BGF News - August 22, 2019-Vol. XLII, No.12
In this week’s box:
Basil: Thai Magic or Lemon
Beans: Carson (yellow) and/or Provider (green)
Cherry Tomato Mix
Cucumbers: Lemon (round, yellow), Marketmore (English-type) or Suyo Long (long, Asian)
Golden Oyster Mushrooms
Sweet Onions: Candy
Summer Squash: 8 Ball (green,round), Golden Glory (bright yellow zucchini), Patty Pan(scalloped white, green or yellow), Slik Pik (thin, yellow) or Zephyr (green & yellow)
Tomatoes: see descriptions in 7/30 newsletter post
and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail..." below)
Broccoli: Imperial or Belstar
Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget
Eggplant: Orient Express (dark purple) and/or Orient Charm (neon lavender)
Okra: Bowling Red (dark red) and Candle Fire (light red)
For those with the Egg option [Full shares]: one dozen free-range eggs (asst. colors)
For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, savory & rosemary
Featured Recipes: ** indicates a BGF favorite
BGF Garlic Roasted Green Beans **see recipe below
Basil: Thai Magic or Lemon
Beans: Carson (yellow) and/or Provider (green)
Cherry Tomato Mix
Cucumbers: Lemon (round, yellow), Marketmore (English-type) or Suyo Long (long, Asian)
Golden Oyster Mushrooms
Sweet Onions: Candy
Summer Squash: 8 Ball (green,round), Golden Glory (bright yellow zucchini), Patty Pan(scalloped white, green or yellow), Slik Pik (thin, yellow) or Zephyr (green & yellow)
Tomatoes: see descriptions in 7/30 newsletter post
and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail..." below)
Broccoli: Imperial or Belstar
Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget
Eggplant: Orient Express (dark purple) and/or Orient Charm (neon lavender)
Okra: Bowling Red (dark red) and Candle Fire (light red)
Okra: Bowling Red (dark red) and Candle Fire (light red)
For those with the Egg option [Full shares]: one dozen free-range eggs (asst. colors)
For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, savory & rosemary
Featured Recipes: ** indicates a BGF favorite
BGF Garlic Roasted Green Beans **see recipe below
What’s up on the farm?
Precipitation in the past week: 3.90"
Well, this wasn't the newsletter I thought I would be writing nor the day I thought I'd be writing it. As you all know we were hit by either a tornado or straight line winds early Tuesday morning. The farm sustained quite a bit of damage including loss of part of the house roof, blown out windows in the house and packing barn, damage to both high tunnels, and loss of a number of fruit and other trees. Chickens, alpacas and dogs are all safe. The house damage is currently proving to be the more challenging as there is quite a bit of water damage and glass shrapnel. The office was hard hit, including the main computer, so we are currently working remotely with emails mostly going through Jill's phone and Sean's theater laptop.
We appreciate everyone's patience and understanding as we cancelled/postponed Tuesday's CSA delivery as we tried to protect as much as possible from the continuing rains and prevent further damage. Now that the emergency level stuff is done, we are waiting for the insurance inspection and then we will have a plan for further projects/repairs.
High tunnel damage
Roof & window damage
We have received many kind messages and well-wishes from folks and lots of offers for help cleaning up. What wonderful people we know! Thank you to everyone who has sent those notes. We promise that as soon as we can move forward we will put out the call for help.
You'll notice that there are no greens in today's delivery. They were heavily damaged in the storm and will require recovery time or removal. There are more coming soon, but they needed a break this week. The trade off is that before the storm we were finding oyster mushrooms again and harvested enough to share, so share we will! We hope you enjoy them and a more bounteous tomato share... finally!
That's about all we can manage this week. We will hope to return to you next week in much better form.
What's coming soon? Spaghetti squash!
A little detail on your produce this week:
Precipitation in the past week: 3.90"
Well, this wasn't the newsletter I thought I would be writing nor the day I thought I'd be writing it. As you all know we were hit by either a tornado or straight line winds early Tuesday morning. The farm sustained quite a bit of damage including loss of part of the house roof, blown out windows in the house and packing barn, damage to both high tunnels, and loss of a number of fruit and other trees. Chickens, alpacas and dogs are all safe. The house damage is currently proving to be the more challenging as there is quite a bit of water damage and glass shrapnel. The office was hard hit, including the main computer, so we are currently working remotely with emails mostly going through Jill's phone and Sean's theater laptop.
We appreciate everyone's patience and understanding as we cancelled/postponed Tuesday's CSA delivery as we tried to protect as much as possible from the continuing rains and prevent further damage. Now that the emergency level stuff is done, we are waiting for the insurance inspection and then we will have a plan for further projects/repairs.
We have received many kind messages and well-wishes from folks and lots of offers for help cleaning up. What wonderful people we know! Thank you to everyone who has sent those notes. We promise that as soon as we can move forward we will put out the call for help.
You'll notice that there are no greens in today's delivery. They were heavily damaged in the storm and will require recovery time or removal. There are more coming soon, but they needed a break this week. The trade off is that before the storm we were finding oyster mushrooms again and harvested enough to share, so share we will! We hope you enjoy them and a more bounteous tomato share... finally!
That's about all we can manage this week. We will hope to return to you next week in much better form.
We appreciate everyone's patience and understanding as we cancelled/postponed Tuesday's CSA delivery as we tried to protect as much as possible from the continuing rains and prevent further damage. Now that the emergency level stuff is done, we are waiting for the insurance inspection and then we will have a plan for further projects/repairs.
 |
| High tunnel damage |
 |
| Roof & window damage |
We have received many kind messages and well-wishes from folks and lots of offers for help cleaning up. What wonderful people we know! Thank you to everyone who has sent those notes. We promise that as soon as we can move forward we will put out the call for help.
You'll notice that there are no greens in today's delivery. They were heavily damaged in the storm and will require recovery time or removal. There are more coming soon, but they needed a break this week. The trade off is that before the storm we were finding oyster mushrooms again and harvested enough to share, so share we will! We hope you enjoy them and a more bounteous tomato share... finally!
That's about all we can manage this week. We will hope to return to you next week in much better form.
What's coming soon? Spaghetti squash!
A little detail on your produce this week:
Beans: Fresh beans are an easy "store." Just leave them in their plastic bag and keep them in the produce drawer. Can last up to 2 weeks.
Broccoli: Wrap broccoli loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak broccoli, head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If you soak broccoli in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.
Cantaloupe: If your cantaloupe seems a bit short of ripe, keep it at room temperature for a few days or until there is a sweet smell coming from the stem end. Once the melon ripens, store it in the refrigerator. It is best not to cut a cantaloupe until you are ready to eat it. If you need to return cut melon to the refrigerator, do not remove the seeds from the remaining sections as they keep the flesh from drying out. Use within 3-5 days.
Cucumber: Store unwashed cucumbers in a sealed plastic bag in the vegetable crisper bin for about a week. Keep cucumbers tucked far away from tomatoes, apples, and citrus—these give off ethylene gas that accelerates cucumber deterioration. You can do a lot of fancy things to the skin of a cucumber, but when it is young, fresh (and unwaxed), it really only needs to be thoroughly washed. However, if the skin seems tough or bitter you can remove it; if the seeds are bulky, slice the cucumber lengthwise and scoop them out.
Beans: Fresh beans are an easy "store." Just leave them in their plastic bag and keep them in the produce drawer. Can last up to 2 weeks.
Broccoli: Wrap broccoli loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak broccoli, head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If you soak broccoli in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.
Cantaloupe: If your cantaloupe seems a bit short of ripe, keep it at room temperature for a few days or until there is a sweet smell coming from the stem end. Once the melon ripens, store it in the refrigerator. It is best not to cut a cantaloupe until you are ready to eat it. If you need to return cut melon to the refrigerator, do not remove the seeds from the remaining sections as they keep the flesh from drying out. Use within 3-5 days.
Cucumber: Store unwashed cucumbers in a sealed plastic bag in the vegetable crisper bin for about a week. Keep cucumbers tucked far away from tomatoes, apples, and citrus—these give off ethylene gas that accelerates cucumber deterioration. You can do a lot of fancy things to the skin of a cucumber, but when it is young, fresh (and unwaxed), it really only needs to be thoroughly washed. However, if the skin seems tough or bitter you can remove it; if the seeds are bulky, slice the cucumber lengthwise and scoop them out.
Eggplant: Eggplant prefers to be kept at about 50° F, which is warmer than most refrigerators and cooler than most kitchen counters. Wrap unwashed eggplant in a towel (not in plastic) to absorb any moisture and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. Used within a week, it should still be fresh and mild. The shape of an eggplant determines how it is best prepared. Slice a straight, narrow eggplant into rounds for grilling or broiling, and cut a rounded, bulbous eggplant into cubes for stews and stir-fries.
Okra: These lovely, dark red, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, store in their plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge, or place the plastic bag in a small paper sack and store in the crisper drawer and use within the week. Traditional southerners will cut into rounds, bread in cornmeal and fry, but our favorite version is our dear friend Annie's method, "All I do is rinse off the pods and lay them in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom. Ten to fifteen minutes is all it takes...twenty if the pods are really big and "woody" feeling. I put salt on them and eat as finger food. It reminds me of young sweet corn."
Peppers: Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.
Summer Squash/Zucchini: Refrigerate unwashed zucchini and summer squash for up to a week and a half in a perforated plastic bag or in a sealed plastic container lined with a kitchen towel. These do not need to be peeled to use, just slice them up and go!
Tomatoes: always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. A light "squeeze" is the best test for ripeness. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Watermelon: Handle watermelons carefully. When harvested at their peak ripeness, they can crack or split easily if bumped or roughly handled. Refrigerate watermelons right away. (Watermelons do not ripen off the vine and do not emanate a ripe smell.) Cut melon should be covered in plastic wrap, chunks or slices should be kept in an airtight container, and both should be refrigerated. Eat all melons within a week.
A few other details: All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.
Okra: These lovely, dark red, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, store in their plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge, or place the plastic bag in a small paper sack and store in the crisper drawer and use within the week. Traditional southerners will cut into rounds, bread in cornmeal and fry, but our favorite version is our dear friend Annie's method, "All I do is rinse off the pods and lay them in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom. Ten to fifteen minutes is all it takes...twenty if the pods are really big and "woody" feeling. I put salt on them and eat as finger food. It reminds me of young sweet corn."
Peppers: Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.
Summer Squash/Zucchini: Refrigerate unwashed zucchini and summer squash for up to a week and a half in a perforated plastic bag or in a sealed plastic container lined with a kitchen towel. These do not need to be peeled to use, just slice them up and go!
Tomatoes: always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. A light "squeeze" is the best test for ripeness. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Watermelon: Handle watermelons carefully. When harvested at their peak ripeness, they can crack or split easily if bumped or roughly handled. Refrigerate watermelons right away. (Watermelons do not ripen off the vine and do not emanate a ripe smell.) Cut melon should be covered in plastic wrap, chunks or slices should be kept in an airtight container, and both should be refrigerated. Eat all melons within a week.
Watermelon: Handle watermelons carefully. When harvested at their peak ripeness, they can crack or split easily if bumped or roughly handled. Refrigerate watermelons right away. (Watermelons do not ripen off the vine and do not emanate a ripe smell.) Cut melon should be covered in plastic wrap, chunks or slices should be kept in an airtight container, and both should be refrigerated. Eat all melons within a week.
A few other details: All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.
** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..." These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time. We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item. On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.
Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm? Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm and/or share your recipes, experiences and questions with other BGF members at Blue Gate Farm Community.
That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean (and Luci, Indigo & Sky)
BGF Garlic Roasted Beans
1 lb fresh beans, washed and dried
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss beans with 1 tbs. olive
oil. Spread in single layer on baking sheet and roast 15 minutes, stirring
after 8 minutes. Stir garlic and salt together, add vinegar and remaining oil.
When beans are roasted, toss with dressing and top with sesame seeds and
Parmesan. Season with additional salt and
pepper if desired.
** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..." These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time. We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item. On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.
Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm? Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm and/or share your recipes, experiences and questions with other BGF members at Blue Gate Farm Community.
BGF Garlic Roasted Beans
(based on a recipe from Angela Tedesco, Turtle
Farm)
1 lb fresh beans, washed and dried
4 tbs olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbs seasoned rice vinegar
¼ c. sesame seeds, roasted
¼ c. shredded Parmesan cheese
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss beans with 1 tbs. olive
oil. Spread in single layer on baking sheet and roast 15 minutes, stirring
after 8 minutes. Stir garlic and salt together, add vinegar and remaining oil.
When beans are roasted, toss with dressing and top with sesame seeds and
Parmesan. Season with additional salt and
pepper if desired.
No comments:
Post a Comment