Weekly CSA Newsletter 2

Casalegno Family Farm Weekly

Week of June 5 – June 11 2011

Well, that was a bunch of rain last weekend, wasn’t it?I? We got over 3 inches up here.  I really hope it is not going to be another weird, wet year.  Last summer was one of the coolest in 50 years and this years weather has not been much warmer so far.  The good news is that the tomato plants actually look really good - no early blight thank goodness, just healthy looking plants.  There is still hope! Last years tomato crop, while later and perhaps a little smaller was still fantastic so I am optimistic that we can still have a terrific harvest. 

In this week's BASIC FULL SHARE BOX:

Red Russian Kale

Beets

Buttercrunch Letuce

Swiss Chard

Rainbow Carrots and Radishes OR Loose Baby Spinach

Garlic Scapes 

Red onions 

Lemons

Herbs - Thyme, Sage, Oregano and Rosemary

and a jar of Jeannie's Artisan Jams  Mango Chutney!

Chocolate Beet Cake

Thanks to Megan Lucy (and the Vegan Table) for this amazing recipe  -

All I can say is TRUST ME.  We use other vegetables in desserts (think carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie), so why not beets? No one would ever guess that the incredible moisture and beautiful color of this cake comes from a healthy root vegetable!

1/2 cup canola oil    1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar      

2 cups pureed cooked (boiled or steamed) red beets (about 3 medium)

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted       1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour       2 tsp baking powder      1/2 tsp salt     confectioners sugar for dusting 

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly oil pan (recipe calls for Bundt pan, but 8x8 square or round works too)

In a mixing bowl, cream together oil and brown sugar.  Add beets, melted chocolate and vanilla and mix well.     In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Add to the wet beet mixture and stir until just combined.      Pour into prepared pan, and bake for 45 minutes (for Bundt  - cooking time may be little different if you use a different type of pan) or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.     Cool and then dust with confectioners sugar to serve.

 

Swiss Chard Torta

1 cup grated cheddar and/or jack cheese                                      

½ cup milk

½ cup butter melted

1 med onion, chopped

½ cup parsley, chopped

5 eggs beaten

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

Salt and pepper

Bread crumbs and parmesan cheese

1. Chop and cook chard (steam or sautee)

2. Combine all ingredients, pour into 9x12 baking dish

3. Sprinkle top with breadcrumbs and Parmesan

4. Bake 350 for about 45 minutes, until slightly brown on top.

This recipe is also wonderful with zucchini/summer squash too.

Curry Chicken with Garlic Scapes, Kale and 

Jeannie’s Mango Chutney

I love the inspiration that comes from having fresh produce and delicious new things to try.  I have to confess that this was my first attempt at making a curry, but I just knew that with the garlic scapes it would be the perfect flavor accompaniment for Jeannie’s amazing Mango Chutney.  In the case that you already have your own curry recipe that you like to make, use this recipe as a starting point and make any adaptations that you wish.  I served it over rice, but it would be wonderful with potatoes, and you could leave out the chicken and use any other veggies you like.

3-4 whole Chicken legs (you could use any cuts you like, or potatoes and veggies)

1 bunch garlic scapes

1 small onion

Curry powder, Cumin and Salt

I can Coconut milk (2 cups)

1/2 bunch Kale, ribs removed,

Brown chicken in olive oil in a large skillet.  Add scapes and cook over med/high heat until they begin to brown and soften.  Reduce heat a bit and add onion.  Cook a few minutes, until translucent.  Add about 1 TB curry powder, a teaspoon of cumin and salt to taste, mix well.  Pour in can of coconut milk and stir.  Taste and add up to one more TB more curry powder, cumin and salt to your preference (a good ratio is I TB curry powder to 1 cup coconut milk) Bring to a gentle boil then reduce heat and simmer with cover until sauce thickens, scapes are tender and chicken is cooked through.  Add kale and let cook a few minutes, until wilted.  Serve over rice with Jeannie’s Mango Chutney.

                                                              

 Lemon Herb Dressing 

½ cup olive oil
3 TB lemon juice
1 TB each fresh oregano, thyme and rosemary
1 clove garlic, crushed, or (1 garlic scape, minced)
½ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
Combine all ingredients. This is wonderful on greens with salad shrimp, or tuna.

 

Have a wonderful week everyone! We are looking forward to some new stuff next week, can’t wait to share it with you all!

                         ~the crew at Casalegno Family Farm

On the Farm now: Garlic Scapes

 Just this week we began  harvesting a very unique and wonderful crop - garlic scapes.
You are probably wondering just exactly what these strange,  snakelike things are, and how in the world you are supposed to use them.  Have no fear - as complete garlic worshipers we are here to answer your questions and introduce you to an exciting new food that has many culinary possibilities.
Garlic scapes are the flower stalks that are produced by hard neck garlic varieties once they are close to maturation.  As they emerge, we remove these flowers to force the plants energy into making  bigger bulbs the last month they are in the ground, and as an added bonus the scapes are a delicious crop in their own right when harvested young before the flower begins to open.
Pungent and garlicky when raw, and delicate and tender when cooked, garlic scapes have endless uses in the kitchen.  They can be chopped and used in place of garlic in any recipe which is so welcome for me since last years supply of garlic is finally running out! It will still be another month or so before the new crop is ready to be harvested and cured, so the scapes provide the garlic element in our meals, and often become the inspiration for a new recipe. They are amazing tossed whole in olive oil and then grilled, sauteed or roasted like in this recipe for grilled garlic scapes.  As with roasted garlic cloves this process mellows the flavor and softens the texture so that it is reminiscent of asparagus and is more vegetable than herb.  Used raw they give a peppery, savory bite to any dish - and they make an amazing garlic scape pesto  as well! 

Since each head of garlic only produces 1 scape they do not have a long season. As soon as we snap the scape off of every bulb that's it - they are done! We encourage you to try them out for yourself and share your favorite ideas and recipes with us now while you still can! Here is one I just came up with tonight - it was soooo good and really easy!

 PARMESAN GARLIC SCAPE BREAD

1 baguette       
Butter
Garlic scapes, diced
Grated Parmesan cheese

Cut baguette in half lengthwise and spread generously with butter.  Sprinkle diced garlic scapes on top and broil (or bake) in oven until bread just begins to toast.  Remove from oven and cover with grated parmesan cheese.  Put back in oven and cook just a minute longer, until cheese is melted.

The scapes are on sale at our farm stand for another week or 2, bunches of 10 for only $1.