CSA Week #14

• Corn
• Lettuce
• Carrots
• Cilantro
• Onions
• Chard
• Broccoli
• Jalapeño peppers
  
• Eggplant
• Peppers
• Tomatoes

Some sites only:

• Cucumbers

Hello!

Your boxes are brimming with the bounty of the season this week! I think they even had a hard time fitting all the goodness in those boxes this morning! It was a flurry of activity in the box packing room as they divided the bountiful harvest into your CSA shares. There were over two thousand pounds of tomatoes to give out this week!

There are all the ingredients you need for fresh salsa in your box this week so if you are overwhelmed with tomatoes you can make a big batch and enjoy! Salsa freezes well too, so you can enjoy flavors of summer all winter long.

We wanted to let you know that Linda will be leaving to go on vacation next week! She will be flying to North Carolina to visit her daughter and get some much deserved rest and relaxation! If you have any issues arise while she is away, we will try to get back to you in a timely manner but would really appreciate your patience and understanding, as there will not always be someone in the office to get back to you right away. Thank you!

For this week’s blog post I would like to talk about a crew appreciation dinner that Winter Green Farm owners Chris and Shannon Overbaugh put on as a thank you to our outstanding crew this year.

It was a beautiful evening at the farm, and an outstanding meal that they created for everyone to share. They fired up their cob oven and roasted leg ‘o ram, from a ram that they had raised themselves.

Chris and Shannon love to prepare the food they grow and do an amazing job. They sometimes post a “Meal of the Week” on our Facebook page, and you can always see the love they put into their food!

After long days of hard work on the farm, the crew was happy to kick back and relax and enjoy a meal made from the farm. It was a great way to show appreciation and is another reason why Winter Green Farm is a wonderful place to work and support.

I asked Shannon to include some of her recipes from this event, as they are all her own original creations, and she was delighted to share them with you!

Recipes From Shannon…

Carrot and Beet Salad

• 8 medium sized carrots, grated
• 4 medium sized beets, grated
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 ½ tsp. fresh minced ginger root
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
•  ¼ cup olive oil
• Dash of salt to taste

I love this salad because it is very easy to make, and make me feel really good when I eat it! Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Salt to taste. You can adjust the ginger to your liking. Serves 8.

Shannon’s Summer Tart with Caramelized Onions and Heirloom Tomatoes

Tart dough for one 9-inch tart pan:

•  1 cup unbleached white flour
•  ½ cup unsalted butter, not too cold, but not soft.
•  1 Tbs. water

Cut the butter into small pieces, maybe ½ inch. Work into the flour with your fingers or a food processor with the blade attachment. Work until the butter is mostly cornmeal-size pieces. Add the water and work until the mixture holds together. Gather it into a ball. Cover and let rest for ½ an hour. Then, preheat the oven to 375° Put the ball of dough in the middle of the tart pan, and gently press the dough into the pan. Make sure that there are equal parts of dough throughout the pan. Bake for 25 minutes on middle rack of the oven. Meanwhile…

Slice two medium yellow onions into rounds. Add ½ cup extra virgin olive oil to a sauté pan. Sauté onions on medium/low heat, stirring frequently. Add a little water to the pan as needed so the onions do not burn. Once the onions are nice and soft add 2 Tbs. sugar and 1 ½ tsp. salt. Keep cooking until onions are very soft, and are golden brown in color. Remove and let cool. Mince 1 Tbs. fresh basil Slice two medium heirloom tomatoes into rounds. I like to use two different varieties. Grate ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Put the caramelized onions in the bottom of the tart shell and add the tomatoes. Sprinkle with a dash of salt. Sprinkle the basil over the tomatoes, and then add the cheese. Put the tart back into the oven for 10 minutes. You may serve hot or cold. *Sometimes I like to add roasted garlic!

Green Bean Salad

• 1 1/2 lbs. green beans
• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/2 cup red onion, sliced very thin
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 Tbs. minced fresh basil
• 1 Tbs. minced fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Snap the green beans and put in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and put the beans in an ice water bath. Drain and put the beans in a large bowl. Add the minced herbs and garlic. Add the sliced onion. Toss with the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the sliced cherry tomatoes and feta cheese at the very end. I like to let this salad marinate for 2-3 hours, it really brings the flavors together. Enjoy! Serves 4-6.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! It looks like the heat is coming back again to remind us that it’s not quite fall yet!

Enjoy the vegetables in your box, and happy salsa making!

-Sara