We try to keep the printed newsletter to a 2-page maximum, which means that we won’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. In our newsletter, we try to give you an accurate listing of the produce in your box; however, since the newsletter is published before the harvest, we may sometimes substitute some vegetables for others. **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.

 If you are new to our CSA, since you signed up with a prorated share, you can find all past newsletters on our website under the NEWSLETTERS section in the CSA Info tab.

THIS WEEK’S SHARE

ARUGULA: known as “wild rocket” with more deeply lobed leaves and a more pungent flavor; an aromatic, bright salad green with a peppery mustard flavor. See Week 1 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

NORTHEASTER GREEN BEANS: also known as Italian or Romano beans; huge, wide, flat, buttery, 8 inch long pods with delicious, rich, sweet flavor; they are good sources of fiber and vitamin C.
-How to use: serve them with beef, lamb, seafood or poultry, or as a healthy appetizer, together with other seasonal vegetables; sauté with olive oil and garlic for a
quick and easy side dish).
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag for up to 1 week.

YELLOW BEAN)S (Rocdor): long, slender, yellow bean; meaty, firm texture and no watery taste). See Week 11 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

SWEET CORN (Cadence): Long, beautiful, bicolor ears with 2″ diameter and improved quality for the late season; great for fresh eating and freezing. See Week 11 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

U-PICK FLOWERS (only available for picking on the farm): We welcome you to the farm to pick your flowers on any day of the week, but please contact us if it will be on other days besides Wednesdays and Fridays, so we can make sure to be around to show you where to go. This week you can pick up to 18 stems per household. You may want to bring a vase/jar to keep your flowers fresh going home, but we will have donated yogurt containers to fill with water as well. Your bouquet is part of your share, although it is always greatly appreciated when you make a donation to pay for seeds and labor. Extra bouquets cost $6/bunch for 15 to 20 stems.

LEEKS: green leaves with white to pale green stems.
Cooking tip: slit from top to bottom and wash thoroughly with root facing up to remove all of the dirt trapped between the leaf layers. See Week 5 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

LETTUCE or KALE: Wednesday members will receive Tropicana (large, bright green heads with thick crumpled leaves; excellent in salads and sandwiches. See Week 1 newsletter for usage and storage tips.) and Friday/Saturday members will receive Red Russian Kale (the stems are purple, and leaves are deep gray-green, purple-veined, flat, non-curled, and tooth-edged. See Week 3 newsletter for usage and storage tips).

CURLY PARSLEY: Everyone will receive this great, all around herb with its curly, dark green leaves, which have a strong parsley/celery flavor for use dried or fresh; high in vitamins A and C, and other minerals, such as iron, often used as a garnish, but can be used the same as flat-leaf parsley, so especially good in omelets, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, soups, pasta and vegetable dishes, as well as, sauces. In general, store herbs upright with cut stems in 1-2 inches of water and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or wrap in slightly dampened cloth and store in refrigerator.

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) and Red Knight Bell (big, blocky, thick-walled, green-to-red pepper with sweet flesh). See Week 12 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

POTATOES: You will receive Carola (yellow potato from Germany; smooth, creamy texture that is good for baking or frying) and/or Red Sangre (one of the prettiest of all red skinned varieties with medium-sized oblong tubers; creamy white flesh that is especially delicious boiled or baked) and/or Adirondack Blue (round to oblong, slightly flattened tubers have glistening blue skin enclosing deep blue flesh; moist, flavorful flesh is superb for mashing or salads; very high in antioxidants!). See Week 7 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

RADISHES (Pink Beauty): mildly spicy, pink-colored round root
-How to use: raw, roasted, used in soups, sliced in salads, sandwiches, or stir-fries, grated in slaws; radish greens are delicious in soups or stir-fries and are an excellent source of vitamins.
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag/damp towel for 1-2 weeks.

TOMATOES: You will receive a mix of Tomatoes of Green Zebra (ripe as a green fruit with a yellow blush and darker green stripes; delicious, tangy salad tomato; beautiful sliced into wedges for salads), Verona (similar to Juliet, but with even tastier, somewhat plumper, deep red “cocktail plum” fruits; good in sauces and in salads), Clementine (tangerine-colored, oval-round fruits; appealing, sweet-tart flavor; exceptional when halved and roasted), AND Geronimo Slicers (a beefsteak slicer variety; fruits are very large, firm, nice red color and good taste) . See Week 9 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

WINTER SQUASH (Butternut): light, tan-colored skin; small seed cavities with thick, cylindrical necks; bright orange, moist, sweet flesh; longest storage potential of all squash. See Week 15 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. “EXTENDED FALL CSA” SHARE REGISTRATION IS OPEN: We are offering an Extended Fall CSA Share for $150 for 4 weeks after the Summer Share is over. This will begin the week of October 2-8 and the last distribution will be the week of October 23-29. Our Fall Share will give you an opportunity to receive many varieties of fall produce from Tantre Farm. In order to receive all 4 shares, please register online anytime before Sept. 24 at https://tantrefarm.csaware.com/extended-fall-csa-2022-C24117. Please go to our website for more information.

2. ENDING SUMMER CSA DATES: The end is drawing near for Summer CSA. That means Sept. 28 (Wed.), Sept. 30 (Fri.), and Oct. 1 (Sat.) are the last distribution days for our Summer Shares.

3. U-PICK BASIL AVAILABLE: If you haven’t made PESTO yet or dried or frozen your basil leaves, then you are in luck! We will not be providing basil anymore this summer, since the storm last week knocked down some of our basil, so it’s time consuming for us to harvest for all of you, but If you are interested in clipping some of your own basil, it will be $3/lb. Please call ahead if you plan to pick on other days besides Farm Distribution Days (Wed. and Fri.), so we can make sure someone is around to help you. The basil field location is posted on the map outside the Distribution Shed, and there is a scale in the shed.

4. HIRED HELP STILL NEEDED: We are looking for additional help for the rest of the summer and into the fall. Some of our summer crew were students and they are heading back to school, so we are short-handed going into the fall. We are looking for part-time and full-time workers who are interested in getting their hands dirty and enjoy healthy, hearty, hard work. We provide home-cooked lunches every day with food from the farm. Room and board are available for full time work, and part time work is available as well for an hourly wage. Please email us or fill out an application from our website at https://www.tantrefarm.com/internships/.

5. WANTED: TOMATO PICKERS!! Is there anyone interested in helping us pick tomatoes any weekday morning for the next few weeks, but especially on Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Friday anytime from 7 – 11:30 AM? You may volunteer or we are able to pay $10/hr AND you can take home a few tomatoes.

6. ALREADY PICKED TOMATOES and CORN AVAILABLE FOR SALE: We have many tomato varieties and sweet corn ready for preserving. Please email us your name, phone number, amount needed in lbs or ears, and pick up location ONLY at the Markets or the Farm with BULK TOMATOES or BULK CORN in your Subject Line a few days ahead of time.
-Already Picked Tomatoes ($1.50/lb) – $30/half bushel (20 lbs)
-Already Picked Sweet Corn – $5/half doz or $10/dozen

7. U-PICK RASPBERRY PATCH OPEN SATURDAY and SUNDAY: We will be open this Saturday and Sunday from 8 AM-4 PM. U-pick is $6/pint and $4/half pint for Already Picked Raspberries. To keep informed go to https://www.tantrefarm.com/tantre-farm-raspberry-u-pick.

8. STILL PLENTY OF BOXES AVAILABLE FOR OUR IMMUNE BOOSTER CSA THIS WEEK: Please feel free to sign up for our weekly, collaborative CSA share if you would like to supplement your box or give it as a gift. The menu is updated on our website every Monday – Wednesday http://www.tantrefarm.com/how-does-our-immune-booster-csa-work/. Still time to sign up this week for a share!

9. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER:
*Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)—7 AM to 12 PM
*MOVE Fitness & Wellness Studio (Wed)—8 AM to 12 PM
*Farm (Wed.)—10 AM to 7 PM
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.) –6 PM to 8 PM (Hub Farm Market open during this time!)
*Pure Pastures (Wed.)—9 AM to 11 AM
*Farm (Fri.)—2 PM to 7 PM
**Community High School CHANGED TO AA FARMERS MARKET (Sat.) —7 AM to 12 PM
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Sat.)—9 AM to 12 PM
*Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat.)—9 AM to 12 PM
*Argus-Packard (Sat) 10:30 AM to 3 PM
*RoosRoast-Rosewood (Sat)–9 AM to 11 AM
*HoneyBee U-pick (Sat)–8 AM to 12 PM

RECIPES

GREEN BEAN AND ROASTED TOMATO SALAD (from Capay Organic Farm CSA “Farm Fresh To You” website) Serves 2
4 tomatoes, each cut lengthwise into 4 slices
1/4 tsp (heaping) Dijon mustard
1/4 lb green beans (or yellow beans), trimmed
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh orange juice
1 tsp minced shallot or leeks
1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup mixed salad greens (arugula, lettuce, kale etc.)
1/4 tsp freshly grated orange zest
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet. Arrange tomatoes in one layer on baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes in middle of oven 15 minutes, or until edges are browned, and cool. While tomatoes are roasting cook beans in salted boiling water 3 minutes, or until crisp-tender. In a colander drain beans and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain beans and pat dry. In a bowl whisk together juices, zest, mustard, oil, shallot, and salt and pepper to taste. Arrange tomatoes, overlapping them, on 2 plates and mound mixed salad greens and beans on top. Drizzle salads with vinaigrette.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP (from Martha Stewart Living)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, light sesame oil, or olive oil
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped
Pinch of sea salt
1 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 small handful celery leaves
1 2-inch cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
3 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice
4 cups broth or water
Freshly ground pepper, ground cinnamon, and minced parsley for garnish

In a heavy 3- to 4-quart stockpot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt. Stir, reduce heat to low, add ginger and garlic, cover, and cook gently for 15 minutes. Make a bouquet garni by tying together, or wrapping in cheesecloth, the celery leaves, sage, cinnamon stick and cloves. Add the bouquet garni to the pot. Then add the squash, apple cider/juice, and broth. Reduce heat to as low as possible and simmer, covered, 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash crushes easily when pressed with a wooden spoon. Remove the bouquet garni and pass the soup through a food mill, or puree it in a blender. Season with pepper and garnish with a pinch of cinnamon and a sprinkle of parsley.

BASIC POT OF POLE BEANS (from https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/basic-pot-of-pole-beans)
3 bacon slices
1 cup chopped onion
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 ½ pounds pole beans, trimmed and cut in half crosswise

Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add bacon, salt, and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes or until beans are tender.

*Chef’s Notes: Long, often flat, large green beans are sold in most grocery stores as “pole beans.” Because they are tougher and more fibrous than regular green beans, cooking pole bean takes longer than common green beans.

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