Blue Gate Farm News – Volume XV, Number 19 – October
11, 2011
In
this week’s box:
Chard: Bright Lights Mix
Cherry Tomatoes: asst
Choi: Win-win
Fennel
Garlic: Northern White
Tapestry Salad Mix
Tomatoes: asst
Turnips: Hakurei
…and at least one of any variety of random “last
bits” of crops we find in the gardens including: cukes, okra, summer squash,
baby cabbages, and whatever else we find out there!
For
those with the Cheese option: Roasted Red Pepper Chevre & Feta
For
those with the Egg option [full and half]: one dozen free-range eggs (assorted
colors)
For
those with the Herb option: Thai Magic and/or purple basil, garlic chives,
thyme
Featured Recipe(s) (see below): White Bean
and Kale Ragout with Turnips and Sausage
Braised
Turnips with Mustard Sauce
Braised
Soy-Ginger Chicken and Bok Choy
Precipitation
in the past week: 0.0”
What’s up on the farm?
We had a beautiful, if a bit
breezy day for the CSA Harvest Party on Sunday. Cider-making on an old-fashioned press and a
hayrack ride bookended lots of good conversation and great food, not to mention
the insanely cute kids who kept everyone entertained. Thanks to everyone who made the trip out and
joined us for an afternoon on the farm.
This past weeks’ focus was recovering
from Farm Crawl and the annual “turning-over” of the high tunnels. With the
exception of two beds, all of the high tunnel crops were gleaned of any usable
fruits and then relocated to their next home in the compost piles. The beds were then tilled, reworked and
transplanted or seeded. It is quite a project to get all those mature crops out
through the doors and makes for one hot, dirty day, but such a treat to look in
and see all the new crops already settling into their winter home. The next big projects for the week will be
digging sweet potatoes, harvesting winter squash and prepping for the great
garlic planting.
As next week is the final
delivery for the 2011 Summer season, it is very
helpful if everyone can make an extra effort to remember to bring your empty
box from this week’s delivery, plus any random boxes that might have taken up
temporary residence in your closets or garages. This will alleviate you from the need to store
them over the winter. For the final
delivery we will bring your produce in plastic bags so that you won’t have any
need to return that final box. For those
of you joining us for the Winter season, we still need
your current boxes back so that we can re-label them with your updated share
info.
A few details on new stuff in the box:
Turnips: Separate
leaves from roots and store separately in plastic bags in the crisper drawer. Here’s a fun (easy) way to use these lovely roots: Peel a turnip, square off its round
edges, cut it into wide slices and then lengthwise into dowels. Put the dowels
onto a plate, sprinkle them with cayenne pepper and a little sea salt, squeeze
a half a lime over them and add a few cilantro leaves on top. From www.cookthink.com
Choi: Store
in a plastic bag (or two) in the crisper drawer.
Fennel:
separate greens from the bulb. Store greens in a glass of water, loosely
covered with plastic. Store bulb in a plastic bag in the
crisper drawer.
Upcoming Events:
Final Summer Delivery:
Tuesday October 18th
Final outside Downtown
Farmers Market for the season: October 29th
Winter CSA, First
Delivery: Tuesday, November 8th
Downtown Farmers Harvest
Market: Friday & Saturday, November 18th & 19th,
Is a weekly
newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily
adventures? Follow us at our blog
at http://beyondthebluegate.blogspot.com/
and on Facebook (just search Blue Gate Farm) and “Like” us.
That’s about it
this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean (and Blue & Luci)
White Bean
and Kale Ragout with Turnips and Sausage
This ragout is meant to
be a throw-together-fast-on-a-weeknight kind of meal. If you have sweet
potatoes instead of turnips, use them. If you have Swiss chard in the fridge
but no kale, sub it instead. You may be surprised by how much flavor you can
coax, with the help of a well-stocked pantry, out of the ingredients you have
on hand.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 Italian chicken sausages, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 turnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups de-stemmed, chopped kale (about 1 bunch) or other greens
1/2 cup chicken or mushroom stock
2 16-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
Heat oil in
a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute onion and turnip for 8 minutes, or until bronzed.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add sausage and garlic to pan. Cook for 2
more minutes, then add kale and remaining ingredients.
Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 12 minutes,
stirring occasionally, until kale is tender.
Recipe Source: www.nourishnetwork.com
Braised Turnips
with Mustard Sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb turnips, small ones quartered and large ones cut into eighths
salt and pepper
1/2 cup vegetable stock
2 Tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add turnips, sprinkle
with salt and pepper, and brown, stirring frequently, for about 10 min. Pour in
veggie stock, cover, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 10-15 min, until
turnips are tender. Remove turnips, leaving liquid in the pan, and set aside.
Stir mustard and arrowroot powder together, and then add this to the remaining
liquid in the pan. Let this cook over low heat until it thickens (2-3 min), and
then pour over turnips. Serves 2.
Recipe Source: wwwfortunavirilis.blogspot.com (adapted
from Mark Bittman
Braised Soy-Ginger Chicken and Bok Choy
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine or dry
sherry
2 tablespoons brown sugar,
firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon Chinese
five-spice powder
2 tablespoons minced fresh
ginger
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 pounds skin-on, bone-in
chicken thighs or breast halves
1/2 pound bok choy, quartered
lengthwise
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
Steamed rice for serving
1. In a Dutch oven or deep frying pan, combine 1 1/2 cups water and the soy
sauce, wine, brown sugar, five-spice powder, ginger, and green onions. Bring to
a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Submerge the
chicken pieces, skin side up, in the liquid and simmer gently for 8 minutes.
Turn the pieces and continue to simmer until the chicken is opaque throughout
when tested with the tip of a knife, about 8 minutes longer.
2. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a serving platter
and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Bring the braising liquid to a boil
over medium heat, add the bok choy, and cook until tender, about 3 minutes.
Using tongs or slotted spoon, transfer the bok choy to
the platter, arranging it around the chicken.
3. Bring the braising liquid to a boil over high heat and boil until reduced
by half, about 5 minutes. Stir in the honey and sesame oil. Pour over the
chicken and bok choy and serve with the rice.
Cook
Recipe Source: Food Made Fast: Asian by Farina Wong Kingsley