Greetings!

A Note from the Production Manager   

Kate Ritger 

We're thrilled to celebrate 20 years as a CSA and community garden! We are keenly aware that we would not still be operating if it were not for YOU! And YOU are the life-blood that will sustain us into the future. Many generous and hard-working people got this enterprise off the ground. More people than we can count have eaten of this garden. Innumerable students of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University have worked this land, and hands of all sizes have pulled the weeds!

 

Please join us for our special anniversary celebration on Thursday, August 1, at the St. Ben's barn distribution site.  The evening will be about fun, good food, gratitude, and the friendships that form when people come together to start a garden. There will be kids' games throughout distribution time (4-6 p.m.), 6 p.m. potluck dinner, 6:45 p.m. performance of "Are You Thirsty?" by In the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre! Bring your friends, family and any happy person who loves local food.  

 

Logistically, subscribers who pick up in St. Cloud, please tell the gardeners you'd like to pick up at the garden that night. We will do the drop-off at St. John's Episcopal if you are not able to attend the party.

 

                              

Siobhan Conway loves her broccoli!               The gardeners enjoyed making masks out of cabbage leaves.

 

 

 

                            

We hope you enjoyed last week's romanescos.                               So many cabbages!

    

  

Meet Shelby Kitterman 

 

Hello, my name is Shelby Kitterman. I'm going to be a senior at St. Ben's this next year, and I'm studying to become a nurse. My passion for helping people with their health was one of the main reasons the garden interested me. Also, I love the St. Joseph community and I wanted to take a more active role than just going to school here.  I was in Ecuador and Italy for most of the beginning of summer. I learned about the different cultures, but I'm excited to be back here in St. Joseph and look forward to seeing everyone out at the garden!   

 

  

Yep, it's that time of year -- the beans are here!! And they are very abundant. Beans are a crop that just keep giving -- if we pick them, they will continue producing! We have more beans than we can pick, so come out and pick some for freezing or canning, or immediate, indulgent consumption. $2.50 per pound -- we've got buckets and bags. Subscribers, you will receive beans in your weekly share for several weeks, but you are welcome to come and pick more -- for free. Call Kate to make arrangements: 262-339-7737. We pick beans in the afternoon.

      Sisters and friends picking beans Monday, July 22. 

Basil: Originating in India, basil is best known for its use in Italian cuisine. To get the best flavor out of your basil, use it fresh and add it at the end of cooking (as cooking the basil quickly diminishes its flavor). Basil can also be dried or blanched and then frozen, though this also causes big changes in flavor.

Though not normally thought of as medicinal, basil can be used as a tea for upset stomachs and colds ("Sweet Annie's Healing Herbs" by Ann Marie Wishard (1993)). Research on the health benefits of basil show that compounds in basil oil have "potent antioxidant, antiviral, and antimicrobial properties" ("Antigiardial activity of Ocimum basilicum essential oil" Alviano de Almeida I (2007)). In India, basil is traditionally used for aiding in the relief of stress, asthma, and diabetes.

• If you are unable to pick up during the scheduled time, be in touch with me and we'll make other arrangements -- a friend or family member can pick up for you, or we can find another time.

Reminder  

• Please continue to bring reusable bags to pick-up. Thanks! 
• We recycle brown paper bags, plastic grocery bags, gallon ice cream pails, canvas bags you are not using and egg cartons, too. 

Composting

commonground@csbsju.edu 

Follow us on Facebook! We've been posting photos of our planting and progress.

We love it when you share your recipes.

Beets: the beet and the tops are edible, raw or cooked -- try the beets grated with carrots and kohlrabi and a light dressing for a salad, or roasted with goat cheese.

from The Anti-Cancer Cookbook

The antioxidants in dark chocolate and cocoa have been shown to be more powerful than those found even in red wine. Feel good about eating these brownies!

Nonstick cooking spray
½ cup canola oil
1 cup sugar

¼ cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose white flour

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

2 cups zucchini, grated

¼ cup walnuts, chopped

½ cup dark chocolate-chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Beat oil, sugar, yogurt, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl until well combined. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together white and whole-wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Stir in zucchini, walnuts, and chocolate chips. The batter may seem stiff at first, but if you allow it a few minutes for it to soak up the moisture from the zucchini, it will look like typical brownie batter. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in center of brownies comes back with just a few crumbs on it. Remove from oven and allow brownies to cool. When completely cooled, cut into squares and serve. Makes 24 brownies.

Roasted Beets

Wash the beets and trim the tops to within 1 inch of the root.

Add the tops to salads or save for a Swiss chard or cooked spinach recipe (or stir-fry them until lightly wilted and serve them with your beets). Wrap the beets in foil or put them in a tightly covered pan with a little water in the bottom and roast in the oven at 400 degrees until the beets can be pierced with a fork. When cool enough to handle, trim off the ends, peel the beets and cut into chunks, slices or wedges. Serve plain, or drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and pepper or your favorite fresh herbs or vinegar, to taste. Or serve them with the following recipe for Yogurt Sauce.

Yogurt Sauce with Cayenne & Dill

1 cup yogurt

½ sp salt

½ cup sour cream

2 tsp chopped dill

1 large garlic clove

¾ tsp cayenne pepper

Whisk together the yogurt and sour cream. In a mortar, crush the garlic and salt into a paste.

Measure 1 tsp of the paste and add it to the yogurt along with the dill and cayenne. If you have time, refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Comments: This is a great overall dipping or serving sauce provided by Deborah Madison in

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. We love it with fresh roasted beets, but it is excellent with any

vegetable cooked or raw. Deborah Madison is adamant that mashing the garlic, rather than

chopping or mincing, brings out a distinct flavor. Sometimes, if we really don't want fresh garlic

breath, we'll leave it out entirely and enjoy the other flavors. We usually don't have sour cream

on hand and make the dip with only yogurt. It's slightly thinner, but still delicious.

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Every week we will send several recipes that make use of the produce you are receiving in your bag. We also have a significant collection of recipes on our website at http://sbm.osb.org/ministries/common_ground_garden/recipes/.   Please send us your own recipes, too--either favorites from your cookbooks or your own concoctions.

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Common Ground Garden is the ministry of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict.

104 Chapel Lane
St. Joseph, Minnesota 56374