Tantre Farm CSA Newsletter
WEEK 17
Sept. 18-24, 2011

THIS WEEK’S SHARE
We usually try to give you a pretty accurate listing of the produce in your box, but since the newsletter is published before the harvest, sometimes we may substitute some vegetables for others.

PURPLE & YELLOW BEANS: You will receive Velour (“extra-fine”, straight, purple filet bean, which turns green upon cooking) and/or Concador (a smooth, straight, thin, yellow filet bean). See Week 7 newsletter for storage & usage information.

CARROTS (Mokum): a very sweet, slender, “pencil carrot” with edible green leaves. Greens are delicious in soups and also salads. See Week 9 for storage and usage information.

FRESH HERBS: In general, store herbs upright with cut stems in 1 or 2 inches of water and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or wrap in slightly dampened cloth and store in refrigerator. *All shares will receive Basil. You may choose ONE from the following 4 Herbs:
Parsley (flat, glossy, dark green leaves), Dill (soft, delicate, fernlike, grayish-green leaves), French Sorrel (slightly tart, lemon-flavored green; excellent for salads, soups, and sauces), Lemon Balm (fragrant lemon-minty leaves make an herbal tea; good addition to lettuce or fruit salads, and meat marinades) *Genovese Basil—an herb with sweet, spicy, shiny, green leaves.

KALE (Lacinato): dark green, noncurled, blistered leaves, but heavily savoyed). See Week 1 newsletter on storage and usage information.

STORAGE ONIONS (Prince): a very large, yellow onion with satiny sheen on skins. See Week 8 for storage & usage information.

POTATOES (All Blue): an heirloom potato with deep blue skin and flesh; moist texture; perfect in salads, baked, or boiled. *Interesting note: Most blue fleshed cultivars contain 90 times more antioxidants than white tubers, and the antioxidants in potato tubers are enhanced by cooking them. See Week 10 for storage & usage information.

RADISHES (Amethyst): bright purple skin and crisp, mild white flesh. See Week 1 for storage & usage information.

RAPINI: also called “Broccoli Raab” or Rabe or Rape; leafy green with 6 to 9 inch stalks and scattered clusters of tiny broccoli-like buds (some of ours don’t have buds yet, so just the leaf); traditional Italian specialty combining qualities of broccoli and mustard greens;
How to use: used for salads or light cooking. To cook simply: Clean rappini with water, oil pan, add garlic and brown. Add 1 cup of water. Put in rappini, season to taste. (Lemon may be used if desired.) Cover pan and steam for thirty minutes. Pepperoni or sausage may be added to rappini after it is fully cooked.
How to store: wrap in dampened cloth in plastic bag for up to 1 week.

SALAD MIX: a mix of baby greens–Pac Choi, Mustard greens, Mizuna, and baby lettuces—Green and Red Oakleaf, Red and Green Romaine, and other Redleaf lettuces. See Week 16 for storage and usage information.

U-PICK FLOWERS (only available on the farm): A bouquet per household of up to 15 stems will be part of your share, but whenever possible if you can donate $1 or more that will help to pay for some seed and labor costs. More information about u-pick flowers is in the “Announcements” section.

U-PICK RASPBERRIES (only available on the farm): 1 pint is available as part of your share this week, only if you are able to come out to the farm and pick it yourself. More pints are available for u-pick as well for $3/pint. See u-pick information below in the “Announcements”.

TOMATOES: You may choose from Buffalo Ruby Red (long popular, Dutch beefsteak tomato; good for slicing) and Geronimo (newer variety but already one of the most widely used beefsteak varieties; fruits are very large, firm, nice red color and good taste.). Due to the cool nights and rains this last week, tomatoes for canning may be limited, but just ask. See Week 11 newsletter for storage and usage information.

WINTER SQUASH (Butternut): light, tan-colored skin; small seed cavities with thick, cylindrical necks; bright orange, moist, sweet flesh; longest storage potential of all squash.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for FALL WORK PARTY/END-OF SEASON POTLUCK on this coming Sunday, Sept. 25 for Set Up from 11 to 1 PM and for Clean Up after 4:30 PM. Is anyone available to come early and leave earlier (if needed) or come later and leave late? Our end-of-season potluck will also be at this time, so please bring an hors d’oeuvre, snack, or refreshment to pass. Lots of kid-friendly activities, such as wagon rides, bubbles, and even a String Petting Zoo from the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. More information will continue in a reminder email later in the week.

2. ENDING SUMMER CSA DATES: The end is drawing near. This is just a reminder that our summer shares are ending in just a few weeks. That means Oct. 12 (Wed.), Oct. 14 (Fri.), and Oct. 15 (Sat.) are the last distribution days.

3. PARTICIPATORY “FARM DINNER” on Sept 29 is nearly full: You should have received an email notice about our Mexican Fiesta farm dinner coming up next week. We will be preparing a meal using produce from next week’s Tantre Farm share box on Thurs., Sept. 29 at Tantre Farm from 5:30 to 8:30 PM. At this point we are planning on eating outside, unless it’s raining, since seating space is limited in our house. We will be offering tips and recipes on what we are preparing. There will be a $5 fee for materials and handouts. If you’re interested, please contact us soon with your NAME, PHONE NUMBER, and E-MAIL ADDRESS in the body of the email. Also, for those of you already registered, please let us know ASAP if you need to cancel, so we can let more people in.

4. PLASTIC OR PAPER GROCERY BAGS NEEDED, if you would like to donate some to the farm or at markets.

5. HARVEST AT THE FARM: Please call ahead if you plan to u-pick or pick up on other days besides Farm Distribution Days (Wed. and Fri.), so we can make sure someone is around to help you. There are also some “already picked” options.
U-pick Broccoli Florets—$0.50/lb. Good time for freezing.
U-pick Raspberries—1 pint free with your share, and $3/pint for additional pints. *Easy to freeze on cookie sheets.
U-pick Fresh Flowers– You may pick 1 bouquet of up to 15 stems per household at no charge as part of your share.
Already-Picked Green, Yellow, Purple Filet Beans for $1.50/lb. or U-pick Beans for $1/lb. Good time for canning and freezing! These delicate, tender filet beans turn green when blanched and frozen.

6. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER:
Farm on Wed.–10 A.M. to 7 P.M.
Farm on Fri.–2 P.M. to 7 P.M.
Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)–7 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Community High School (Sat.) –7 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat.)–8 A.M. to 12 P.M.

TIME FOR 2011 FALL, THANKSGIVING, AND SUMMER 2012: REGISTRATIONS ARE COMING NEXT WEEK!
If you haven’t had your fill of fresh produce for the season, you will find several opportunities listed below for continuing to receive Tantre Farm produce even after the Summer Shares end in a couple of weeks. The Extended Fall shares and Thanksgiving shares will be listed on one registration form. Your Summer Share 2012 will be on a separate form. Registration forms will be available at each Distribution Site NEXT WEEK, and you will also receive them next week online as an attachment to an e-mail letter describing the various share options in more detail. Changes can be made at any time up until registration final due dates. Please make all checks payable to “Tantre Farm” and put in labeled envelopes at Distribution Sites or mail to the farm.

EXTENDED FALL CSA SHARE: We are extending our CSA season again by offering an Extended Fall CSA Share for $90 for the 3 weeks after the 2011 Summer Season Share is over starting Oct. 16 until Nov. 5. The share amount will be about the same size, and we will continue to have much of the same produce with a few new fall items too, which will be described in next week’s letter. There will not be a distribution in Chelsea on Saturdays though. The other distribution sites and days are the same. More information can be found in your CSA Handbook and on our website under FAQ. Registrations and final payments are due by Oct. 8.

THANKSGIVING SHARES: We are offering a distribution in November for you to stock up on vegetables before the holiday or for winter storage for $100. This share will be available for pick up on Nov. 19 (the Saturday before Thanksgiving) at the Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market from 7 A.M. until noon or at Tantré Farm from 2-5 P.M. You will receive a newsletter with storage tips and recipes and 60 to 70 pounds of several varieties of the following: potatoes, cabbage, pie pumpkin, winter squash, garlic, Brussels sprouts, beets, onions, carrots, parsnips, dried beans, leeks, kale, collard greens, spinach, Asian greens, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, and a jar of lacto-fermented sauerkraut from a local business called “The Brinery”. More details will be included in a coming letter next week. Full payment of $100 will be needed by Nov. 12 to finalize your registration, but any deposit of $50 or more will be accepted now to ensure your registration.

INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR CSA IN 2012? If you are able and willing to support Tantré Farm CSA again next summer, we would love to hear from you. Shares will be available for $575 (FARM-Wednesdays & Fridays) and $600 (Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market-Wednesdays, Chelsea Farmers’ Market-Saturdays, or Community High School-Saturdays) from June through the middle of October. We will be accepting $100 deposits (or full payments, if you are able) to reserve your share for 2011 starting now until the end of December. We encourage you to sign up this Fall, because by the end of January new members will be invited to sign up, so there will be no guarantee of a space if you haven’t made a deposit before then. Keep in mind that if you pay in $100 amounts each month starting now, you can have your share paid off before the payment deadline on May 1. This works well with automatic payments from your bank. Also, several members actually postdate checks with monthly payments ahead of time, which works very well for us too. Please ask for a registration form at the Distribution Sites, or it can be sent online and through the mail, if you don’t get one next week. We would like to encourage some kind of financial commitment this fall, if you are able, so that we may better plan for next season. Thank you for your continued support this season, and hope you enjoy these last few weeks of bounty.

RECIPES

GREEN BEAN AND ROASTED TOMATO SALAD (from Capay Organic Farm CSA “Farm Fresh to You” website) Serves 2.
4 tomatoes, each cut lengthwise into 4 slices
1/4 teaspoon (heaping) Dijon mustard
1/4 pound green beans, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon minced shallot or garlic
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup mixed salad greens
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. and lightly grease a baking sheet. Arrange tomatoes in one layer on baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes in middle of oven 15 minutes, or until edges are browned, and cool. While tomatoes are roasting cook beans in salted boiling water 3 minutes, or until crisp-tender. In a colander drain beans and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain beans and pat dry. In a bowl whisk together juices, zest, mustard, oil, shallot, and salt and pepper to taste. Arrange tomatoes, overlapping them, on 2 plates and mound mixed salad greens and beans on top. Drizzle salads with vinaigrette.

BROCCOLI RABE WITH LEMON & GARLIC (from COOKS.COM)
1 1/2 lb. broccoli rabe (rapini), wash & discard coarse stem ends
2 tsp. minced garlic
3 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
2 tsp. fresh grated lemon rind

In a heavy kettle cook the broccoli rabe covered in very little water until stems are tender. Sauté garlic in butter over medium heat 3 minutes. Drain the broccoli rabe, toss with garlic mixture, parsley, salt and pepper. Garnish with lemon rind.

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