Download CSA Newsletter 02/15/2011

JOIN THE FARM! CSA NEWSLETTER
http://www.abundanttableorganicfarming.blogspot.com
“Give us the spirit of the child, who is not afraid to need, who is not afraid to love.” Taken from 2/13 A.T. liturgy to
celebrate the new lives Elisa and Scott Lehman and Anna and Seth Hahn are welcoming into the world.
MEET YOUR FOOD: Kale
NUTRITI
HISTORY
PREPARATION
STORAGE
Kale is a leafy green vegetable that
belongs to the Brassica family, a
group of vegetables including
cabbage, collards and Brussels
sprouts. Like broccoli, cauliflower
and collards, kale is a descendent of
the wild cabbage, a plant thought to
have originated in Asia Minor and
to have been brought to Europe
around 600 B.C. by groups of Celtic
wanderers. English settlers
brought kale to the United States in
the 17th century.
Kale’s flavor adds an uplifting note to
raw salads, and makes a wonderful
addition to soups, stews, and rice dishes.
Unlike other leafy vegetables, kale
doesn’t lose its deep green color or its
crunch when cooked, so it can be
steamed or blanched on its own and
eaten as a healthful side dish. Sauté kale
with fresh garlic and sprinkle with
lemon juice and olive oil before serving.
Braise chopped kale and apples. Before
serving, sprinkle with balsamic vinegar
and chopped walnuts. Combine chopped
kale, pine nuts and feta cheese with
whole grain pasta drizzled with olive oil.
Kale should be wrapped
in a damp paper towel,
placed in a plastic bag
and stored in the
refrigerator crisper. It
should not be washed
before storing since this
may cause it to become
limp. Kale keeps for days
in the fridge, but does get
bitter with age.
ON
Kale is an
excellent
source of
vitamin A,
vitamin C
and
manganese.
It is also a
very good
source of
dietary fiber,
copper,
calcium,
vitamin B6
and
potassium.
Wilted Kale and Roasted-Potato Winter Salad by Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez for Gourmet
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2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/3 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves (3 thinly sliced and 1 minced)
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup well-stirred tahini (ground sesame seed paste-ingredient in hummus! Can be found as a sauce
at Trader Joes, or as a pure paste in most grocery or natural food stores)
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 pounds kale, stems and center ribs discarded and leaves very thinly sliced crosswise
Accompaniment: lemon wedges
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in upper third. Toss potatoes with oil and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and
pepper in a large 4-sided sheet pan, then spread evenly. Roast, stirring once, 10 minutes. Stir in sliced garlic
and roast 10 minutes more. Sprinkle with cheese and roast until cheese is melted and golden in spots, about 5
minutes. Meanwhile, purée tahini, water, lemon juice, minced garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender until
smooth, about 1 minute. (Add a bit of water if sauce is too thick.) Toss kale with hot potatoes and any garlic
and oil remaining in pan, then toss with tahini sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
WWW.JOINTHEFARM.COM | [email protected]| CSA NEWSLETTER | WEEK OF FEBRUARY 14, 2011
We are mixing it up with the kale this week! Our dark green Lacinato Kale has been
producing for some time now and as with any living thing the older it gets the more
stories it has to tell and the more susceptible it becomes to disease and in the plant
world-insect attacks. I remember this kale when it was just sprouting last summer. A
good friend of mine came down to visit for the farmhouse and intern blessing and
welcome party. I managed to rope him into two days of painstaking hand weeding the
entire row of kale because it was so overrun with weeds. He still asks how the kale’s
doing. Now, almost six months later (a long time in the kale world) the noble stand of
Lacinato Kale in the field looks like a row of mini palm trees. Thick long stems, plucked
of its leaves well up to the top of the plant where long narrow kale leaves shoot out.
There are some yellow sun spots on the leaves that tell of the end of summer heat wave
that scorched the plants when they were young. Now the kale is reaching the end of the
life cycle. Some of the plants are gathering their leaves close together at the top to
protect emerging kale flower buds. Flowers and the seeds they produce are the last ditch
energy effort of the plant to leave its kale legacy in the world with perfect kale encoded
seeds. But, as the kale is reaching the end of its life, its system defenses are weakened
with age and insects have descended onto the aging pants. Little grey ashy aphids have
attached themselves to the leaves and are literally sucking the life out of the leaves.
Fortunately, throngs of ladybugs have landed in the kale. While they dine on the aphids,
they are helping us keep the aphid problem contained to just the Lacinato Kale. So this
week we’re saying goodbye to the row of Lacinato Kale that’s contributed to many a CSA
box in summer, fall, and winter. We also say hello to a new row of Siberian Kale!
Siberian Kale has long lighter green curly leaves. It is a bit more tender and mild than its
Lacinato counterpart. It is also great in soups, stews, pasta dishes, pizzas, and apple juice
and avocado smoothies, This week’s Wilted Kale and Roasted Potato Winter Salad
recipe comes from Calvert Greens blog contributor Jen, a Woodland Hills
subscriber. She is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu and has many mouth watering
things on her blog, “Braise, Boil, and Bake.” Her blog is linked through the Calvert
Greens blog, listed below. With the rains coming, a warm potato and kale should
hit the spot!
WHAT’S IN YOUR BOX
This week, you will most
likely find these items in
your produce box:
Spinach
Ruby Lettuce
Butter Lettuce
Hass Avocados
Siberian Kale
Chard
Collard Greens
Arugula
Turnips
Celery*
Broccoli *
Lemons- Sespe Creek
Ranch
*sourced from Deardorf
Family Farm in Oxnard, all
certified organic
BOX NOTES
Your spinach is loose this
week because the spinach
stems are so small,
Bunching the spinach was
damaging leaves.
Last Wednesday CSUCI professor, Brad Monsma spoke about his experiences
adventuring and exploring the Sespe Wilderness behind Fillmore. His book, “The
Sespe Wild” chronicles his adventures and the natural history of the Sespe River
wilderness. He spoke about his discovery of bear tracks and bear paths (where many
bears walk to create a path!) that lead to a cherry tree in the back country, the Chumash
pictographs most likely created when Chumash medicine men went for backcountry
visioning during a time when the Chumash were being decimated from disease brought
by the Spanish, and his many attempts at trying to find the headwaters of the Sespe
Creek. The Sespe feeds into the Santa Clara River which over the past millennia has
flooded, along with Calleguas Creek, onto the Oxnard Plain to create the rich soil that
grows your vegetables! He definitely inspired me to get out and explore the beauty and
richness of my watershed!
Abundant Table
Winter gatherings on the farm! We invite all subscribers, friends, and community
members to join us Friday, March 4th at 5:30pm at the farmhouse for a potluck
dinner and screening of “Babette’s Feast.” This French art house film beautifully
demonstrates the power of food and community.
Potluck dinner and
screening of “Babette’s
Feast.” This French art
house film beautifully
demonstrates the power of
food and community.
E-Resources:
www.jointhefarm.com
Christiana Thomas: http://harmoniouskitchen.wordpress.com *note change*
Imad Ansari: http://secretsofthekitchen.wordpress.com
Calvert Elementary Subscribers: http://calvertgreencsabox.blogspot.com
Every Sunday@5:00 pm
Join us for The Abundant
Table worship and dinner
at the Farm House! We
share liturgy and break
bread. Food for the soul
and then a potluck style
dinner! All are welcome.
Friday, Mar. 4th
5:30pm Farmhouse