Lakes and Valley CSA news week 9
Delivering to PR and DL Monday, Aug 25th ; Dilworth and Fargo on Thursday, Aug 28th
In your veggie boxes this week:
Summer squashes
Basil
Cilantro or baby green onions
Dill for pickling
Lettuce with edible flowers
Radishes
Cucumbers
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Sweet pepper (Carmen pointed or Northstar bell)
Cherry bomb or jalapeno hot pepper
Carrots
Tomatoes
Ailsa Craig sweet onions
Fargo eggs
Coming soon: sweet corn, fennel, tomatillos, new potatoes!!!
The chickens love to eat the leaves we trim off your cabbages and cauliflowers each week. They devour zucchini that grow to the size of baseball bats between harvest days. For their staple ration, Dewane grinds homegrown wheat, barley and oats, and mixes them with organic soybean meal, salt and trace minerals. They free-choice oyster shell (more calcium makes stronger shells) and fresh water.
It is not safe to let them run free. Fox, skunks, raccoon, mink, badgers, weasels, eagles and hawks routinely patrol the garden. Wolves, coyotes, wolverines, wild cats and dogs are not far off, deterred by the electric fence and human presence. Every few days we reposition the chicken “trailers” in sweet clover and mixed grass plots that are resting from raising vegetables. The chickens learn quickly how to move with their shelters, proving that they are quite intelligent creatures.
They have protection from sun, wind and rain, but not temperature. Hot, humid weather affects them as much as it does us. We’ve been averaging 4 dozen per day, but when it’s icky and sticky, the number drops to thirty or less. Fortunately, the quality remains constant. Fresh organic farm eggs are the absolute best, in my opinion. Deep orange yolks and firm whites whip up well in any dish. Peeling a hardboiled fresh egg is difficult. I’ve experimented with various methods, like the “ice-cold plunge after boiling,” and “bring to a boil and let sit.” If I absolutely need hardboiled eggs, I buy older eggs from the grocery store.
Lack of rain, hot temperatures and wicked winds necessitate around the clock watering. One of this week’s photos shows the water reel in action. Dewane designed the garden plots and well around this device. A commercial sprinkler head, that jets water in a 50-foot circle, is attached to a flexible hose. Driven by water pressure, the water reel slowly winds up the hose, drawing back the sprinkler. A run takes 12 hours, and delivers an inch of water over a 225-foot long rectangle.
I am a reluctant tractor jockey. When we started farming, Dewane drove the tractor and I stacked square bales on the hay wagon. Joey, in diapers, rode on the wagon. By the time he was five, he could steer the tractor. As soon as he could reach the clutch, he drove. At thirteen, he could roll and tie thousand-pound bales, then move and stack them in the cow yard like a pro. No need for me to learn how to drive the tractor. I focused on gardening and cooking.
I planted, mulched, weeded, harvested and canned by hand. My garden was 30 x 120, and from it I fed well our family of five. In the fall, Dewane would plow it with the tractor. In the spring, he’d cultivate to warm up the soil. I’d find excuses to avoid using a tractor, which was silly because I drove a 63-passenger school bus. I think the reason was that I liked touching the earth.
I enjoy hand-weeding. It is meditation and accomplishment rolled up together. I can listen and think, and at the end of a row, look back and admire what I’ve done. However, as the CSA grows, and I tend more ground, I need to do so more efficiently. The tine cultivator is an amazing implement. Pulling it behind the small tractor, I can accomplish in an hour what would take thirty by hand. Once I learn how to do it.
Barbecued Cabbage from “How to Grill” by Steven Raichlen
¼ cup butter
4 strips uncooked bacon
1 small onion
1 head green cabbage
¼ cup barbecue sauce
Set up a charcoal grill for indirect grilling. Form two heat zones by raking coals into two piles at opposite ends of the grill.
Core head of cabbage. Prop up, cored end up, with a ring made of rolled aluminum foil.
Julienne uncooked bacon. Chop onion.
Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in a skillet and add bacon and onion. Cook until bacon starts to brown. Drain in a strainer and reserve the drippings. Mix with barbecue sauce and spoon into core cavity. Top with remaining slices of butter.
Baste head of cabbage with drippings.
Place stuffed cabbage on its foil ring stand in center of hot grill. Cover. Grill until cabbage is very tender, about 1 to 1½ hours. Peel off any charred leaves, cut into wedges and serve.
Grilled Tomatoes
6 ripe red tomatoes
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 oz grated Parmesan cheese
fresh thyme leaves
Prepare grill for indirect cooking.
Cut tomatoes in half crosswise. Season with salt and pepper.
Sauté garlic in olive oil until just golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Place tomatoes cut side down on oiled, preheated grill. Grill until nicely browned, 3 to 5 minutes, rotating halfway through cooking time to sear an attractive crosshatch of grill marks. Turn over with tongs.
Spoon garlic and butter on top and continue to grill bottoms (rounded parts) until browned, another 3 to 5 minutes.
Transfer to platter and top with Parmesan and thyme leaves.
Grilled Zucchini and yellow squash
2 or 3 medium zucchini
2 or 3 medium yellow crookneck squash
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried mint
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Slice zucchini and yellow squashes into ¼ inch slices lengthwise. Arrange in a baking dish and sprinkle with garlic, herbs, lots of salt and pepper, and 2 Tablespoons oil. Let marinate for 15 minutes.
Prepare grill for indirect cooking.
Set zucchini slices on grill and cook 4 to 6 minutes per side, until nicely browned. Rotate halfway through for a nice pattern.
Remove from grill, drizzle with remaining Tablespoon oil and garnish, if desired, with lemon wedges.
Tip: the zucchini marinade is good also on other vegetables, asparagus to sliced eggplants to onions.
If, like me, you do not have a grill, your oven can be a good friend.
Roasted Green Beans with Dill vinaigrette
2 pounds green beans
3 Tablespoons olive oil
¾ teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large roasting pan, toss green beans with 1 tablespoon oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Roast, stirring twice, until tender and lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare vinaigrette. In a bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, sugar, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Beat in remaining 2 Tablespoons oil. Add dill.
When beans are done, transfer to serving dish. Drizzle with vinaigrette.
Roasted Cauliflower
1 medium cauliflower, broken into florets
1 Tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In jelly-roll pan, toss cauliflower florets with oil, salt and pepper until evenly coated. Roast until cauliflower is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir halfway through roasting.
In a small cup, combine parsley and garlic. Sprinkle over cauliflower and stir to mix evenly. Roast 3 minutes longer. Serve.
Roasted Peppers with Fresh Basil
4 large red and yellow peppers
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
3 (or more) large basil leaves, julienned
Preheat a broiler. Cut peppers lengthwise in half and remove seeds. Arrange in a pan, cut side away from heat source. Broil until peppers are charred and blistered, about 8 minutes. Cover with foil and allow to steam 15 minutes, or until cool enough to handle. Peel off skins. Cut peppers into ½-inch strips. Pat dry.
Place back on baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with basil. Serve immediately, or refrigerate overnight.
Sauteed Cucumber with Dill, Parsley or Mint
3 medium cucumbers
1 Tablespoon butter
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon dill, parsley or mint leaves
pepper
Cut cucumbers lengthwise, then crosswise into ½-inch thick slices.
In a skillet, melt butter. Add cucumber and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until cucumbers just start to brown, about 8 minutes.
Remove from heat. Sprinkle with herb leaves and pepper. Serve.
Stri-fried Cucumbers and Radishes
1 large cucumber, thinly sliced
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon oil
4 large radishes, cut in half and thinly sliced
6 to 8 Chard or kale leaves, stalks removed, then sliced into strips
1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
In colander over bowl, toss cucumber slices with 1 teaspoon salt. Let stand 20 minutes at room temperature. Discard liquid. Pat cucumber dry with paper towels.
In a skillet, heat oil. Add cucumber and radishes, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 4 minutes. Add chard or kale, hoisin sauce, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and cayenne. Stir-fry until leaves have wilted, about 2 minutes.
Tuscan Cabbage and Beans
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 medium head cabbage, cored and very thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, diced, with juice
1 cup water
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 can (15 to 19 oz) white kidney beans (cannellini), drained
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
In a non-stick skillet, heat oil. Add onions and garlic, and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add cabbage, tomatoes with their juice, water, salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is very tender, about 30 minutes. Add cannellini beans and parsley. Heat and serve.
Pickled Cucumbers or Zucchini
Cut into thin slices 2 lbs cucumbers or zucchini and 2 onions and place in a bowl. Cover with water and add ¼ cup coarse, non-iodized pickling salt. Let stand 2 hours, then drain thoroughly.
Bring to a boil 3 cups cider vinegar, 3 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon celery seed, 2 teaspoons mustard seed, and 1 teaspoon turmeric. Add cucumbers or zucchini. Remove mixture from heat and let stand 2 hours. Pack into clean pint jars. Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath, or store in refrigerator.
Pickled Dilled Cucumbers or Beans
Slice cucumbers or snap 2 pounds tender green beans. Pack into 4 clean pint jars. To each pint, add ¼ teaspoon cayenne, 1 clove garlic, 1 head dill.
Bring to a boil, 2 ½ cups vinegar, 2 ½ cups water and ¼ cup pickling salt. Pour over cucumbers or dill. Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath or store in refrigerator.
Easy Refrigerator Pickles
3 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
1 cup thinly sliced onions
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon mustard seed
¼ teaspoon celery seed
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cloves
Place cucumbers and onions in large bowl and set aside. In a saucepan, combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour immediately over cucumbers and onions. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving. Yield 6 cups.
Overnight Pickled Cabbage
1 head cabbage
5 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 Tablespoons distilled white vinegar
Cut cabbage into wedges. Remove core from each section and chop into large pieces. In a large bowl, mix cabbage with salt. Then cover and refrigerate 3 hours.
Drain liquid. Add sugar and vinegar, and toss to mix. Cover and refrigerate overnight, stirring occasionally.
