Good Eats Newsletter - August 19, 2009
This Week's Vegetable Share Contains
Sweet Corn (6 ears); 2 lbs Ya Ya Carrots; 1 lb mixed Cauliflower; 2 lb Walla Walla Onions; 1 Napa Cabbage; 1 lb Kohlrabi; 2 lb Summer Squash or Zucchini; 1 Bunch of Basil; plus...
Localvore Share Members Also Receive
Red Hen Whole Wheat Bread
Vermont Cranberry Company Balsamic Vinegar
Bonnieview Farm Sheep's Milk Feta
Because of the heat, please try to pick up as early as you can tomorrow. The heat is really tough on the vegetables and though the truck is cooled, the veggies will warm up quickly sitting at the sites. Also, if you can't take your share right home to a fridge, consider bringing a cooler to place your veggies in until you get home.
Meg watering the flowers on the roof of the farm stand yesterday
Pete's Greens Open Farm Day/Potluck
August 23rd 2pm to 5 pm
Our annual potluck is Sunday afternoon! We are getting excited now. It's always fun to show people around, socialize, and eat!
At 2:30 and 4:30 Pete will give tours of the farm. Try to be there for at least one of these as he has lots of interesting info to share. In between these times, Deb will take people on hayrides and people are welcome to explore the farm by wagon or on foot. We'll have our picnic under the tent at 3:00 pm.
We'll be preparing a big salad for everyone and providing cider. I'll be making some quiche. Please bring a dish that you love to prepare (using local ingredients if you can!). Be sure to clearly mark your dishes and utensils with your last name. Also, please mark any meals that are vegetarian or vegan.
Jonna will be the children's ring leader. She'll be directing games, art and other activities to keep the kids engaged.
We are looking forward to having Mayfly play for us. Between them Katie Trautz and Julia Wayne play fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo. May Fly is their duet of sweet harmony vocals and folk instrumentals influenced by southern appalachian old-time, and new england blues, ballads and soul music. You can check out Mayfly here.
Please join us on Sunday if you can. The more the merrier and we'd really love to see you!
Pete's Musings
Hope you can all make our potluck and open farm day this Sunday August 23rd. We'll be touring the fields. checking out the chickens and pigs, and enjoying some great local food. FYI we'll be staying out of greenhouses and the potato field during open farm day in order to help prevent the spread of late blight.
Late blight update: Our potatoes are faring pretty well. The disease is progressing and can be seen in more of the field but at a fairly slow rate. From all we can learn it makes sense to let them continue growing until the disease progresses further. There is a lot of concern that we are going to have annual late blight problems now that the spores are so widespread in the northeast. They can overwinter on volunteer potato plants that will sprout in this year's field next season so it is important to not allow those plants to grow. We plan to grow an easy to cultivate crop such as corn in our potato field next year so that we can knock out any volunteer plants. We discovered a very small amount of late blight in our tomato greenhouse but that too is progressing slowly. ~Pete
Storage and Use Tips
Please visit Pete's Blogspot for past Storage and Use Tips. I just wrote about kohlrabi July 13 and arugula June 3 and there is veggie info and some recipes there. You can enter a search term in the search box and any newsletter that contained that vegetable will come up. I expect to have the new veggie section on the website sometime in September.
Fall/Winter Good Eats Sign Up
The start of the Fall share is only 8 weeks away and sign up will begin next week. Stay tuned for an email blast that will be sent as soon as the Fall page is ready on the website.
Summer Share Still Open
The summer share remains open. We are prorating remaining weeks so if you know anyone who wants to join us, please direct them to the website or to amy@petesgreens.com.
Summer Share
Meat Share
Localvore Lore
We have Red Hen Bakery's hearty, tasty whole wheat bread this week.
The balsamic vinegar in the share today is a little treasure. This is fantastic balsamic made right here in Vermont by Bob Lesnikowski, owner of Vt Cranberry Company. Along with being the sole cranberry grower in Vermont, Bob is a winemaker at Boyden Valley Winery. He brings to vinegar making the same high standards he adheres to for making wine.
Balsamic Vinegar, a traditional Italian delicacy is a delectable condiment made from wine grapes. We grow the Frontenac variety of wine grape. My balsamic vinegar is made from the Frontenac grape that is used for Boyden Valley Winery' s Ice wine. Once the ice wine is pressed, the remaining juice is used to make vinegar. I ferment and then acetify some of the juice and then the rest is reduced to 40 % of the volume. The reduction is blended with the vinegar and then barrel aged for 2 years. This balsamic is dense, supple and slightly sweet. Perfect for summer grilling or salads. ~Bob
Bonnieview Farm is just down the road from Pete's. Neil and Kristen turn out some wonderful sheep cheese there. You have already had the Mossend Blue this share, and now you have the opportunity to try the feta. I love this cheese, for my salads, my pasta dishes, quiche, and just to nibble on. We try to give it out once a share because it is that good!
Recipes
Roasted Tomato and Arugula Salad
Epicurious November 2008 by Andrew Friedman
1 cup olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 lb tomatoes, in sections lengthwise lengthwise and seeded
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 1/2 cups (loosely packed) arugula
Preheat oven to 250°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with foil.
In large bowl, stir together olive oil, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Dip tomato halves into oil, shake off excess, and arrange on baking sheet, cut sides down. Roast until skins are wrinkled and beginning to brown, about 2 hours. (Tomatoes can be roasted ahead and refrigerated, covered, up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before using.)
In large bowl, whisk together remaining 1/2 cup olive oil, vinegar, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add arugula and tomatoes and toss to coat.
Simple Squash Soup
Summer squash or zucchini is boiled with bell pepper and onion, pureed then combined with melted cheese for a creamy, quick soup.
6 squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cups cubed or shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Place squash, bell pepper and onion in a large pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes; drain. Puree vegetables with a blender or food processor. Return to pot over medium heat and stir in cheese until melted. Serve.
Watermelon, Feta, and Arugula Salad with Balsamic Glaze
Bon Appétit July 2009 by Fred Thompson
5 oz baby arugula
8 cups 3/4-inch cubes seedless watermelon
7 oz feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar glaze
To make the balsamic glaze, boil 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan until reduced to 3 tablespoons, 6 to 7 minutes.
Arrange arugula over large platter. Scatter watermelon, then feta over. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and sprinkle with pepper.
Kohlrabi Curry
A tasty way to use kohlrabi. This would be great with more greens or Napa cabbage or some carrots added.
3 kohlrabi, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 green chilies, deseeded and chopped
1 tbsp tamarind paste (it's OK to skip this or you could try 1 TB worcestershire)
1 tsp brown or maple sugar
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 cumin seeds
Boil kohlrabi until just tender. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add the cumin and mustard seeds and after they pop, saute onions till translucent. Add tomatoes and green chilies; cover and cook till tender. Add boiled kohlrabi and other greens, red chili powder, tamarind paste(if using), sugar, salt and 1/2 cup of water. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or till the gravy thickens.
Sweet Corn (6 ears); 2 lbs Ya Ya Carrots; 1 lb mixed Cauliflower; 2 lb Walla Walla Onions; 1 Napa Cabbage; 1 lb Kohlrabi; 2 lb Summer Squash or Zucchini; 1 Bunch of Basil; plus...
Tomatoes -or- Cherry Tomatoes
Arugula -or- Wild Arugula -or- Mesclun
Arugula -or- Wild Arugula -or- Mesclun
Localvore Share Members Also Receive
Red Hen Whole Wheat Bread
Vermont Cranberry Company Balsamic Vinegar
Bonnieview Farm Sheep's Milk Feta
Because of the heat, please try to pick up as early as you can tomorrow. The heat is really tough on the vegetables and though the truck is cooled, the veggies will warm up quickly sitting at the sites. Also, if you can't take your share right home to a fridge, consider bringing a cooler to place your veggies in until you get home.
Meg watering the flowers on the roof of the farm stand yesterday
Pete's Greens Open Farm Day/Potluck
August 23rd 2pm to 5 pm
Our annual potluck is Sunday afternoon! We are getting excited now. It's always fun to show people around, socialize, and eat!
At 2:30 and 4:30 Pete will give tours of the farm. Try to be there for at least one of these as he has lots of interesting info to share. In between these times, Deb will take people on hayrides and people are welcome to explore the farm by wagon or on foot. We'll have our picnic under the tent at 3:00 pm.
We'll be preparing a big salad for everyone and providing cider. I'll be making some quiche. Please bring a dish that you love to prepare (using local ingredients if you can!). Be sure to clearly mark your dishes and utensils with your last name. Also, please mark any meals that are vegetarian or vegan.
Jonna will be the children's ring leader. She'll be directing games, art and other activities to keep the kids engaged.
We are looking forward to having Mayfly play for us. Between them Katie Trautz and Julia Wayne play fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo. May Fly is their duet of sweet harmony vocals and folk instrumentals influenced by southern appalachian old-time, and new england blues, ballads and soul music. You can check out Mayfly here.Please join us on Sunday if you can. The more the merrier and we'd really love to see you!
Pete's Musings
Hope you can all make our potluck and open farm day this Sunday August 23rd. We'll be touring the fields. checking out the chickens and pigs, and enjoying some great local food. FYI we'll be staying out of greenhouses and the potato field during open farm day in order to help prevent the spread of late blight.
Late blight update: Our potatoes are faring pretty well. The disease is progressing and can be seen in more of the field but at a fairly slow rate. From all we can learn it makes sense to let them continue growing until the disease progresses further. There is a lot of concern that we are going to have annual late blight problems now that the spores are so widespread in the northeast. They can overwinter on volunteer potato plants that will sprout in this year's field next season so it is important to not allow those plants to grow. We plan to grow an easy to cultivate crop such as corn in our potato field next year so that we can knock out any volunteer plants. We discovered a very small amount of late blight in our tomato greenhouse but that too is progressing slowly. ~Pete
Storage and Use Tips
Please visit Pete's Blogspot for past Storage and Use Tips. I just wrote about kohlrabi July 13 and arugula June 3 and there is veggie info and some recipes there. You can enter a search term in the search box and any newsletter that contained that vegetable will come up. I expect to have the new veggie section on the website sometime in September.
Fall/Winter Good Eats Sign Up
The start of the Fall share is only 8 weeks away and sign up will begin next week. Stay tuned for an email blast that will be sent as soon as the Fall page is ready on the website.
Summer Share Still Open
The summer share remains open. We are prorating remaining weeks so if you know anyone who wants to join us, please direct them to the website or to amy@petesgreens.com.
Summer Share
Meat Share
Localvore Lore
We have Red Hen Bakery's hearty, tasty whole wheat bread this week.
The balsamic vinegar in the share today is a little treasure. This is fantastic balsamic made right here in Vermont by Bob Lesnikowski, owner of Vt Cranberry Company. Along with being the sole cranberry grower in Vermont, Bob is a winemaker at Boyden Valley Winery. He brings to vinegar making the same high standards he adheres to for making wine.
Balsamic Vinegar, a traditional Italian delicacy is a delectable condiment made from wine grapes. We grow the Frontenac variety of wine grape. My balsamic vinegar is made from the Frontenac grape that is used for Boyden Valley Winery' s Ice wine. Once the ice wine is pressed, the remaining juice is used to make vinegar. I ferment and then acetify some of the juice and then the rest is reduced to 40 % of the volume. The reduction is blended with the vinegar and then barrel aged for 2 years. This balsamic is dense, supple and slightly sweet. Perfect for summer grilling or salads. ~Bob
Bonnieview Farm is just down the road from Pete's. Neil and Kristen turn out some wonderful sheep cheese there. You have already had the Mossend Blue this share, and now you have the opportunity to try the feta. I love this cheese, for my salads, my pasta dishes, quiche, and just to nibble on. We try to give it out once a share because it is that good!
Recipes
Roasted Tomato and Arugula Salad
Epicurious November 2008 by Andrew Friedman
1 cup olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 lb tomatoes, in sections lengthwise lengthwise and seeded
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 1/2 cups (loosely packed) arugula
Preheat oven to 250°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with foil.
In large bowl, stir together olive oil, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Dip tomato halves into oil, shake off excess, and arrange on baking sheet, cut sides down. Roast until skins are wrinkled and beginning to brown, about 2 hours. (Tomatoes can be roasted ahead and refrigerated, covered, up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before using.)
In large bowl, whisk together remaining 1/2 cup olive oil, vinegar, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add arugula and tomatoes and toss to coat.
Simple Squash Soup
Summer squash or zucchini is boiled with bell pepper and onion, pureed then combined with melted cheese for a creamy, quick soup.
6 squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cups cubed or shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Place squash, bell pepper and onion in a large pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes; drain. Puree vegetables with a blender or food processor. Return to pot over medium heat and stir in cheese until melted. Serve.
Watermelon, Feta, and Arugula Salad with Balsamic Glaze
Bon Appétit July 2009 by Fred Thompson
5 oz baby arugula
8 cups 3/4-inch cubes seedless watermelon
7 oz feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar glaze
To make the balsamic glaze, boil 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan until reduced to 3 tablespoons, 6 to 7 minutes.
Arrange arugula over large platter. Scatter watermelon, then feta over. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and sprinkle with pepper.
Kohlrabi Curry
A tasty way to use kohlrabi. This would be great with more greens or Napa cabbage or some carrots added.
3 kohlrabi, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 green chilies, deseeded and chopped
1 tbsp tamarind paste (it's OK to skip this or you could try 1 TB worcestershire)
1 tsp brown or maple sugar
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 cumin seeds
Boil kohlrabi until just tender. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add the cumin and mustard seeds and after they pop, saute onions till translucent. Add tomatoes and green chilies; cover and cook till tender. Add boiled kohlrabi and other greens, red chili powder, tamarind paste(if using), sugar, salt and 1/2 cup of water. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or till the gravy thickens.
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