TANTRE FARM CSA NEWSLETTER
“Extended Fall CSA Share”
Week 3
Oct. 25-31, 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 add, remove, or substitute some vegetables for others. The information provided here is also published each week on our website.
**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 (Sylvetta): also known as “wild rocket” with more deeply lobed leaves and a more pungent flavor; an aromatic, bright salad green with a peppery mustard flavor
-How to use: add to salads, soups, and sautéed vegetable dishes
-How to store: very perishable, so use up quickly; store in plastic bag with a paper towel in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
BEETS (Golden Beets): beautiful, orange skin with rich gold interior; mild, sweet flavor when cooked.
-How to use: greens can be substituted for spinach and chard in recipes; roots good in soups, stews, roasted, boiled, steamed, excellent grated raw into salads or baked goods.
-How to store: separate roots from leaves and store unwashed in plastic bags in hydrator drawer of refrigerator for up to 2 weeks; store greens wrapped in damp cloth in plastic bag for up to 1 week.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS: tiny, green cabbage heads with mildly pungent, mustard-like flavor.
-How to use: Boil or steam for 5-10 minutes without overcooking, so they are still bright green; toss with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, or a pat of butter; excellent roasted or stir-fried.
-How to store: Refrigerate for up to a week or more unwashed in a plastic bag in hydrator drawer.
BRUSSELS CROWNS: these tender, savory, cabbage-flavored greens are the very tops of the Brussels sprouts plants.
-How to use: Boil or steam for 3-5 minutes without overcooking, so they are still bright green; toss with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, or a pat of butter. Prepare other ways just like kale or other hearty cooking greens.
-How to store: Refrigerate for up to a week or more unwashed in a plastic bag in hydrator drawer.
CARROTS (Napoli): a specialized variety with a sweet taste; 7” roots are cylindrical, smooth, and blunt with edible, green leaves.
-How to use: Can be used raw as carrot sticks, grated in salads or juiced; steamed or sautéed, in stews, soups, casseroles, stir-fries
-How to store: refrigerate dry and unwashed roots in plastic bag for up to 2 weeks
KALE (Rainbow Lacinato): this unique “purple dino” kale has deeply curled leaves in dusky-green with bright purple stems and veins; grows sweeter after every frost).
-How to use: for salads, soups, and light cooking
-How to store: keep in plastic bag or damp towel in refrigerator for up to 1 week
ONIONS: You will receive Red Hawk (medium to large deep red bulbs that are slightly flattened).
-How to use: good in French onion soup, stews, casseroles, etc.
-How to store: can last for 10 to 12 months if kept in a cold, dark place, but remove any ones starting to go soft from the others.
HOT PEPPERS (Poblano): You may receive Poblano (a mild variety of chili pepper known as “poblanos” when dark green, but becomes an “ancho” when brick-red and fully dry; popular in Southwestern recipes; heart-shaped fruit, which is mildly pungent with a lightly sweet, medium-hot flavor).
-How to use: Often roasted, chopped, and seasoned corn bread and cheese dishes; good for stuffed appetizers, jams, salsa, and pickles.
-How to store: For fresh peppers, store in refrigerator. For drying peppers, place string through the stems and hang in cool, dry, well-ventilated spot.
GREEN SWEET PEPPERS: You will receive 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) or Red Knight Bell (big, blocky, thick-walled, green-to-red pepper with sweet flesh).
-How to use: can be added to soups, stews, omelets, quiches, stir-fries, etc.; excellent stuffed.
-How to store: refrigerate unwashed in drawer for 1-2 weeks. Peppers can be easily frozen by washing, chopping, and placing in freezer bags. Also, peppers can be dehydrated or dried.
POTATOES: You will receive Kerr’s Pink (very pale skin and cream flesh; mealy, cooked texture, so makes a good Specialty/Salad Potato variety; good roasted, mashed, or in salads) and Russian Banana Fingerling (an heirloom potato with small, banana-shaped tubers with yellow skin and light yellow flesh; used by chefs
for its delicious flavor and smooth “waxy” texture that doesn’t fall apart when cooked; good baked, boiled, or in salads).
-How to store: Keep unwashed in cool, dark place in paper bag
RUTABAGA: purplish skin with yellow flesh; thought to be a cross between a cabbage and a turnip and resembles a large turnip (3 to 5 inches in diameter).
-How to use: Bake, steam, or boil so it cooks up to a creamy texture as nice addition to mashed potatoes, can be substituted or added to pumpkin or squash pies, or baked in a root bake, and often a key ingredient in making pasties.
-How to store: Refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to 1 month; keeps at room temperature for 1 week; long term storage (See “Carrot” information.)
SPINACH: crisp, dark green leaf—rich source of antioxidants & many nutrients, such as vitamins A, E, K, & C; delicious flavor when juiced.
-How to use: toss in fresh salad, add to sandwiches, sauté, steam, braise, or add to crepes, quiche, lasagna, and soups.
-How to store: refrigerate with a damp towel/bag for up to 1 week.
GREEN TOMATOES: green, unripe tomato with a pleasantly pungent flavor making this tomato excellent for frying, broiling, and adding to relishes.
-How to use: sauté, bake, broil, or grill; eat raw in salads or add to soups, stews, or sauces
-How to store: keep at room temperature for up to 1 week
WHITE HAKUREI TURNIPS and GREENS: A white salad turnip with round, smooth roots that have a sweet flavor with a crisp texture.
-How to use: good in salads and soups, roasted, steamed, sautéed,
-How to store: remove greens from turnip root and store separately in plastic bag in refrigerator for up to 3 days; roots can last up to 1-2 weeks in refrigerator.
WINTER SQUASH: You will receive Black Forest Kabocha (smaller size kabocha; dark green, flat-round fruits; buttercup size with no button on end; orange flesh is medium-dry & sweet), Butternut (light, tan-colored skin; small seed cavities with thick, cylindrical necks; bright orange, moist, sweet flesh; longest storage potential of all squash), and Jester Acorn (about the size of Carnival squash, but with better eating quality; an oval, ivory-colored squash with green striping between the ribs that is tapered on both ends with small to average ribs).
-How to use: great baked with water or roasted with olive oil and salt; 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. PLEASE RETURN SHARE BOXES & BRING EXTRA BAGS! Please return any forgotten boxes from past weeks. You may bring bags, a cooler or other containers to transfer your produce from the boxes at your distribution site, especially this week, since THIS IS YOUR FINAL WEEK OF EXTENDED FALL SHARES. We also can use any Extra Paper or Plastic Bags (Grocery Bags ONLY).
2. THANKSGIVING SHARES! A more detailed email notice about this will come out to you sometime this week hopefully. A Thanksgiving Share signup link will also be available on our website under “CSA Info” at that time. We are offering a distribution on Saturday, November 21, for winter storage or to stock up on vegetables before the holiday for $115. This share will be available for pick up on 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. Full payment is needed by Nov. 14, so we know how many shares to harvest.
3. THANKSGIVING TURKEYS: Thanksgiving turkeys are available to order from Two Tracks Acres, a 10 acre farm in Grass Lake, Michigan. These are free-range, broad breasted bronze turkeys that average 20 lbs. per bird. Contact Stephanie Willette at twotracksacres@gmail.com or visit the website www.twotracksacres.com to learn more.
4. INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR CSA IN 2016? We are considering SOMETHING NEW this year: a “roll-over membership”, which means members would be automatically rolled over into the next summer season. Any updates could be made as far as different pick up locations or different share partners before the season starts. Members would have plenty of time to opt out before the season starts and with several reminders. It is a new idea that provides the convenience of not having to remember to register by any deadline. You would still receive emails reminding you to pay by check or credit card. Registration will begin in November, so you still have time to mull this over. Summer CSA Shares will be available for $640 for 20 weeks from June through the middle of October in 2016. Please feel free to let us know what you think of this new idea, and we will make an informed decision based on your input. Thank you for your consideration!!
5. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER:
Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)–7 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Farm (Wed.)–10 A.M. to 7 P.M.
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.
REFLECTIONS ON THE FARM
By Richard and Deb
The woods and hedgerows are amber, golden brown. The full moon shines a gentle light from dusk until dawn. The west wind has been still, so that even the smallest mammal can be heard scurrying and scuttling through the dry detritus. The big motors of the neighbors’ combines can be heard across the land, cutting large acres of beans and corn in a cloud of dust. The grain driers are constantly running to dry the harvested grain. The cool nights and gentle warm days have ripened all crops to perfection. The winter squash is out of the fields and in the barn. The last beds of potatoes will be harvested this week to be stored in the root cellar. Even the cows are “ripening”. April had twin heifers last week, and Bermuda had a black and white heifer a few weeks ago.
In the coming weeks we will be pulling many other roots from the soft, brown, earthy beds, such as rutabaga, carrots, beets, storage turnips, watermelon radish, and the traditional, white, Kimchi radish. Brussels sprouts, spinach, kale, Asian greens, and the last of the lettuces are sweetening with each successive frost. The last bins of cabbage will be cut in the next few weeks for winter storage and sauerkraut.
We are grateful to the whole Tantre community of members, volunteers, farm workers, the earth, the sun, and the rain for this bountiful harvest. We invite you to join our community of fellow food lovers with our Thanksgiving Share in November, our Solstice Share in December, our Midwinter Share in February, and of course our Summer Shares for the 2016 season. You will receive separate emails about all of these options when registration is open. Please feel free to contact us throughout the rest of fall and winter for more of these storage crops or come visit us at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market, Busch’s, Argus Farm Stop, and People’s Food Coop throughout the winter. Thank you for being a member of the Tantre Farm Extended Fall CSA!!
RECIPES
CARROT, SQUASH AND RUTABAGA SOUP (from http://fullbellyfarm.com/recipes)
4-5 small or 2-3 large carrots, finely chopped
1 medium rutabaga, finely chopped
1 butternut squash, finely chopped
1 large onion
2 T corn flour mixed well with 1cup water
A handful of finely chopped parsley
A pinch of ground black pepper
A pinch of sea salt to taste
Place the chopped carrots, squash and rutabaga in a medium size, deep saucepan. Fill it up with water until vegetables are covered. Bring contents to a boil then, reduce the heat to low and simmer until everything is soft. Use a masher and slowly mash the vegetables into puree form. Stir constantly until it is all mixed well and smooth. Add in the corn flour and water mixture. Keep simmering until the soup is thickened and pasty. Add in salt to taste. Sprinkle ground black pepper and parsley over soup and serve.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS (from Marty and Michelle)
First, as with any organic brassica (broccoli, cauliflower, etc.), soak in salt water for 10-15 min, then agitate and rinse, to kill and dislodge any cabbage butterfly larva that may be taking refuge in the sprouts. Our favorite way to prepare them is simple: Cut them in half, then sauté in olive oil or butter until browned. Douse with balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Serve hot, but be careful not to overcook!