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. **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.
If you are new to our CSA, because you signed up with a prorated share, you can find all past newsletters on our website under the NEWSLETTERS section in the CSA Info tab.
THIS WEEK’S SHARE
GREEN or YELLOW BEANS: You will receive Affirmed (straight, attractive, 5–6″, deep-green pods) OR Goldilocks Yellow (beautiful bright yellow beans; 5–6″ pods are straight, attractive, and flavorful).
-How to use: raw in salads, steamed, sautéed, stir-fried, etc.
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag for up to 1 week.
CARROTS (Mokum): a very sweet, slender, “pencil carrot” with roots only this week.
-How to use: can be used raw as carrot sticks, grated in salads or juiced; steamed or sauteed, in stews, soups, casseroles, or stir-fries.
-How to store: refrigerate dry and unwashed roots in plastic bag for up to 2 weeks
CUCUMBERS: You will receive either Bristol (classic American cucumber look; fruits avg. 8″ long) OR General Lee (fruit is long and fairly narrow with white spines and an attractive mid-green color) OR Suyo Long (traditional, long-fruited variety from China; a sweet-flavored, ribbed fruit growing up to 15″ long; try using this unusual-looking cucumber in salads, for bread-and-butter or mixed vegetable pickles; excellent eating quality).
-How to use: raw or pickled in salads or sandwiches, can also be julienned, sauteed, or baked.
-How to store: store them in a sealed plastic bag in refrigerator crisper drawer for up to a week; use up leftovers as soon as possible.
KALE (Lacinato): dark green, noncurled, blistered leaves, but heavily savoyed.
-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.
LEEKS: green leaves with white to pale green stems.
Cooking tip: slit from top to bottom and wash thoroughly with root facing up to remove all of the dirt trapped between the leaf layers.
-How to use: white and lower part of greens can be cooked whole, chopped in slices and substituted for onions; delicious raw in salads or cooked in soups, quiches, casseroles, stews, stocks, or stir-fries.
-How to store: refrigerate unwashed for 2 weeks in plastic bag. 0
LETTUCE (Romaine): upright, dense, green heads produce long, uniform hearts with good flavor.
-How to use: raw in salads, sandwiches, or (believe it or not!) use in soups.
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag for 3-5 days.
NEW POTATOES (Satina Gold): yellow skin, yellow flesh, gourmet flavor; silky smooth and buttery for mouth-watering mashed potatoes.
-How to use: new potatoes are just young potatoes that haven’t had time to convert their sugar fully into starch and often have a crisp, waxy texture and thin, underdeveloped wispy skins, so are good boiled or pan-roasted, but particularly suited for potato salad, since they hold their shape well after being cut and cooked.
-How to store: refrigerate new potatoes if not used within 2-3 days, but use up sometime during the 1st or 2nd week of receiving them; these potatoes have not been cured, so will not last as long as “cured” potatoes, which should not be refrigerated, since low temperatures convert the starch to sugars and may turn dark when cooked.
TOMATOES (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
-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.
WATERMELON: You will receive Mini Love (sweet and firm, oval-round fruits avg. 5–7 lb and distinctive, bright green rind with dark green stripes and dense, bright red flesh) OR Sureness (superior yellow flesh watermelon with attractive dark green skin with narrow, dark green stripes and sweet, bright yellow flesh)
-How to use: slice, dice and serve as drinks, salads, or salsa.
-How to store: if melon seems not quite ripe, store at room temperature until sweet smell is coming from the soft, stem end; then store in the refrigerator.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. U-PICK RASPBERRY PATCH RESTING SOME OF THIS WEEK: We will be open on Wed. 8 to 4 PM and Sat. 8 AM to 7 PM. Our July raspberries are still trickling in, so we are going to let our patch rest and ripen this week as the fall canes are still fully ripening more toward the middle of August and into September! To keep informed go to https://www.tantrefarm.com/tantre-farm-raspberry-u-pick.
2. PLANT WALK ON SATURDAY, July 29, from 4-6 PM: We are hosting a leisurely plant walk at Tantre Farm with our local foraging expert, Rachel Mifsud from Will Forage For Food. Plant walks are excellent learning opportunities for those with beginning to intermediate foraging skills and for anyone wanting to learn more about their local flora. Our discussion will include information about identification, methods of harvest, preparation, and use of around 20-25 edible plants and mushrooms to focus on. Kids under 12 are free with paid adult. You may want to bring a notebook, camera, and water. Unlimited class size, drop ins are welcome, and cost is $25. To register ahead of time or find more information, just go to her website at https://willforageforfood.square.site.
3. HIRED HELP NEEDED: We are looking for additional help for the rest of the summer and into the fall. Some of our summer crew were students and they are heading back to school, so we are short-handed going into the fall. We are looking for part-time and full-time workers who are interested in getting their hands dirty and enjoy healthy, hearty, hard work. We provide home-cooked lunches every day with food from the farm. Room and board are available for full time work, and part time work is available as well for an hourly wage. Please email us or fill out an application from our website at https://www.tantrefarm.com/internships.
4. WEEDING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: If you are interested in helping out–even if it’s just for 10 or 15 minutes before you pick up your box at the farm, come join us. Please contact us any day of the week or evenings until dark. Thank you!
5. STILL PLENTY OF BOXES AVAILABLE FOR OUR IMMUNE BOOSTER CSA THIS WEEK: Still time to sign up this week for the share this week! This collaborative CSA started with several local farms and food businesses. You can opt in or out of this share each week. If you are interested in supplementing your share with more veggies and other locally produced, value-added products or gifting someone else, please go to our website to sign up every Monday – Wednesday night. Pick up is from 9 AM to 12 PM every Saturday at the Washtenaw Food Hub and the Chelsea Farmers Market during the summer: http://www.tantrefarm.com/how-does-our-immune-booster-csa-work/. Still time to sign up this week!
6. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER:
*Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)—7 AM to 12 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time)
*MOVE Fitness & Wellness Studio (Wed)—8 AM to 9:30 AM (SARA there the whole time)
*Farm (Wed.)—10 AM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time with some self check-in)
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.) –6 PM to 8 PM (No Distribution Coordinator at this time. Please contact Deb @ 734-385-6748 for questions)
*Pure Pastures (Wed.) —9 AM to 11 AM (JESSICA there most of the time)
*Farm (Fri.)—2 PM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time with some self check-in)
*Ann Arbor Farmers Market (Sat.) —7 AM to 12 PM (SHANNON there the whole time)
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Sat.)—9 AM to 12 PM (RYAN and Staff there the whole time)
*Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat.)—8 AM to 12 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time)
*Argus-Packard (Sat) — 9 AM to 3 PM (ARGUS STAFF there the whole time)
*RoosRoast-Rosewood (Sat)–9 AM to 11 AM
*HoneyBee U-pick (Sat)–8 AM to 12 PM
RECIPES
THAI-STYLE POTATO-LEEK SOUP WITH CARROTS
1 qt potatoes, boiled then mashed (reserve 2 qts potato-water for soup stock)
2 leeks, washed and sliced in 1/4-inch diagonal rounds
2-3 carrots, washed and sliced small
1/2 cup ground/chopped peanuts (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Tamari, to taste
1/2 cup liquid sweetener: honey, barley malt, brown rice syrup, molasses if you’re really hard-core
2 cans coconut milk
Dash cayenne and/or 1-2 fresh hot peppers, seeded and minced
1/4 cup sesame oil
Fresh basil (optional)
In bottom of big soup pot, heat oil. Saute carrots until soft, add leeks, peanuts, and fresh peppers, saute briefly. Add coconut milk first, then mashed potatoes, sweetener, seasonings, stir until well blended. Gradually stir in water until desired consistency is reached. Add sweetener, sea salt, tamari, or hot pepper to taste. Simmer 10 minutes, garnish with minced basil or cilantro.
PURPLE BEAN AND TOMATO SALAD (from www.grouprecipes.com)
1 cup purple, green, or yellow beans, chopped into 1-inch pieces
3 Tbsp hummus
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp oregano
1 sprig parsley, minced
3 oz lettuce, shredded
4 cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Steam the bean pieces 4 minutes over boiling water. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix together hummus, lemon juice, oregano and parsley. Set aside. Place lettuce in a salad bowl. Top with tomato slices and warm, steamed beans. Season with pepper. Pour hummus mixture overtop of everything, toss lightly to coat.
COLD CUCUMBER LEEK SOUP
This is a creamy soup made without cream, using potatoes instead for body. For a lighter soup, you can leave out the potatoes. There are a number of different vegetable variations that are also good!
2 leeks (white and light green part), cut in half, cleaned, thinly sliced (or 3/4 cup chopped onions, shallots or scallions)
1 large clove garlic , coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp oil
1-2 cups potato, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 cups thinly slic, ed cucumber
2 Tbsp dill, chopped fine and divided
2 cups broth (should just cover vegetables, may need a little more)
1-2 cups cold buttermilk or plain yogurt
Sauté leeks and garlic in the oil, just until wilted and not yet browned. Add potato and cucumber. Stir a bit. Add 1 tablespoon chopped dill. Just barely cover vegetables with broth and bring to a simmer. Let simmer until potatoes are very tender, but not falling apart, about 20 minutes or so. When the vegetables are very soft, let the mixture cool. Once it’s cool, puree vegetables and broth together with an immersion blender, regular blender, food processor, etc., adding the remaining 1 tablespoon dill. Check the seasoning; add salt and pepper if you like. Chill the vegetable puree. Before serving stir in the amount of buttermilk that you like. I find that 2/3 vegetable puree to 1/3 buttermilk is about right at our house. Garnish with more dill.
Variations:
Vichyssoise: You can use just potatoes and leeks as the vegetables to make French vichyssoise. Don’t use a food processor to puree it though as it will become gluey. You may want to use chives instead of the dill and replace the buttermilk with either milk or half and half.