The Golden Earthworm Farm CSA NEWSLETTER

"If you tickle the earth with a hoe she laughs with a harvest." -Douglas William Jerrold

this week's
HARVEST

Swiss Chard
This must be my favorite, or at least one of my favorite greens! See Cait Johnson's recipe this week for french-style chard with raisins and pine nuts. Ooh-la-la, c'est extraordinaire!
Qty: 1 bunch

Kohlrabi
You're getting just one head of kohlrabi this week-- a taster! I love eating this sliced raw with a bit of salt as an appetizer while I'm cooking dinner, or grated in a salad.
Qty: 1 piece

Arugula
This baby (adolescent, really) arugula is melt-in-your-mouth tender. It's one of my better addictions. I'm sure many of you know what I'm talking about! Make an arugula salad with fresh cracked pepper and goat cheese, or wilt with penne and parmesan (and fresh sausages!?) Watch out for some stray weeds...the arugula patch is especially weedy this season since it's been under row covers and we haven't been able to cultivate (weed).
Qty: 1/4 lb.

Salad Mix
A lovely mix of 4 lettuce varieties. This mix has been washed twice, but I would give it a quick dunk in a bowl of cold water and spin dry before serving. See my note on a salad spinner this week...
Qty: 1/2 lb.

Sugar Snap Peas
These are edible podded peas. Snap the stem end and peel back the string. Delicious raw or lightly steamed with a pat of butter. Or, try this week's peas & scallions recipe...
Qty: 1/2 lb.

Escarole
See this week's recipes if you're at a loss for ideas for this fabulous green. We had a long discussion about possible recipes this morning in the field- Matthew and James LOVE it!
Qty: 1 head

Strawberries
Nothing says summer like the taste of sweet, locally (and organically) grown strawberries fresh from the fields!
Qty: 1 pint

Red Romaine Lettuce
These lettuce heads are big, beautiful and tender. Make a meal of it! Matthew and I indulge in a little meat once in a while, and a steak or chicken salad (Kosher organic pasture raised meat, of course!) makes for a nice summertime meal. If you opt for the steak salad, I recommend roasted red peppers, feta cheese and red onions with a mustard vinaigrette dressing. Ymmm...
Qty: 1 head

Week of June 19, 2006 ~ Issue #5

HAPPENINGS news & musings from the fields

We have a gigantic box of veggies this week, and an equally large newsletter, so I'll keep it brief. I just wanted to recommend a must-have kitchen tool: the salad spinner. If you don't have a salad spinner, go out and get one- It's absolutely indispensable! We have the Zyliss spinner at home, and we love it. For about $24 you can make your salad preparation a whole lot easier. I remove the inside colander and fill the bowl with water to swish around the lettuce (or arugula, or mesclun) leaves and then I dump the leaves back into the colander before spinning.

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RECIPES from the farm & from our friends

SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH SCALLIONS
This recipe is a repeat for our full-share members, but worth trying again if you ate all the peas straight out of the bag last week!

1/2 pound Sugar Snap Peas, strings removed
2 Tbl canola oil
1 Tbl soy sauce
1/2 tsp roasted Asian sesame oil
2 medium scallions, trimmed and finely chopped

Parboil Sugar Snaps 5 minutes in large kettle of lightly salted boiling water. Drain and quick-chill in ice water; drain well again. Heat canola oil 1 minute in large heavy skillet over moderately high heat. Dump in Sugar Snaps and stir-fry 3 minutes. Stir in soy sauce, sesame oil and scallions, remove from heat, and serve.

GRANNIE'S FRENCH SWISS CHARD
A special recipe from Cait Johnson

The French love their chard (“blettes” in their language), and my Grannie (who was French and Swiss, among other things) used to make this recipe for me when I was little because she knew how good it was for me (chard is a fabulous source of many antioxidant vitamins and minerals)--and because this was one way I would actually eat it and enjoy it!

The secret is adding raisins and pine nuts to the chard. I recently bought a drop-dead gorgeous book of French Provincial recipes, and in it was a recipe that looked just like the chard my Grannie used to make for me. It was even called “Blettes Grand-mere!” Try making it for your little ones: the sweetness of the raisins and the nutty, buttery crunch of the pine nuts make chard completely irresistible--and it cooks in about 3 minutes.

1 bunch Swiss chard
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/3 cup raisins or golden raisins
2 tablespoons pine nuts
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Remove the chard stems and the thick central vein from each leaf. Chop the leaves very coarsely. Using a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium high heat, melt the butter with the oil until sizzling. Add the chard and the rosemary, stirring well to coat the chard with the butter mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, for another minute until the chard has wilted to about half its original volume. Add raisins and pine nuts, stirring to combine evenly, and continue cooking until any moisture has evaporated. The entire cooking process should take no more than about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

ESCAROLE SOUP WITH GARBANZO BEANS AND PASTA

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 14 1/2-ounce cans vegetable broth
2 cups (about) water, divided
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice with Italian herbs
1/2 cup farfallini or other small pasta
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
5 cups (about 1 head) thinly sliced escarole
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add broth, 1 cup water, and tomatoes with juice; bring to boil. Add pasta; cover and boil until pasta is tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add marjoram, beans, then escarole. Simmer until escarole is tender, about 5 minutes, adding up to 1 cup water if pasta absorbs broth. Season with salt and pepper.
Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

ESCAROLE SALAD WITH FRIED SHALLOTS AND PRUNES

1 cup olive oil
6 oz shallots, thinly sliced (1 1/3 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup packed pitted prunes (5 oz), finely chopped
1 head escarole (1 lb), tough ribs and outer leaves discarded and inner leaves and tender ribs cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips (8 cups)

Heat oil in a 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then fry shallots in 3 batches, stirring frequently and being careful not to burn, until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer shallots as browned with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. (Shallots will crisp as they cool.) Transfer 3 tablespoons shallot oil from pan to a cup for dressing and reserve remainder for another use.
Whisk together lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl, then add shallot oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Add prunes, escarole, half of shallots, and salt to taste, then toss well to coat. Sprinkle with remaining shallots.