Tuesday, July 13, 2010

week five

This week you received more kale & chard, white & purple bunching onions, a mix of beets (early wonder, chioggia, and golden), a variety of new potatoes (nicola, yellow fin, red gold, purple viking), dill, flat leaf parsley, and a mix of basil (lemon, lime, cinnamon). I just found an amazing recipe for pasta with beets and spring onions - you can also use some of your chard in this one - http://circle-b-kitchen.squarespace.com/food-and-recipes/2010/6/8/pasta-with-beets-and-spring-onions.html?SSScrollPosition=285.

There are a ton of options for cooking beets, and most of them start with roasting. Rub the beets with olive oil, wrap in tin foil and roast in the oven for about an hour. When they're done they'll be perfectly roasted and easy to peel. From there you can cook up some of your chard and beet greens and serve them with the sliced roasted beets - perhaps drizzled with some balsamic and honey. Goat cheese and beets with their greens are my absolute favorite combination. At CSA pick up this week I heard someone talking about slicing them raw and baking them into beet chips. That sounded super tasty so I found a bunch of recipes to try here: http://www.tastespotting.com/search/beet+chips/1. Why not get crazy and make beet and kale chips?? I just blew your mind a little, didn't I.

If you're having trouble keeping up with the weekly onslaught of herbs and need more ideas for using and preserving, just ask me for some more hints. I know I keep saying this, but they can improve the flavor and jazz up pretty much any dish. I would chop the dill and parsley with some garlic, toss them in olive oil and a bit of salt with those new potatoes, and roast them. Fast, simple, yummy. In the comments I posted two recipes from CSA member Rachel Kottler, for basil parfait and basil sorbet - either of which would be pretty amazing using the lemon and lime basil.

We're starting to pick a lot of beans and cucumbers at the farm this week, and we've got a batch of carrots ready as well. The raspberries are still trickling in and some of you who come for farm pick up had the chance to pick and sample some on Sunday. Here's hoping they're ready this week! And in other exciting news, I've been eating the first few cherry tomatoes the past few days... a Peacevine Cherry and Beam's Yellow Pear. They were, of course, delightful and I expect them to start ripening pretty quickly in the hot weather that's supposed to return this week.

2 comments:

Churchview Farm said...

Basil Parfait:

6 egg yolks
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tbsp. honey
half pint whipping cream
25 grams (about one package) fresh basil, finely chopped after removing stems (can chop by hand, but it's easier to use blender or food processor)
1 cup plain yogurt

In a bowl, whip egg yolks with confectioners' sugar and honey. In a separate bowl, whip whipping cream until it thickens. In a third bowl, mix together basil and plain yogurt. Then mix everything carefully in one of the bowls. Pour into small cups or glasses (or one big container), cover, and freeze. Serve when hard.


Basil & Lime Sorbet (courtesy Jamie Oliver):

1 wineglass water (about 5 ounces)
1 wineglass sugar (equal in weight to the water)
5 to 6 limes, zested
1 glass lime juice
1 very large bunch basil, pounded to a puree

Directions:
Place the water and sugar in a pan, bring to a boil, and simmer for 4 minutes with the lime zest. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool for a while. Add the lime juice and basil puree. Stir this up and leave to infuse for a while. Pass it through a coarse sieve and pour into a plastic tub or earthenware dish and place in the
freezer. Generally, sorbet takes 2 hours to set. Try to stir it around every 30 minutes, if you remember. Serve it in a glass on its own.

beeporama said...

mind = blown a little