unwashed in drawer for 1-2 weeks.
POTATOES: You will receive German Butterball (a round to oblong tuber with lightly netted golden skin that wraps around deep yellow flesh. Slightly mealy, this is good for everything – frying, baking, mashing, soups) and All Blue (an heirloom potato with deep blue skin and flesh; moist texture; perfect in salads, baked, or boiled)
*Interesting note: Most blue fleshed cultivars contain 90 times more antioxidants than white tubers, and the antioxidants in potato tubers are enhanced by cooking them.
-How to store: Keep unwashed in cool, dark place in paper bag
RADISHES You will receive 2 kinds of radishes: Watermelon (an heirloom Chinese variety; large, 2-4”, round radishes with unique dark magenta flesh and light green/white skin along with a remarkably sweet, delicious taste) and Nero Tondo (large, round, black-skinned Spanish radish with crisp, “hot”, white flesh; it can be grated or sliced into salads and lentil or split pea soup, eaten raw or cooked; see good recipes for black radishes at: www.mariquita.com/recipes/black%20spanish%20radish.htm).
*Tops are edible too & good in soups and gravies.
-How to use: soups, stews, steamed, roasted, eaten raw in salads.
-How to store: Store dry and unwashed in plastic bag in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks; can last for 2-4 months if stored in cold, moist conditions like beets.
SPINACH: crisp, dark green leaf—rich source of antioxidants & many nutrients, such as vitamins A, E, K, & C; delicious flavor when juiced.
-How to use: toss in fresh salad, add to sandwiches, sauté, steam, braise, or add to crepes, quiche, lasagna, and soups.
-How to store: refrigerate with a damp towel/bag for up to 1 week.
SWEET POTATOES (Beauregard Sweet Potatoes): edible root related to the morning-glory family that has dark red-orange skin with a vivid orange, moist, sweet flesh; high in vitamins A and C.
-How to use: excellent baked in 400 degree oven until tender, about 30-45 minutes; use like potatoes—baked, boiled, sautéed, fried; can be made into pies, waffles, pancakes, breads, & cookies
-How to store: store in a cool, dark place like winter squash. *Do not store in plastic or in fridge, unless cooked.
WHITE HAKUREI TURNIPS and GREENS: A white salad turnip with round, smooth roots that have a sweet, fruity flavor with a crisp, tender texture.
-How to use: Roots are good in salads and soups. Greens are slightly sweet and can be boiled, steamed, sautéed, stir-fried, and since hairless, are good in salads.
-How to store: separate greens from roots and store each in plastic bag in refrigerator for up to 7 days.
WINTER SQUASH: You will receive the following: Blue Ballet Squash (smooth-skinned, blue-gray fruits are medium size, avg. 4-6 lb., with sweeter, bright orange, fiberless flesh; similar in color and texture to Blue Hubbard, but smaller, so more marketable) and Heart of Gold (a sweet dumpling hybrid acorn squash; outer skin is cream colored with dark green stripes covering a fine-grained inner flesh that is orangish-yellow when ripe; sweet, rich flavor.
-How to use: boil or steam chunks for 15-20 minutes, or until tender; mash cooked squash with butter; or add uncooked chunks to soups or stews; add small amounts to yeast breads, muffins, cookies, pies.
-How to store: Keep for several months (depending on the variety) in a dry, moderately warm (50-60 degrees), but not freezing location with 60-75% humidity; will also store at room temperature
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. VACATIONS or OUT OF TOWN: Please let us know a week ahead of time, or at least by Sunday of the week to be changed, if you know that you will not be picking up your share or you want to change your pick up date or location. Please make a strong effort to PICK UP ALL OF YOUR SHARES in the next few weeks. If you miss a share pick up, it is available at the farm ONLY for that day and 1 day after, but please have the courtesy to contact us ASAP, so we know what to do with your share.
2. “COOKING CLASS with LULU” for Extended Fall Share Members for October 23 from 6pm – 8:30pm: Join us in Tantre’s large commercial-sized kitchen for an evening of cooking with vegetables from the fall share. All participants work in teams to prepare a delicious 5-dish meal with guidance from our guest chefs and fellow CSA members, Eric Lundy and Laenne Thompson, who some of you met during our summer share season. Their start-up restaurant is called “LuLu”, which sources local ingredients and adds a dash of global flavor to create inspired, tasty food. The menu this night will reflect Lulu’s concept of “shared plates”, so it’s not the traditional meal with courses; rather, it’s a chance to create a handful of interesting dishes to taste and share. They look forward to cooking with you! There will be a $10 fee for materials and handouts for each class. Please register by contacting us soon with your NAME, PHONE NUMBER, and E-MAIL ADDRESS in the body of the email. We have 15 spaces available, so let us know if you’re interested in joining us for a special meal together at Tantre Farm.
3. THANKSGIVING SHARE AVAILABLE! We still have room for more members to pick up a share on Nov. 23, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, at the Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market from 7 A.M. until noon or at Tantré Farm from 2-5 P.M. It will be $110 this year. Please request a form at Distribution Sites or call or e-mail us. Full payment needed by Nov. 10 for you to be registered. Non-CSA members are welcome to register.
4. INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR CSA IN 2014? Shares for current members and non members will be available for $625 in all locations from June through the middle of October. We will be accepting $100 deposits ($25 of that deposit is nonrefundable if you choose to cancel your share) to reserve your share for 2013 starting now. Please ask for a registration form at the distribution sites if needed, or it can be sent online and through the mail.
5. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER
Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)–7 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Farm (Wed.)–10 A.M. to 7 P.M.
Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.) –6 P.M. to 8 P.M.
Farm (Fri.)–2 P.M. to 7 P.M.
Community High School (Sat.) –7 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Washtenaw Food Hub (Sat.) — 10 A.M. to 12 P.M. (new time)
RECIPES
**Keep in mind a very easy way to find recipe ideas for almost any combination of share box ingredients is to type the items into your preferred “search bar”, and many recipe ideas will pop up. Have fun searching! Lots and lots of ideas! Also check out our Recipe Ideas on our website at www.tantrefarm.com.
GYPSY SOUP (from Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Katzen)
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 tsp. Spanish paprika
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tsp. turmeric
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. salt
dash of cinnamon
1 stalk celery, chopped
dash of cayenne
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 pepper, chopped
1 Tbs. tamari
3 cups stock or water
2 cups chopped, peeled winter squash or sweet potatoes
15-oz can garbanzo beans (or substitute Tongue of Fire beans)
In a soup kettle, sauté onions, garlic, celery and sweet potatoes in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add seasonings, except tamari, and the stock or water. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and beans. Simmer another 10 minutes or so – until the vegetables are tender. Add tamari and serve. *Tip: This soup freezes well. You can also throw in greens at the end, such as TURNIP GREENS or KALE or SPINACH.
BLACK RADISH SLAW (from Mariquita Farm newsletter)
2-3 black Spanish (and/or Watermelon radishes), grated
3 cups finely shredded cabbage (optional)
1 cup coarsely grated carrots
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions or red onion
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley, cilantro, or mint leaves
In a bowl toss together the radishes, the cabbage, the carrots, the onion, the lemon juice, the sugar, the oil, the herb, and salt and pepper to taste.