Tantre Farm CSA Newsletter
WEEK #17
Sept. 13-19, 2015
If needed, please contact Richard Andres & Deb Lentz at 2510 Hayes Rd. Chelsea, MI 48118 e-mail: tantrefarm@hotmail.com phone: 734-475-4323 website: www.tantrefarm.com.
In our newsletter, we try to give you an accurate listing of the produce in your box; however, since the newsletter is published before the harvest, we may sometimes substitute some vegetables for others. The information provided here is also published each week on our website.
We try to keep the printed newsletter to a 2-page maximum, which means that we won’t list all the share items’ descriptions every week, but refer you to previous newsletters for information on items that have already appeared in your shares.
**Also, if you’re having trouble identifying any unfamiliar produce, please look for “Veggie ID” with additional information on our website under CSA INFO or under RECIPES.
THIS WEEK’S SHARE
ARUGULA: an aromatic, bright salad green with a peppery mustard flavor, which is rich in iron and vitamins A and C. See Week 9 for usage and storage information.
CARROTS (Hercules): sweet, orange, cone-shaped roots; good eating quality and stores well. See Week 9 for usage and storage information.
SWEET CORN (Vision): exceptionally tender, super sweet, yellow ears; great for fresh eating and freezing. See Week 14 for usage and storage information.
FRESH HERBS (only available on the farm): This week there will be no fresh herbs again, unless you are able to come to the farm and pick your own. Lots of varieties of herbs, just no time to harvest them. Cilantro, Parsley, and Sorrel are growing very well. Basil is available for gleaning, if anyone wants to pick the plants before they are tilled under. There will be no more basil this season, so this is it! Please feel free to come and volunteer any day to help us out.
KALE: You will receive Lacinato Kale (dark green, noncurled, blistered leaves, but heavily savoyed). See Week 2 for usage and storage information.
LETTUCE MIX (Allstar Gourmet): a bag of ruffled red and green lettuces with unique leaf shapes that provide loft, interesting texture, good shelf life, and fancy appearance; includes Green Oakleaf, Red Oakleaf, Green Romaine, Red Romaine, Lollo Rossa, and Redleaf lettuces. Your lettuce has been rinsed once. See Week 1 for usage and storage information.
ONIONS (Red Hawk): medium to large deep red bulbs that are slightly flattened. See Week 7 for usage and storage information.
SWEET PEPPERS: You will receive Red Knight Bell (big, blocky, thick-walled, green-to-red pepper with sweet flesh) or Carmen (6 inch long, tapered fruit that ripens from green to a deep “carmine” red; sweet taste in salads and when roasted and fully red-ripe). See Week 13 for usage and storage information.
POTATOES: You will receive Dakota Red (red potato with white flesh that is good for baking, boiling, or frying). See Week 7 for usage and storage information.
RADISHES: You will receive Amethyst (bright purple skin and crisp, mild white flesh). See Week 9 for usage and storage information.
U-PICK RASPBERRIES (only available on the farm): The sweet fall red and golden raspberries are just coming in. 1 pint is available as part of your share this week, if you are able to come out to the farm and pick it yourself. $4 for any extra pints picked.
TOMATOES: You will continue to receive a wide variety of tomatoes, so any of the following: Heirlooms– Brandywine (large, heirloom, beefsteak tomato–often over 1 lb.–with a deep pink skin and smooth red flesh; known as one of the best-tasting tomatoes) or Black Krim (dark brown-red color; tangy, rich, and sweet and when sliced makes beautiful dark slices) Sauce Tomatoes– San Marzano (early, large classic Italian roma tomato; delicious, balanced acidic flavor and meaty flesh makes for good sauce and paste) or Verona (similar to Juliet, but with even tastier, somewhat plumper, deep red “cocktail plum” fruits; good in sauces and in salads). Grape/Cherry Tomatoes–Five Star Grape (oval to oblong, baby red grape tomatoes, which have a chewy texture, sweet taste, and few seeds), Chiquita (deep rose-pink grape tomato with great flavor and pleasant texture), Mountain Magic (bright red, round tomatoes with very sweet flavor; excellent in salads) or Sun Gold Cherry (exceptionally sweet, bright tangerine-orange cherry tomato; less acidic than the red cherry tomato, so slightly less bland in flavor; popular as a garnish, in salads, or as a cooked side dish that can be sautéed with herbs). See Week 11 for usage/storage information.
WINTER SQUASH: Everyone will receive Butternut (light, tan-colored skin; small seed cavities with thick, cylindrical necks; bright orange, moist, sweet flesh; longest storage potential of all squash) and Delicata (small, oblong, creamy colored with long green stripes, only slightly ribbed; pale yellow, sweet flesh; edible skin; best eaten within 4 months of harvest).
-How to use: Slice in half, scoop seeds out and bake with a little water in baking pan at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until tender; boil or steam chunks for 15-20 minutes, or until tender (peel skins off “before” or “after“ cooked, but “after” is easiest when it’s cooled); mash cooked squash with butter; purée cooked squash for creamy soup, or add uncooked chunks to soups or stews; add small amounts to yeast breads, muffins, cookies, pies, oatmeal, etc.
-How to store: Keep for several months (depending on the variety) in a dry, moderately warm (50-60 degrees), but not freezing location with 60-75% humidity; will also store at room temperature.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Still Room at the TAPENADE COOKING CLASS for Sept. 16 from 6 to 8 PM: CSA member, Noemi Barabas, will be demonstrating how to use up every last bit of your share. We will be making tapenade spreads for bread, soups, and rice/pasta, so that you can try many ways to use up items that you might not normally think are usable! All of these will be pulled together into a special meal to share together. Please email or call today with your NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS, and PHONE NUMBER. $5 fee for materials.
2. FALL WORK PARTY/END-OF SEASON POTLUCK will be this coming Sunday, Sept. 20, between 1-4 P.M. Please bring an hors d’oeuvre, snack, or refreshment for our end-of-season potluck. Members are invited to bring family and friends to help harvest squash, pumpkins, and potatoes before the first frost. You may come just to enjoy the farm and walk around to see the produce and the animals, listen to local musician Doug Allen, or just eat at the potluck throughout this time. We also will have sit-down activities, such as onion or garlic cleaning or dried herb stripping. Lots of kid-friendly activities, such as swinging, feeding animals, and bubbles. All who come will be able to take something home with them, such as a pumpkin or a winter squash. Please dress appropriately for the weather.
3. 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. 7 (Wed.), Oct. 9 (Fri.), and Oct. 10 (Sat.) are the last distribution days for our Summer Shares.
4. THANKS FOR COMING TO THE TOMATO PRESERVING WORKSHOP! During the workshop our enthusiastic participants managed to put up almost 70 quarts of canned tomatoes and 10 trays of dried tomatoes during our 3-hour workshop. This is an incredible amount of help from our community of CSA members for our winter preservation and our farm crew that we feed throughout the seasons! All went home with 1 jar of canned tomatoes. Thanks to Noelle Dronen, who facilitated the workshop and all the hardworking participants. Many went home with their own box of tomatoes to preserve as well. Happy canning!!
5. U-PICK AVAILABLE: Please call ahead if you plan to pick on other days besides Farm Distribution Days (Wed. and Fri.), so we can make sure someone is around to help you.
-U-pick Golden/Red Raspberries—1 pint FREE! Extra $4/pint
-U-pick Flowers–You may pick 1 bouquet of up to 15 stems per household for “free” in the u-pick flower garden on the farm. Whenever possible if you can donate $1 or $2 that will help to pay for some seed and labor costs. Extra bouquets will cost $4.
-U-pick Tomatoes—many tomato varieties available
Members–$0.50/lb. Non members–$0.75/lb.
-Already picked tomatoes – available for $1/lb. We will have half bushels at market and at the farm for $25/box.
Non members–$1.25/lb. for perfect tomatoes & $0.75 for 2nds
6. PLASTIC OR PAPER GROCERY BAGS AND YOGURT CONTAINERS (quart size for u-pick flowers) NEEDED, if you would like to donate some to the farm or at markets. We are running low.
7. EXTENDED FALL CSA SHARE COMING FOR 2015: We’re still trying to finalize the set up for registration, so we will send a separate email when the website is ready. This share runs for 3 weeks from the week of Oct. 13 through Oct. 31 for $100. It is a share that is very similar to the summer share, but with all the bounty of the fall vegetables! Non-members are welcome, so encourage others to register too. **Chelsea Farmers Market will not have a distribution on Saturdays though for the Fall Shares. The other distribution sites and days are the same.
8. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER:
Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)–7 A.M. to 12 P.M.
MOVE Fitness & Wellness Studio (Wed)—8 AM to 12 PM
Farm (Wed.)–10 A.M. to 7 P.M.
Washtenaw Food Hub-UM employees (Wed)–3 PM to 6 PM
Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.) –6 P.M. to 8 P.M.
Farm (Fri.)–2 P.M. to 7 P.M.
Community High School (Sat.) –7 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Washtenaw Food Hub (Sat.)—9 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat.)–8 A.M. to 12 P.M.
RECIPES
KALE AND ROASTED VEGETABLE SOUP (from www. simplyrecipes.com) Serves 6.
3 medium carrots, peeled and quartered lengthwise
2 large tomatoes, quartered
1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges or 4 or 5 slices
1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick wedges
6 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 cups or more of vegetable broth
4 cups of finely chopped kale
3 large fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 15 oz can of Great Northern white beans, drained
Preheat oven to 400°F (reduce heat by 25°F if using convection oven). Brush rimmed baking sheet with a thin coat of olive oil. Arrange carrots, squash, tomatoes, onion, and garlic on sheet. Drizzle with more olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast vegetables until they are brown and tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Cut squash and carrots into 1/2 inch pieces; set aside. Peel garlic cloves; place in food processor. Add tomatoes and onion; puree until almost smooth. Pour 1/2 cup broth onto the baking sheet; scrape up any browned bits. Transfer broth and vegetable puree to large pot. Add 5 1/2 cups broth, kale, thyme and bay leaf to pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Simmer uncovered until kale is tender, about 30 minutes. Add carrots, beans, and squash to soup. Simmer 8 minutes to blend flavors, adding more broth to thin soup if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf.
ROASTED RED PEPPER PASTA (from http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/03/pasta-with-roasted-red-pepper-sauce-groan)
3 red Bell peppers or red Carmen peppers
2 tablespoons pine nuts (optional)
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream
Flat leaf parsley, finely minced
Fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved or grated
1/2 to 1 pound pasta: orecchiette, penne, fusilli, etc.
Roast red peppers, then place in a Ziploc bag to allow to sweat. Peel the charred skins from the peppers, then removed seeds. Set aside. Lightly toast pine nuts in a skillet. Set aside. Puree peppers with pine nuts. Set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions. In a skillet or pot over medium heat, drizzle in olive oil. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until soft. Pour in pepper puree and stir together. Add plenty of salt. Pour in cream and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Add cooked pasta, and then stir together. Place pasta into a bowl, top with chopped parsley and plenty of shaved Parmesan cheese.
BAKING WINTER SQUASH
Slice in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and place face down in baking pan. Add just enough water to keep squash from drying out and hasten cooking. It will need to bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, depending on size. Cook until very tender, but not charred. It may be served in skins or scooped out and mashed. Add butter and salt or brown sugar and maple syrup to the pulp or nothing at all.