2017 CSA Newsletter- Week #10

Notes from the Farm

This week we’ll send you home with some of our prized garlic as part of the distribution. The variety we grow is called ‘Music’ and it undergoes the longest journey of our crops from planting to harvest. We set our garlic cloves in the ground last October, harvested the scapes for you in June, harvested the heads in July and let them cure in the greenhouse for a couple weeks. That is nearly 10 months in the making for the garlic we present to you! It is especially delicious garlic, so be sure savor it as it sizzles in the pan or roasts in the oven, and perhaps joins your own freshly made salsa or tomato sauce.

Speaking of which, we’ve been enjoying a variety of heirloom tomatoes over the last few weeks and we’ll be able to enjoy even more this week as the harvest has gotten heavier. In our house we’ve been eating tomatoes at just about every meal, and still have an appetite for more, so hopefully you are feeling the same. If the amount of the tomatoes in the distribution seems like too much to deal with, please remember that you can be preserve them and enjoy them later. Consider making a large pot of your favorite tomato sauce, soup, salsa or curry to share, freeze or can. If you didn’t use all of your escarole or fennel from last week, they can be good companions for tomato and garlic this week.

Dinner on the Farm

Get your tickets for this year’s Dinner on the Farm, Sunday, September 3, 2017 before they sell out. Don’t miss this once-a-year feast in the field, catered by Denise Appel of Zinc New Haven. In addition to an amazing menu , including clams and oysters, this year we’ll also be serving signature cocktails featuring V-One hand-crafted Vodka and RIPE cold-press juices. BUY TICKETS  Your ticket for the evening includes a farm tour and silent auction. However, if you can’t make it to our event, peruse our Online Auction, open through September 5, 2017. BIDDING FOR GOOD

Best, Farmer Steve and our Farmers: Adam, Alyssa, Dan, Jalyn, Kelsey, Nikki, Sara, Shannon, TW and Tyler

In This Week’s Distribution

Our Harvest: Tomatoes, Garlic, Beets, Frisee, Lettuce, Cucumbers, Mixed Zucchini and Yellow Squash, Kale

U-Pick: Green Beans and Cherry Tomatoes

Fruit Option: ‘Red Haven’ Peaches

Recipes and Cooking Tips

Frisée Salad with Poached Egg

adapted from cooking.NYTimes.com

Ingredients

  •  2 heads frisée, washed and dried (about 6 cups), or 6 cups mixed frisée and lettuce
  •  1tablespoon chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon or chives
  •  1sweet red pepper, very thinly sliced
  •  6 thin slices baguette or whole grain bread, toasted, rubbed with a cut clove of garlic and cut into squares
  •  6 large or extra-large eggs
  •  1 tablespoon vinegar (any kind)
  •  Salt
  •  freshly ground pepper to taste
  •  1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Dressing

  •  2tablespoons sherry vinegar, champagne vinegar or red wine vinegar
  •  1teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  •  Salt to taste
  •  1teaspoon Dijon mustard
  •  1small garlic clove, minced or pureed
  •  1/3;cup extra virgin olive oil, or 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons walnut oil

Preparation

1. Combine the lettuce, herbs, red pepper and croutons in a large bowl.

2. Poach the eggs. Fill a lidded frying pan with water, and bring to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar to the water. One at a time, break the eggs into a teacup, then tip from the teacup into the pan (do this in batches if necessary). Immediately turn off the heat under the pan and cover tightly. Leave for four minutes. Lay a clean dish towel next to the pan, and using a slotted spoon or spatula, carefully remove the poached eggs from the water. Set on the towel to drain.

3. Whisk together the vinegars, salt, mustard and garlic. Whisk in the oil. Toss with the salad until thoroughly coated, and distribute among six salad plates. Top each serving with a poached egg. Season the egg with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with some thyme leaves and serve.

Slow-Roasted Heirloom Tomato and Garlic Marinara Sauce

from The Wooden Skillet

Makes : 14.5 1 pint jars

Ingredients

  • 3 heads of garlic (tip: pull out the cloves and then cut them in half – they are much easier to peel that way and they need to be cut in half anyway – you want 32-35 cloves)
  •  5 large heirloom tomatoes – cut into chunks
  •  8 beefsteak tomatoes – cut into chunks
  •  3 medium orange tomatoes – cut into chunks
  •  6 medium yellow tomatoes – cut into chunks
  •  20 cherry tomatoes
  •  2 lbs roma tomatoes – quartered

* NOTE: don’t get hung up on getting specifically the exact same number and type of tomato listed. While this is what I used, you ultimately need 22-23 lbs of tomatoes.

  •  3 large white onions – quartered
  •  1 cup tightly packed fresh sweet basil, roughly chopped
  •  1 cup tightly packed Italian basil, roughly chopped
  •  1 cup fresh spicy oregano, roughly chopped
  •  4 Tablespoons dried oregano leaves
  •  3 Tablespoons kosher salt
  •  Teaspoon ground black pepper
  •  1 cup olive oil
  •  1½ cup dry red wine
  •  You will need a blender and a large stainless steel roasting pan.

* (NOTE: make sure your tomatoes are clean before use. I typically soak them in a 50/50 vinegar and water mixture for about 10-15 minutes and then rinse clean)

Instructions

  1.  Preheat oven to 425.
  2.  Take large aluminum roasting pan and add all of your tomatoes, garlic, onion, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil and wine.
  3.  Mix everything together thoroughly.
  4.  Place in oven and let roast for at least 5 hours.
  5.  Stir about every 30-45 minutes.
  6.  After 5 hours, remove from oven and let cool for an hour or so.
  7.  Take blender and add several spoonfuls to it.
  8.  Cover with thick towel and pulse the blender: 3 times for chunky sauce and 8 times for smoother sauce.
  9.  Serve some immediately and can the rest.
  10.  Canning this amount resulted in 14.5 1 pint jars.

Quick note on the recipe – I listed out exactly what I used in making this sauce (and it really tastes amazing), but don’t stress out if you can find everything except 3 orange tomatoes… Seriously. Don’t panic. Just buy some more of a different kind of tomato. And if you can’t find “spicy oregano” … just buy regular fresh oregano. As long as you put the listed amount of oregano and the right amount of tomatoes, your sauce is going to taste just fine – promise! Now go make some sauce! Enjoy~

Tomato Curry

from vegetariangastronomy.com

Ingredients:

  •  5 large tomatoes (vine-ripe or heirloom if possible), chopped into large sections
  •  1 medium white onion, diced into large sections
  •  4 cloves garlic, minced
  •  1 teasp. fresh ginger, minced
  •  1/3 cup yogurt
  •  10-13 cashews
  •  1/2 teasp. turmeric
  •  vegetable oil
  •  chilli powder (optional, to taste)
  •  1/4 teasp. garam masala (optional)
  •  salt
  •  8 oz. white button mushrooms
  •  19 oz. firm tofu

Instead of mushrooms and tofu, you can add any assortment of mixed vegetables or protein such as: * paneer * potato * peas * corn * broccoli * cauliflower * bell peppers * carrots

Directions:

1. In a large non-stick pot, heat 1-2 Tbsp. on medium heat. 2. Add the minced garlic and ginger and fry for a few seconds until fragrant (be sure not

to let the garlic start browning or burning).

3. Add the diced white onion. Saute until the onions start to become translucent (a few minutes).

4. Add the diced tomatoes. Add some salt. Cook until the tomatoes start to stew and the flavors start to combine, mixing frequently. For the next step, either use a vitamix or blender. Follow the recipe accordingly.

5. If Using a Vitamix: Add everything from the pot into the vitamix. Add the yogurt and cashews. Puree until completely smooth, making sure the cashews are completely blended into the sauce. Pour the sauce back into the pot.

6. If Using a Regular Blender: If you are using a regular blender, you will want to make sure the cashews are completely pureed into the sauce. In other words, there should be no cashew pieces remaining. If the blender you are using is powerful enough to do this, then go ahead and follow the directions stated above using a vitamix. If your blender is not powerful enough, then continue with this step. Using a small blender such as a bullet, puree the cashews and yogurt until completely smooth. Using a larger blender, puree the cashew/yogurt paste with everything in the pot until completely smooth. Pour the contents of the blender back into the pot.

7. Heat the sauce in the pot on low-medium heat. Add turmeric and chili powder to taste (depending on how much spice you want). Add garam masala if you prefer.

8. Once the sauce starts to simmer, turn the heat on low and simmer for about 20-30 minutes in order to reduce and thicken the sauce. In the meantime, prepare the mushrooms and tofu (or any other veggie/protein you are planning on using) To Prepare Mushrooms & Tofu:

9. To Prepare Tofu: Place tofu block in a clean paper towel and squeeze to remove excess storage liquid. Cut the tofu block in half if you have a 1 large block you are working with to avoid breaking up the tofu before removing excess water. Cut the tofu into 1/2 to 1 in. cubes and pan fry on medium-high heat with 1-2 T vegetable oil, mixing and turning frequently until all the water is burned off and the tofu is lightly golden brown on most sides (be sure not to burn the tofu). Sprinkle some salt over the tofu. If the tofu is sticking to the pan, add some more oil. Set aside.

10. To Prepare the Mushrooms: Cut the mushrooms in quarters (or halves if the mushrooms are small). In the same pan, heat some vegetable oil on medium heat. Add the mushrooms and saute until all the water is released and the mushrooms just begin to brown/roast. Sprinkle some salt and set aside. To Prepare the Dish

11. Add the cooked mushrooms and tofu to the sauce and combine. Cook on low for another 5-10 minutes, being careful not to dry the sauce out. Season with salt to taste.

12. Serve hot and enjoy with some Naan, roti, or rice! Notes: Make sure the yogurt you use is thick and NOT sour (in other words, it should be pretty fresh). Depending on how acidic and sweet your tomatoes are, you may need to add more cashews. After adding the amount recommended above, taste the sauce and if it tastes acidic, add a few more cashews. As with most curries, the more you let it sit together in the fridge, the more intense the flavor is! So feel free to make this curry the day before!

Open Farm Days

On break for Summer Camp.

We’ll be back on Tuesday, August 22. Not limited to any specific age, all kids are welcome. Be sure to look for the announcement board at the garden entrance to see what’s happening. Open Farm Days alternate Tuesdays & Fridays from 2:30-5:30pm throughout the summer.

Next dates: Tuesday, August 22, 2017 and Friday, September 1, 2017