On The Table, July 31
This Week’s Share
Please note, contents of the boxes can change, visit Golden Earthworm’s website for their newsletter, the most up to date harvest information and more recipes and farm news. To help your veggies last as long as possible, visit our storage tips page.
- RED NORLAND or RED GOLD POTATOES | Qty: 2 quarts
Last week was the first potato harvest of the season, so you only received a small quart. This week, you’ll all be receiving 2 full quarts. If you can’t eat them all right away, you can store them in a paper bag in a cool, dry and most importantly, dark place. They should last for quite a while in the proper conditions. - CHIVES | Qty: 1 bunch
- PURSLANE | Qty: 1 bunch
Purslane is wild green, and by wild, I mean really wild! Can you believe that purslane contains more Omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid in particular) than any other leafy vegetable plant? Wild! Purslane has a lemony, salty flavor and can be eaten raw in salads or cooked like spinach. Try this week’s recipe! (See our recipes page for Stacey’s Purslane recipe!)
- EGGPLANT | Qty: 1 piece
Rosa Bianca or Black variety - LONG GREEN PEPPERS | Qty: 2 pieces
NOTICE: These peppers are supposed to be sweet, but last year we received a few isolated reports that they were hot. So, please beware when preparing these peppers- especially around children! A quick taste of the flesh will tell you whether or not they are hot. (We contacted the seed company about this issue last year and they told us that this particular pepper was bred from one hot pepper parent. Apparently, it is possible to have a hot “baby” on a very rare occasion.) - GREEN ZUCCHINI | Qty: 1 piece
- BUNCHED CARROTS | Qty: 1 bunch
- CUCUMBERS | Qty: varies
- TOMATO? | Qty: 1
*This is the very start of our tomato season, so if you receive one this week, just remember that this is just a taste of what’s to come… Some deliveries may receive something else in place of the tomato.
FRUIT STORAGE INFORMATION
As soon as you get home, immediately remove the tree fruit (peaches, apricots, etc.) from the plastic bag. They can ripen out on the counter, but must be placed in the fridge as soon as they turn ripe & soft. Berries should always be stored in the fridge.
- *FRUIT SHARE | Tues & Wed deliveries
1 portion PEACHES
1 portion APRICOTS - *FRUIT SHARE | Thurs deliveries
To be decided.
- Kid’s Workshop Info
- Recipes and Pictures from last week’s Food Extravaganza!
Kid’s Workshop: Growing Food & Minimizing Waste!
This Thursday, July 31 2:30-3:30 PM
Join us this Thursday, 2:30-3:30 PM for our first Kid’s Education Workshop! Let’s get our hands dirty and investigate plant life cycles! Kids will plant seeds in containers at ARROW which they can observe and care for throughout the summer. They will also plant seeds in recycled containers that they can bring home. We’ll set up a vermicompost bin and meet 1000 hard working worms while learning about compost.
Recipes and Pictures from last week’s Food Extravaganza!
Dania Gold
Chilled Cucumber and Buttermilk Soup
Ingredients:
- 3 medium size cucumbers
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
- juice from one lemon (approximately 2-3 tbsp)
- 1 small garlic clove chopped
- small handful of dill sprigs
- 3-4 mint sprigs
- 3-4 fresh oregano sprigs
- salt (about 1/4 tsp)
- freshly ground black pepper
For garnish:
- olive oil
- crème fraîche
- sumac
- nigella seeds (also called black cumin seeds)
Peel cucumbers, cut lengthwise and remove seeds. In a blender combine cucumbers, buttermilk, olive oil, chopped walnuts, chopped garlic, lemon juice and salt. Blend until the texture is smooth (about 1 minute) and pour into a bowl. Remove mint and oregano leaves from the stems and remove large stems from the dill. Finely chop (by hand) the herbs and add to the soup. Taste and fix seasoning by adding salt, pepper and lemon juice as necessary. Serve chilled in individual bowls garnished with crème fraîche, drizzles of olive oil and if available, sumac and nigella seeds
Other garnish suggestions: crumbled feta cheese, black sesame seeds, julienne beets, chopped walnuts, chopped/sliced kalamata olives.
Zora O’Neill
Zucchini with brown butter and basil
(serves 4)
- 3 small zucchini (and/or yellow summer squash)
- 1 handful fresh basil
- 3 tbsp butter
- salt
- lemon (optional)
Trim ends off zucchini. With a knife, mandoline or vegetable peeler, slice zucchini lengthwise into thin ribbons. (Impatient? You can also run the squash through the slicer on a Cuisinart, though the results won’t be so pretty. It’s nicer to have long slices, rather than round ones, as they don’t clump together so much, but it’s really only cosmetic.) Mince basil (or chiffonade, see Margaret Gamez’ recipe for massaged greens for a description of chiffonade) and toss with the zucchini in a large bowl.
In a small saucepan on high heat, melt butter. It will first foam with fairly large bubbles. As soon as the large bubbles subside and are replaced with a layer of denser foam, pull the saucepan from the heat. There should be dark-brown (but not burnt) toasted bits in the bottom of the pan. (If the butter smokes, you’ve gone too far–toss it and start over.) Immediately pour the hot butter over the zucchini and basil. Sprinkle with salt (to taste) and toss gently, so as not to break up the zucchini slices. (If you like a bit of acid, squeeze half a lemon over the squash and toss again. The lemon goes nicely with the basil, but it’s perfectly good without it as well.)
Serve pretty much immediately. If this sits more than 20 minutes, the
zucchini loses a lot of its crunch, though it still tastes good.
Margaret Gamez
Raw Beet Salad
This reminds me of my grandmamma’s cold beet salad
- 1 - 2 lg. beets (or turnips or rutabagas)
- 1 - 2 T apple cider vinegar, to taste
- 1 t extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 sm. onion
- optional: garlic powder to taste
In a food processor, process beets to an “apple-sauce-like” texture.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Note: This is good served up immediately, but, as with many dishes, marinating it for an hour or two (or overnight) makes it even better.
Raw Massaged Marinated Greens
This comes out enough like old-fashioned Southern greens to satisfy your longing for Grandmamma’s cooking.
- 1 bunch collard greens (or kale, or beet or turnip greens)
- 5 - 10 kalamata olives, pitted and finely chopped
- 2 T apple cider vinegar
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper, slivered (optional)
- fresh garlic, finely chopped, to taste, or garlic powder (optional)
- chili seasoning or curry powder to taste (optional)
Chiffonade the greens by rolling up 2 - 3 leaves at a time into a cylindrical “cigar” shape. With a sharp knife, thinly slice the rolled greens crosswise into ribbons. Cross-chop the “rounds” for smaller, easier to chew pieces. Place in a large bowl. Repeat steps 1 - 4 until all greens have been chopped. Add remaining ingredients to bowl and mix. With hands, ‘massage” greens until bulk is reduced by half. Set aside to marinate for one hour (or up to 24 hours).
Alternatively, eat right away.
© Margaret Gamez, 2008
Christine Dillon
Chilled Cucumber Soup with Yogurt and Herbs (serves 2-3)
Note: This recipe works best if the ingredients have been pre-chilled. You may also wish to pre-chill your serving bowls.
- 2-3 large Cucumbers, or the equivalent of 4 cups when chopped
- half of one small white onion
- 1/2 cup of vegetable broth (or water)
- 1 7oz container of Greek Yogurt
- 1/4 cup chopped herbs (Dill, Basil, or parsley all work well on their own or in a mixture), with additional herbs reserved for presentation
- salt and pepper to taste
Peel and de-seed the cucumbers. Chop cucumbers roughly and place in blender along with the onion and vegetable broth (this liquid is just to start the blending process - the cucumbers should have enough liquid to make up the bulk of the soup. If not, feel free to add a bit more liquid to the blender). Puree on high until combined. Add the yogurt and herbs to blender. Puree mixture until very smooth and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Chill soup in refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Serve with reserved herbs on top of soup.
Creamy Cucumber Salad (serves 2-3)
- 2 large cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon dried dill
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Place cucumbers and onion in large mixing bowl. To a smaller bowl, add the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, vinegar, honey, dill and parsley. Using a whisk, mix ingredients in the smaller bowl vigorously until combined, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Pour contents of smaller bowl over the cucumber and onion mixture and toss until vegetables are coated well. Refrigerate until chilled (though overnight is even better!).
Terri Luper Church
Quick Parsley Sauce
I don’t know the instructor who shared this recipe with the class, but I got it at a cooking class by the New School for Social Research in the late 1990s. I used this recipe when I was new to brown rice and what seemed like blandness to me. It really makes any plain grain come alive!
- 1 bunch of Parsley (either variety is fine)
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - to cover
- 1 large clove of Garlic - pressed
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce (or Tamari or Shoyu)
Chop Parsley very fine. Add just enough Olive Oil to moisten. Then press Garlic (you might hold some aside until you taste test) and add Soy Sauce. Mix and adjust seasonings.
Cucumber Dill Sauce
This recipe is adapted from one created by Lyn Stallworth, a chef for the New School for Social Research, where I took a cooking course called, “How to Boil Water.” She suggests this as a topping for poached salmon steaks, but with such a cool yummy taste, I’d eat it with spicy stuff, too. It is, by the way, fantastic with poached salmon!
- 1 large cucumber
- ½ tsp. sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. white vinegar
- 1 tsp. minced shallots, scallions, or other mild onion
- 1 cup Tofutti brand soy sour cream (or some combination of sour cream and yogurt)
- 3 tbsp. minced fresh dill
Peel the cucumber in stripes, leaving some of the peel on, cut it in half and scoop out seeds. Cut it lengthwise into thin strips, then crosswise into dice. Toss the cucumber in a small bowl with the sugar, salt, vinegar and onion. Let stand for 5 minutes. Fold the dill into the sour cream, reserving a little to garnish if you wish. Add to the cucumbers and combine well.
Moroccan Beet Salad
This recipe is adopted from a cooking class at the New School for Social Research. I don’t remember the chef who taught it to us. She taught us to boil the beets and then peel and cut them, but I have found that grilling them makes a nice flavor as well. She originally suggested 1 teaspoon cumin, but I find it is much better with plenty more than that. I haven’t tried grinding my own cumin, but I assume that would make it even better and could possibly call for less.
- 2 bunches Beets - or 6 medium loose Beets - (roots and leaves) thoroughly washed
- Water to cover
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 Red Onion - minced
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil and 4 tbsp. divided
- 1/2 cup chopped Cilantro (aka Coriander–include the stems for flavor)
- 2 Tbsp Cumin - ground
- 1-2 Lemons - juiced
- Salt to taste
Remove greens by breaking off from beetroots, remove stems and discard. Cut the ends off the beets, peel and slice into 1/2 - inch thick slices. Soak the beets in some water while grill is heating and waiting for “their turn.” Just before grilling, drizzle the beets with some olive oil and place on electric grill for 15-20 minutes, turning once.
While beetroots are grilling, sauté the greens until nicely wilted over medium heat in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the garlic, being careful not to brown the garlic. Place on plates or platter as a base for the salad.
Dice or slice Beets into pleasing shapes as they come off the grill, add the onions and cilantro, cover with lemon juice, salt and cumin. Pour over the greens and serve.