CSA week 16: Thank you for letting us be your farmers!

In their shares this week, members will receive the following vegetables: Sweet peppers, carrots, beets, potatoes, broccoli, Swiss chard, tomatoes, onions, eggplant. Members will also get an Asian herb similar to mint that is called shiso. Farm pickup will also receive arugula while Duluth will get spinach.

(Please note that the Swiss chard has some minor damage from hail, but it is still crisp and delicious. Enjoy!)

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.”

News from the farm

With the threat of a frost Sunday evening, we headed out to the field to harvest from our most sensitive plants as we prepared for the final delivery of the 2024 summer growing season. While the frost did not materialize, it was a reminder that the end of the season is fast approaching. 

Fast forward 24 hours and we are back out in the field on a Monday night with our headlamps on picking Swiss chard and being very much aware that the chard has holes in it from a hail storm that happened the week before. But the chard is fresh and firm and delicious, so we keep harvesting.

In a lot of ways it is the perfect way to end the season. tired and cold and hungry and harvesting at night in the dark one last time.

It has been a wonderful season. It has been our most profitable season, but it has – like every season –  been filled with challenges and setbacks.

We keep going because of all of you: Our CSA members who have been with us for one year and for many years. We are grateful to you. As we have said many, many times, thank you for allowing us to be your farmers. 

Images from the farm

This week’s recipes

We gave you a lot of peppers this week, so we thought we’d share two possible ways to cook them. One is a recipe that John made this weekend. The other is one that Heather-Marie’s mother makes. Both are outstanding.

Stuffed Red Peppers

This recipe is inspired by one from Yotam Ottolengh’s cookbook, “Jerusalem”

Ingredients

• For the Peppers:
  • 4-6 sweet peppers
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
• For the Filling:
  • 1 cup long-grain rice (or basmati)
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1-2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1 cup cooked ground meat (optional, like lamb or beef)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • Fresh herbs (parsley, mint, or cilantro), chopped
  • 1 lemon (zest and juice)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Prepare the Peppers:
   • Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
   • Slice the tops off the romano peppers and remove the seeds.
   • Drizzle the outside with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Make the Filling:
   • Cook the rice according to package instructions and set aside.
   • In a pan, heat some olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion until soft, then add the garlic and cook for another minute.
   • Stir in the diced tomatoes, ground meat (if using), and spices. Cook until heated through.
   • Combine this mixture with the cooked rice, herbs, lemon zest, and juice. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Stuff the Peppers:
   • Fill each pepper with the rice mixture and place them upright in a baking dish.
   • Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top.
4. Bake:
   • Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the peppers are tender.
5. Serve:
   • Garnish with fresh herbs and a squeeze of lemon juice before serving.

Stuffed Fresh Peppers

from Carol-Ann Bloom

• 6 large raw peppers (red/yellow/orange are sweeter than green), washed
• 5 cups boiling water, lightly salted
• 1# ground beef (organic preferred), or make vegetarian with meat substitute, or mushrooms, etc
• ¼ c. chopped onion
• ½ tsp. salt
• dash black pepper
• 2 cloves fresh garlic or to taste, chopped (optional)
• 1 c. cooked rice
• 1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce

(Note: If more sauce is needed, can add a little more tomato sauce, cooking wine, or white wine)

Heat oven to 350 degrees*. Cut thin slice from stem end and around top of each pepper. Remove all seeds and membranes. Cook peppers in the boiling salted water 5 minutes; drain and cool quickly in cold water.

Cook ground beef and onion in medium skillet until onion is tender, then drain off fat. Add garlic and cook a couple minutes together. Add salt, rice and 1 c. of the tomato sauce; stir to blend; and heat through.

Lightly stuff each pepper with ½ c. meat mixture. Stand peppers upright in ungreased baking dish, 8x8x2”. Pour remaining tomato sauce over peppers. Cover; bake 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer. (Some ovens vary – watch so peppers don’t dry out.)

*This recipe can be cooked stove-top as well over medium heat for the same length of time, but in a covered pot.

Grandma’s German Potato Salad

Heather-Marie’s maternal Grandmother was a great cook.  For her 80th birthday, the family put together a cookbook of her favorite recipes.  When Heather-Marie made this recently she sent a text to all her Philly cousins and they all said they still had their copy of the cookbook and make this recipe frequently.

• 5 lbs small potatoes
• 2 cups celery* (since we don’t grow celery, steamed chard stems work just fine)
• ½ lb chopped bacon
• ¼ cup vinegar
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 cup chopped onion
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• ½ cup oil or more
• 1 ½ T salt
• Parsley for garnish

Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender (about 20 minutes).  Be careful not to overcook them.  Cook bacon in a frying pan, drain on a paper towel.  Peel and slice potatoes thin.  Add celery and onion.  Stir seasonings into combined oil and vinegar and add to the potatoes while still hot.  Allow to marinate overnight in the fridge.  Next morning, check to see if more liquid is needed, add pickle juice (sweet) or chicken broth.  Garnish with more chopped, cooked bacon, parsley or hard boiled eggs, sliced.  For American-style salad, add just a little mayonnaise.  

Shiso

Shiso is an herb most used in Asian cooking, and the name shiso is the Japanese word for it.  Member of the mint family with hints of cloves, cumin and cinnamon.  Harvested like basil, you can continue to pick throughout the season.  Can be used in cooking, or teas.  Heather-Marie and John first came across shiso in Vietnam where fresh herbs were served with most dishes, piled onto plates and added at the table. 

Shiso mojito

This refreshing drink makes good use of the shiso herb. A version of this was made and enjoyed at movie night at the farm this year. The drink could also easily be made without the rum. 

Ingredients

• 1 ounce shiso (or mint) leaves, torn in half
• 2 ounces fresh lime juice
• 1 ½ ounces white rum
• 1 teaspoon extra-fine granulated sugar
•  Crushed ice
• 4 ounces club soda

Instructions

Place torn pieces of shiso in the bottom of a glass and add lime juice. Muddle this together by using the end of a large wooden spoon or pestle. Add remaining ingredients, then cover and shake to combine.

Bruno the cat knows who read the whole newsletter