Fall CSA #3 2013

Fall CSA #3 Sept 20

Hi everybody

What a beautiful couple of days it has been…   We’ve had a lot of interesting things going on lately and I am excited to see what will come of it all. We have been participating in some filming project for the city of Fort Erie and were interviewed for an upcoming book on farming in Niagara.  Fun stuff but I am no movie star that’s for sure!  Put a camera on me and the simplest things like speaking or bagging lettuce become a challenge!  Anyways, I am really happy to be a part of it all and it makes for funny memories and a chance to let people know what it is we do here.

This week, we were able to get some planting done in the greenhouse but there is still more to be done. We pulled up all the hot peppers already and next are gorgeous sweet pepper plants full of green fruit – nicest plants we have ever had, but just not much going on for color change this year. Most are still edible green and i guess that's how we’ll be eating them. Tomatoes will come out too. Really, really hard to do when they would keep producing for a while…but we need to plant things that will carry us through the winter.  We may leave a few though, just to see!

This week’s baskets still contain many summer items but we have added some kale – know many of you have been anxiously waiting! Also, is the last Edamame harvest and possibly beans too.  Tomatoes I estimate 2 more weeks…

In your basket:

1 Chez Nous Lettuce mix

1 bunch Edamame ( scroll down to Fall CSA #1 for cooking instructions)

1 bag of beans

1 cherry tomato and 1 large tomato bag

1 Kale

1 Parsley

Also, I wanted to remind you that Edamame,  just like sweet corn, taste better the sooner you eat it. 

Next week,  we'll be sending out some mint I am looking forward to trying this recipe:
http://montcarte.ca/2009/07/17/real-mint-chocolate-chip-cookies/ Just thought i would share it now in case you need to pick up some ingredients .

I also thought I would re-share the Kale meatloaf recipe that i included in a spring newsletter for our new members since it got alot of rave reviews. 

Eat your Greens Meatloaf from The Book of Kale

2 pieces of sturdy bread

1/2 c. (125 ml) milk

1/2 tsp. (2 ml) salt

4 c. (1 l) kale leaves

1/2 c. (125 ml) onion

1 lb. (454 g) lean ground beef (subs with any ground meats you like)

1 lb. (454 g) lean ground pork

1 large egg

2 tsp. (10 ml) Dijon or grainy mustard

salt & black pepper

1/2 tsp. (2 ml) fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp. (5 ml) dried basil

1/2 tsp. (3 ml) dried oregano

1/2 c. (125 ml) parsley

Optional Glaze:

1/2 c. (125 ml) ketchup

2 tbsp. (30 ml) brown sugar

1 tbsp. (15 ml) tamari or soy sauce

Tear the bread into small pieces and soak in the milk and salt in a large bowl. Let stand for about 10 minutes until the bread soaks up the milk and the mixture is soft.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.

Cut the kale leaves into a chiffonade, long thin strips, if using a knife. Chop onion. Mince herbs.

Add the remaining ingredients to the bread and milk. Mix well, then pile evenly into a lightly greased casserole or a large loaf pan.

Bake for about 45 minutes.

For the glaze, combine ingredients and brush or spoon evenly on top of the loaf after it has baked for 20 minutes. 

* Changes I made I pureed the onions and cooked longer until the sauce was really baked on.  We thought this would make excellent party meatballs but you would have to double the sauce.

This recipe is a keeper for me tasted even better the next day!

Till next week!

Shirley and Rick