
Midsummer Farm CSA Weekly Newsletter: Share Pick Up #5 Happy 4th of July!! The 4th always marks the start of the 'heavy' vegetables! We'll be harvesting summer squash and cucumbers this week as well as broccoli, onions, and kohlrabi! I'll also make sure we always have some dark leafy greens and salad greens in every basket!
I hope you have been able to make good use of your basket and veggies! If you find yourself in need of some further inspiration for making meals out of your basket - please do not hesitate to contact me! Email: CSA@midsummerfarm.com Phone: 845-986-9699
And sorry I have been so remiss in sending out these newsletters! It is just a crazy time of year and the heat was forcing me to spend way too much time watering! We got somewhat caught up this weekend but then we had a groundhog infiltrate our fortress-style garden fence - uggh!! As I write this email, Mark is outside digging a trench under the gate and putting in layers of hardware cloth and chicken wire ~ it will be a struggle to get the gate opened and closed, but those creatures are so destructive! We caught it in time and it didn't get anything, but it was a close call especially since the broccoli is ready to harvest and is planted right next to the entrance!!
 A reminder - please remember to return your baskets! I'm running low!
And this Wednesday is the 4th of July - we're going to be running the CSA pickups on a normal schedule, but if you cannot make it or if you need to try to reschedule to a different time, please let me know as soon as possible so I can adjust my harvest schedule accordingly.
We'll be harvesting various berries again this week - the strawberries are pretty much done now for the season, but we should still be harvesting blueberries, and also raspberries and blackberries the next couple weeks.
All berries, with their intense color and flavor, pack a tremendous punch of antioxidants and phytonutrients - you need to only buy and eat organic berries though. Berries are a bit tough to grow and don't have shelf-longevity, and if they aren't certified organic, can be covered with tons of pesticides, fungicides, and other poisons. Even washing in vinegar, salt, and lemon juice won't help enough. And "local" berries can have just as much poison on them as the ones you find in grocery stores. Organic Berries are always totally worth the money. They are also worth the effort to grow in your garden! And luckily, it has been a great berry year so far!
Beets! This week we'll add some Chiogga beets to our beet harvest this year! We didn't get great germination, so we have a limited number, but the ones we do have are nice and big. When you slice the chiogga beets they have candy-cane like coloring on the inside! SO fun~
Beets are so healthy - full of antioxidants, thus the deep color. And they are so nourishing - bringing all that is good within the soil into our meal. The beet leaves can be eaten in salads or cooked like Swiss Chard (Beets are closely related to Swiss Chard).
Beets store very well in the fridge - and if you still have some left over from the previous weeks, I have two favorite ways to prepare beets that are simple and easy... _________________________________________________________________________________________
RECIPE: Beet Salad Ingredients: 3-4 medium beets 1 onion - sliced very thin into rings. ½ - 1 cup of chopped fresh dill (depending on taste) ½ cup Apple Cider Vinegar ¼ cup sugar about ½ cup water - just enough to just cover beets in the bowl you use. Directions: 1) Clean beets and trim ends. Put them into a large pot and fill with water. Bring water to a boil. Then turn down heat and simmer about an hour depending on the size of the beets. Stick a fork into them to feel if they are done - they should be soft. If you have different size beets - one big beet and the rest are small - cut the big beet to match the size of the smaller ones so they all cook evenly. 2) Cool beets down in cold water. Then peel off skin and slice. 3) Put beets, sliced onions, chopped dill, about ½ cup of Apple Cider Vinegar, ¼ cup of sugar, and about ½ cup of water into a glass bowl. Mix thoroughly. I don't use plastic or metal bowls when using vinegar or for any long term storage of food. 4) Chill for at least 12 hours before serving. _________________________________________________________________________________________
RECIPE: Roasted Beets Ingredients: 1-2 pounds of beets or any other root vegetable - mixing with carrots is very nice 1-4 tbsp of fresh rosemary - chopped about ½ cup of Olive Oil salt and black pepper to taste
Directions: 1) Clean beets and cut into quarters or halves depending on size of beet 2) Toss beet pieces in a big bowl with rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper. Use your hands and make sure all the beet pieces are well-coated 3) Pour into a baking pan and cook at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes. Test the beets at different times - some people like mushier beets and some like crisper. 4) Remove from oven and enjoy as a sweet treat! _________________________________________________________________________________________ And you'll get Broccoli this week and also some weird little broccoli-relatives called Broccolini or Asparation! Broccolini is a fun and relatively new vegetable for us in the US. It is obviously in the broccoli or cruciferus / brassica family - and it is delicious!
Broccolini is very versatile and can be used in any situation in which one might use broccoli. In addition, broccolini tastes delicious grilled with olive oil and salt and sprinkled in lemon, and it can be served whole on the plate as an interesting visual accompaniment to a meal. The whole plant is really edible, and the stems are so tender that they do not require peeling.
When cooking broccolini, less is more. The plant is perfectly good raw, and therefore needs a very minimal cooking time, with just enough heat to blanch. When steaming broccolini, make sure to rinse it in cold water afterwards to prevent it from cooking any further. When adding to sautés and roasted vegetable dishes, toss it in at the very end to prevent loss of flavor, texture, and nutrients.
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RECIPE: Rachel Ray's Garlicky BroccoliniIngredients: 1 1/2 lbs Broccolini coarse salt 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) 4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped Directions Trim broccolini of ends. Place 4-5" long thin stalks into a skillet and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Add salt and reduce heat. Simmer broccolini 4-5 minutes, until tender and bright green. Drain the broccolini and return skillet to stove over medium heat. Add EVOO to pan, then garlic. Cook garlic 2-3 minutes. Add broccolini to pan and coat in garlic and oil, serve _________________________________________________________________________________________
RECIPE: Simple Broccolini Sauté 1 bunch Broccolini 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Trim broccolini of ends. Place 4-5" long thin stalks into a skillet and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Add salt and reduce heat. Simmer broccolini 6-7 minutes, until tender and bright green. Drain the broccolini and return skillet to stove over medium heat. Add olive oil to pan, then garlic. Cook garlic 2-3 minutes. Add broccolini to pan and coat in garlic and oil, then serve. _________________________________________________________________________________________
RECIPE: Lemon Caper Calamari Steaks With Broccolini
<http://www.epicurious.com/recipesmenus/gourmet/recipes> | October 2006
1/4 cup olive oil 3 garlic cloves, crushed in a garlic press 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes 1 lb Broccolini, trimmed 1/3 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 large egg 1 tablespoon water 4 frozen calamari steaks (1 lb total), thawed 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon bottled capers in brine, rinsed and drained Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook garlic and red-pepper flakes, stirring, until golden, about 30 seconds. Add Broccolini and cook, turning with tongs, until coated with oil, then add water and salt and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a platter with tongs and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. While oil heats, stir together flour, cheese, and pepper in a wide shallow bowl, then lightly beat egg with water in another wide shallow bowl. Dredge 1 calamari steak in flour mixture, shaking off excess, then dip in egg mixture, letting excess drip off, and transfer to a plate. Dredge another steak in flour and dip in egg in same manner, then sauté coated steaks over moderately high heat, turning over once, until golden, about 1 1/2 minutes total. Transfer to platter with Broccolini and keep warm, loosely covered. Dredge, dip, and sauté remaining 2 steaks in same manner, transferring to platter.
Pour off fat from skillet, then add butter, lemon juice (to taste), and capers to skillet and cook over moderate heat just until butter melts, about 45 seconds. Pour lemon caper sauce over calamari steaks and serve immediately.
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Processed Foods versus Artisanally Crafting Meals at Home Processed foods - foods prepared commercially by machines using tons of fossil fuels and full of non-living-ness - are just wrong for our bodies. Our bodies can deal with some of this stuff, but you can't live healthily on foods that come in plastic containers or boxes to be microwaved. Sometimes due to busy schedules, we can't help but make use of these convenience foods - but then we should try to use the organic brands... Cooking a large percentage of your food at home makes sense because you are in charge of exactly what goes into your meals. You choose the ingredients and can make good choices like whole foods, organic, fairtrade, humanely-raised, local items. But on a deeper level, where food has even a greater influence on our overall health and well-being, cooking at home has many more benefits. The nourishment one gets from a meal prepared at home is better. Your body has plenty of time to see and smell the food being prepared so your metabolism can prepare to digest properly. Food preparation is an artisanal craft - the effort you put into it is never wasted. Consider doing some things the "old-fashioned" way, like chopping by hand rather than use the food processor - the effort, intention, and time is then integrated into the food. So start being conscious of the environment in which you prepare food, the intentions you have while doing it, the quality of the craft itself. Your meals will be more fulfilling and more nutritious than ever! _________________________________________________________________________________________
Very best and thanks,
Barbara and Mark
Midsummer Farm
Email: CSA@midsummerfarm.com Phone: 845-986-9699
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Midsummer Farm Contact Info: Barbara and Mark Laino Midsummer Farm 156 East Ridge Road Warwick, NY 10990 845-986-9699 info@midsummerfarm.com
Holistic Health Counseling Contact Info: Barbara Taylor-Laino Barbara Taylor Health
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
845-986-9699 info@barbarataylorhealth.com
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