09' CSA Basket Journal #20; Volume 2
Posted 10/2/2009 12:36pm by Matthew and Allison Mills Neal.
CSA Basket Journal #20; Volume 2
September 30th
What Genus Specie Varieties your basket contains:
1.)Musque de Provence French Pumpkins
2.)Goldy and Table Queen Acorn Winter Squash
3.)White Russian Kale Bunch
4.)Lacinato "Dinosaur" Kale Bunch
5.)Salad Mix of Olga and Crisp Mint Romain, Red Oakleaf & Black
Seeded Simpson Leaf Lettuce, and
Rouquette Arugula
6.)Bulk Caribe Cilantro and Purple Opal Basil
It seemed everyone enjoyed getting to select your favorite fall pumpkins, and the weather this week seemed about just pumkin perfect for the first selection of these great edible fruits. As I mentioned at the drop-off and pick-up, I would use your pumkins for decoration for a little while and then enjoy them for eating. If you do choose to leave them setting around for a little while, do not set them outside where they are going to undergo the hot sun and then the cold nights, as this is to much of a temperature change for them to be stored. I would recommend storing them for decoration inside in your climate controlled house. Remember to try a section of these out raw, as I mentioned...thin slices with some cheese and wine, or using a peeler or grater to make a raw pumkin salad/slaw. I am going to refer you all back to the 08' CSA Basket Journal #22, as you will learn all about how to store your pumkin and any other winter squashes that you would like to go ahead and pre-bake and scoop out and freeze.
You will find it the time to start having fun with your Kale as the fall time is the season for Kale, and you will be getting great amounts of it for the rest of the season. I love chopping the leaf and stem up in a very thin horizontal manner and making very delicios salads out of kale, so you do not have to always blanch or cook kale before it is edible. Our raw Kale has a very nice flavor that will continue to get better as the temperatures continue to drop. After the Kale is chopped, then toss it with some lemon juice, or a type of vinegar, then use olive oil or a nut oil, add some baked winter squash and some dried fruit or chopped fall apples, some roasted winter squash seeds or nuts, cheese if you like and maybe even a little bit of honey, or you could even toss in some meat shreds, and some salt and pepper. This is a wonderfully easy and tasty salad that we come to love here over the winter months as Kale is a hardy winter survivor. Also, if you Kale ever gets wilty before you get home you can let it swim in a cold bowl of water until it firms back up, just make sure you drain well and store dry in a sealed plastic bag or covered bowl in your fridge. This past week I even made a winter squash souffle mix that I put on whole Kale leaves and rolled up, instead of puring into ramikins, so it was like a souffle within a baked Kale Leaf. As you can see, there is alot of creativity awaiting for the Winter Greens and Winter Squashes.
I am sure you all enjoyed opening the herb bag, as cilantro always smells so intense and wonderful. I like to make a batch of cilantro paste that I can use in different preperations all week. The paste consists of 2-3 cups of cilantro (stems and leaves), 1/3 cup almonds, 1/4 cup olive oil, and salt and pepper, and a splash of lemon juice and white wine vinegar. Blanch your cilantro for about 30-45 seconds, then drain, then place in a processor with all the other ingredients and there you have it a great paste to turn into a dressing, or to spread on pitas or toast or onto baked acorn squash, or meats.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and be on the look-out by the end of a day the Fall Gathering Farm Tour/Hoe Down Announcement of the finalized date, in which you all will want to mark on your calenders as this will be a great way to see our farm and to have a good evening of mingling, music, and square dancin!
Allison and Matthew
September 30th
What Genus Specie Varieties your basket contains:
1.)Musque de Provence French Pumpkins
2.)Goldy and Table Queen Acorn Winter Squash
3.)White Russian Kale Bunch
4.)Lacinato "Dinosaur" Kale Bunch
5.)Salad Mix of Olga and Crisp Mint Romain, Red Oakleaf & Black
Seeded Simpson Leaf Lettuce, and
Rouquette Arugula
6.)Bulk Caribe Cilantro and Purple Opal Basil
It seemed everyone enjoyed getting to select your favorite fall pumpkins, and the weather this week seemed about just pumkin perfect for the first selection of these great edible fruits. As I mentioned at the drop-off and pick-up, I would use your pumkins for decoration for a little while and then enjoy them for eating. If you do choose to leave them setting around for a little while, do not set them outside where they are going to undergo the hot sun and then the cold nights, as this is to much of a temperature change for them to be stored. I would recommend storing them for decoration inside in your climate controlled house. Remember to try a section of these out raw, as I mentioned...thin slices with some cheese and wine, or using a peeler or grater to make a raw pumkin salad/slaw. I am going to refer you all back to the 08' CSA Basket Journal #22, as you will learn all about how to store your pumkin and any other winter squashes that you would like to go ahead and pre-bake and scoop out and freeze.
You will find it the time to start having fun with your Kale as the fall time is the season for Kale, and you will be getting great amounts of it for the rest of the season. I love chopping the leaf and stem up in a very thin horizontal manner and making very delicios salads out of kale, so you do not have to always blanch or cook kale before it is edible. Our raw Kale has a very nice flavor that will continue to get better as the temperatures continue to drop. After the Kale is chopped, then toss it with some lemon juice, or a type of vinegar, then use olive oil or a nut oil, add some baked winter squash and some dried fruit or chopped fall apples, some roasted winter squash seeds or nuts, cheese if you like and maybe even a little bit of honey, or you could even toss in some meat shreds, and some salt and pepper. This is a wonderfully easy and tasty salad that we come to love here over the winter months as Kale is a hardy winter survivor. Also, if you Kale ever gets wilty before you get home you can let it swim in a cold bowl of water until it firms back up, just make sure you drain well and store dry in a sealed plastic bag or covered bowl in your fridge. This past week I even made a winter squash souffle mix that I put on whole Kale leaves and rolled up, instead of puring into ramikins, so it was like a souffle within a baked Kale Leaf. As you can see, there is alot of creativity awaiting for the Winter Greens and Winter Squashes.
I am sure you all enjoyed opening the herb bag, as cilantro always smells so intense and wonderful. I like to make a batch of cilantro paste that I can use in different preperations all week. The paste consists of 2-3 cups of cilantro (stems and leaves), 1/3 cup almonds, 1/4 cup olive oil, and salt and pepper, and a splash of lemon juice and white wine vinegar. Blanch your cilantro for about 30-45 seconds, then drain, then place in a processor with all the other ingredients and there you have it a great paste to turn into a dressing, or to spread on pitas or toast or onto baked acorn squash, or meats.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and be on the look-out by the end of a day the Fall Gathering Farm Tour/Hoe Down Announcement of the finalized date, in which you all will want to mark on your calenders as this will be a great way to see our farm and to have a good evening of mingling, music, and square dancin!
Allison and Matthew