Power Pesto

Last week we took a week off of harvesting so we were able to focus on production and more planting.  Check this out:  we found out that if you spend more than four hours working under a heat index of 110 degrees, you get goosebumps!  What a fascinating physiological phenomenon.  Luckily we have a great swimming hole nearby, shared with local teenagers, that helped us through.  
We've had to replant most of our squash and cucumber crop this year due to a number of challenges, heat and bug related.  We now need a good rainfall for everything to start to really grow.   While Chicago residents had to deal with flooding last week, Kankakee county is still experiencing drought.  We are irrigating like crazy, but all plants want more water.  The corn farmers down here are even more upset about the lack of rainfall than us since this is the critical reproductive time that will determine the kernel content in each ear of corn.  
Apparently the Cubs won three games in a row as of Sunday, so I think things are turning around and rain is coming soon!!!

Is everyone finding a way to use their greens every week?  Feeling stronger because of it?   One of our talented CSA members John suggests sauteeing chard lightly in olive oil with finely chopped shallots and a splash of orange-infused vinagrette.  Provenance in Logan Square or Lincoln Square has a good selection of fancy vinagrettes like this.   
If you are looking for a fast use for lunches during the week, try using chard and kale as pesto to add later to salads, pasta or sandwiches.  There's a note about freezing at the bottom:

Swiss Chard Pesto--Thanks Megan!

2 Tablespoons plus 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bunch Swiss Chard, stems removed (about 2 cups)

1 cup walnuts

2 oz freshly grated Pecorino cheese

1 bunch basil leaves (1/2 cup packed)

Kosher salt

Heat 2 tablespoons oil and the garlic in a saute pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot and the garlic has become fragrant, add the Swiss Chard, wilting it into the oil and sauteeing it for a few minutes. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile combine the walnuts, pecorino cheese and basil leaves in a food processor. Add in the cooled chard and garlic. Pulse to roughly chop and combine the ingredients. Then stream in the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil and blend to desired consistency. Add salt to taste.

Kale Pesto, an idea from www.alwaysorderdessert.com

2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1/2 cup chopped almonds (can also use pine nuts or walnuts)

3 large cloves garlic, peeled with ends trimmed off

1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano

1/2 pound raw kale, stems removed, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine the kosher salt, almonds, garlic cloves, and Parmigiano-Reggiano in the base of a food processor. Pulse repeatedly until all ingredients are coarsely chopped.  Add the kale, olive oil, and lemon juice and pulse again until it reaches a fine grind, but not quite a puree. If necessary, add a bit more olive oil to loosen it up.

To freeze pesto, simply portion into 1/4 to 1/2 amounts and pack into the wells of a muffin tin (can also use an ice cube tray for smaller portions). Let freeze for one hour before removing and storing in a large freezer-safe zipped plastic bag or container. Will keep well for at least 6 months.

Season Update and Garlic Recipe from John!

Garlic Review:  The Harvest Breakdown

Since garlic is planted in the fall, the first harvest is actually in early spring, the green scallion-like leaves.  The second harvest is late June when the scapes are ready. The third harvest may be in the form of “baby garlic” or “spring garlic.”  Yesterday, we harvested the mature, full size bulbs.  They still retain quite a bit of moisture, so eat them in the next couple of weeks (we recommend).  This weekend we also harvested bulbs that you will see later in the season, bulbs that you can store over winter if you like.  Because they will have been cured. 

Curing is the drying process that allows the outer layers of the garlic bulb to dry out and form a protective covering (protection from mold mostly).  Fully cured garlic bulbs will last an average of 6 months in your pantry. We cure ours/yours for about 3 weeks in our handy corn crib where there is plenty of ventilation.  If you don’t happen to have a gigantic corn crib in your backyard and are interested in curing your fresh garlic, just put the fresh garlic from today in a brown paper sack in a relatively cool, well-ventilated place. But we recommend eating it right away because fresh garlic is a juicy treat.  Someone from Tuesday has already reported a religious experience.! 

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

Adapted from Bon Appétit

Total time: 15 minutes                        Makes: 4 servings

A classic QUICK southern Italian pasta dish.  The name refers to the Working Women who would need to prepare a quick meal between … well … clients.

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4-6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 28.2-ounce can peeled tomatoes in pure
• ½ cup Kalamata olives, halved, pitted
• 3-4 anchovy fillets, chopped
• 1 ½ tablespoons drained capers
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced; reserve the smallest leaves whole
• ¾ pound spaghetti
• Grated Parmesan cheese

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add garlic and sauté gently until fragrant, about 1 minute

2. Add tomatoes with puree, olives, anchovies, capers, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Simmer sauce over medium-low heat until thickened, breaking up tomatoes with spoon, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper

3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta; return to same pot. Add sauce and parsley. Toss over low heat until sauce coats pasta, about 3 minutes

4. Sprinkle the small basil leaves over the top just before serving.  Serve with grated Parmesan.

For CSA member:  IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT

We will not be harvesting CSA shares next week.

We are anticipating a season extending late into the fall and want to save you any bumper crop of winter squash and other fall delights, so with the constraint of “twenty weeks” in mind, we made this decision.  We will see you again on Thursday, the 28^th.

Please note that you will still get twenty weeks of vegetables as promised with your last pick-up date being either October 25^th or 27^th.

Carrot Update

Coming along, coming along.

Cucumber/Summer Squash Update

Both these plants are cucurbits, susceptible to the cucumber beetle.  Peasants’ Plot and our other organic farmer friends in the area have had more problems than usual with cucumber beetles.  We were not expecting such destruction but promptly planted a new bed of seeds directly into the field.  We will have cucumbers and zucchini, but they will be later than usual.

Tomato Update

We have an immaculate high tunnel full of healthy heirloom plants.  This morning, a storm lifted the tunnel from the ground but Todd re-anchored it and all is well.  Tomatoes look beautiful and will ripen soon we think.

Winter Squash and Broccoli Update

These healthy seedlings will be planted next week.  They are hardening off in a hoophouse as I write this, toughening up for the greater outdoors. 

Thank you for playing a vital role in reorganizing the agriculture system.  This model of farming gives you a voice in creating a stable organic food supply.

-Julia and Todd

Chard (and Beets) 101

Did you know that chard is actually a type of beet cultivated for its leaves?  This means you can follow cooking tips and recipes for chard when using beet greens and vice versa. Beet greens and chard are similar to spinach (same family) but with less water content and a distinct and unmatched flavor. You can eat beet greens and the beets themselves cooked or peeled and raw. We grow regular red beets, chioggia beets and golden beets.  Some say the golden beets are milder and less “beety” than your normal beet.  I say golden beets are like unicorns.

MORE IDEAS FOR EATING: 

Eating kale or chard raw:  Although I tend to think of these greens as cooking greens, many of our market customers and CSA-ers tell us that they make raw salads from both, such as the Sesame Kale Salad.  The raw kale has a taste reminiscent of broccoli, which makes sense since the two are both in the same family of plants (cabbage).  “Massaging” the de-stemmed kale leaves with a splash of balsamic vinegar or lemon will have a similar effect as blanching.  It will brighten the green and soften the texture. Chard is in the same family as spinach.  When juicing or eating chard raw in salads, take off the leaves from the stem for less astringency.  Use the brightly colored stems for interest in any salad after marinating in your favorite dressing OR glaze them in honey.  Recipe for glazed chard stems is in our recipe section.

MORE STORING TIPS: 

Storing chard and all greens: Store lettuce and cooking greens in a plastic bag in the refrigerator (or a plastic container of some sort). Adding a dampened paper towel will help regulate the humidity in the bag.   Alternatively, some people rave about washing lettuce leaves in their salad spinner and then storing them in the spinner in the fridge.

Basil: Store the basil at room temperature if you can.  If it is a hot day and you have no air conditioning, try this: Adjust your fridge down away from the coldest setting and insulate the bag of basil by wrapping a towel around it. The towel just serves as insulation from getting too cold. The cold will often blacken basil leaves.

(And- we are expecting tomatoes very very soon to accompany the basil!)

Fourth of July!

Today on this patriotic day we harvest vegetables for our fellow Americans.  We care about the future of our country and its food supply.

Today, we harvested mixed greens, lettuce, a variety of beets, basil and the infamous dinosaur kale (above).  Otherwise known as the heirloom variety "Lacinato," dinosaur kale is as bumpy and tender as an elephant--very tender. Or as bumpy as the skin of this amphibian we encountered last week:

Some people are fanatical about dinosaur kale and chefs like to use it because it is easy to slice into ribbons.
Here are some other photos, taken today in the spirit of celebration:

Two reports.

Two important reports have been released to the public this year.  One is the USDA annual report that shows test results of pesticide residue in fruits and vegetables.  This report was expected to come out earlier in the year but was allegedly held up by lobbyists from 18 pesticide-intensive food trade associations. They were worried that it would hurt business.  The full report can be found here:  http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5091055

The second important report was released by the UN this year.  It examines the myth that only chemical-driven Big Ag can feed the world.  The report “Agro-ecology and the Right to Food” reveals that, in fact, small-scale sustainable farming would even double food production within five to 10 years in places where most hungry people on the planet live. “We won’t solve hunger and stop climate change with industrial farming on large plantations,” Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food and author of the report, said in a press release. “The solution lies in supporting small-scale farmers’ knowledge and experimentation, and in raising incomes of smallholders so as to contribute to rural development.”
The full report can be found here:
http://civileats.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/20110308_UN_agroecology_report.pdf

On a lighter note, another thing the USDA  reports is  that green leaf lettuce has quite a few nutrients per head, including 13 mg calcium, 5 mg Magnesium, 10 mg phosphorous, 70 mg potassium, 6.5 mg vitamin C and a fair dose of vitamins A and K and lutein.  Red leaf is good, too.  (Actually, the darker the leaf the better.)  So wrap your lettuce around a hunk of cheese and enjoy!  

Oh my.

From the expert kitchen of two of our kindly CSA members.... 

Cannellini Beans and Wilted Greens

adapted from Chez Panisse Vegetables

Total time: 45 minutes                        Makes: 6 servings

This is a hearty vegetarian dish served over pasta (~ ½ lb … I like whole wheat cork screw), but it can be a delicious side dish with roasted meat.  When the beans are tender roughly mash about half of them to thicken the sauce, then stir in the cooked pasta and broth (vegetable or chicken) to produce the desired saucy texture.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large bunch (~ 1 lb.) of fresh bitter greens (mustard, turnip, etc … coarsely chopped)
• 1 14 oz can cannellini beans, drained
• 1 – 2 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
• 6 cloves garlic
• 5 – 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• Extra-virgin olive oil as needed

METHOD

1. Wash, trim and chop the greens

2. Finely chop the garlic cloves and gently sauté them in the olive oil until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Add the beans, rosemary and about 1 cup of the broth until some of the beans begin to crumble, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the greens uncovered until they are wilted and tender.  Add more broth as needed to keep the vegetables moist and soupy.

5. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.  Serve over hot, drained pasta or in a side dish.  Offer with grated parmesan and extra-virgin olive oil to drizzle over the top.

Monday Harvest Day

Monday is our longest day.  We harvest for around 75 shareholders and market customers.  Tomorrow I know the team will be cutting lettuce and kale and pulling onions.  I'm sure some of our regular kale fiends will start to show up at the market booth--in fact I bet we'll see a few starting this Tuesday.  We are especially looking forward to a particular few customers who regularly stock up on dark leafy greens for juicing.  Those customers have the clearest, healthiest and most vibrant skin...
While writing this I am listening to the pleasant howling of coyotes down by the creek (pleasantly evisioning their [not-so-pleasant] interaction with our bunny population).  This is definitely the year of the rabbit, on Chinese calendars and on ours.  In previous years we haven't had an issue with bunnies in the vegetable beds, but this year we've had to set traps and think bad thoughts about this inconveniently cute animal.  Why do they have to have such a perky tail?  And why such big, sad eyes?
Also new on the farm is the long, slinky body of an underaged weasel.  Todd and I witnessed this creature last week while washing radishes and hope it meets with death before getting any bigger.   We do have chickens to think about.  I have not always had such violent thoughts.
Violence is all around on the farm: in the sky, underground and embedded in the consciousness of bugs and birds and mammals.  On most Mondays violence shows itself at the base of a stem dripping milky white blood from a lettuce knife.
I have not always had such violent thoughts.  See you soon!  -Julia

Megan, a three-year veteran of the farm, looking fierce.