CSA Week 12 newsletter: ‘Raise the roof!’ gains momentum. Saying goodbye to our interns

In their shares this week, members will receive the following vegetables:

Tomatoes (cherry and slicing), cucumbers, sweet peppers, summer squash, Thai basil, red onions, green cabbage, Swiss chard. Members will also receive either cauliflower, eggplant or broccoli. 

This newsletter includes a roundup of news from the farm as well as information and recipes. Feel free to jump to the bottom of the newsletter to find the section titled, “This week’s veggies and recipes.”

Saying goodbye to our fantastic interns

For this week’s video check-in, we asked our two interns for the season, Olivia and Amelia, to reflect on their time working for us this season. These two women are both seniors at Moose Lake High School, and this is their last week working with us at the farm. We have been so grateful for their assistance and hard work this year. These women give us hope for the next generation and what they will accomplish. 

Olivia joined us last year at the farm and has been reliable, hard working and passionate about our farm and the work we do. Amelia joined us this year and has also been a fantastic person to work with.

We asked both of them to share some of their thoughts on what they got out of their experience working with, and here is what they had to say.

Raise the Roof! Community Celebration is taking shape

We are very excited about the energy that’s going into the event we have named Raise the Roof! A Community Celebration and Fundraiser. 

Ticket sales for the meal are starting to pick up steam, so make sure to purchase yours if you are interested in the farm-to-table buffet. Here are the details in case you missed them.

Raise the Roof!

Community Celebration and Fundraiser

Description: Join us on September 7 from 4 to dusk for a community celebration and fund-raiser. You can purchase a ticket for a farm-to-table buffet, listen to music, buy veggies and other products and help us to raise money for the construction of a new pavilion and farm stand.

At a glance

Date: September 7

Time: 4 p.m. to dusk

Location: Rising Phoenix Community Farm, 3399 County Road 6, Barnum

Cost: There is a fee for the farm-to-table buffet meal (ticket required) featuring Rising Phoenix vegetables and Y-ker Acres pork prepared by our friends at Denham Run Bar and Grill. 

Free: Attending the event and listening to the music is free, though a donation is appreciated.

Facebook event posting: https://www.facebook.com/share/pUbCUu4GSbrVJY9u/

Schedule:

4 p.m. Arrival for Farm Stand, farm tours, silent auction and more

5 p.m. Farm to table buffet (purchase ticket in advance): Purchase your ticket for the farm-to-table buffet meal featuring Rising Phoenix Vegetables and Y-ker Acres pork prepared by our friends at Denham Run Bar and Grill. A minimum donation of $18 will cover the cost of this meal, but we hope you’ll consider donating more to help pay for the cost of our proposed pavilion.

6 p.m. Music Our friends, The Minorbirds, will be playing music. If it’s raining, we’ll be in the barn. If it’s sunny, we’ll be in The Grove.

What to bring: Bring a lawnchair or beach blanket and the beverages of your choosing. Alcohol is permitted, but we won’t be selling it.  We will provide water, soda and iced tea.

Farm to table buffet menu:

• Slow-cooked pulled pork from Y-ker Acres Farm
• Southern-style collard greens
• Tomato and cucumber salad
• Roasted squash
• Lemon kale salad with Parmesan cheese
• Rolls
• Non-alcoholic beverages 

About the Pavilion:

• We are hoping to raise money to construct a multipurpose pavilion on our property. 
• It will be used for future community celebrations and will be the new home of our weekly farm stand. 
• We eventually also hope to construct a pizza oven on the site.
• Fundraising goal: $5,000

This week’s veggies and recipes

Tomato, Fresh Fig and Blue Cheese Salad

From New York Times writer Melissa Clark

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• 1 large or 2 small ripe tomatoes, about 8 ounces, thinly sliced
• ½ pound fresh figs, cut into quarters
• 1 ounce crumbled blue cheese, like Forume d’Ambert, more to taste
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• Black Pepper

Preparation:

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar and salt. Whisk in oil. In a small skillet over medium-low heat, toast pine nuts, shaking the pan occasionally, until light golden, about 2 minutes. Spread tomato slices on a large plate. Scatter fig quarters and pine nuts over tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheese and thyme, drizzle with dressing and finish with pepper.

Roasted cabbage with walnuts

Adapted from Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden

1 medium-large head of savoy cabbage – choose your size so that the wedges will fill a large baking sheet

extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 c. walnut pieces, toasted or roasted and finely chopped

1 large (or 2 smaller) cloves of garlic, grated or finely minced

1 large lemon – you will need both zest and juice

red chili flakes or Aleppo pepper

freshly grated Parmesan

Instructions
Preheat your oven to 475°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove any damaged outer leaves from the cabbage, then cut it into even wedges—anywhere from 8 to 16 depending on the size of the cabbage head. Be sure to trim away the hard core bits. Drizzle olive oil onto the baking sheet, place the cabbage wedges in a single layer, and brush or drizzle a bit more olive oil over the wedges. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes until some of the edges start to char, and it’s fine if some pieces get a bit blackened. Use a spatula to carefully flip each wedge and roast for an additional 5 minutes until the edges are dark brown.

If you’ve planned ahead, toast or roast the walnuts while the cabbage is in the oven. Place the walnuts in a small bowl, grate the zest of half a lemon over them, and add the garlic. Mix in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and chili or pepper flakes. Stir to combine—letting it sit will deepen the flavors. When you’re ready to serve, squeeze the juice from half the lemon into the mixture, taste, and adjust the seasoning as needed. This mixture packs a punch of flavor.

As soon as the cabbage is out of the oven, drizzle the prepared mixture evenly over the wedges, whether they’re still on the baking sheet or transferred to a large platter. Top with freshly grated Parmesan to taste. Beware, there might be some friendly competition over the last wedge!

Herbed tomatoes

Adapted from The New York Times

• 6 medium-size summer tomatoes — somewhere between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball
• 4 tablespoons olive oil (best possible), plus more for the pan
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped green or summer garlic, or 1 tablespoon chopped regular garlic
• 4 tablespoons very finely chopped fresh cilantro, stems included
• 2 tablespoons very finely chopped fresh Thai basil, leaves only

Instructions
Slice the tomatoes horizontally across their midsection. Over the sink, gently scoop out some of the seeds and juice without fully hollowing them out.

Preheat a cast-iron skillet, grill pan, or regular grill large enough to cook all the tomatoes in one or two batches. Lightly coat the pan with olive oil. Place the tomatoes in a single layer with their cut sides facing down. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until they begin to soften and their cut sides are lightly charred or browned.

Turn off the heat and flip the tomatoes over. Let them rest for 3 minutes on the second side, then transfer them, cut sides up, to a plate. Sprinkle a little salt on the cut surfaces.

In a mortar and pestle or on a cutting board, grind the garlic with a large pinch of salt (about ½ teaspoon) until it forms a paste. Incorporate the chopped herbs and olive oil into the paste. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Spread the herb paste generously over the cut sides of the tomatoes. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.