CSA Week Fourteen

News from the field:

We dodged a bullet last weekend. The forecast had called for a good chance at our first frost, and we got down to 35 degrees at our place, which is cold, but not quite frosty. With the first frost, we would probably lose a number of field crops, such as peppers, sungolds, and maybe the lettuce. But the frost makes some things taste better, like the carrots, turnips, and kale. So there is a bit of a silver lining to the arrival of fall as well.

In the Basket:

Green beans - Beans seem to be gone from most people’s gardens, and its been a while since we included them in the basket, so we thought you’d enjoy them again. I love steamed till bright green and still crunchy, with butter, but they are fantastic tossed with olive oil and thrown on the grill (cover till just tender).

Beets - The greens on these are good and good for you. If you’re not going to eat the greens right away, cut them off the beets when you get home and store in a separate bag so they keep better. You probably know beets are easier to peel and cut after their cooked. Leave roots and ½ inch of tops on, steam till fork tender, plunge into cold water, slip skins off, slice and reheat with butter.

Lettuce and spinach and red onions - Add pecans for a yummy salad!

Leeks - Jill – who has the stand next to us at Wednesday - recommended braising leeks. I tried it and it was great. Trim the leeks leaving about 1 inch of green (you can use the tops for stock or soup). Slice lengthwise and (and then into pieces 3-4 inches long --depending on the size of your pan) and wash carefully between each layer. Melt some butter in a pan, cook leeks in butter 2-3 minutes, add chicken broth to amply cover, put cover on your pan and simmer till tender.

Salad turnips - These may be a new delicacy for September CSAers, for full season folks its an old friend from early in the season. These are a Japanese variety of turnip that we grow to eat raw, like a radish. We like to cut them up and put in our salad or eat as crudites, but other folks have been amazingly creative – pickling, steaming, and more. The greens are good too, gently steamed or sauteed with sesame oil and a little tamari or your favorite seasonings.

Tomatoes - Red slicers this week. Yay for no frost!!